Cannabis Hospitality: An Interview with Faded Livings & HiBnb
Written by: Aly K. Benson
AKB is a biracial indigenous media personality & digital strategy consultant in the Canadian cannabis industry based out of Abbotsford, BC.
Insights into Cannabis Tourism
The cannabis industry is starting to refocus its true profit potential, and one of the most favourable among industry workers and consumers is tourism. The demand for travel, consumption spaces, private facility tours, and private events has surged since the restrictions of COVID-19 began to ease in North America. Worldwide quarantines stalled the development of cannabis tourism regardless of the increase in product revenue in Canada and the USA. Many industry workers see cannabis tourism as an untapped market for B2C revenue. However, the industry's current climate heavily focuses on B2B distributions since it is validated by high revenue profits. As more organizations and innovators turn to tourism to expand their businesses, they're finding endless routes to capitalize on. Tourism has a lengthy list of possibilities, from infused dinner parties to short-term cannabis-friendly rentals. That being said, cannabis tourism does come with logistical struggles and intricacies for developing businesses like insurance coverage and legal restrictions.
The cannabis tourism industry could benefit from adding cannabis-related activities to travelers' itineraries in revenue and customer loyalty. I had the opportunity to sit down with two cannabis hospitality brands, Necole Hines, Founder of Faded Living, and Haley Boulanger, Communications and Marketing Manager from HiBnB, to gain further insight into the expanding tourism market in Canada and the USA.
Faded Living was founded in January 2021 to normalize adult cannabis use through food, conversations, and events. Founder Necole Hines began Faded Living by offering virtual cannabis cooking classes and workshops. In addition to virtual courses, Necole also hosts a weekly podcast Faded Living & Friends. Necole describes the core of her business as "productive human beings coming together to break the stigma around the cannabis consumer and normalize the plant." Now that restrictions around COVID-19 have been lifted in British Columbia, Necole has begun hosting private infused dinner parties and in-person workshops. Faded Living hosted the most recent event at the BC Craft Summit in Kelowna, BC, alongside the Stolbie Sisters, The Budder Chef Adam Barski, and BC Craft Farmers Co-op.
HiBnb is a multi-tiered platform that offers a variety of cannabis tourism-related events and activities. There are currently four categories on the HiBnb site: Play Hi 420 Friendly Events, Stay Hi Cannabis Friendly Rentals, Get Hi Discover Cannabis and Read Hi Cannabis News & Culture. The platform operates in Canada and the USA, opening with a current focus on cannabis accommodations. Less than a year ago, HiBnb expanded into the USA and had seen rapid growth leading them to be a top contender for those supplying experiences as well as customers.
Interview
Question 1 How do you see cannabis tourism & digital prescience working together?
Necole: "So for somebody like me, you have to redirect from cannabis. I'm trying to align with people who have a property to host events at, whether they are cannabis consumers themselves or allies to the community. We want to see what the community is all about. But it comes down to the dollars, right? And so that's what I'm trying to do is connect with people who have spaces where we can host events for the community. Right now, there aren't a lot of areas where we can freely engage and be entertained. Usually, it has to be of our own creation. So I'm trying to break the stigmas by talking about other plants and the benefits of other herbs - I find it helps to show that cannabis is also, ‘just a plant’. It all began with getting my website up, advertising, and hosting online classes. Now I am able to do more after establishing Faded virtually like my infused dinner party at the end of this month at a ranch out in Duncan, BC. Even though I am able to do more in-person, I still host classes online and have downloadable courses."
Haley: "Elizabeth [Becker], the CEO, put a lot of effort into making the website user-friendly. When hosts and guests become aware of HiBnb and realize that it is a welcoming, safe space they want to sign up for the experience, we have received an increase of questions about how to list on our site or just comments on their excitement to have found our platform.
As soon as you find someone else who smokes weed or consumes it, you have this connection with them. And so, it kind of brings this already vibrant, already existing community to the forefront. It's a cool concept because we're very B2C focused, whereas so many cannabis groups are B2B partnerships - which is fair to a new industry. I see a really good opportunity for us to be able to bring these other businesses to consumers through HiBnb. There are a lot of different opportunities for revenue and community with tourism."
Question 2 Considering stigma and restrictions, how do you go about operating your business?
Necole: The biggest strategy I've taken with my business is utilizing other herbs online or at private dinners. In the beginning, it was all about normalizing adult cannabis use. What I do is teach people about other herbs first and then sprinkle cannabis into the conversation. I call it my vitamin, and that's how I use it in my menu and at events. I use Jamaican fusion flavours because I'm paying homage to my parentage and at the same time, guests get a little something that could potentially help their body. I also do a little bit of education before my dinners because I think it's really important for people to know how I make the oil and the intentions for our dining experience.
Haley: We are a third-party platform where we promote other people's services. So that's been major in continuing in the market and advertising ourselves openly. And, of course, we're age-gated on all sites. Our platform has three different sections and three domains, so they're Canadian legislations hooked to our Canadian site and the American legislation on the US site. We're in eight countries, so we are really trying to respect and abide by the region's specific legislation.
Question 3 What do you hope will happen for cannabis tourism in the future?
Necole: "I would like to connect and go to cannabis farms, try the stains they grow, and then create a menu around it. I want to embody the whole thing - to complement the flavours. Whether that be smoking in between courses, in the dishes I make, or how both work together. If I'm honest, the goal of what I'd want relies on farm-gate launching. I would love to showcase Caribbean fusion, its flavours, and how well it tastes with cannabis. For me, the flavour profiles dance together beautifully, and I wish I could share that more."
Haley: "I hope to see people welcome cannabis tourism with open arms. At the BC Cannabis Summit, I learned that Kelowna has a thriving tourism industry and noticed that the weed and wine customers are very similar.
On the other hand, I'd love to see the international tourist industry boom in birthplaces of cannabis like Morocco and Afghanistan. The plant is thick worldwide, not just in BC or California."