Online auction offers chance to own piece of iconic Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel

Everything must go and that's what Rene Hajas and his team with North American Auction is aiming for at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.

Hajas is hosting the online auction that is live now. Bids begin closing on Feb. 9, but the final bid ends on Feb. 19.

For weeks the team has been removing all the furniture and artwork from the Fairmont 'gold rooms' and a number of one and two-bedroom suites. It's a massive job that took a dozen truck loads to move and has now filled a 2,300-square metre warehouse in southeast Calgary.

"Most of the hotels and hospitality industries or restaurants, they are in a five or six-year type of cycle," said Hajas. "Every company is a bit different and you know, it's good for the public because this is all good stuff to buy at a bargain price here."

The Banff Springs is undergoing a $35,000,000 suite and guest room renovation that began in the spring of 2021 and is expected to be complete sometime in early 2023.

The hotel says the auction items date back to the last renovation and are anywhere from seven to 15 years old.

Hajas says the furniture is solid and well built.

"They did a great job, like the quality and like the handles are all brass, and they're all stamped," he said. "It's very nice for anybody to have for like a cabin or if you're into that type of furniture, you're going to get a bargain here."

Andrew Strong provided some of the muscle to remove everything from the hotel, move it to Calgary and stage it in the warehouse. He says they started with the heaviest furniture first.

"Like this credenza, there's over probably 100 of them here so we just start to lift them out of the rooms and put them onto pallets," he said. "Depending on the elevator, sometimes you have to bring it down on a dolly."

Strong says it's taken weeks to prepare for the sale and he likes a lot of the artwork that is up for grabs and says there are many items he might put a bid on.

"There's definitely a few things that I saw that I had my eye on and it would be nice to get," he said.

Hajas says he's hosted thousands of auctions in the last 36 years and is seeing a trend for more companies to go green and recycle rather than dispose of items.

"I've worked for a lot of companies that want their product destroyed and you know, they're starting to come around, I understand both sides of it but that should be a big focus for people today," said Hajas.

Hajas says the items in the sale would be good for a small rural hotel that wants to remodel because there is still a lot of life in them. So far he's had more than 500 inquiries about the sale and has a little advice for anyone wanting to make a bid.

"You want to get in there and the first lot is usually your best deals because everybody starts fighting for them at the end," said Hajas. "Especially on a timed auction because you can't see the crowd and the bidding and the excitement, everything's done online now."

The auction items can be viewed in person on Sunday Feb. 6. Learn more about the auction online. www.localauction.ca