When John Crescenzi, manager of the Timmins Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites, put a call out to meet with other hoteliers earlier this spring, he wasn’t sure what to expect.
He was pleasantly surprised when all but two came together.
“It was a positive meeting,” he said. “There were seven of us, including myself, and there was one last- inute cancellation and another wasn’t able to attend.”
New to Timmins this year, Crescenzi was instrumental in starting HOST (Hospitality Organization Strengthening Tourism) in North Bay when he managed another hotel.
The group worked together to bring more people to the city. He is hopeful the same will happen in Timmins.
“We introduced ourselves and we talked about some of the things that used to come to the community, or see a lot more of in past years, such as snowmobiling,” Crescenzi said.
“There is speculation that other communities opened up more trails and did more grooming, and therefore were welcoming more people. However, there still hasn’t been as much snow as we had in the past.”
The group discussed regional events that Timmins used to be involved in and no longer is, perhaps because of the lack of hotel space.
“Now we want to educate people that there are more rooms in the city and there are more meeting rooms and more restaurants, which can benefit from hosting a regional event,” Crescenzi said.
In addition to the Holiday Inn, which opened earlier this year in the city’s downtown, Microtel Inn and Suites officially opened in the west end of the city in March.
With mining booming, rooms have been in short supply in Timmins and travellers often had to book well in advance.
“When we did the initial call for the HOST group in North Bay, not everyone came out, but then we came together later. There was a consensus with this new group to come together on a regular monthly basis. An ultimate goal is to expand outside of the hotels, and include restaurants and retail as well,” he said.
“When we have large events, we are all busy, and then we employ more people. If we are busy all the time, workers can have full-time hours, instead of working perhaps two or three jobs.”
The group hasn’t adopted a name, and is focusing for now on how to work together to get more visitors to the city.
In North Bay, Crescenzi said HOST gained an understanding of why certain events were missing. The Watch Tower annual convention was rotated between North Bay and Sudbury, but it got to the point where it was held only in Sudbury.
It was because the largest venue in North Bay – Memorial Gardens – didn’t have air conditioning. With a $12-million refurbishing of the facility currently underway, that feature will be added.
“We only came to understand it was a challenge when we came together as HOST, and found it was not about not enough hotel rooms,” Crescenzi said.
With Porter Airlines landing in Timmins, he feels the city may be able to accommodate more than what it is going after. “We want people to know where we are on the map,” he said.
The group may be able to provide input to the city’s tourism initiatives and meet with the chamber of commerce.
“This isn’t us against anyone. The city is public and we are private and I think if we understand where the city wants to go and vice versa, then we all win. Meeting with the chamber as well means we all have a voice and work together,” Crescenzi said.
