'Nightmare' at Big White for workers looking for a home
Finding an affordable place to live anywhere in the Okanagan is a challenge.
But for the hundreds of workers who will soon be arriving at Big White Ski Resort, it’s not so much a matter of money. It’s about finding a bed at all.
“It’s a nightmare – all-time worst,” Michael J. Ballingall, senior vice-President of Big White, told iNFOnews.ca. “It has never been this bad in my career and I’ve been there since 1985.”
Those concerns are echoed by dozens of postings on the Rentals @ Big White Mountain Facebook page.
“Joining the long list of people looking for accommodation,” Niamh Murphy posted on Oct. 13. “We are all friendly and respectful people who keep clean and tidy always. Honestly looking for anything. A room, flat, studio, condo - anything. If there are a few people looking for three extra, reliable, roommates please reach out. Would be grateful for anything at this point.”
Many are from Australia who have jobs at Big White and some say their arranged accommodations fell through at the last minute. Most have smiling photos of young men and/or women attesting to their own good character.
“We know this may come as a surprise but we are, alas, also looking for any accommodation for the upcoming season in Big White,” Katie Carter posted on behalf of herself and a friend who “are both extremely tidy and organised and not opposed to a couple beers on a night out. We both already have jobs and are looking for literally anywhere to stay (as the photo shows we can be very flexible about sleeping arrangements!!)”
The photo shows one of them curled up on a couple of seats in what looks like a bus or an airplane.
The odd writer accuses Big White of not caring for their workers but, according to Ballingall, that’s just not the case.
“We’ve got four staff members working full time trying to find accommodations,” he said. “We’ve got an advertising program in the marketplace right now saying that we’ll guarantee you revenue for the winter if you rent with us and we’ll send our maintenance team in there once every two weeks to make sure nothing’s wrong and, when we’re finished and it needs to be painted or anything needs to be fixed, we’ll do that free of charge.”
The underlying cause for the shortage this year is a dramatic shift in ownership of rooms on the mountain from decades previously, Ballingal said.
“Mr. and Mrs. Smith used to own a four-bedroom condominium in the Plaza on the Ridge and, when the kids stopped using it, they got guaranteed revenue from Big White Ski Resort who put staff in there. They kept it as an investment. It was paying all the costs so they didn’t need to get rid of it.”
Then COVID hit along with the ensuing real estate boom. As prices shot up, owners cashed in on their investments to a different type of owner.
“They know about Airbnb,” Ballingall said. “They know about VRBO. They know they can use (their unit) then, when they’re not using it, they don’t have to give it to a rental pool manager that wants it for the entire season. Airbnb wants it when you’re not using it.”
There are still some owners who keep their units as investments and don’t want to get into the tourism business, which is who Big White is trying to appeal to but ownership of 25-30% of the units on the mountain have changed over the last couple of years.
READ MORE: Zip lines, alpine coaster, winter camping in Big White’s big plans for expansion
Before the pandemic there were about a dozen units in the Airbnb market at Big White. That’s jumped to more than 400 and Big White has lost more than 200 beds for its staff.
About 550 workers have been hired for this winter, half from Australia.
While some workers may be content to live in Kelowna and take advantage of a shuttle service, that doesn’t appeal to Australians who come to Canada to be on the mountain.
That’s also why using all the new accommodations being put up for temporary foreign orchard workers isn’t viable.
“They (Australians) are not coming half-way around the world to live in an orchard 50 minutes from where they want to go skiing,” Ballingall said.
Bringing in ATCO-type construction trailers also isn’t feasible since they’re not built to handle the 24 feet of snow the mountain can get, he said.
That means there’s a real risk of losing workers to other ski hills.
“They’re the commodity,” Ballingall said. “The employer can’t pick and choose like we used to. If you’re a live body and you’ve got a bed, you’ve got a job.”
That means services on the mountain are likely to be stretched this winter.
“I’m in a weird position because I also want the customers,” Ballingall, who also chairs the board of directors for the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, said. “So putting (units) in Airbnb is a good thing because that’s a visiting tourist. They’re going out to the restaurants. They’re buying ski school lessons. They’re having a good time. But, I just don’t have enough people to serve you hot coffees in the morning. There might be a little bit of a lineup because there might be two baristas, not four.”
READ MORE: Why Big White Ski Resort isn't in the Central Okanagan
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