BCBusiness

16 I n g r i d J a r r e t t : Ky r a n i K a n a v a r o s ; illu s t r a t i o n : i S t o c k / S a k o r n S u k k a s e m s a k o r n B C B U S I N E S S . C A J U N E 2 0 24 "Hospitality is so season- ally depen- dent at the best of times. To be coming out of COVID, and then to have this in the middle of peak sea- son—there was just no recovering." —Tanya Stroinig, chief operating officer, Prestige Hotels & Resorts didn't clearly define which areas were affected, so travel- lers cancelled bookings in locales across the province. "The stories were that 'B.C. is burning'—not that certain areas were," remembers Stroinig. Prestige has 15 hotels across B.C.—from Cranbrook to Sooke to Prince Rupert—and Stroinig says guests cancelled stays across the Interior and as far away as Smithers. With the exception of one small group in Kelowna, they did not rebook. As a result, Prestige experienced a whopping 30-percent drop in company- wide revenue in 2023—a big blow, especially after the lean COVID years, and one that was felt by everyone from students working summer jobs to hotel restaurant operators. "Hospitality is so season- ally dependent at the best of times," says Stroinig, point- ing out that some hotels are only open in the summer. "To be coming out of COVID, and then to have this in the middle of peak season—there was just no recovering." It's a pattern that's emerg- ing around the world. Last July, tourists were sent packing after heat waves scorched parts of Europe, Asia and the United States. Fires also broke out in the Swiss Alps and in Greece, where temperatures reached a sweltering 45 degrees Celsius, and officials evacuated tourists from major attractions. In Ca- nada, the 2023 wildfire season was the worst ever recorded, burning an estimated 18.5 million hectares and sending smoke to holiday destinations across North America. According to Ingrid Jarrett, president and CEO of the Brit- ish Columbia Hotel Associa- tion (BCHA), hotels are strug- gling to navigate the effects of a shifting climate, from fires to heat waves to floods. Unless they're located at ski destina- tions—which are experiencing their own climate challenges— hotels rely on peak summer season for the lion's share of their revenues. "The winter season is very quiet. In spring and fall you kind of limp along and make a bit of money. But really, it's the summer high season when you have to make up for your winter losses," says Jarrett, who adds that occupancies can go down to 30 percent or less in winter. "Now we're re- ally seeing people questioning coming to British Columbia because of the fires, and that's a problem for us." August is traditionally the strongest month for B.C. hotels, but in recent years that has started to shift, with more vacationers booking in July and September in hopes of avoiding extreme heat, smoke and fire. They're also booking shorter trips, and more last-minute. The B.C. industry is working to attract more business in the shoulder seasons and to reduce its own carbon footprint, says Jarrett, but operators are feeling a heightened sense of concern, especially since international travellers have yet to return to the market. "The danger is that the reputation sinks in. We don't want the Okanagan, or the Kamloops area, or eastern B.C. or Vancouver Island to be known as the August fire destination," says Jarrett. "That would be absolutely terrible, and we don't deserve that." According to Destination BC, tourism is one of the prov- ince's primary economic driv- ers, and if steps aren't taken to address climate challenges, the risk of revenue downturns, closures and layoffs will be " The danger is that the reputation sinks in. We don't want the Okanagan, or the Kamloops area, or eastern B.C. or Vancouver Island to be known as the August fire destination. That would be absolutely terrible, and we don't deserve that." —Ingrid Jarrett, president and CEO, British Columbia Hotel Association

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