Our Story: Part 2


This week, we continue the second part of our company story. If you missed Part 1 of Our Story, you can read it on our blog.

Our Story: Part 2

The crew and Joe Sr. enjoy a staff luncheon, 1980s

The crew and Joe Sr. enjoy a staff luncheon, 1980s

In the summer of 1986, Joe Huber Jr. had just completed his Master’s Degree in Business Administration at the University of Arizona. His goal upon graduating was to make a firm foothold in the American hospitality industry; however, it wasn’t long before his father came calling, imploring him to come back to B.C. to help him run the Park Lake Motor Inn. Much like Joe Sr. had previously been beckoned out West by his sister and brother-in-law, Joe Sr. himself was asking the same of Joe Jr. Always the dutiful son, Joe Jr. returned home to help repay the opportunities granted to him by his mother and father.

Once Joe Jr. had found his footing at the Park Lake, it wasn’t long before he started to convince his father that they needed to upgrade the property to a hotel. Guests deserved to get as much for their dollar as possible – better service, better amenities, and a better overall stay. His dream was to give tourists and families a premium hotel experience without having to pay premium prices – and he wanted to be able to do that all across his native British Columbia.

Joe Sr. and Anna

Joe Sr. and Anna

Joe Jr. and his father started researching other potential locations. First, they decided to build a new hotel in neighbouring Vernon, and then soon did the same in Golden. Later, after they received guest input at their new Golden hotel regarding the lack of full service hotels in south eastern BC, Joe Jr. and Joe Sr. scoured the Kootenays, finding ways to strategically build hotels with all the amenities in communities that were well suited to their business model.

One thought on “Our Story: Part 2

  1. Travelling with the company I work for we always stay at the Prestige in Nelson and Cranbrook. Enjoy the staff as they seem to stay. They must like working for you as well. The rooms are alway clean as well as the hotel.