Who’s behind Radisson Blu Vancouver Airport?
The hotel is owned by an affiliate of RBI Group of Companies (“RBI Group”), which acquired a majority stake in Pacific Gateway Hotel in 2019.[1] After earning millions from the federal government to use the hotel as a quarantine site and terminating 143 workers, the employer changed the name of the Pacific Gateway Hotel to Radisson Blu Vancouver Airport.
RBI Group of Companies has ties to several sister companies: PHI Hotel Group, a hotel management arm; RBI Construction, a hotel development company; RBI Developments, RBI Forming, a concrete construction company; and Jayen Properties, a residential property firm. Other holdings include Surrey Farms, Meridian Hills Golf Course, Park & Maven, and The Cobalt Hotel, an SRO in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
RBI Group: What you see is what you get.
“What you see is what you get. The way we behave, everything we do, and what we say is rooted in authenticity.”
-Statement by RBI affiliate
RBI Group, parent of the company behind the mass termination of 143 Pacific Gateway workers during the pandemic, has faced scrutiny for its treatment of workers.
Hotel loses quarantine contract due to “treatment of unionized staff”
Pacific Gateway Hotel’s quarantine contract with the federal government was terminated due to its treatment of long-term staff. In a statement to Richmond News, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said that it was “no longer doing business with Pacific Gateway Hotel” and that the hotel’s “actions were concerning,” in reference to the mass terminations of hotel staff. PHAC stated that “…we have expressed our disappointment with Pacific Gateway and their treatment of their unionized workforce throughout these challenging times. The health and safety of Canadians remain our top priority,” added the PHAC spokesperson.
Alleged Abuse of Foreign Workers
In 2022, three hotels owned by RBI’s hotel affiliate, PHI Hotel Group, came under investigation for abuse of foreign workers. The hotels were participating in a federal pilot program to bring foreign workers to Vernon. In an email to PHI Hotel Group, the program coordinator of The Rural Northern Immigration Pilot program told the company that there were “significant concerns” and that their hotels’ participation would be halted while the investigation continued. The program officer also stated that "everyone deserves a work environment where they are safe and their rights are respected. The government takes the safety and dignity of foreign workers very seriously.” We do not know the current status of this investigation.
[1] The hotel’s former owner, a private investor, still holds a minor stake in the property through an offshore shell company, Van-Air Holdings Ltd. It was reincorporated in the Bahamas in 2019.