Rating system to reflect the good, bad and ugly of Nunavut hotels
Last Updated: Tuesday, July 24, 2007 | 9:53 AM CT
CBC News
Nunavut's tourism bureau wants to bring in a rating system this year for hotels and other accommodations to encourage them to meet basic standards.
Like anywhere else, Nunavut offers a vast range of rooms in hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, and homestays across the territory. But visitors have complained of varying quality and service, with some finding dirty rooms and poor service in places that charge about $185 to $200 a night.
Such problems do not apply to all of Nunavut's accommodations, said Jillian Dickens, a marketing officer with Nunavut Tourism.
Still, she said, there's a need for improvement, as complaints of varying quality and service are not good for the territory's tourism industry overall.
"There are concerns about hotel rooms, and that's why we need to develop some sort of system that allows accommodations to reach a standard that is accepted throughout the territory," she told CBC News on Monday.
Nunavut Tourism will consult with the industry to design a system adapted to the realities of the North, with its higher prices and operating costs.
"I think it's a really good idea," said Bob Patles, who runs the Iglu Hotel in Baker Lake, Nunavut. "I think people should know what kind of a hotel or what kind of establishment they're looking to go to."
Patles added that northerners and tourists alike are starting to demand more services with their accommodations, including internet access, better rooms and longer restaurant hours.
Dickens said visitors can be surprised by what kinds of accommodations they find in some communities, adding to the need for a standardized rating system.
At the Grise Fiord Lodge, manager Ray Richer said a standard rating or star system would give visitors a more realistic picture of what services are —and are not — available.
"Someone who was trying to book a room up here … he wanted to make sure that the room had a hot tub and a fireplace," Richer said. "I said, 'Well, first of all, we have no trees to burn wood in the fireplaces.'"
