NAMES IN THE NEWS

The BCHA welcomes Borgata Lodge, Kelowna; Hotel Eldorado, Kelowna; Oceanside Village Resort, Parksville; and Wildwood Lodge, Whistler as new members. Neifer Installations is a new associate member.
Congratulations to the new general managers at the following properties: Sue Keast, Bellasera Tuscan Villas & Piazza; Jim Young, Best Western Chelsea Inn; Louis-Roch Gagnon, Best Western Gold Rush Inn; Michelle Wilson, Best Western Prince George; Amin Sunderji, Coast Inn of the West; Marlo Duncalf, Coast Prince Rupert Hotel; Michael Lopez, Coast Tsawwassen Inn; Tim Mather, Dilworth Inn and the Recreation Inn & Suites; Louise Wilson, Elkford Motor Inn; Jim Olsen, Fairwinds Schooner Cove Hotel & Marina; Mary Lou Derocher, George Dawson Inn; Bernd Bohl, Grand Okanagan Lakefront Resort & Conference Centre; David Rooper, Harbour Towers Hotel & Suites; Steve McNally, Hyatt Regency Vancouver; Tony Viola, Imperial Motel; Sam Mangalji, Inn on the Creek; Lynnette Goss, Mountain Retreat Hotel and Suites; Steve Walton, Neptune Motor Inn; Cory Phillpot, North Delta Inn; Hafeez Merani, Plaza 500 Hotel; Derek Schwetz, Podollan Inns; Trevor Smith, Quaaout Resort & Conference Centre; Ron Mundi, Riverland Motel; Roland Monteiro, River Rock Casino Resort; Kiley Stewart, Robson Suites Vancouver; Luc Verschelden, Sandman Hotel Castelgar; Kelly Watt, Sandman Hotel Kelowna; Ken Blackmore, Sandman Inn Blue River; Dan Schellenberg, Sandman Inn Cranbrook; Holly Hill, Sasquatch Inn; Camilla Say, Summit Lodge and Spa; Peter Gillis, Tantalus Resort Lodge; Ingrid Jarrett, The Cove Lakeside Resort; Colleen Erwin, The Historic Lund Hotel; Jackie Graw, Travelodge Penticton; and Rainbow Huang, Travelodge Vancouver Lions Gate.
Gordon Johnson is the new regional vice president for Delta Hotels while being general manager of the Delta Vancouver Airport. Mark Andrew has been named regional vice-president, Pacific Northwest of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and general manager of the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. Daphne Hunter is the new hotel manager at Ainsworth Hot Springs Resort. Mike Dempster is now resort manager at the Lake Okanagan Resort in Kelowna. Sadly, Steve Gora, from the Salmo Hotel, recently passed away, so his wife Marion Gora has temporarily taken on his duties as general manager/owner. Retallack Resort & Alpine Adventures has been renamed Retallack Lodge.
Gordon Bell will be missed by many people in the industry and Garth Elrick, in Revelstoke, shared this story: “Twenty-some odd years ago (mid-80s) with a full hotel and nowhere to feed an extra bus tour I called Gordon Bell to see if he could assist by providing a BBQ dinner for my tour group. He replied, “Don’t you worry, we’ll look after them!” Of course, in the following year when this bus tour company moved all SIX of their tour groups from the Wayside out to the Three Valley Gap, I called Gordon to voice my displeasure at losing this business and I will never forget his reply, “Well, what can I say? These folks seem to like what we’ve got here. But don’t you worry, we’ll look after them. And by the way, thanks for the business!” 

Congratulations to the Four Seasons Resort Whistler for receiving the Five Diamond Award from the American Automobile Association - Canada’s only resort to receive the honour. Representing the upper echelon of the hospitality industry, AAA Five Diamond Award winners make up just 0.27% of the 60,000 Diamond Rated lodgings and restaurants throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Bill Hanley has been named Partner and Managing Director of International Development for the newly established Vantage Hospitality Group Canada, Inc. Bill will continue to expand the limited-service brand, Canadas Best Value Inn, while pursuing new locations throughout Canada to develop The Lexington Collection upper-mid to upscale brand.

Bellstar Hotels & Resorts has added the boutique hotel Miraloma on the Cove, in Sidney, to its West Coast resort collection. Bellstar has also been contracted to manage the South Okanagan’s newest waterfront resort, Indigo on the Lake, in Osoyoos. 

go2 is pleased to announce that Dennis Green has joined its newly formed industry training division in the position of Program Manager. In this new role, Green will be responsible for managing the review of the Cook, Baker, and Meatcutter apprenticeship programs.