I’m pleased to share details below from my recent Chair Report as part of the SHMA Annual General Meeting:

What a period it has been for hotels in British Columbia. The hotels in Surrey have seen record occupancies and rates. This is a welcome relief to start to make progress against the financial losses from Covid. The labour market has been the struggle to find employees in most of the lower mainland market and will not be going away. We have made some strides to build our board for the future. We need to continue to build leadership with strong leaders who together contribute to our industry and in meeting our diversity and inclusion goals. I would like to thank the board for their contributions to date and look forward to a successful 2022.

In Hospitality
John Kearns, Chair
Surrey Hotel & Motel Association

SHMA Brochure

One-pager Property Feature Sheet

We’re pleased to share the final version with you, which is hosted on our website and has been printed for distribution at the Sport Event Congress in Edmonton next week.

Thank you for your support in making this brochure happen!

Digital Marketing

Monthly Update – October

1. Generating Brand Awareness of Surrey as a Group Travel and Events Destination.
2. Driving Qualified Traffic to Member Websites.
3. Creating Leads to be shared directly with Members.

Some key figures from the campaign:

• 400,000+ impressions to date
• 9,000+ ad clicks
• 235 member site referrals
• 14 form fills + 6 Cvent leads

Generally, Facebook has performed best in driving awareness of Surrey as an event destination, Google has performed best in driving member referrals, and Cvent has performed best in generating leads. Together, they all play an important part in the success of the overall campaign.

Note, when an event lead is acquired it is sent to all properties that have the space to accommodate that event. If the lead does not require event space, and only requires rooms, it will be sent to all SHMA members.

Even if a smaller property isn’t contacted for a specific event lead it may still benefit from that event as higher occupancy across the city overall helps spread visitors across multiple properties.

BCHA Advocacy Update

20-Hour Work Limit for International Students Lifted

This policy recommendation has been a key piece of our efforts to develop solutions to our workforce shortage and reform our immigration system. It is a significant win for our industry and will also benefit students who are eager to gain experience and a higher pay cheque in our current economic climate.

In addition, it was also announced that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is launching a pilot project to automate the processing of study permit extensions. This change is another step in the right direction, allowing greater access to international students exploring a career in hospitality.

We are sincerely grateful to Minister Sean Fraser and the many local Members of Parliament who listened to our call to action and joined us in advocating for this change.

While there is still work to be done, we are pleased by the progress that is being made on our workforce file, and will continue to tirelessly advocate for your best interests, while developing new avenues to meet your recruitment needs.

Ingrid Jarrett
President & CEO
BC Hotel Association

Industry Update

Follow along through our industry partners

• BCHA Industry Update – October 12
• Discover Surrey – October 4
• HAC – Parliament Resumes
• TIABC Industry Update – October 14