A day in the life: John Le Bleu, Prestige Resorts

Coming up through the ranks has given this GM valuable experience

John Le Bleu is the manager of three Prestige Resort Hotels in B.C.'s West Kootenay region—two in Nelson and one in Rossland. — Photo courtesy John Le Bleu

John Le Bleu, general manager of three Prestige Resort Hotels in the West Kootenay, generally arrives at work around 7:30 in the morning. He oversees the operations of the Prestige Inn and the Prestige Lakeside Resort in Nelson, and the Prestige Mountain Resort in Rossland, supervising a total of about 40 employees in the winter and 70 in the summer.

From the beginning

Le Bleu started his career at the Prestige Hotel in Vernon, B.C., as a guest services agent. He worked in a number of Prestige resorts through the years, doing a wide variety of jobs while he learned the hotel trade. He has been in the position of GM for 15 years, the most recent five in Nelson and Rossland.

“Among the staff we have an atmosphere of family,” Le Bleu said, “and that’s how I like it. When you work up through the ranks like I did, that’s the kind of atmosphere that develops, and it makes a big difference. If I had just walked in from somewhere else, taking on the job of GM, things would not be the same.”

A member of the team

Le Bleu enjoys the variety that his job offers. Because he does not have department heads reporting to him, he is involved in all aspects of the business, from housekeeping and building maintenance to guest services, reservations and working closely with the manager of Ric’s Lounge & Grill, the in-house restaurant and bar.

The morning of our interview, Le Bleu had started his day with a client meeting, and then attended a scheduled pool inspection with an officer of Interior Health Authority.

“We went through our pool regulations and our testing procedures from A to Z, to make sure that we’re safe for the public,” said Le Bleu. “Next on my schedule today is a staff meeting.

“We have a pretty strong team feeling here. We communicate extremely well, and take the time to talk about how everybody feels about whatever is happening.”

A season to work and a season to play

Le Bleu said that summer is the busiest season for the three Prestige hotels, and the August long weekend is the most challenging, busiest holiday.

“We could actually fill the two Nelson hotels twice over that weekend, there’s so much walk-in traffic,” he said. “Other times people usually book ahead, but not for that weekend.”

Le Bleu and his wife, Wendy—who manages Nelson's Prestige Inn—will be taking their daughters out of town for Christmas.

“Usually we go to Alberta to visit my wife’s family for Christmas,” Le Bleu said, “but this year we’re going to the area around Vernon, to my family. We’ll rent a condo at Idabel Lake Resort, and hope to do some snowmobiling and skiing and skating and snowshoeing. Cross-country skiing will be a lot easier there than it is in Nelson!"