Chamber misleads members

The Kelowna Chamber of Commerce needs to learn to check their facts!

Whether you are a tour professional, a Chamber of Commerce employee or a consumer, it is easy to find answers on the Internet today. I did a bit of research regarding the Chamber’s claim that Collette Vacations is a Canadian company. This morning I called their Surrey office on the 800 number listed on their website for Canada and had a lovely conversation with the individual who answered the phone.  I asked her where she was located and she told me, “Surrey, Vancouver.”  “Great,” I said, “I am looking at your website and the address looks like an apartment building. How do I find you?”  “Oh,” she said, “we are just a call centre for Collette Vacations.”  “Well, that explains my confusion. Where is the company located?”, I queried. She said, “Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USA.”  

Why was this so difficult for the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce to find out and why, after it was brought to their attention, is the Chamber’s CEO, Caroline Grover, still insisting that Collette is a Canadian company? If she needs more proof, she should call Dan Sullivan who might be very amused to learn that his century-old family company is not American. 

In addition, Ms. Grover keeps reminding us that Collette Vacations is a member of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce. What she is not telling us is that in 2015, in order to legitimize their trip to New Orleans, Collette Vacations had to join the Chamber and they have retained that membership in order to run the Iceland Tour.  In 2013, CITSLINC in Monterey Park, California, joined the Chamber in order to run their China trip. No request for proposal (RFP) was sent to local tour companies for planning or running this trip.  Rather, the Chamber contracted it themselves, only to realize that CITSLINC was not licensed to sell travel in BC. They then needed to send out an RFP to local travel agents to be legally able to process the monies.  In 2014, they used Trafalgar, an international company, also not licensed by BC Consumer Protection and again had to have a third party involved to process the payments. 

Both of these companies joined the Chamber to legitimize their bid and both companies are no longer Chamber members.  JTB Corporation was used for their Japan/Vietnam 2016 trip and was also required to join the Chamber. I wonder how long they will retain their membership?

The bigger question is: Why is the Chamber dabbling in travel at all? There are many Kelowna companies that are in business to sell travel and employ local residents. They are experienced, well versed in destinations world-wide, and most importantly are licensed to sell travel in BC. By competing with them, the Chamber is earning revenue on the backs of their members. They are a non-profit organization whose mandate is to promote members and local business to the Kelowna community. 

In 2015, a local company, Wells Gray Tours, planned and hosted the trip to China for the Chamber and was asked not to do any follow-up with the travellers as the Chamber now considered them their clients.  Wells Gray Tours paid the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce $28,000 and provided three complimentary seats on the tour to the Chamber.  

As a travel professional and a consumer, I feel the Chamber is misleading their members and the residents of Kelowna. Their Travel & Learn program should be cancelled along with the Haida Gwaii and Iceland tours that are still being promoted for 2016. 

Joan Niemeier, CTP