Montreal hotels say more action from government needed to keep tourism industry alive

Montreal hotels say that even though they never shut down during the pandemic, they’re still losing a lot of money — and that many could close if the government doesn’t help.

“We are driving our business on credit cards,” said Marc Saunier, who manages Hotel Monville in downtown Montreal.

He says business has been slow throughout the Omicron wave. Of the hotel’s 270 rooms, an average of just 30 are booked every day, and cancellations keep coming.

“We lost all of the business we had on our books until the end of April,” he said. 

An industry survey found that 40 per cent of Quebec hotels lost more than $100,000 in the last month.

And Saunier says the government isn’t doing enough to help.

“Taxes [are] coming in March — the city tax — and nobody has the money to pay for it," said Jean-Sebastien Boudreault, CEO of the Hotel Association of Greater Montreal (AHGM).

Aside from financial aid, hotels want the government to come up with an action plan to bring tourists back.

“We have international conferences coming in April and May and June and July. We want them to be reassured that they can come and be in Montreal,” said Boudreault.

Part of the problem, hotels say, is that tourists are avoiding Montreal because the restaurants are closed for indoor dining — restaurants that are also desperate for help.

The owners of Le Sh Moonshine BBQ in St-Henri say that even with a renewed emphasis on takeout, business is down around 70 per cent.

Owner Melissa Beaver says that although she understands hospitalizations are high, restaurant workers “need to be able to continue the restaurant lifestyle” that Montreal is “so well-known” for.

A spokesperson for the tourism minister said that since the beginning of the pandemic, the government has allocated $1.2 billion to support the tourism industry — but adds that, at this stage, safety must be prioritized when it comes to the reopening of businesses.