Fairmont's business looks to be on the comeback trail

January 28, 2002
Source: Globe and Mail
Original story - link verified on January 28, 2002
By Brent Jang

This past weekend at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, where there were only a handful of vacancies in the 489-room hotel, the luxury travel business appeared to be making a comeback. Some guests boarded a shuttle bus for the nearby Lake Louise ski resort, others skated around a fancy ice castle on the frozen lake and still others took horse-drawn sleigh rides while marvelling at the Rocky Mountain setting, located 185 kilometres west of Calgary. Last week, with the annual Peters & Co. energy conference attracting executives from Calgary, the historic hotel was booked solid. Some delegates splurged for a relaxing massage at $55 for a half hour. For Toronto-based Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, whose holdings include the Chateau Lake Louise and the Banff Springs Hotel, this is turning out to be a winter that's exceeding expectations. In the weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, Fairmont struggled as many guests cancelled their reservations not only at the two stately hotels in Banff National Park, but across the chain's hotels in Canada, the United States and abroad

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