“I have 300,000 owners, it seems. Everyone who lives nearby, here on Vancouver Island, feels they own a bit of Fairmont The Empress, and all have passionate opinions on it, especially since our extensive renovations are just about to come to an end,” said Indu Brar, general manager of the 1908-vintage Victoria, British Columbia hotel, which on Tuesday unveils its new lobby.
The 400-room hotel, named for Queen Victoria, was bought in July 2014 by Vancouver real estate and construction entrepreneurs, Nat and Flora Bosa, who quickly began a total renovation.
“One of the first jobs was to remove the ivy that was honestly about to drown the eight-floor building, and now the brick-work has been completely re-pointed. Throughout, the work has all been done without closing, though we have been down to 50% of inventory most of the time. Working with such professionals as HBA on interiors and the Puccini Group for F&B has helped considerably,” Brar explained, adding that yes, there are a few regular guests who still hanker after the floral interiors of yesteryear, though far more are ecstatic about bedrooms’ soft grey and purple coloring, and the stunning 20-foot wide Lasvit floral chandelier, from the Czech Republic, in the front lobby.
Local support is extremely important. A 2,000-strong hotel loyalty program provides much of the famed afternoon tea business, which is complemented, during the May to October season, by day-trippers from Alaska-bound cruises. Many of these short-term visitors not only have tea, with a choice of 21 different leaves and add-on Champagne, but they buy souvenirs from a hotel-run boutique that, the GM says confidently, is one of the busiest in the AccorHotels family. They might well also, after the official re-opening party on June 28, stock up on two new hotel specials, a locally-distilled gin with seven island botanicals and a chocolate Sacher-like Empress Torte topped by edible crowns.
“I love to have a bit of fun, and the idea of gin-and-cake is certainly appealing, across all our markets,” Brar said with a smile. “The Empress’s legs, looking ahead, will be culinary, culture, spa and romance. Yes, in business, women lead from the heart, with no ego.”
Sheryl Sandberg’s Leaning In has been on Brar’s bedside table for some months but it will have to wait until this November, when she finishes her EMBA at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
Talking of business, Brar anticipates her new-look rooms activity will be heavy on girls’ getaways, weddings and other events, groups, car launches and incentives. Room rates will increase to at least C$75 (US$55) and the newly relocated Fairmont Gold club, which offers 65 rooms at a C$150 (US$109) surcharge that includes access to a second floor lounge with a library and a terrace overlooking Victoria Harbour, is already proving extremely popular. One of the most popular packages is afternoon tea and gardens, including the hotel’s 3.5 beautifully tended acres.
The hotels’ main market is domestic, plus the U.S. West Coast, Texas, the UK and Australia, with average stay of three nights. There is also a noticeable increase, Brar said, from millennials drawn by Vancouver Island’s activities and wellness, and its renowned fresh air and organic products. “This is also a big reason in attracting and retaining our 400-strong staff, about 80% of whom are islanders. “I am finding it increasingly easy to hire experienced global managers. In all, we have about 20% annual turnover.”
Born in Alberta, Canada, Brar had long ago started a General Studies course atthe University of Calgary. In her first semester, she got a job manning phones at Fairmont Calgary Airport. “I watched the team working front desk and it really inspired me,” she recalled.
After talking to the property’s HR, she ditched academic studies, and worked her way up the Fairmont ladder, from Edmonton’s Hotel Macdonald to Chateau Lake Louise, both also in Alberta. Eight hotels later, which included The Plaza New York, and running what was then Fairmont Battery Wharf in Boston, she is still with the company. “I was so lucky to have the opportunity to discover Fairmont at such an early age,” Brar said. “It has such marvelous people.”
Looking back, Brar relishes the fact that she has learned on the job, without what could have been the impediment of hotel school, but now her EMBA is proving to be the most marvelous experience.
“Sharing experiences with the other seven in my 15-month EMBA course, who include bankers, engineers and entrepreneurs, has opened my mind to how fascinating the outside world is. We do tend to be blinkered in the hotel world,” she admitted.
Her thesis, not surprisingly, is on ‘the return of The Queen.’