Hospitality Jobs: Background Check Solutions

The pandemic has had a severe impact on hospitality jobs in Canada. In 2020, tourism jobs fell nearly 30 per cent, according to Statistics Canada. Towards the end of 2021, hotels had less than 50 per cent occupancy, a year-over-year decrease of nearly 20 per cent. However, with mandates being rolled back and tax incentives for staycations, there’s reason for optimism.

International Travel

As medical experts say the worst of the Omicron wave is over, the federal government is easing border restrictions, no longer recommending Canadians avoid non-essential international travel. Also, fully vaccinated travellers will no longer have to take a molecular COVID-19 test before arriving in Canada, but a negative antigen test taken no more than one day before your scheduled entry into Canada is necessary. International flights will be allowed to land at all designated Canadian airports.

Tourism and business groups have criticized the testing system as expensive, burdensome, and unnecessary. Perrin Beaty, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said “restoring the health of Canada’s travel and tourism sector is critical for our country’s economic recovery.”

As of the beginning of March, unvaccinated travellers will still need to complete a fourteen-day quarantine.

Staycations

Nonetheless, even with official restrictions being lifted, many Canadians may still feel uncomfortable with international travel. Despite that, people still feel the need to travel even if it’s still closer to home. As such, the word “staycation” peaked on Google trends during the first week of this January.

Ontario recently announced a tax credit encouraging travel within the province, running up until the end of the year. Ontarians can claim 20 per cent of their accommodation costs, including hotel, motel, resort, lodge, bed-and-breakfast, cottage, campground, or registered Airbnb, on their personal income tax and benefit return.

Manitoba reported great success with their Tourism Rebate Incentive Program (TRIP) in August 2021. TRIP gave staycationing Manitobans in the first two weeks of August $100 off a one-night stay at a qualifying hotel, $150 off a hotel package, and half off “star attraction” admission fees.

Employment

All sings point to cautious optimism for Canada’s hospitality industry, hopefully spurring an influx of employment. However, employers must ensure they’re doing their due diligence and hiring the right people.

Workers in the hospitality industry handle customers’ credit cards and cash, as well as having access to their rooms and belongings. Auditors must balance accounts and reconcile receipts. There is a lot of potential for theft, fraud, or other crimes.

In the rush to get on your feet after the challenges of the pandemic, many employers simply don’t have the time to thoroughly vet new hires. Triton can provide industry-leading turnaround times for criminal records, certifications, references, and more to ensure you hire the right people, so you can focus on getting your business ready for the upcoming tourist season.

Contact us today by phone at 1-855-790-7516, by email at customerservice@tritoncanada.ca, or by visiting our website.