New staff-designated housing has opened up at Big White which will help employees secure accommodation at the ski resort.
“This will help us run the resort to the max capacity, knowing we can recruit staff to help with all those jobs we need,” said Trevor Hanna, Big White’s vice-president of hospitality.
With more than 900 employees working at the Big White, accommodation can and has been a challenge in the past.
But construction on two new buildings has now been completed and employees have started moving in.
“I think having staff accommodation is a big part on taking on this job,” said Holly Hewartson, who hails from Australia. “I would have had to look for private accommodation which would be difficult to do.”
Aaron Frevola is a chef at one of Big White’s restaurants.
He just moved into one of the units, which accommodates up to eight people, with his partner, who also works at Big White.
“It would be difficult not to live on the hill and to be able to work here, so that has been an advantage for sure,” Frevola said.
It’s an advantage for the ski resort as well, as it adds 128 beds to its pool of staff housing.
“This will help us run the resort to the max capacity knowing we can recruit staff to help with all those jobs we need,” Hanna said.
The two new buildings make up phase two of the Black Forest staffing accommodation and join four other staff-designated buildings in phase one.
It is much-needed housing that was highlighted during the pandemic.
“A lot of the accommodation changed hands during the pandemic and a lot of beds we would have been using for accommodation had turned private, and so there was a real housing crisis not just here but resorts around the world,” Hanna said.
He added that the nearly-$14 million investment is a response to that housing challenge.
“We needed to take some efforts to make sure we could manage that going forward and this substantial investment will really help level the playing field for us,” Hanna said.
While there are no current plans to build more staff housing, Big White is prepared to do so when the time comes.
For now, employees who have moved into the buildings are relieved to be working and living on site for the season.
“They built it for staff to be able to afford on staff wages, so that is another thing that has been considered that is appreciated,” Frevola said.