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New hotel brightens job market
Best Western Liverpool to open June 1
By BEVERLEY WARE South Shore Bureau
Wed. Apr 1 - 6:48 AM


Best Western Liverpool is set to open June 1. Hotel management says there has been no shortage of job applicants. (Beverley Ware / STAFF)





LIVERPOOL — Nearly 300 people are temporarily out of work at the nearby paper mill, but there is some good news in the Liverpool area as contractors hammer away and locals prepare for job interviews next week to work in a new hotel.

Best Western Liverpool is set to open June 1. None of the finishing work has been done inside, but construction of the three-storey hotel and convention facility is clearly visible from Highway 103 as drivers approach Liverpool.

The ground was broken in the fall, said general manager Melissa Robinson, and while boulders, crushed rock, uprooted branches and even a dead Christmas tree surround the construction site, she said the hotel will be ready to open in two months.

In fact, the hotel already has some weddings booked for this year, and Ms. Robinson said she has had inquiries about the first-floor 2,600-square-foot convention centre.

"We will have to try to capitalize on a city market in a small town, but we have a beautiful product to offer and I think once we have people in the door they will come back," she said.

It’s a bright spot in a community waiting out the results of AbitibiBowater Inc’s efforts to restructure its $1.8-billion debt. If that can’t be done, the Montreal-based newsprint manufacturer will likely seek bankruptcy protection.

That’s a big worry for the 285 workers who have been off work at the corporation’s paper mill in Brooklyn since March 15 because of poor market conditions. They are scheduled to return to work April 20.

In the meantime, the hotel’s management team is in place and Ms. Robinson said she will begin hiring front-line staff next week. "We are hiring 21 to 25 full-time staff."

She said there is no shortage of well-qualified applicants.

"We’ve been bombarded with resumes" for jobs that include bar and room attendants, guest services and people to take care of the continental breakfast.

"We’re probably going to capture some really good people," Ms. Robinson said. She said a number of applicants took a tourism course offered by South Shore Opportunities, a career counselling and support organization, and the owners are pleased by that.

"The chamber is very pleased the Best Western sees a viable business plan in Queens County," said Mark Sapp, co-chair of the South Queens Chamber of Commerce. "Big or small, this is a good place to do business."

While some established inns and bed and breakfasts have expressed concern about the impact of the hotel on their business, "my personal feeling is that providing competition, room rentals and options in our area is good for all businesses. It will make Liverpool a place to stop," Mr. Sapp said.

He expects the convention space to entice people to stay longer and spend money, provide an ideal midpoint for people travelling from Halifax to Yarmouth, and provide mutual support for the recreation complex being built next door.

While the owners wouldn’t disclose the final price tag, Ms. Robinson said it will surpass the anticipated $5-million construction cost. She said the 65 rooms will be upscale, and the hotel will include Jacuzzi and family suites, an indoor pool, fitness facility and cocktail lounge.

Alimento Catering and Kitchenworks, a local local company, has been hired to do the catering.