After a not-so-stellar vacation destination performance at Whistler Blackcomb over the 2008/2009 winter season, due to tough economic times, Whistler Blackcomb is ramping up a line-up of summer activities the mountain is banking on.
Among those are the Whistler accommodations vacation rental owners, companies and hotels in Whistler who are more than ever competing to fill vacancies due to the low tourist volume over the past winter.

As the economy stabilizes and begins it long recovery journey, Whistler and businesses in Whistler, will likely see business improve with more tourists flocking to the world-renound destination of Whistler, BC, Canada. Read the rest of this entry »

Occupancy rate in Whistler hotels in the first quarter of 2009 hums around 40%, the lowest level Whistler has seen in decades. It is no surprise with the downturn in the economy, the Whistler tourism market is struggling to fill occupancy in the various  hotels and vacation rentals throughout Whistler, BC.

Many owners and property managers of Whistler accommodations are offering  some of the best rates seen in a long time as they get more aggressive to fill their occupancy. Hotels too are feeling the affect and offering some sweet discounts to locals.

Whistler accommodation owners who reply on their marketing to attract potential travelers to secure their rental accommodations, have been more aggressive to attain more exposure to fill the vacancies. Like many companies in these tough economic times, owners and property managers are spending their marketing expenses intelligently by diverting a significant portion of their marketing spend online. Marketing over the web offers property owners the fastest and best means to reach their large global audience, down to their local weekend day trippers in Vancouver. A trend has been noticed where these owners of Whistler accommodations are seeking more boutique and highly targeted niche websites to advertise, such as those exclusively focused on the market of Whistler, Canada, versus large diluted online marketplaces as VRBO and HomeAway. Read the rest of this entry »

Rumors are flying that Intrawest may put Whistler Blackcomb up for sale.

Unlikely says Brownlie.

But Intrawest examines selling other assets to reduce $1.7 billion debt

As Intrawest ULC scrutinizes all assets in an attempt to reduce $1.7 of debt, the president and chief operating officer of Whistler Blackcomb said it is unlikely the number one ski resort in North America will be sold.

“I certainly can’t comment on Intrawest and Fortress, but I can say that Whistler Blackcomb is seen as a core asset to the success of Intrawest,” said Dave Brownlie on Tuesday afternoon.

“As a result, I am very confident that Whistler Blackcomb is not up for sale at this time.”

Mountain resorts across North American are buzzing with rumours about which assets Intrawest might sell after CEO Bill Jensen told a Colorado newspaper last week that the company was looking at “all options to reduce our debt.”

Jensen told Summit Daily News that Intrawest also does not want to sell Copper Mountain, but he said the company may finance some of its businesses independently, including assets in Quebec. Mont Tremblant is Intrawest’s only Quebec resort. Read the rest of this entry »

The Pemberton Festival, which brought some 40,000 music lovers and some of the world’s most popular bands to the Spud Valley for three days last July, won’t take place in 2009.

However, Shane Bourbonnais, president of touring and business development for Live Nation Canada, on Thursday (Jan. said the company is fully committed to bringing the three-day, European-style musical extravaganza back for 2010. Read the rest of this entry »

Province’s decision to freeze property assessments reflects sales volumes, values

While it still remains to be seen what municipal property tax rates will be this year, residents will at least be guaranteed that their share of the tax burden will stay the same or go down compared to last year.

On Monday, homeowners across the province received notice from B.C. Assessment, which determines the approximate value of homes based on sales figures. Because the assessments were made in July, before the economy declined, the province passed special legislation in November that homes be assessed at the lower of July 1, 2008 or July 1, 2007 values. Read the rest of this entry »