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Traveller's Inn bankruptcy


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#41 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 07 July 2009 - 07:31 AM

Wow, very weak article. He got no casino, so CRA denied his employees any pay.

OK, case closed.

#42 riversticks80

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Posted 07 July 2009 - 08:02 AM

I read that article this morning and I couldn't believe how one sided it was. Travellers Inn has a long standing relationship with Times Colonist which is why it probably is one sided. John allows them to use his building at 2269 Douglas for their book drive every year. If the person who wrote the article had talked to even one of these so called happy employees, they would have seen a different picture. I think I will write a letter to the editor on this one. I've never done that before in my life but I just can't hold my tongue on this one.

#43 spanky123

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Posted 07 July 2009 - 08:19 AM

The article makes John sound like an idiot, blaming others for his own downfall.

I think that the TC probably did the best they could knowing that John would try and sue them if they even spelt his name wrong.

#44 Jill

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Posted 07 July 2009 - 08:56 AM

I wish I had it in me to view the TC so generously, Spanky, but this article seems like yet another example of crap journalism from the almost-daily paper. I hope that former employees (and current ones with the courage to do it) flood the paper with letters describing their experiences working for this guy.

#45 aastra

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Posted 07 July 2009 - 11:09 AM

Numerous instances of "Asfar said" in that article.

#46 Jill

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Posted 07 July 2009 - 12:12 PM

They could have saved some money by just cutting out the reporter and letting Asfar write the article himself, frankly.

#47 manuel

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Posted 07 July 2009 - 12:19 PM

Carla does the same parotting with the VREB press releases.

#48 martini

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Posted 07 July 2009 - 12:22 PM

They could have saved some money by just cutting out the reporter and letting Asfar write the article himself, frankly.

:D

#49 aastra

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Posted 07 July 2009 - 12:49 PM

Carla does the same parotting with the VREB press releases.


It could be worse. It could be a story about war or some other serious world event, in which case the sources of the questionable comments wouldn't even be identified.

"Now we're back on track," a source at the Inn who wished to remain anonymous said. "The staff are all happy again."



#50 spanky123

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Posted 08 July 2009 - 06:09 AM

The reason why I tend to defend the TC in cases like this is that I have been on both sides of the fence before. Lots of people have information on a story yet nobody wants to go on the record. The reporter is in a tough spot then. They either go with the one sided company fluff or run the gossip and hope that they don't harm someone in error.

If someone states that they called Carla willing to go on the record with documented proof of their claims then that is one thing but I doubt that happened.

My experience with mainstream "anonymous sources" is that they are not anonymous at all but instead government or corporate pr people who want to get news out without tying it to a specific source.

#51 martini

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Posted 08 July 2009 - 06:16 AM

http://www.timescolo...0027/story.html

B.C.'s Ministry of Labour is investigating 11 employee complaints this year about the Traveller's Inn hotel chain, which is in the process of seeking protection from creditors.

Complaints are being examined by the Employment Standards Branch of the ministry. Numbers are not absolute because it might take a few days for new data to be entered in the computer, Gordon Williams, ministry spokesman said yesterday.

#52 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 08 July 2009 - 06:35 AM

Yesterday the article said he had raised the $4.5M and sent it to CRA and has not "heard back". Today's says he was unable to raise the money.

Funny how that little bit of a difference can be vital. Did/was able, didn't/was unable, whatever.

#53 Holden West

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Posted 08 July 2009 - 06:59 AM

Asfar attributes the start of his problems with Victoria council's refusal in 2005 to hold a public hearing into his bid for a casino on Douglas Street. He lost a subsequent lawsuit against the city.

Times Colonist, December 17, 2005:

Asfar, owner of the Traveller's Inn motel chain, has proposed rezoning property around 2269 Douglas St. for a casino and hotel- entertainment complex. However, the City of Victoria decided in April against holding a public hearing into the project because it has not been authorized by the B.C. Lottery Corp.

Asfar had appealed a Sept. 20 ruling by Supreme Court Justice Malcolm Donald Macaulay that dismissed VIE's claims on the Rotherham property. [...]

Appeal Court Justice John Hall wrote in a three-page judgment: "It is apparent that [VIE] knowingly and for a commercial purpose sought to pursue litigation that was doomed to failure.

"There was an advantage to be gained by [VIE] if this land could be tied up while it pursued its commercial interest with respect to another location in the city."

VIE held up the sale of the BCBC land by more than 18 months by placing a "caveat" and then a "certificate of pending litigation" on the property title.

A lot of Victorians at the time disliked the idea of a downtown casino. And according to the Solicitor General, Council's input was limited basically to showing general support--the decision to open a casino rested with the BC Government and the Lotto Corp. who weren't pushing casino expansion, especially with lukewarm support from the community.

BTW, this is Asfar's plan for the NOW furniture site:



www.buildingvictoria.com
"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
-City of Victoria website, 2009

#54 Nparker

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Posted 09 July 2009 - 07:45 AM

The latest in this ongoing saga: http://www.timescolo...3874/story.html

#55 spanky123

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Posted 09 July 2009 - 07:48 AM

Word is that the corporate offices have been hastily vacated.

#56 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 09 July 2009 - 08:34 AM

Word is that the corporate offices have been hastily vacated.


I read somewhere on the internet that they were moving them to one of the film studio offices, or the Now building.

#57 DockDancer

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Posted 09 July 2009 - 10:27 AM

I've been reading with great humour the saga of Travellers Inn. And I am glad to see that the general public is reading between the lines when the TC reports on this story.

I am concerned over the reporting of employee paycheques though. When this issue started occuring in payroll, the ADP payroll system was being used to create the payroll cheques. These cheques were then drawn on a TD Bank Account situated in Victoria at 1070 Douglas Street.

EVEN BEFORE The Canada Revenue Agency had put a hold on this bank account, paycheques were bouncing!

When the Canada Revenue Agency put a hold on the TD Bank Account in Victoria, paycheques were not being made at all, but a month later they were created from a company called "Worldwide Directories Corporation", with the address being located at the headoffice of Travellers Inn.

The difference being in where the bank account was for these cheques. It was at the TD Bank in TORONTO ONTARIO. The only reason why employees were able to cash their cheques recently was the fact that CRA hadn't put a hold on the TORONTO account, but was holding the VICTORIA account. How do I know this? The teller at TD Bank actually TOLD ME when I cashed my cheque on Tuesday!

So, when I read the following quote "After the intention to make a proposal was filed Friday, federal control was removed from the payroll account, allowing staff to receive their pay, Asfar said." - you can understand why the public should be reading between the lines and noticing the discrepancies in what is REALLY happening and what is being reported by the media.

The headquarters have moved last week again, and it seems this company moves bank accounts and headquarters almost once a year. WHO ARE THEY HIDING FROM?

#58 Bob Fugger

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Posted 09 July 2009 - 10:38 AM

The headquarters have moved last week again, and it seems this company moves bank accounts and headquarters almost once a year. WHO ARE THEY HIDING FROM?


Most likely their trying to hide from the stench of Asfar's reputation.

#59 Nparker

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Posted 09 July 2009 - 10:55 AM

Most likely their trying to hide from the stench of Asfar's reputation.


Then they may want head many more kms up-wind.

#60 riversticks80

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Posted 09 July 2009 - 11:49 AM

I found out that they have indeed moved their head office as of June 30th. Now, the lease could have been up or maybe he didn't pay the lease and they evicted him. Both are very likely!!

Cheques used to be done through ADP but with John swithing bank accounts all the time they had to do the cheques manually. It can take ADP a couple of weeks to fix their records to show the new banking information. Of course, that would mean that John would have to stick with a bank account first and not change it constantly.

Yesterday was pay day for the employees and the cheques didn't get delivered to the hotels until after 5pm. I also heard that they were told to not cash the cheques for 48 hours!! How can you tell an employee, here is your cheque but you can't cash it for 2 days!! It just seems wrong to me!!

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