Working in Tourism has never been this unpredictable

May 5, 2020

I have worked in the hotel and tourism industry for most of my adult life and never have we witnessed such a terrible blow to our industry as we have since the onset of COVID-19.

The Lord Elgin Hotel was built in 1941 during the WWI to address the needs of those coming and going during the war effort.  Prime Minister Mackenzie King recognized a need for a hotel at that time and it became his project.  So much of who we are today from our location, design and construction were directly influenced by our Prime Minister King.  A book written in 2016 to mark our 75th lays all this out in great details.

We have been through a lot of ups and downs over these 79 years, but I do not think we have every seen anything impact us like this.  We are trying to see the silver lining, but it is tough.  Resilience, patience, persiverence, compassion, surrender…these are all words that come to mind.  As a hotel that has been through so much, we will have to accept those things we cannot control – as the serenity prayer puts it so perfectly.

The silver cloud is that with spring’s arrival, we can now go outdoors and walk, cycle, run or just sit and take in our beautiful surroundings.  We live in this beautiful city of Ottawa, in this beautiful province of Ontario, in this amazing country of Canada.  We breath fresh air, we drink clean water…we are so very lucky!!  I am so very lucky!

I miss my team and all those people that work so hard each day at our hotel.  They are waiting patiently to return, as am I.  We are keeping the engine going in the background!!  We will survive!!