When the Ritz-Carlton empire
opened its first Toronto hotel and condominium a few weeks ago, it didn't just become the latest addition to the city's growing luxury hotel/condominium hybrid scene.
The
$500 million, 53-storey tower in the financial district also became a significant employer in Toronto. In addition to the hundreds of construction jobs created in the four-plus years the building was being erected, human resources director Danielle Saint-Louis says the enterprise also created 450 new jobs for hotel employees, ranging from service staff to management. 350 of those jobs have already been filled, and recruitment is ongoing. Saint-Louis notes that the jobs were in high demand, as almost 16,000 applicants have submitted their resumes for positions so far. Saint-Louis says that the number of applicants and the company's fine-tuned recruitment process has resulted in an elite brigade of startup employees. "Even the trainer was amazed by the calibre of our ladies and gentlemen."
In addition to its direct hiring, the hotel also made a point of supporting the local arts and culture scene with the purchase of 450 pieces of original art by "up-and-coming" Canadian artists, paintings and sculptures that Saint-Louis says are now "all over the hotel." "It's really quite amazing," she says. "It's not what you see in most hotels, which have the same old reproductions everywhere. It's quite unique and beautiful. But then it's the Ritz-Carlton, so you would expect something unique." She notes that each piece of art contains a plaque promoting the Canadian artist who created it.
Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Danielle Saint-Louis, Director of Human Resources, Ritz-Carlton Toronto