Tech Tuesday Webinars - AI and Cyber Security

In partnership with TNS, TIANS/NSTHRC are offering a "Tech Tuesday" series. Provided by experts at On-Line Computer Services these targeted webinars will provide you with relevant information to build your adoption of emerging digital tools and foster cyber security practices.  All Sessions run from 2-3pm on Tuesdays, except #4 on a Monday.  Register for one, or all – email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to sign up or contact Lynn McDonagh Hughes at 902.423.4480.

NOTE: This Webinar Series Kicks off next week! Register now for the February 17th Session!

Webinar #1 - Tuesday, February 17 | Hello, My Name Is AI
  

AI is the current hot buzzword, but not everyone understand its potential use in their tourism business.  Join us for this beginner-friendly short course on the basics of AI and gain confidence in starting to use some elements in your own operation.

Webinar #2 - Tuesday, March 3 | Surviving the Outage  
  

When the Cloud has an outage and the internet goes down, it can create service and communication issues. Learn how to build a business IT continuity plan that enables you to manage an outage, support guest the experience and protect your business data.

Webinar #3 - Tuesday, March 17 | The AI Co-Pilot: Beyond the Hype

This webinar will focus on how to leverage AI to create efficiencies and enhance productivity for your own operation. Join us to learn practical ways you and your team can use AI for daily administrative tasks and save hours of valuable time each week.

Webinar #4 - Monday, March 23 | The Weakest Link: Cybersecurity for Humans

Humans are the weakest link in cybersecurity, roughly 68% to 95% of security breaches involving human error, such as phishing, weak passwords, or improper data handling. Attackers exploit human emotions like urgency and trust, making ongoing training a must.

Workshops to Support your Business

Neurodiversity Workshop

Join us for an educational, interactive session designed to foster understanding, acceptance, and inclusion of neurological differences such as autism, ADHD, and dyslexia. This workshop will cover terminology, dispel misconceptions, and provide practical, actionable strategies for creating a supportive environment in your workplace.

Thursday, March 5 | 9:30am-12:30pm | Best Western Plus Chocolate Lake, Halifax
Facilitator:  Ann Divine, Ashanti Leadership

Crisis Management in Tourism On-Line Workshop

The last few years has seen Nova Scotia tourism operators deal with situations ranging from forest fires to government restrictions of wooded areas.  This interactive virtual workshop will include the following topics: what crisis communications actually means in tourism; the role of operators vs. official response agencies; how to communicate when facts are still emerging; aligning with official sources without amplifying confusion and visitor-facing communication principles during disruptions. The session will be practical, tourism-specific and grounded in real-world crisis experience.

Tuesday, March 24 | 2:00-3:30pm | On-Line
Facilitator:  Corrine Bundschuh, Event Muse Consulting

Psychological Safety Workshop

Creating an environment where people feel safe to take interpersonal risks, make mistakes and disagree with others is key to creating a safe working environment. Psychological safety in the workforce enhances trust and community. This training program shares strategies for designing a safe space in the contemporary workplace and will also include raising awareness about the subtle but serious impact of microaggressions.

Thursday, March 26 | 9:30am-12:30pm | Best Western Chocolate Lake, Halifax
Facilitator: Ann Divine, Ashanti Leadership

REGISTRATION IS OPEN FOR ALL WORKSHOPS

SIGN UP BY EMAILING This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 or contact Lynn at 902.423.4480

BELONG - Employer Workshop: Creating Truly Accessible Tourism Workspaces

Coming Soon!  Watch for the March Date and South Shore Location to be Announced

Creating inclusive and accessible tourism workplaces takes more than good intentions – it requires leadership, mindset shifts, and practical tools. This interactive session introduces employers to key concepts from the Belong training program, developed by Tourism HR Canada and funded by the Government of Canada.

Participants will:

• Experience select Belong training content firsthand;
• Explore strategies for inclusive hiring, onboarding, and workplace design;
• Learn how to shift mindsets around disability and accommodation;
• Discover tools and approaches to embed accessibility across the employee lifecycle.

Registration is Open - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it." target="_blank">

Emerit - Real Skills for the Real World

Emerit online learning offers the ultimate in easy-to-use, portable, and engaging skill development—for job seekers, frontline, workers, supervisors, owners, operators, and entrepreneurs. Emerit eLearning is based on current , developed with input from thousands of tourism professionals from across Canada.

All Emerit training is focused on building real skills - not just memorizing information. Emerit eLearning enables individuals to use the best approach for their learning style.

• Accessible training anywhere, anytime
• Self-directed and flexible
• Independent or group settings
• In the workplace, the classroom, or at home
• Optimized for desktop, tablet, and mobile

Learn More at

Cerritos, Calif. – Feb. 12, 2026 –Continental Girbau West (CG West), a leading distributor of Continental Laundry Solutions (Continental), has officially changed its name to Continental West and announced its move to a new facility in Cerritos, Calif. The new name reflects the company’s evolution, tighter alignment with Continental Laundry Solutions and commitment to serving the western region with a stronger, more unified brand identity.

“Changing from CG West to Continental West just made sense,” said Tod Sorensen, vice president of Continental West. “The simplified name is cleaner, easier to remember and better represents who we are — a trusted extension of Continental Laundry Solutions and a local partner our customers can rely on.”

Celebrating 17 years in business, Continental West delivers end-to-end laundry solutions and support to the textile care, vended, on-premise and industrial laundry markets across Southern California, Arizona and New Mexico. With offices in Cerritos, Calif. and Tempe, Ariz., the company provides a comprehensive suite of services designed to help customers succeed — from equipment selection and installation to financing, marketing, training and technical support.

Continental West’s full-circle support includes:

• ·Ongoing technical service
• Laundry design and planning to maximize space and efficiency
• CustomSelect financing assistance tailored to each business
• Marketing expertise through Continental Creative Services
• Hands-on technical training and workshops
• A fully stocked parts department supporting most makes and models

“While our name has evolved, we’re still the same team our customers know and trust — just with a name that better reflects our growth and future direction,” said Sorensen.

To learn more about Continental West’s products, services or career opportunities, visit www.continental-west.com or call 866-950-2449.

TORONTO (February 3, 2026) – Le Germain Hotel Toronto is proud to unveil its newest addition: , a chic, intimate, cocktail bar opening today. The European-inspired, Canadian-born concept revives the timeless elegance of old-world hotel bars, reimagined here at a property Vogue Magazine recently called one of the best in Toronto.

Tucked away in the lobby across from the ever-buzzy  - the acclaimed restaurant that’s been turning heads since its fall debut, you’ll find its European counterpart, Mercer Lounge. While PUNCH hums in a grand room with vibrant energy and an impressive British-Indian menu, Mercer Lounge shifts the tempo: its effortlessly refined lounge is putting the spotlight on the martini. 

Guests are invited to relax by the warm, double-sided fireplace, where flattering lighting sets the mood, and every detail - from glassware to garnishes - is carefully curated, lending the space a sense of quiet intention. With its understated charm, it serves as the perfect avant or après hideaway.

At the heart of the experience is a cocktail program built on reverence for the classics.

The signature? The Freezer Door Martini. Chilled to the precise, silken temperature cocktail purists dream about, each Martini is poured from the freezer at peak perfection - crisp, smooth, and ideally balanced. Handcrafted in artisan bottles and poured tableside, the martini ritual honours the timeless classic with a menu featuring Classic Gin or Vodka, Extra Dirty, Gibson, Vesper, Espresso and Cosmopolitan, alongside a curated selection of classic cocktails, fine wines, and spirits.

To complement the drinks, the menu weaves in gentle British-Indian accents - a discreet nod to PUNCH just across the lobby. PUNCH Executive Chef Mandar Kulkarni’s refined, cross-cultural lens reveals familiar comforts with unexpected nuance. Highlights include Fried Mozzarella crowned with caviar; Gunpowder Pâté with pork shoulder, kasundi, and plum jam; Tuna Tartare with guava-yuzu dressing, black radish, avocado and tapioca crackers and Chicken Tenders with North Indian spices, yoghurt and chef’s sauce alongside other elevated small plates and snacks.

Adding to the experience, soulful music, including live vocalists flows between house remixes and original tracks, shaping a laid-back, lounge-driven soundtrack every Wednesday and Thursday from 7-10 p.m.

“Hotel lobby bars are often afterthoughts, convenient, but not special. With Mercer Lounge, we wanted to change that story completely,” said Jean-Philip Dupré, General Manager, Le Germain Hotel Toronto. “We envisioned a bar that feels like a secret destination - a place our guests wouldn’t think of as just a stop along the way.”

No reservations are required. Mercer Lounge is open Tuesday through Saturday from 5 p.m. until late. Valet parking available. Follow @mercerlounge for updates.

SAN FRANCISCO — February 3, 2026 — Duetto, a leading provider of revenue and profit software for the hospitality industry, has announced the appointment of Olly Lynch as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Previously serving as Senior Vice President of Global Marketing, Lynch’s advancement to CMO signals a strategic shift as Duetto scales its global operations around its core ambition: leading the category with the industry’s first Revenue & Profit Operating System (RP-OS).

To facilitate this ambition, Lynch will bridge the gap between product innovation and market adoption, ensuring Duetto’s unique capabilities are reflected across brand, product marketing, and go-to-market (GTM) strategies.

“My mission is simple: to take Duetto from being the tool revenue teams love to the platform the hospitality industry relies on,” said Olly Lynch, CMO of Duetto. “The future of hospitality performance goes beyond RevPAR. Duetto is uniquely positioned to help the industry adopt a more complete view of performance, one that incorporates revenue and profit — and gives hoteliers the systems they need to act on it.”

The right strategist to power global scale

Lynch brings over a decade of experience leading marketing and growth transformation across SaaS, enterprise technology, and product-led businesses. His background offers a rare combination of large-scale enterprise expertise and the agility of high-growth tech startups — making him well-suited to Duetto’s broad customer base, from independent hotels to global hotel brands. 
Prior to joining Duetto, Lynch spent four and a half years at Travelport, where he was instrumental in modernizing the digital and brand strategy for the travel technology giant. His experience also includes leadership roles at tech startups such as Lickd and Paytently, where he focused on designing intuitive buying journeys and seamless onboarding to ensure rapid time-to-value. Additionally, Lynch led global digital strategies at marketing agencies for enterprise tech companies such as Fujitsu, Motorola, and Thomson Reuters.

The announcement comes at a pivotal moment for Duetto and the industry

Rising operational costs, volatile demand, and fragmented technology mean the role of revenue management has to evolve to incorporate a view of both revenue and profit. Lynch’s appointment reinforces Duetto’s intent to solve this challenge.

“Olly’s expertise will be crucial as we lead the next era of hospitality optimization,” said Alex Zoghlin, CEO of Duetto. “His track record of building distinctive, credible global brands and driving frictionless product adoption is exactly what Duetto needs as we expand our footprint and help customers improve overall performance.”

Lynch marks the third in a series of strategic executive hires (including CPO Kartik Yellepeddi and CTO Robert Matsuoka) designed to accelerate the evolution of Duetto’s RP-OS.

Duetto will continue to discuss overall hotel performance at , its first global summit on profit and revenue management, scheduled for April 16, 2026, in Hollywood Beach, Florida.