St. Eugene’s unprecedented announcement on Wednesday will profoundly impact their operations. That being said, Barry Zwueste, CEO of St. Eugene, told MyEastKootenayNow.com that it’s a good course of action for the resort as they look to emerge stronger than before.
On Wednesday, St. Euegene Gold Resort and Casino formally announced that they will become a seasonal resort. Closing down on Monday, October 12th, the tourist destination will open again to the public in April 2021.
“COVID has impacted the tourism industry more than any other, and as a result, everyone in the industry has to readjust to accommodate the pandemic,” said Zwueste. “The hotel has been the most impacted. Although we’ve been doing very very well, we’ve only been able to open a third of our inventory, 40 rooms, in order to allow 48 hours for sanitization in the hotel.”
Despite COVID-19, Zwueste said they’ve had a strong summer. Just shy of their 2019 figures at the golf course, even despite their late start because of the virus, Zwueste said the RV Park is growing in popularity and is also close to its 2019 levels. Although they are down in their American visitorship because of the border closure, Canadian visitors are filling the gap.
Zwueste said the key St. Eugene staff got together to discuss their future planning amid the pandemic and made the decision to shift to the circumstances.
“The summer is our strength, the summer is where we do our highest business volumes, so let’s just rebrand and refocus St. Eugene as a world-class summer resort with golf, casino, RV, and the other amenities that we provide.”
“Nothing is ever permanent,” added Zwueste. “Winter has always been a bit of a struggle for us so we’re choosing to focus on our busiest season.”
Casino of the Rockies remains temporarily closed like all other casinos in B.C. but Zwueste said COVID-19 protocols and guidelines are ready to be implemented when the B.C. Government eventually gives them the approval to reopen. Casino of the Rockies will be the only St. Eugene amenity that will remain in operation year-round as they move to the new seasonal structure.
According to Zwueste, the change at St. Eugene will affect jobs.
“We will have just over 40 staff impacted, most of those have already been impacted through the COVID reductions,” Zwueste told MyEastKootenayNow.com. “Just over 40 will become permanent.”
Most of the affected staff are currently on furlough from earlier cutbacks because of the pandemic, but now those staff will become permanent layoffs rather than temporary.
Zwueste said the full recovery of the tourism industry will come with some sort of end to COVID-19. However, no one can predict what that might look like or when. Although the St. Eugene CEO doesn’t feel like they would have been able to fill their hotel even if they were allowed to be at full capacity, he noted that the demand is still quite high for the rooms available.
“I drive around Cranbrook and I see the cars parked at the hotels. I think everyone’s taking what they can and what’s coming in and making the most of it. I think it’s positive going forward.”
The decision for St. Eugene specifically to move to a seasonal resort is a major one, but it is not necessarily permanent.
“As much as this is a bit of a new course for St. Eugene, it’s a good course and St. Eugene’s going to come out of this much stronger than it has in the past, we’re really quite excited.”
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