TORONTO — Online reservations have opened for bookings starting July 1 at MTN House by Basecamp, a luxury four-storey, 99-room hotel in Canmore, Alta. Designed by MTA Urban Design, MTN House by Basecamp will feature a refined rustic aesthetic inspired by the local culture and natural wonders. Its main level will boast the company’s first food-and-beverage concept, Rhythm & Howl – an upscale restaurant, café and bar with a focus on sustainability and local ingredients, helmed by notable Canadian chef Jason Leizert. The hotel’s spacious lobby lounge will feature a wood-burning fireplace, mul ..read more

TORONTO — Felicia Mongelli has been promoted to director of Sales, and Victoria Simmons to director of Room Operations, at the Westin Harbour Castle, Toronto. The promotions will see these two new leaders guide the Sales and Operations departments as the hotel begins its renovation journey. In her new role, Simmons will oversee the new room operations at a time when the hotel’s guestrooms are being renovated. Previously, she was director of Event Planning. Simmons has spent her entire career at the Westin Harbour Castle, Toronto working in progressive leadership roles, including Banquets assis ..read more

OTTAWA — The Government of Canada has released its budget for the 2023 fiscal year, entitled A Made in Canada Plan: Strong Middle Class, Affordable Economy, Healthy Future. The Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) will do a thorough analysis in the coming days. For now, key highlights include a multi-year investment in destination marketing to attract major international conventions, conferences and events to Canada; a multi-year investment to support the development of local tourism projects and events; and cutting the planned increase of the federal beverage-alcohol tax from six to ..read more

By Rosanna Caira TORONTO ― After a renowned career spanning more than four decades and various hotel roles and responsibilities, Heather McCrory, will be stepping down from her role as CEO, North and Central America, Accor at the end of May. The move comes after a major re-organization at Accor was announced last year and implemented this past January, which will see Accor create two new divisions in the global company and shift operation of its luxury brand, the Fairmont Hotels & Resorts to Dubai. McCrory, who will be marking her 40th anniversary at the company in May, started in the Laun ..read more

TORONTO — Last week, The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that international graduates with a recently expired or expiring post-graduation work permit (PGWP) will qualify for an additional or extended work permit to stay longer and gain additional work experience for up to 18 months. The PGWP Program allows international graduates to obtain an open work permit to gain valuable Canadian work experience. Starting April 6, 2023, these measures will allow PGWP holders who wish to stay longer to opt in to a facilitative process to extend thei ..read more

OTTAWA — The Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) and Meetings Mean Business Canada (MMBC) welcomed U.S. President Biden to Canada and took the opportunity to highlight the close relationship the two countries have long maintained with regard to leisure and business tourism in a joint statement. A statement from the organizations says U.S. visitors are vitally important to Canada’s travel economy. In 2022, a total of 14 million U.S. residents entered Canada, just 56 per cent of the level of 25 million in 2019. Not surprisingly, around 80 per cent of all foreign travellers to Canada co ..read more

TORONTO — After 43 years, the Canadian Hotel Marketing & Sales Executives (CHMSE) has voted to cease operations as of May 1, 2023. CHMSE was created in 1980 as a truly Canadian association by a group of forward-thinking, energetic hospitality individuals dedicated to the professional development and advancement of salespeople in the hotel industry. Early on, CHMSE was the host of Hotelympiad, a high-profile industry skills challenge held in Toronto. Money for this event went to a fledgling charity at the time, AboutFace, which has now grown into Canada’s facial difference charity. Other ev ..read more

MONTREAL — Air Canada has been recognized as one of Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces for 2023. It is the sixth-consecutive year Air Canada has won the award, given for innovative engagement and recognition practices that elevate the employee experience. “At its heart, Air Canada is a customer service business, and we rely on our highly motivated and dedicated employees to deliver on that promise each and every day. We put a premium on all our people throughout our company because each of them is essential and they are the best at what they do. We are always devising new ways to suppor ..read more

VANCOUVER — Fairmont Vancouver Airport has been named the number-1 Airport Hotel in North America for the ninth-consecutive year and has climbed to number three in the world at the annual Skytrax World Airport Awards.   The World Airport Awards are the most prestigious accolades for the airport industry, voted by customers in the largest, annual global airport customer-satisfaction survey completed across 100 nationalities of airline passengers at 550 airports from August 2022 until February 2023. The Best Airport Hotel Awards rate overall hotel experience, access from ..read more

EDMONTON — Hotel Equities (HE) has announced the grand opening of the Courtyard by Marriott Nanaimo in B.C. Hotel Equities partnered with Utah-based commercial real estate leader PEG Companies and Petroglyph Development Group to manage the new hotel. Conveniently situated adjacent the Vancouver Island Conference Centre, and between Casino Nanaimo and the Nanaimo Museum, the new hotel offers industry-leading amenities including a charming street-level café, large pool and an all-inclusive fitness centre. Design features include angular windows with street-side views, stone panels and a façade o ..read more