Banff Springs, other Fairmont properties to reopen June 1 with COVID safeguards
Normally bustling with guests, travellers and staff this time of year, the lobby and hallways of Banff’s iconic 132-year-old Fairmont Banff Springs hotel have been eerily quiet for more than a month.
But with the announcement from Parks Canada that certain national parks across the country will reopen some attractions and facilities on June 1, Fairmont properties in the Rockies have decided to follow suit.
“That gave us the ability to say now that the world at large is allowed back in, we will open,” said David Roberts, Fairmont Banff Springs general manager.
“We’ll open very gradually with two to three floors because we don’t expect demand to be particularly strong at the outset,” said Roberts, who also serves as Fairmont’s regional vice-president of the Canadian western mountain region. “I think there is a lot of pent-up demand in Alberta for people to travel, but that’ll be concentrated on the weekends in the beginning.”
Though Parks Canada did not independently confirm the list of locations to open June 1, Roberts said they’ve been told Banff and Jasper National Parks are included.
The Banff Springs will implement protocols which, in addition to limited access to the facility, will include only one door for visitors to enter and exit through, temperature checks at check-in, and gift baskets in rooms with sanitizers, wipes and masks.
“We want our customers to feel very safe … so the protocols will last until health authorities advise differently,” he said, adding once a guest checks out, the room will remain vacant for 48 hours. “Then, if the demand grows, we’ll just open more of the hotel up so we can continue to accept people whilst following those guidelines.”
In addition to the Banff Springs, Chateau Lake Louise and the Jasper Park Lodge, both Fairmont properties, will also open to guests June 1 with similar procedures in place.
Since closing their doors April 10, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts have had to lay off a “huge amount” of staff, which Roberts said he hopes is a short-term move.
“Our hope is that demand picks up and we can start to recall a lot of those colleagues by July,” he said, adding the Banff Springs will be “appropriately staffed” as guests are welcomed back.
Roberts said shuttle buses from the hotel to town will not be running. Additionally, only one of the Banff Springs’ five restaurants will be open and staff will be recommending guests stock up at the hotel’s cafe before heading to their rooms.
On Tuesday, the provincial government announced that hotels and lodging providers will be allowed to keep tourism levies collected between March 1 and December 31, which will leave between $16 million and $27 million in extra cash for the hospitality sector.
In a statement, the government said the move “will help position the sector for recovery.”
“Alberta’s tourism industry is a key contributor to our economy and it creates jobs and revenue that so many communities across our province depend on,” said Tanya Fir, Alberta’s minister of economic development, trade and tourism. “We’re committed to providing industry the support it needs now so that it can recover and grow.”
Amounts collected before March 1 will continue to be deferred until August 31. The statement includes a reminder that accommodation providers “are still expected to file returns throughout 2020,” and that tourism levy payments will resume in 2021.
“We’re very dependent on Canadians and very, very dependent on Albertans in the initial phases of this reopening,” Roberts said. “We’re obviously hoping that people would like to get away … and we’ve got some good offers to encourage people to restart their lives again.”