Historic Lund Resort at Kla ah men: Building Sales and Hiring Appropriate Management

The historic Lund Resort at Kla ah men (the Resort) was wholly owned by the Tla’amin Nation and operated by Tla’amin Management Services LP (TMS). The Tla’amin Final Agreement had been in effect since April 2016, making the Tla’amin Nation self-governing over its land, resources, and members. The Resort, on British Columbia (BC)’s Sunshine Coast, featured thirty-one renovated guest rooms that ranged from budget-friendly units to luxury ocean-front suites. In addition to hiring a new general manager, the Resort needed to increase bookings in the shoulder season and stabilize staffing. By 2018, the Resort had had six general managers in two years and needed a highly experienced professional to fill the position. TMS hoped to retain this person for at least three years. The new manager would need to be a good fit in terms of Tla’amin culture and values; given the complex reporting structure, they would need to be adaptive and willing to work with multiple people within the Tla’amin leadership, including the TMS board of directors and the Tla’amin operating board. While it would have been best to hire a manager with experience working with Indigenous communities, the TMS had determined that this was not feasible and that it was best to hire someone who was experienced and open to learning about Tla’amin culture and values.

Instructors will find this case suitable for an undergraduate audience in courses on First Nations self-governance and economic development; organizational behaviour and human resources, for addressing topics such as leadership, employee management, and hospitality management; and marketing, including target market diversification, shoulder-season extension, and Indigenous tourism.<br><br>By considering the experience of the Tla’amin Nation, an Indigenous Nation that has have achieved self-governance and economic self-sufficiency, students gain a more nuanced understanding of Indigenous land rights, economic development, and the ongoing struggle of Indigenous people to assert their unique identity and rights in a Canadian context. The case raises several management issues and identifies a number of ways that the business is different because it is owned by an Indigenous Nation. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:<ul><li>Use existing knowledge to analyze a real-world business problem and make a management recommendation.</li><li>Identify the ways a business is different when it is owned by a First Nation and by a community.</li><li>Define key concepts relevant to considering Indigenous issues in a contemporary context, including land rights, self-governance, economic self-sufficiency, and non-Indigenous opposition.</li></ul>

• Indigenous, hotel, tourism, management