Update: AHLA members are grateful the Government of Alberta granted all of the requests listed below in their Open for Summer plan. Read the AHLA’s letter of thanks to the government for these additional supports, and Premier Kenney’s response to the thank you letter.
Original post:
In light of the Government of Alberta’s recent decision to not extend the Tourism Levy abatement, the AHLA has asked Premier Jason Kenney to support the hotel industry by lifting restrictions on hotels as soon as possible. In particular:
- Allowing VLTs to reopen on the same basis as in person dining,
- Allowing structured meetings to be held in conference centres and banquet rooms based on a percentage of fire code capacity,
- Increasing capacity for swimming pools based on controlled access and a percentage of fire code capacity, and
- Allowing in-person dining for people other than those in a single household or cohort.
To show the government that the hotel industry is contributing to Alberta’s path to recovery, the AHLA is encouraging hotels to:
- Talk to their staff about the importance of getting vaccinated, and supporting them to do this in any way they can. This may include one-on-one conversations to overcome vaccine hesitancy, or assisting them with transportation or child care arrangements.
- Assure the health & safety of employees and guests alike to build consumer confidence when it is time to travel safely once again. To this end, we have developed the AHLA Safe Accommodation Promise (ASAP). In under five months, more than 25,000 hotel rooms have achieved the ASAP designation, including some of Alberta’s largest and most iconic properties.
- Apply for the provincial Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant.
- Apply for the new Alberta Jobs Now program.