Resort realization – field trip highlights employee experiences

Learn more about the Bachelor of Hospitality and Tourism Management.

Tourists taking a resort vacation may see serene spas, refreshing swimming pools and swanky hotels staffed by workers in uniforms attending to their needs.

But what do they not see? 

The behind-the-scenes of travellers’ carefree holidays is what Moira McDonald of Royal Roads University wanted her Bachelor of Arts in International Hotel Management and Bachelor of Arts in Global Tourism Management students to learn about during a field study in Whistler, B.C., the world-famous resort municipality that attracts domestic and international tourists for skiing, snowboarding and mountain biking.

Sixteen students from across Canada and around the world spent three days in Whistler Village learning about local Indigenous cultures, hotel operations and even conflict resolution for people working in hospitality, says McDonald.

“What was a little bit different in this trip,” she says, “was our inclusion of this wicked question, almost like a paradox: You have all of this affluence in the resort and people… coming to have a great experience in this world-class resort. And some of the people who are working there don't have anywhere to live, don't have anywhere to sleep, might not be making enough money, might be making enough money but still can't find anywhere to live.”

McDonald says students learned first-hand about the resort’s facilities and its utilitarian staff housing; about internship and employment opportunities and workers sleeping on couches or in cars; and about hotels and customer service and extras hotels, such as the Chateau Whistler, provide for workers, including free daily meals in a staff dining room..

“In the past, we've learned what it would be like to work for some of these hotels that we visited and some of these tourism spaces that we were in,” she says. “This trip was a little bit different in that I hoped maybe they would also lean in from a responsible leadership perspective…  I wanted them to know that there were others in community that they should also be paying attention to.”

On the recommendation of a local contact, McDonald enlisted Jackie Dickinson, executive director of the Whistler Community Services Society, which operates a food bank, a thrift store and even a tool lending library.

As one student wrote in a blog post during the field trip, “Our conversation touched on the social issues within Whistler as Jackie highlighted the complexities of community life and the resilience required to navigate these challenges.”

“They said that they didn't know that this was the situation,” McDonald says of the students. “They didn't realize that there were so many people that needed help. They were contemplating how things like this can happen.”

The effect on students was so profound, McDonald says she plans to incorporate this approach in resort field trips for future cohorts.

“For me as an educator,” she notes, “I'm continuously learning the value of experiential learning, that taking students out of the classroom and giving them moments with others in industry that fits into that curriculum is magic.”

Learn more about the Bachelor of Hospitality and Tourism Management.