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••• 2007 BC HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY CONFERENCE & EXPOSITION
Plans for the 2007 conference & exposition are in high gear. The conference advisory board has brought a wealth of insight and knowledge to the planning process - their contributions are sure to make the 2007 conference a roaring success.

Conference Chair
Kurt Pyrch, Owner, Best Western Cowichan Valley Inn, Duncan

Conference Working Committee
Marilyn Sanders, Owner, Jolly Coachman and Rhino’s Pub & Grill
James Chase, Chief Executive Officer, BC & Yukon Hotels’ Association
Ian Tostenson, President & CEO, BC Restaurant & Foodservices Association
Kathy Rutherford, Membership, BC Restaurant & Foodservices Association
Alan Sacks, Purchasing Coordinator, BC & Yukon Hotels’ Association
Cindy Lemaire, President, Lemaire & Co. Event Management

Conference Advisory Board
Anthony Pollard, President, The Hotel Association of Canada
Blair Armitage, President, Canadian Society of Club Managers -
Pacific Branch
Cheryl MacKinnon, Producer/Host, Global TV - “Getaway BC”
Jonathan Rouse, Dean for the School of Hospitality, Vancouver Community College
Lothar Heinrich, President, Warsteiner Brewery - Germany
Lynne Henshaw, Director of Marketing, go2
Ray LeBlond, Director of Corporate Communications, Tourism BC
Rosilyn Coulson, Dean, Faculty of Commerce & Business Administration, Douglas College

Visit www.hospitality-trade.com for information on some exciting conference speaker and sponsor announcements.
The BC Hospitality Industry Conference will be held in Vancouver from November 18-20, 2007. The conference is hosted by the BC & Yukon Hotels’ Association (BCYHA) and the Alliance of Beverage Licensees of BC (ABLE BC). We are very excited to announce that this year the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association (BCRFA) has become a full partner and co-host of the conference.

••• ACCESS CANADA: ENABLING TRAVEL FOR ALL
by Andrea Myers

Seniors and persons with disabilities travel, stay at hotels and expect the high quality service all travellers do. They also make up 15-20% of the world’s population and represent a huge growth segment in the accommodation marketplace. To help Canadian hoteliers position their businesses to lead in providing the accessible accommodations and amenities this market segment demands, the Hotel Association of Canada (HAC) developed the Access Canada Rating and Certification Program known as Access Canada.
In light of recent changes in accessibility legislation and the upcoming 2010 Winter Paralympics in BC, HAC undertook to update the decade-old Access Canada program to help make Canadian lodging facilities more inclusive destinations and workplaces.
With the invaluable assistance of the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC) and a diverse working committee, Access Canada was revised and updated and is now delivered in an online, bilingual format at www.access-canada.ca.
Access Canada aims to increase the number of accessible hotels in Canada by improving hotel facilities and service provided to seniors and people with disabilities. It consists of sensitivity training for staff and property facility accessibility standards. Completion of both components is required to be recognized by HAC as an Access Canada property.
Properties are rated on a Level 1 to Level 4 ranking, depending on the extent and quality of accessible facilities, services, and amenities. Within each Access Level, the standards are divided into 15 areas (e.g. public washrooms, rooms, signage, lobby, parking, etc.) for easy reference. The higher a property’s rating, the more extensive the facilities, services and amenities.
Hoteliers can test their property prior to registration by downloading the free Access Canada Property Standards checklist. This checklist will assist in identifying physical obstacles in the hotel and guestrooms that could restrict access for those who are frail or have disabilities.
On completion of the Access Canada program, hotel employers and their employees will more effectively meet the needs of seniors and persons with disabilities and provide the best possible service to these special guests. Employees who have successfully completed the online test will receive a certificate of completion, and the property will receive a report outlining its accessibility features and the requirements for achieving the next Access level. The hotel will also receive an official plaque with its rating, a copy of the logo, a listing on the public page of the Access Canada website, and much more.
For more information on Access Canada visit www.access-canada.ca or email info@hotelassociation.ca.

••• STOCAP CHANGES
As a follow-up to the article on STOCAP in the Spring 2007 issue of InnFocus, changes have been introduced to assessment legislation.
Today, approximately 18,000 strata hotel units are in Class 1 (residential use), while 5,000 are in Class 6 (business use). This has created inequity whereby hotels with almost identical use can pay dramatically different property taxes. Property owners have faced this inequity and continually increasing property taxes for over 15 years. Today, most hotels built in BC are strata properties.
A new classification approach, effective for 2008, will ensure strata hotel unit assessments reflect actual occupancy. This is consistent with the BC Supreme Court’s ruling, in the Legends decision, that each unit in a strata commercial accommodation complex must be classified based on individual use. Currently, many strata hotels in Class 6 are used for both residential and business purposes, but classified and taxed entirely at the higher business rate.
The new approach apportions value and classifies individual strata hotel units based on a split of actual use: Class 1 for residential use, Class 6 for short-term rental use. (Existing Class 1 strata hotels will see no change in the assessment approach for their properties.) Subject to meeting personal use requirements, unoccupied time will be classified as residential. The personal use requirement is demonstrated as follows:
• Owners of all units in the complex have the right to occupy a unit for a minimum of seven days during the year.
• Units are occupied by their owners at least seven days during the year.
Government, together with the tourism and resort sectors, commits to reviewing the actual use approach in late 2010, to assess impacts on taxpayers, the tourism sector, and other stakeholders such as municipalities.
The changes announced support both current and new resort property development, and will potentially result in the construction of approximately 148,000 new bed units around BC, based on analysis by the Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts.
Brian Cocks, Managing Director and Owner of Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort and Conference Centre in Parksville, said, “This is good news for existing Class 1 and Class 6 unit owners, and provides new stability that will encourage further strata hotel unit development.”
Darcy Alexander, Vice President and General Manager of Sun Peaks Resort, commented, “We were increasingly concerned about the potential for units to be pulled out of rental pools to avoid commercial taxation, which would limit supply for skiers visiting our hill. Government has correctly recognized it must act now to secure the continuing supply of nightly rental public accommodation units that we will need to expand tourism through 2010 and beyond.”