Hearing from restaurant owners that they are missing money put into a fintech to facilitate transferring tips to workers. I'm thinking that this glitch that has gone on for more than a week better be corrected quickly. #hospitality #restaurants www.biv.com/news/hospita...

Here's how restaurants, hotels and airlines are making business decisions thanks to the K-shaped economy, where rich spend lavishly and others become more frugal. #Kshaped #hospitality #BCecon

British Columbians in January continued to travel less to the U.S. B.C.-plated vehicles travelled south at the four main border crossings near Vancouver 31.8 per cent less in January than in January 2025 - the 12th straight month of declines. #tourism

New data show YVR set records for passengers and cargo volume in 2025. Asia-Pacific growth was the engine propelling growth. More domestic and European travel too. Not hard to guess which country saw the biggest decline in passenger count. #aviation #travel #tourism

Evidence shows the K-shaped economy is real, with wealthier people spending lavishly, while most others look for bargains and trade down. This impacts business decisions as well as people’s lives. #retail #BCecon www.biv.com/news/how-the...

Vancouver city council's decision to allow restaurants/bars to apply to stay open serving alcohol longer on a permanent basis, is finding some traction even though the process costs thousands of dollars. #hospitality #restaurants #Vanpoli www.biv.com/small-busine...

Wrote a couple stories on a BCSC panel finding a company and individuals were involved in a pump-and-dump scheme. Lots of back and forth, and a blistering response from the company today. #investing #regulation

Having the Olympics in a time zone that means no events take place in the late afternoon and evening Vancouver time mean that sports bar and restaurant owners are not expecting much of a sales bump from the Games. #hospitality #2026Olympics www.biv.com/small-busine...

Vancouver's average hotel room rate in December plunged 31.7%, which was no surprise because Taylor Swift held no concerts here this year. What was interesting was that the average room rates have lagged those in Toronto for three months in a row. #tourism www.biv.com/news/hospita...

Curious move for Northland Properties to buy trademarks & IP for Denny's in Canada. It resembles a move decades ago by A&W Canada, where that company bought rights to the A&W brand and created a different menu, mascots. #restaurants #hospitality www.biv.com/news/hospita...

Impressive turnaround. Steve Nash Fitness World dissolved during the pandemic. A new Fitness World swooped in to buy assets. It now plans to spend $50M to open 25 more corporate locations within five years. Franchising is also possible. #fitness #gyms

Looked into how Jane Nielsen, the front-runner for the Lululemon CEO post, has a track record of consolidating office real estate, and how that could impact Vancouver operations. #lululemon #retail www.biv.com/news/potenti...

The B.C. government told me it is rejecting the hospitality industry’s request to cut red tape and allow all restaurants and bars to temporarily stay open longer on 2026 World Cup game nights. #WorldCup2026 #BCpoli www.biv.com/small-busine...

Check out my look into popular 11-location Vancouver-based donut shop Lee's Donuts, which just named a new president, Cameron Jarvis, and is charting expansion through franchising. #franchising #smallbiz #donuts www.biv.com/news/retail-...

East Broadway business owners and advocates are pressing Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth for a meeting, and for what they call "lifeline" grants to keep businesses afloat. #smallbiz #BCpoli

Concerning for the neighbourhood as London Drugs plans to close its 27,000-square-foot Downtown Eastside store in the Woodwards Building. Management cited losses and staff safety as key reasons. #retail www.biv.com/news/retail-...

B.C. residents travelled less to the U.S. for the 11th straight month y/y - by land & air. Data for border crossings near Vancouver runs to December; YVR data runs to November. It’s 11 months straight for both data sets. #travel #tourism www.biv.com/news/bc-trav...

Started the new year by looking into how Lululemon is starting 2026 with a significant corporate to-do list. It plans global expansion as it seeks a new CEO, navigates a threat to its current board and deals with an activist investor. #retail

Just wrote about TravelAI, a Metro Vancouver tech company to watch. It has hundreds of niche travel websites and uses AI to curate personalized suggestions of where web surfers would want to stay. It's revenue growth is soaring. #AI #travel #tourism #technology #BCtech

I wrote about No Meat Factory back in 2023, when they received a US$42M investment. Now they're being sued for allegedly not paying rent. #plantbased #retail #manufacturing #lawsuits www.biv.com/news/retail-...

Canada saw an extraordinary jump in the number of South Koreans entering the country through B.C. entry points in October - up 117 per cent from last year. More flight frequency helped. Budget travellers may now hope that all that capacity could lead to seat sales. #aviation #travel #tourism

Fun to catch up with former #Canucks captain, #entrepreneur Trevor Linden to write a magazine feature. He's sold his stake in Orangetheory Fitness. His focus now is an expanded role at Club16 Trevor Linden Fitness, following his business partner's death.

Vancouver finally has a grocery store where customers can buy groceries and wine and go to a single check-out. Here's my look at why it has taken so long, obstacles and how Save-On-Foods did it. #retail #grocery #BCwine

The 42-employee Vancouver scheduling-technology company Actenum has a new U.S. owner, which is "jet fuel" for the company's growth, its CEO, Paul Maurer told me. #BCtech #Actenum #Oil

Good news for visitors to Vancouver. The city's hotel room prices in November dipped below Toronto's as the priciest in Canada for the second month in a row. Toronto hotels were also more occupied than Vancouver's in November. #tourism #travel

Exciting news for many that Chip Wilson and Braden Parker are relaunching Westbeach, and have a new store on West 4th Avenue. Don't expect a redux of Kit and Ace, which blasted out of the gate with dozens of stores. The aim this time is to be slow and steady. #retail #snowboarding #surfing #Apparel

The U.S.-Canada trade war and its repercussions on B.C. residents and business owners is Business in Vancouver's newsmaker of the year for 2025. Check out what turned out to be a longer read. Let's hope the trade relationship improves in the new year. www.biv.com/news/economy...

Vancouver's Vessi is an impressive growth story, pushing what CEO Andy Wang told me is "close to $100M" in annual sales for its waterproof shoes. About 87 per cent of that is e-commerce, although the company is increasing its bricks-and-mortar presence. www.biv.com/news/retail-...

Went to UBC this morning to check out a biotech lab and see a $33M funding announcement. They build microscopes much bigger today than when I was in high school. #biotech #lifesciences www.biv.com/news/technol...

Looked into Vancouver biotechnology company Zymeworks' success and how that may translate into good things for the city's life sciences scene. #biotech #lifesciences #innovation

Lululemon's Calvin McDonald to soon leave the company. Looks like investors like the news as Lulu's share price is up more than 10% after hours. McDonald, who made nearly $20M last year, was B.C.'s third-highest paid executive. #Lululemon #executivemoves www.biv.com/news/retail-...

Canada's Competition Bureau is investigating Vancouver-based Well Health's Healwell acquisition. The transaction is long closed and the company integrated, so at least one analyst is left wondering what the move might achieve. #healthcare #BCtech www.biv.com/news/economy...

Business owners and advocates blasted the B.C. government last night. They want interest-free bridge loans, marketing support or some sort of lifeline that will see them sustain their businesses until the delayed subway line opens in what is expected to be fall 2027. #vanpoli #smallbiz

Worrisome words from Whitecaps CEO Axel Schuster on club's future in Vancouver amid lease talks for BC Place: "it is not wrong to be concerned, but then it's also not wrong to raise your concern and get behind us." #WhitecapsFC #MLS #BCPlace

Sad to see the end of thoroughbred horse racing at Hastings Park. It's been around since 1889. I remember going as a kid and through the decades though not that much in recent years. It's prompted by provincial funding cut. #horseracing #BCpoli

Beloved 'Will & Grace' star spotted with fan in Vancouver

B.C. drivers continue to shun travel to the U.S. Data for four border crossings near Vancouver in November is out today. Travel by B.C.-plated vehicles is down 38% y/y in November. Tenth straight month of declines. #travel #tourism

YVR today sent me passenger data for October. Overall traffic is up. Domestic traffic is up. Other international traffic is also up. The only thing not up is passenger traffic on flights to and from the U.S. That's down for the 10th straight month. #travel #tourism

Found this at court. Eight former bellhops, valets are suing Executive Le Soleil Hotels & Suites for allegedly terminating them to quell a union drive. #hospitality #lawsuits

Canucks are worth US$2.2B, which is the average for an NHL team, according to CNBC. Interesting that the network today estimated the team's revenue, EBITDA and debt as a percentage of value. Canucks execs have been coy on details whenever I have asked. #Canucks

New B.C. government policy for mark-up support for B.C. wineries draws pushback. #BCwine

Why B.C. consumers are shifting to buy local and direct when it comes to purchasing protein. Options exist to get quarter cows and chicken and fish by cutting out intermediaries. #groceries #buylocal www.biv.com/news/economy...

Fast-growing Pokerrito expanding to Mexico, Toronto after opening 11 Metro Vancouver locations. I discussed franchising lessons with veterans. #franchising www.biv.com/news/economy...

Why Flair sees sufficient demand to launch daily Vancouver–Montreal flights in spring 2026 #aviation #tourism #travel

Looks like tough times at Vancouver's Hootsuite as it lays off 20% of its staff, which would be hundreds of workers. Good news could be that there are more workers with experience for other local #technology companies. www.biv.com/news/technol...

Good to see Whitecaps FC setting attendance records, seeing business success #WhitecapsFC #Whitecaps #MLS

Fun to hang out again with #Canucks legend Trevor Linden, though we didn't work out together as we did pre-pandemic. We just spoke about his business. Watch for coverage of that later this year in a magazine and in @BIVnews #Fitness

Looked into how much tourism has become accessible through the decades. B.C. businesses are making strides to be more inclusive for those in wheelchairs, on the autism spectrum or with other needs. #tourism #accessibility www.biv.com/small-busine...

Covered charges against a former Westhaven CFO last year. Crown has stayed all of the charges. The former CFO's lawyer had choice words about what he called "disturbing practices" in the BCSC's investigation. www.biv.com/news/economy...

Check out my look into calls to streamline B.C.'s inefficient alcohol distribution system. Importers have seen business dry up because the BCGEU strike has halted alcohol deliveries. Products must shuttle between warehouses before getting to consumers. #retail #hospitality #BCGEU