19/06/2018 | 10:39 AM

NEWS BRIEFS Update as of June 19

Fairmont Royal York collective agreement

TORONTO — Members of UNITE HERE Local 75 ratified a new collective agreement with the Fairmont Royal York Hotel on June 15 that represents the strongest agreement in Toronto’s hospitality sector, according to a news release issued by the union. The four-year contract makes Fairmont Royal York workers the highest paid hotel workers in the GTA by far and includes a 14.5 per cent wage increase and a retroactive bonus, more than triples pension contributions, significantly reduces housekeepers’ workloads, and substantiality increases retirement and other paid benefits for all workers.

An affiliate of the largest hotel workers union in the world, UNITE HERE Local 75 represents nearly 8,000 hospitality workers at 43 hotels in the Greater Toronto Area, including nearly 1,000 workers at the Fairmont Royal York.

Pushing for strong short-term rental laws in Calgary

CALGARY — The Hotel Association of Canada's fight against short-term rentals continues, with many Canadian cities actively considering legislation.

On June 12, the HAC met with Naheed Nenshi, mayor of Calgary and chair of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) working group responsible for looking into short-term rentals. 

Joined by regional partners Dave Kaiser, president of the Alberta Hotel and Lodging Association, and Peggy Athans, executive director of the Calgary Hotel Association, the group presented key research demonstrating the growth of commercial operators on the Airbnb platform, strongly underscored the need for fair rules and presented mayor Nenshi with an overview of how a modern framework of best practice regulations can support Calgary as they continue to study this issue.

The meeting resulted in a positive exchange of information, support for fairness and the establishment of a constructive working relationship. We are now well positioned as a key stakeholder with experience dealing with the short-term rental issue and a credible source of knowledge and information. 

Importantly, mayor Nenshi has invited HAC to present at an upcoming FCM working group meeting, which will provide an opportunity to educate and emphasize the points on fairness more broadly to a mayoral audience.

Celebrating Indigenous Tourism's Success

OTTAWA — This Thursday, June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day across Canada — a day to showcase and celebrate the cultural diversity, accomplishments, and contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.



Indigenous tourism in Canada is thriving, as entrepreneurs and established businesses are reaching new markets and seeing increased demand from established ones. 

The Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) has set the following targets leading up to 2021: a $300 million increase in the annual Canadian GDP from Indigenous tourism and 50 new Indigenous tourism operators at export-ready status.

Indigenous workers are a particularly important part of tourism’s labour force—from frontline staff to owner/operators to entrepreneurs.



Tourism HR Canada will soon release a full profile of Indigenous workers in Canada’s tourism sector, based on the most recent census data. 

PEI craft brewers' inaugural meeting

With five operating breweries currently in Prince Edward Island and two more scheduled to open in 2018, there’s no doubt that the industry is growing. With growth, comes new opportunities for partnership among the collective. On Thursday, May 10^th the first meeting of the PEI Craft Brewers Alliance was held at the PEI Brewing Company.

The PEI Craft Brewers Alliance was created to help develop the industry and showcase what the craft beer industry is contributing to the economy on Prince Edward Island. 

IHG launches new upscale brand

InterContinental Hotels Group has introduced its newest upscale brand, Voco, which will grow through conversion opportunities.

IHG will focus on growing the brand in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia first before bringing it to the Americas and Greater China, the release states, and it already has its first signing in Australia: the Watermark Hotel & Spa Gold Coast in Surfers Paradise. The company aims for incremental growth with a goal of 200 properties in urban and leisure markets over the next 10 years.

“The Voco brand promises guests an experience that is reliably different, brought to life through a bold, distinctive identity, informal service style and thoughtful touches along the guest journey,” IHG CEO Keith Barr said in the release.

W Hotels celebrate PRIDE

Whoever you are, wherever you are, you’re welcome at W. In support of individuality everywhere, W is rolling out a series of curated travel guides with the goal of becoming the trusted travel resource for LGBTQ+ travelers around the world. 

In collaboration with next-generation community platform, them., the guides celebrate the unique qualities of each location and empower guests to explore the world in destinations that aren’t always the first that come to mind for queer travelers. But the time for worldwide pride is now. Inspired by W Hotels’ 20 years of support of the LGBTQ+ community and the brand’s increasingly international footprint, W will also take their popular QUEER ME OUT speaker series to six global destinations in 2018, bringing real-time, real talk to new cities and audiences around the world.

Participating hotels include: W Mexico City, followed by W Istanbul, W Atlanta and the just-opened W Brisbane. 

Wyndham completes acquisition of La Quinta

Wyndham Worldwide Corporation has announced that its subsidiary, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, has completed its acquisition of La Quinta Holdings' hotel franchising and hotel management business, which adds more than 900 franchised hotels with a total of nearly 89,000 rooms to Wyndham's midscale portfolio.