MEET YOUR HOSTS
 Dave, Marlene and Christopher welcome you to our
home, The Buccaneer Inn.
OUR STORY
We're now heading into our 11th year of business at
The Buccaneer. Time has just flown by. We continue to
enjoy meeting new folks and welcoming back our many repeat guests.
When we're not traveling, we live vicariously through our guests
and love hearing of where they live, their experiences, travels and tall tales. Have
a look below and you'll learn a bit more about our time at The Buccaneer
Inn, a Nanaimo landmark.
Our story with The Buccaneer Inn began on New Year's
Eve 1996. Nanaimo had just had it's worst snowstorm in history.
There was 3 feet of snow everywhere! Across the street on Newcastle Channel, the boats and their sheds sunk. The town was paralyzed.
Our basement flooded and the roof was overweight with snow. Could
our first day be any worse? Together with our guests, we cleared the roof and
parking lot of snow. We manned a pump in our basement for 3 days
to keep the water out. Not an auspicious beginning, but it could
only get better!
After that daunting start, we began a major series
of renovations which included replacing everything in our
rooms and landscaping our grounds. We hired staff who really knew
how to clean and to maintain our rooms to the highest standards
of cleanliness; then we trained them how to clean to our even higher
standards.
Our mission from the beginning has always been to
provide our guests with a spotlessly clean and restful environment
where everyone feels at home in a room with all the little things that you take for granted in your own home. We often stay in other hotels and find it frustrating when something that we think is important to have while you're away from home isn't there. Oh yeah, and all our rooms have a real coffee maker and kettle,
with good coffee and tea and fresh cream, where you can brew a good cup in the morning!
We have learned one thing after all the years we have been in business and that is our business's sole measuring stick is in serving our customers. We like to think that customer service is going beyond our customers' expectations. At The Buccaneer Inn we treat our customers like old friends from the moment we meet them. We make every effort to make you feel at home.
We now own and operate what our guests tell us is the best accommodation
value in Nanaimo. In fact our guests tell us that we are much like a very well run Ramada or Travelodge hotel but with more amenities. At The Buccaneer Inn you simply get more for
less. You get a spotlessly clean 3.5 Star suite. You get the only AAA Approved Motel in Nanaimo. You get an environment
that ensures a restful sleep. More amenities. Higher Standards.
Comfortable rooms. Excellent service. And you pay less here than
at our competitors. We know that you will be happy with
the services we provide you with. The hundreds of repeat customers
that regularly stay with us are. Even Tourism British  Columbia's
hotel inspectors and AAA inspectors choose The Buccaneer when they come to town to inspect the accommodations available here!
In 2004, our
peers in the business community recognized our efforts by awarding us two Nanaimo
Chamber of Commerce Sterling Community Awards. One of our
guests, Tracy Nice, nominated us for the awards and we were shocked to have
won both. We won one for Tourism Business Excellence and the other
for Exceptional Customer Service in the Hospitality Industry!
One of our local Members of Parliament, Dr. James Lunney, commented
that "...the Buccaneer Inn exemplifies the type of business
that helps build a strong business community in Nanaimo and we
applaud your efforts in enhancing the enjoyment of visitors to
our city ..." Thank you Dr. Lunney and our peers in Nanaimo!
OUR TEAM
We are very lucky to have a dedicated, professional group of folks who work along side us to provide the accommodation we are so proud of.
Monique is the back bone of our cleaning system. She has been with us for over 9 years and works weekdays to keep our rooms spotlessly clean. April and Donna work the busy weekends and keep everything up to our standards.
Upon your arrival, while we are away getting some necessary respite, you may be greeted by one of the two couples who allow us to get away. Both couples have owned and operated their own successful motels. Yvonne and Raeto emigrated from Switzerland and had a motel in Nanaimo for many years. Merle and Gerry designed, built and operated a very successful property in Elkford, BC.
We are fortunate to have all these folks working with us and hope you agree, upon meeting one or all of them, that they are truly representative of the friendly, welcoming experience you'll have at The Buccaneer Inn.
BEFORE THE BUCCANEER INN
 Dave
and Marlene both graduated from high school in Penticton (we recently went to our 25th reunion!). Dave
went to the University of Victoria and studied Political Science.
Marlene went to The University of British Columbia and studied
Nutrition. Dave then backpacked around Europe and worked in London
at a large law firm in The City. He also put in a few hours pulling
pints with Craig at The Stamford Arms. Many a night were spent
discussing global problems and their solutions with Craig, Hammer,
Rapper, John and Ali, the Macs and other members of the Egg
Sandwich Club. Marlene lived in Grenoble, France and studied red
wine, French and skiing. She then spent a year traveling throughout
Europe, Asia and India with Natalie.
In 1989 Dave and Marlene met again in Vancouver and decided to
travel around the world. We spent almost 5 years living and teaching
English in Yokohama and Tokyo, Japan at universities and colleges
like Waseda University.
Each year we had 5 months holidays (those were the days!) and traveled extensively throughout
Asia, Europe, United States and Canada.
We estimate that we have stayed in well over 1500 different hotels,
motels, boutique hotels, boutique motels, boutique style guesthouses,
lodges, inns, villas, cabins, aparthotels, pensions, guesthouses,
bed and breakfasts, beach huts, bunkhouses, youth hostels, dorms, airport
lounges, train stations, tents, Westfalia's, campers, side roads
and fields. We think this gives us a bit of experience on the guest side of the accommodation business!
In 1995, after having visited Vancouver Island many times, we
left Japan and moved to Vancouver Island to make Nanaimo our home.
We could have moved anywhere in the world, but chose Nanaimo.
We loved the abundance of parks, the elaborate trail systems,
the oceanside environment, the proximity to Victoria, Tofino,
Mt. Washington and Vancouver. The 'locals' call this Paradise
and they're not far off.
While we were becoming reacquainted with living in Canada again,
we began looking for waterfront property to buy. Our goal was
to live on the water and build a micro brewery in Nanaimo. When
a realtor called us and mentioned The Buccaneer we dismissed the
idea. "Us, own a motel?" But after the wheels started
turning, we re-evaluated our decision. We figured we had the knowledge
and drive to turn it into a business
that would lead this industry in Nanaimo. Within less than a month
we'd moved in and were the owners of The Buccaneer.
OUR FAMILY
 In
1998, after completely renovating and refurbishing The Buccaneer
(thanks for all your help Danny, who's now a Ryanair pilot!), we
became the extremely proud parents of a young man we named Christopher.
Now all 3 of us live and work here. Christopher is an avid helper.
He is a true pirate (the nonviolent type) and our official motel
mascot! He is in Grade Four in French Immersion and has a great
time playing with his school buddies. He spends
countless hours thinking, playing and dreaming about soccer and hockey. His dream is to meet Ronaldinho and Roberto Luongo. Recess is taken up with playing goal and after school with soccer practice, camps and games.
Our family's first love is travel. We continue to travel a lot
and have managed to instill the travel bug into Christopher. He's
already been to over 15 different countries! He is as comfortable
on the Tube in London, playing boules in Provence, washing and feeding elephants
in Thailand, eating sushi in Kyoto as he is playing with children
in a seaside village in Mexico. His favourite destination is London
where he can play soccer with Connor and James! Our latest family trip, in
December 2006 and January 2007, saw us laying on a beach on Ko Lanta, washing and feeding rescued elephants at The Elephant Nature Park, touring an operating dairy farm at ChokChai Cowboy Ranch in Khao Yai, watching 2,000,000 bats leave a cave, hiking in Laos, in Bangkok during a round of terrorist bombs, riding the Bullet Train to the Atomic Bomb Centre in Hiroshima, temple hopping in Kyoto and showing Christopher our old neighbourhood in Yokosuka.
In March 2006, Dave received a total hip replacement. Dr. Clive Duncan from Vancouver General Hospital performed the surgery. He is now back in hiking shape and itching to walk as many of the National Trails in the UK as possible! In May of 2007 Dave, Wayne (the brother in law!) Espen, John and a few other Egg Sandwich Club friends walked across the length of the Cotswold Way in England. In November 2007, Dave and John walked along the Brecon Beacons, Offa's Dyke and the Wye Valley in Wales. Then off to Munich for a walk with Klaus near the Staffelsee. Next trip, the Coast to Coast walk across England.
HOW WE HELP OUT
Both Marlene and Dave feel strongly that they should
help contribute to the community's economy through volunteerism and by donation.
Dave has volunteered a lot in the community. In 1996 Dave was
the Vice-President of the Nanaimo
Recycling Exchange. He sat on the Board of Directors of Tourism
Nanaimo from 1998, became Vice-President and then President
until March, 2002.
Dave also was an integral part of the creation
of the world's second largest artificial reef The
Cape Breton!
Currently Dave is in his 8th year as a member of the City
of Nanaimo New
Nanaimo Centre Advisory Committee and is helping provide input
on the development of our community's $100 Million New Nanaimo
Centre revitalization project, twin ice sheets and redevelopment
of Maffeo-Sutton Park.
Dave also currently sits on the City of Nanaimo's Destination Nanaimo Advisory Committee and helps provide input on our new, aggressive, targeted marketing program to help identify Nanaimo as a British Columbia destination.
Dave has also worked on 3 federal elections for
Elections Canada as an Assistant Returning Officer, Returning
Officer and in the 2004 event as the Training Officer.
 Marlene's community involvement includes volunteering with Literacy
Nanaimo and helping to raise funds for a new playground and park
in our neighbourhood (just behind The Buccaneer!). Marlene was
a Director of the Board of the Vancouver Island Children's
Festival for 5 years. The Vancouver
Island Children's Festival is huge multi-day event held each
May in downtown Nanaimo that draws children and adults from throughout
Vancouver Island to enjoy a multitude of international children's
performers. Marlene is now an avid runner and looks forward to
her Book Club every month.
Marlene also takes an active interest in our local school system and is involved with Christopher's PAC and also represents the school at the District PAC level.
We have long maintained an in room recycling program in conjunction with The Nanaimo Recycling Exchange (NRE). Each year this program expands and we are able to divert more and more waste from the landfill.
We donate our used, but still usable, linens, towels and furniture to the Haven House and to the NRE. The Haven House supports women and children in need and provides resources to help families move from abusive relationships.
We have helped to increase the population of Vancouver Island Marmots through donations to the Vancouver Island Marmot Recovery Foundation. Vancouver Island Marmots are Canada's most threatened species and the Foundation has been very successful in creating a breeding program and increasing the population (they've even built a Marmot Love Hotel at Mt. Washington!).
As we travel we often spend time in museums and galleries. Preserving our history is an important function of a community and we have decided to dedicate some our resources towards the Nanaimo Museum. For many years we contributed to the ongoing maintenance of The Bastion, one of Canada's oldest buildings, a former Hudson Bay fort and our community's symbol. In 2007 we also decided to invest in the continuing development of our new Museum by becoming an artifact sponsor. We chose to sponsor an early rebreather apparatus that was used on Newcastle Island by miners. This type of Draeger rebreather was a predecessor of the underwater rebreathers that many of our dive guests use today.
And this year we made a large donation to the Mt. Benson Legacy Fund. Mt. Benson is the mountain that stands behind Nanaimo and provides a beautiful backdrop to the ocean, islands and our city. The Nanaimo Area Land Trust is in the process of purchasing a piece of property that was going to be logged. If you'd like to help out with this noble cause contact NALT.
THANK YOU
Thanks for having taken the time to learn more about us and our
business. As always, if you have any questions
or need help planning your time on Vancouver Island, give
us a call or send us an email.
We'll be glad to help.
We look forward to welcoming you to Nanaimo and The Buccaneer and sharing a few travel stories.
Your hosts,
Dave, Marlene and Christopher
|
