Vancouver: A Home Away From Home

Word of Mouth the Best Way to Know Where to Stay...
Finding the Right Hotel in Vancouver

People choose their homes very carefully. Before making a commitment to buy a house, many factors are considered, such as cost, location, size and functionality. People want to be happy with what they have decided on if they are to live there day after day for years to come. Often when traveling abroad, people take the same sort of serious consideration in deciding where they will stay. After all, the accommodations chosen become a “home away from home” for visitors. Although they are not making a commitment for “years to come,” it is their home base, in which they will sleep and relax for the duration of their time away. As such, a hotel that offers adverse living conditions, and poor service has the ability to make for an uncomfortable and unpleasant trip. How, then, do people find out if potential accommodations are really what they are looking for, especially if they have never been there? One of the most common, and perhaps most reliable solutions is to communicate with those who have. The short story “In Vancouver” by Martin Allerdale Grainger, acts, in a sense, like an indirect tourist guide in order to inform about the city. The reader is given the sense that they are presently in the company of a early twentieth century logger who has visited Downtown, Vancouver in the past, and as such, is directly passing on (his) advice for places to stay. The narrative dismisses the idea of boarding at rooming houses that do not offer meals or a bar, and at places where there is a “certain society” requiring “frenzied finance” (Grainger 9). Instead, it is advised that, “a fellow can’t do better than go to a good, respectable hotel where he knows the proprietor and the bartenders, and where there are some decent men stopping” (Grainger 9). Attributes such as a good and reliable staff, and affordable conditions were important in a “home away from home” for a logger. The stake earned while working had to last as long as possible, and trust was essential if a weary woodsman wanted to get drunk without worry of safety or deceit.

Today, the Internet acts as a major facet through which word of mouth is passed. www.tripadvisor.com, and other sites like it, have an application that acts almost like a blog, giving people a chance to share and rate their experiences at various hotels for others to view. Many of Vancouver’s most prominent establishments are listed on this site, and it is a great way to get a variety of honest views on the merit of their accommodations. Take, for example, the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. Generally given high ratings, people valued the quality of its customer service, and central location in the middle of Downtown. Complaints encountered, although few, harkened to the hotel’s age, noisiness at night, and the cost of the rooms. By using this tool it becomes easier to get an accurate description of a hotel's positive attributes and allows people to avoid the negative ones. Whatever the accommodations, the “home away from home” chosen in Vancouver is very important, as it replaces the home that is left behind. It can either be an instrument in welcoming people to the city, or alternatively, cause great discomfort. Using word of mouth, as in Grainger’s short story, or on the Internet in the form of http://www.tripadvisor.com/ can be a great tool in helping travelers to discover which establishment is right for them when visiting the city.

Grainger, M.A. In Vancouver. “Vancouver Short Stories” Ed. Carole Gerson. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1985.