Nearly three years after the COVID-19 pandemic delivered a gut-punch to B.C.’s hotel industry, workforce shortages that prevent hotels from operating at capacity still hamper the path to recovery.
“Many of the hotels are operating at 70 to 80 per cent capacity because they don’t have people to clean the rooms,” said Ingrid Jarrett, president and CEO of the B.C. Hotel Association. “This is the tightest labour market that we’ve seen and it’s not just our industry, it’s construction, manufacturing, many industries because the baby boomers are retiring and the tech sector is growing.”
The new hotels – Courtyard Marriott, Pomeroy Inn & Suites, Best Western Plus and Hyatt Place – raised the Prince George hotel room inventory to 1,803, as compared to 2,179 rooms in Kamloops and 650 in Nanaimo. The BCHA continues to work with Tourism HR Canada and the Hotel Association of Canada to widen the stream of skilled and unskilled immigrants seeking hospitality jobs.As a result of pressure from hoteliers, some international students are now allowed to work off-campus more than 20 hours per week.