wireless service. This affordable and reliable service has really opened up the corporate retreat market for us.
We have total of 38 rooms of various set-ups, as well as a lounge and two dining rooms that can be adjusted to fit the needs of our retreat guest. Our kitchen facilities can be used by the group directly if they wish to prepare their own meals, which is an accommodation available in the off-sea- son only. Otherwise, our chefs can create custommenus for any group. You must be very conscious of shaping the employee culture of the Lodge because of this. VT : I come at it from two angles: I’m a resident and a business owner. We hire seasonally and the amount of employees depends on what time of year it is. During the off-season, we can maintain operations with one-to- three staff members and at the peak of tourist season up to 30 people. As the owner and operator, I never stop working – and neither does my daughter-in- law and marketing director, Amy Tudor. The Lodge has been in operation for nearly 30 years and in that time it has been a first job for many Islanders. Being a family business, many family members have worked here as well. Finding willing and qualified workers on the Island has always been a challenge for us and we have in the past hired employees from off the Island and offered on-site staff accommodation. This year we are investigat- ing the possibility of using foreign workers and hiring immi- grants for positions not sought after, for whatever reason, by local and in-province workers. “Bringing employees to Brier Island can allow them to focus on the corporate goals, each other, and themselves. It is a place that can rejuvenate them, but also excite them with nature adventures, like hiking and whale watching.” I imagine that businesses on Brier Island work quite closely with one another to survive and thrive. VT: Yes, the fishing village of Westport keeps the commu- nity going in the off-season. That’s also where the ferry service takes people from Freeport on Long Island. There are two short ferry trips to get to Brier Island, actually. Both ferries run once every hour, 24 hours a day and are on-call after midnight. The cost is only seven dollars per car, cash only. You pay to get here, but it’s free when you’re leaving.
one of the whale watching boats, or down on one of the beaches – and, of course, we do the reception either way. We have some great pictures of weddings. When we opened, the Canadian dollar was quite low – as it is right now – and we had a lot of American business. That has continued, off-and- on, over the years, depending on our dollar. Do you get a lot of lodgers from outside of the tourism demographic? VT : Yes, whenever there is major construction work in the area, we are often the choice of the work crews for accom- modation. We hosted an international crew of workers who were laying underwater power cables to connect the Islands to the main grids. The project lasted over a month and the crew became like our family. What does a corporate retreat at Brier Island Lodge look like? VT : A corporate retreat on Brier Island is first and foremost an escape from the over stimulating urban environment. Bringing employees to Brier Island can allow them to focus on the corporate goals, each other, and themselves. It is a place that can rejuvenate them, but also excite them with nature adventures, like hiking and whale watching. The Island and the Lodge has long suffered a disadvan- tage in the world of internet access. Connections over the years were slow, unreliable, and costly – as satellite and hub services were the only options.
There are no longer any local commercial companies that offer fishing expeditions or short day-trips.
About four years ago, Mainland Telecom – a company out of Kentville, Nova Scotia – setup a successful high speed
There was a gentlemen, years ago, who did it for a year or
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • APRIL 2017
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