When I was a kid, my family took two vacations every year: one in the summer and one in the winter. Usually, our winter vacations were almost always to a favorite ski resort, like Whistler Blackcomb in Whistler BC Canada. And we always stayed at Whistler hotels rather than a vacation rental or other available Whistler accommodation. My parents believed that since our family of four was going to be enjoying the snow on the mountains all day every day, no one was going to want to worry about cooking anything for anybody. And since my parents did the bulk of the cooking and cleaning at home, they wanted a week off to relax too. So we stayed in Whistler hotels and did lots of dining out. (more…)

Whistler 2010 Athlete Village - Turn into Whistler Accommodations & Lodging ! 

Despite Whistler Mayor Ken Melamed’s declarations in the media last week that the municipality cannot afford to put any more money into the athletes’ village project, there has been no movement or public response from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on who will pay for its request to add space for 350 more athletes and team officials.

IMHO, why not simply take the approach the real estate market has taken in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and simply re-sell an allotmant of units to the public, where after the Olympics have come and gone, the athletes village is converted into condo development or more vacation homes in Whistler. Take this approach and pre-sell the units to raise the financing ain’t a half bad idea.
Once the 2010  Vancouver Olympics  has come and gone, there will be an increase in demand for homes to buy, and accommodations to rent in Whistler and Blackcomb. The atheletes village will be a prime opportunity for the development companies to expand their vacation rental properties into additional Whistler accommodations for travellers and local / foreign investors.

Only 4 years away from Vancouver 2010 Olympics and accommodations in Whistler and Vancouver are already starting to book.

As the Olympics approach, places to rent in Whistler (hotels, owner direct, cottages, cabins) and accommodations in Vancouver (owner direct, hotels, etc.) will book fast.

Vacation rentals in Whistler will be limited as the city can only host so many places to stay, and tourists to Whistler may have to accommodate and find a rentals in nearby cities as Squamish and Pemberton.

The good part - the Olympic events in 2010 will take place both in Whistler and Vancouver - so why not call it Whistler 2010 and Vancouver 2010 - well, either works fine with locals.

2010 Whistler accommodations and 2010 Vancouver accommodations will be in high demand, and securing a place to stay with the best ameneties as a hot tub, 2-3 a bathrooms and bedrooms, luxury kitchen and more will become scarce.

On the best places to stay during the 2010 Olympics may just be Squamish (ha ha Squamish 2010). Why? Well, Squamish resides inbetween Whistler and Vancouver - so anyone travelling to check out the Olympic events will have a perfect fit right inbetween the two cities, with immediate acccess along the sea to sky highway.

If I were to find a 2010 vacation rental - I’d opt for Vancouver and find someone to swap for the remainder in Whistler (Whistler 2010 accommodations for rent)- though finding someone will be difficult. Alternatively, get online, make some new penpals in Whistler and Vancouver and stay at their place - a cheap way to go.

So if you’re thinking of visiting Vancouver in 2010 and Whistler in 2010 and seeking accommodations for 2010 Olympics, I’d suggest booking now - and go the route of Owner-Direct so you get all the amenities privately to yourself.

Staying in Vancouver this week, or maybe your a local Vancouverite. Well if you are, be sure to visit the Olympic 2010 discussions as the 2010 committee arrives in town.
A team from the IOC arrives in Vancouver Monday for two days of meetings with leaders of the 2010 Olympics, the chairman of the group telling Around the Rings he expects “good news” this week.
Now me personally I wouldn’t rent a place in Vancouver to catch a glimpse of these proceedings, but if you are staying in a Vancouver accommodation - hotel, apartment, condo, etc., it’s something to do to help support the 2010 Olympics coming to Vancouver and Whistler.

Rene Fasel says he is hoping for a quick resolution of the lease and compensation agreement with the owners of main Olympic hockey venue for 2010, General Motors Place. The arena is also the home the NHL Vancouver Canucks, who will need a temporary home during part of January and all of February 2010.

“When we awarded the games, nobody could expect the costs be so high as they are today,” Fasel said. “That’s the challenge for everybody, to find ways to find good balance.”

Fasel acknowledged the environmental protest which delayed expansion of the Sea-to-Sky highway for more than a month, but “(protesters) went to court, they lost.”

Protesters of the Olympic highway wanted a forest-destroying overland route to be stopped and a tunnel built instead. This route would be providing access to Squamish and Whistler, and Pemberton if you’re going to take the long treck.

“It’s not easy to make decisions,” said Fasel. “You can never satisfy everybody.”

Fasel will stop in New York en route to Vancouver to meet with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. They’ll discuss ongoing talks for a player transfer agreement with the Russian Hockey Federation. Fasel is hopeful new RHF president Vladislav Tretyak’s influence will hasten an agreement. IIHF’s 2007 World Championship is in Russia. Without a deal, Russian NHLers could be disqualified.

Apparantely, one of the first hotel-flight packages for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics is charging about $1,400 a night for a room that usually costs $289 during the height of the summer season.
Ok - now you’ve heard us talk about Whistler and Vancouver accommodations already, and where and how to shop around for good deals for your vacation rentals, but come on, BC is taxed enough and now someone is charging $1,400 a night for expensive Vancouver Olympic accommodations! That’s Sea to Sky highway robbery!

Even Tourism Vancouver is hoping people who come to B.C. for the Olympics will fall in love with the city, and come back – noting that for that to happen, they’ll have to feel they’re getting good value for their money. So to over charge for Olympic accommodations is a concern many hotels and home owners of vacation rentals will have to be aware. Whistler Canada has numerous places for rent for people visiting for the Olympics. The Whistler lodging in the popular ski resort is definately an experience all visitors to Vancouver, BC and Whistler BC need to experience.

As we’ve mentioned before, accommodations in Whistler BC are in abundance - just shop around online at the various sites that offer vacation rentals in whistler and other british columbia rentals for vacation settlers.