The last year saw rising fortunes for Whistler’s business community, with increases in business sentiment and improvements in staffing—but challenges lie ahead.
Executive director of the Whistler Chamber of Commerce, Louise Walker, said with borders being open, the revival of events, and a return of foreign workers, 2023 “saw some improvements on key challenges of 2022.”
The workforce is a perennial issue, with many businesses forced to cut back on hours due to a lack of staff.
Six locals elevated themselves above the pack at the recent IFSA Regional freeride competition on Dec. 30 in Whistler.
Whistler’s property values are taking a breather for 2024, after years of double-digit growth.
The value of a single-family residential home in Whistler as of July 1 was $2,842,000, according to BC Assessment numbers released Jan. 2—a two-per-cent decrease compared to the same period a year prior.
The decrease comes after two years of double-digit growth: Last year, single-family property values rose by 11 per cent, while the year before, values rose by 29 per cent.
After several lean years at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Crankworx Whistler, North America’s premier mountain bike festival, was back in full force in 2023, generating close to $30 million within the resort and attracting more than 300,000 attendees over its 10 days this summer.
You feel like you’re in a snow globe!
Lining the entire space is 1,000 feet of twinkling Christmas lights. Snowglobes abound. Holly and poinsettias underline the bar. Presents and holiday ornaments hang from the ceiling. There are mini-Christmas trees on every table. Peppermint is a recurring motif. An inflatable, nine-foot-tall Frosty the Snowman dominates the patio. Two different Christmas themes adorn the walls.
Prices are expected to rebound somewhat in 2024. Experts are forecasting the median price of a single-family home in Whistler to increase by five per cent.
Although affluent homeowners can more easily absorb increased mortgage costs, the full impact of high interest rates likely won’t be felt until between 2024 and 2026, when many five-year mortgages are up for renewal.
Whistler Mayor Jack Crompton is welcoming new short-term rental (STR) legislation introduced by the provincial government this week in Victoria.
“[The legislation] makes British Columbia one of the leading provinces in Canada as far as the regulation of short-term rentals are concerned,” Crompton said.
“It gives local government tools that we’ve been asking for for a long time.”
In the Hadaway House on Whistler’s Sunridge Plateau, the exteriors and interiors fold into crisp angular shapes: the walls and ceiling lean, dip and rise through the home, rather than landing at right angles. The result looks like a giant origami chalet.
If nothing else, early 2000s cinema taught us all that one does not simply walk into Mordor. That same lesson rings true for the B.C. backcountry – which is to say, you shouldn’t venture into the thick of it without the right team and the proper preparation.
Wild Blue opened a year ago in Whistler with three stars in the restaurant industry: Jack Evrensel, Alex Chen, and Neil Henderson.