Condo developments threaten hundreds of hotel jobs, critics warn
Concerns also raised that conversions in Toronto’s red-hot housing market could hamper tourism.

thestar.com
By SARA MOJTEHEDZADEH
March 11, 2017

A set of proposals to redevelop eight Toronto hotels into condos could endanger up to 2,000 well-paid jobs - and hamstring the city’s multi-billion dollar tourism trade, according to worker advocates and industry experts.

The conversions impact some of Toronto’s marquee downtown venues, including the Park Hyatt and Chelsea, putting at risk some 1,300 hotel staff jobs according to David Anderson, a researcher with hospitality union UNITE HERE 75. The plans could also threaten up to 700 non-unionized positions such as managers, he added.

“It’s extremely scary,” said Louie Naccarato, a bellman at the Courtyard Marriott, who has worked at the hotel for 38 years. “To find another position that has the ability to provide somewhat of a living wage in the City of Toronto, it’s going to be very difficult to do.”

“It’s not just the hotels that would be affected. It’s the taxi drivers. It’s the restaurants, it’s the tourist attractions,” said Judy Healy, a professor at Ryerson University’s Hospitality and Tourism Management Department.

Some 52 per cent of jobs in the GTA are insecure, according to research by United Way and McMaster University. But hotel positions - which feed Toronto’s booming tourism industry - have long been an avenue for decently paid work, often benefitting women and new Canadians who might otherwise be marginalized in the job market, Anderson argues.

“If this was an auto plant in Oshawa this would be a national debate. We need people to recognize that these are really good jobs and they’re worth protecting,” he told the Star.

City Councillors Ana Bailao and Kristyn Wong-Tam have called for a review of Toronto’s hotel capacity and the potential impact of condo redevelopment projects, noting that in 2015 tourists spent $7.2 billion on accommodation, transport and entertainment. The report conducted by the city’s Economic Development Committee is expected this fall.

In some cases, the eight conversions - which are all at different stages in the planning process - would retain some hotel rooms, but drastically reduce the number of available rooms. The Chelsea Hotel, for example, plans to retain under 20 per cent of its 1,590 rooms, according to city documents.

Patty Ma, a spokesperson for the Ontario Municipal Board, said redevelopment decisions are based on “evidence presented at hearings, provincial laws and planning policies.” In response to questions about potential job losses and the economic impact of hotel conversions, Ma said the board “only comment on matters within its mandate and jurisdiction, which includes hearing applications and appeals, in relation to municipal planning, financial and land matters.”

Two of the conversion applications, for the Toronto Don Valley Hotel and the Grand Hotel, have already been approved. The rest of the proposals are awaiting decisions or in the midst of appeals.

“Real estate is a prime revenue source right now so companies are always reevaluating and looking at revenues,” said Healy. “I’m not surprised at it, my concern though is that it could really affect Toronto being competitive.”

While the redevelopments will create short-term construction jobs and some long-term retail positions, Anderson says retail positions rarely provide the kind of wages and benefits of hotel work.

“If we lose these jobs, they’re not coming back. We won’t be able to replace them,” he said.

Albertha Williams, 53, has raised two children and seen them through university and college on her room attendant salary at the Holiday Inn Yorkdale. She says if her hotel “goes under,” it’s her survival that’s at stake.

“This is my only job,” she said. “This is what I put all my effort into. And I love doing what I do.”