Hoteliers are busing in room cleaning staff from Calgary as part of a work share program to help Banff deal with a labour shortage and increasing visitor numbers this summer.
Starting this week, about five guest room attendants will be brought to Banff to work as part of a job share pilot program between the Calgary Hotel Association and Banff & Lake Louise Hospitality Association (BLLHA).
BLLHA officials say the intent is to transport employees to Banff to work Fridays through Sundays, which are traditionally quieter days for the Calgary corporate hotels, giving workers the chance to work in both resort- and corporate-based businesses.
“Banff and Lake Louise hospitality businesses are experiencing unprecedented labour demands as we see a continual increase of visitors to the destination,” said Darren Reeder, executive director of BLLHA.
“While it has casually been discussed for some time, we recognize that now is the ideal time for Calgary and Banff-Lake Louise partners to act on our shared vision to develop hospitality professionals that create positive experiences for visitors to Alberta.”
A 2014 study by BLLHA and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada revealed a shortage of more than 400 workers in Banff in July alone that year, at the same time visitor numbers continued to soar.
Guest room attendants represented the largest shortfall in the workforce in Banff and Lake Louise, while other jobs under pressure are kitchen helpers, line cooks and food and beverage servers.
That study was done in 2014, so the labour pressures are likely even higher. The number of visitors to Banff last year was about 3.8 million and it’s predicted this year will reach four million visitors.
Participating hotels in this job share partnership with downtown Calgary hotels so far include Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Rimrock Resort Hotel and Banff Lodging Co., a division of Banff Caribou Properties.
During the pilot work share program, Banff properties will cover the cost of transportation and will provide employees with complimentary employee accommodation while in Banff.
Banff Caribou Properties, which owns nine hotels, welcomes the program.
“We have more visitors, we have the same access we have to labour in the past, we are struggling without a foreign worker program that we can depend on, so we’re constantly recruiting employees,” said Chris Thorburn, Caribou’s director of operations.
“With Calgary being in a bit of a downturn and tourism being as strong as it is this summer here, we’re looking to bring room attendants that were being underutilized and give them the opportunity to come to Banff and do the job they’re trained to do in a market that’s continually looking for employees.”
The pilot, when initially announced, planned to begin with 15 room attendants from Calgary, but with festivals and special events in Calgary, downtown corporate hotels are busier than expected on weekends.
Thorburn said both the Calgary Hotel Association and BLLHA continue to work to advance the pilot program, noting there is interest from hotels in seeing if culinary workers could also come to Banff for the weekends.
“We are certainly hopeful,” he said.
The intent is to eventually provide all BLLHA members the chance to participate in the program.
BLLHA’s Brenda Stanton, who has been heavily involved in getting the program off the ground, said they wanted to start with small steps, noting bringing in room attendants seemed easier to begin with because of the stable hours they work.
“It’s the beginning and it takes time for everything in the beginning,” she said. “I was quite delighted five signed up for this week,” she said.
