Why do we run out of rental vehicles every summer?...
If any of my staff, or I, had a dollar for every time we heard this question at the breakfast table…we would have enough for a George Street night out! This year, we even resorted to sourcing our own "emergency stash" of rental cars. Talk about a wow factor when we pull that one out of the hat on a mid-summer, car-less morning!
You can predict the next, sad round of questions! "How do I get to Bonavista and the Matthew? To Trinity to attend the pageant? to Placentia to learn about resettlement? to Mistaken Point’ to view the world famous fossils? To see the icebergs off Twillingate? And the fjord at Gros Morne?" No need to go on – with our current transportation system, the absence of sufficient rental vehicles chokes rural tourism – not to mention making us collectively look quite disorganised! This is an important tourism issue! And it happens every year!
So, for the most altruistic of reasons, that we might each year get better than we were the year before, and on behalf of the guests this year who could not find a rental vehicle, let’s ask not only why does this happen, but what could we do to ensure it is more the exception than the rule?I am sending this question to my peers in the rental car business. I will also send it for comment to organizations which deal prominently with tourism - Destination St. John’s, the City of St. John’s tourism office, and those organizations working with rural tourism. I will copy the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation. Let’s see what they say . . . not to me . . . but to you! Cheers . . . Elaine
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Welcome to The View from the Table
I own and operate Leaside Manor – a heritage inn (I like to refer to us as a small hotel) just off Water Street in downtown St. John’s. For the past 13 years, I, or a member of my team, have sat and shared breakfast with our guests here at Leaside. The dining room table hosts 14 at a sitting, and increasingly, guests rely on the testimonials of others to help plan their days and evenings. The dialogue has been robust, lively and freely offered – and we feel it constitutes an invaluable form of consumer feedback.
I have often wondered how to share that information with those who might benefit from it, especially with those who may be able to effect change – where remedial action is required. This is my stab at it. From their lips to my fingertips – that is what I tell my guests! Can I do it without bias – I can try; but you know how difficult it is to be unbiased about something you love – and that is how I feel about this city and this province.
So let’s give it a go! I have a few bottled up observations – they are not mine – they are much more important than my observations! We’ll get through them all! Feel free to post your comments in turn.
I own and operate Leaside Manor – a heritage inn (I like to refer to us as a small hotel) just off Water Street in downtown St. John’s. For the past 13 years, I, or a member of my team, have sat and shared breakfast with our guests here at Leaside. The dining room table hosts 14 at a sitting, and increasingly, guests rely on the testimonials of others to help plan their days and evenings. The dialogue has been robust, lively and freely offered – and we feel it constitutes an invaluable form of consumer feedback.
I have often wondered how to share that information with those who might benefit from it, especially with those who may be able to effect change – where remedial action is required. This is my stab at it. From their lips to my fingertips – that is what I tell my guests! Can I do it without bias – I can try; but you know how difficult it is to be unbiased about something you love – and that is how I feel about this city and this province.
So let’s give it a go! I have a few bottled up observations – they are not mine – they are much more important than my observations! We’ll get through them all! Feel free to post your comments in turn.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
