Work camps adopting an Airbnb model

ACCOMMODATIONS

the year, companies used a beta version of LodgeLink to book 7,000 nights of accommodation.

Now, LodgeLink will launch in full and customers will be able to book rooms at 25 work camps, two of which are owned by Black Diamond in Western Canada.

Haynes expects the app to generate between 7,000 and 10,000 bookings in the fourth quarter of this year alone.

Through a partnership with Toronto-based Vision Travel Solutions, the software will also allow companies to book travel to and from the camps in Western Canada. Haynes hopes the software will eventually be used across North America and globally as more work camp owners participate in the initiative.

If bookings do increase sharply, the software tool could provide a new revenue stream for Black Diamond, which has been hurt by the prolonged oil price downturn.

Black Diamond shares traded in the $33 range before oil prices began to collapse in the summer of 2014, but were trading around $1.86 at close of day Monday.

Multiple financial analysts cut their price targets on Black Diamond in August after the company cut its dividend and reported 40-per-cent occupancy rates at its camps, which was lower than expected.

Haynes said Black Diamond began developing LodgeLink after oil prices dropped but the need for the tool was underscored during the Fort McMurray wildfire rescue effort as tens of thousands of locals fled their homes.

“The ‘aha’ moment was when we were engaged with many of the lodge owners around the fire,” he said.

Many of those people were temporarily lodged at camps but camp providers and oil companies did not have a central database for where space was available.

Haynes said lodging data was compiled on spreadsheets and communicated over daily phone calls during the rescue effort.

“It was clear than a better tool was needed,” he said.

Black Diamond operates 10 camps — or “lodges,” as they are called within the industry — for specific clients who need accommodation for staff working on projects in remote locations. The company also operates three “open camps,” which can be used by multiple clients at one time, like a hotel. CEO Trevor Haynes said the need for Black Diamond’s LodgeLink was underscored during the Alberta wildfires.