Article content continued

“People told us, ‘Your biggest issue will be accommodation — if your staff can’t find accommodation, it doesn’t matter how much you pay them,'” recounts Kling, whose co-founder is his wife, Jelena. “So we took that risk off the table and purchased a home.”

The seven-bedroom residence cost “close to a couple million dollars” and will house the hotel’s general manager and a handful of key employees. The Klings even looked at buying a second staff property. “But so much of this stuff now — forget about buying, I wouldn’t want to put my worst enemy there,” he said.

Photo by Joern Rohde

They’re not alone. Scandinave Spa, a 20,000-square-foot thermal bath facility, built five housing units on site when it opened in 2010, bought an additional staff property in nearby Cheakamus, and helps arrange rentals for employees. Vail houses 31 per cent of its workforce and is considering investing in developments for employee accommodation.

One in three businesses were unable to find enough staff last year, according to the housing authority. The town council has committed to adding 1,000 new resident beds by 2023 though one local developer says that’s less than half what’s needed. It’s loosening zoning rules to allow some neighbourhoods to densify and releasing part of its land to build more affordable housing. It plans to require commercial and tourist developers to either construct affordable employee housing as part of their projects or pay cash-in-lieu.

For some it’s too late. Cathy Zeglinski, a family doctor, closed her Whistler practice last September, saying the young residents who once comprised the backbone of her clinic can no longer afford to live in Whistler.

“We’re earning Canadian dollars, but the people coming in aren’t tied to the local economy — we can’t compete,” she said. “Whistler was once a very special place but with real estate prices stratospheric, there’s no place left for locals.”

Bloomberg.com