Tap it! Montreal hotels, bars and restos ready for Grand Prix weekend surge spending

It's F1 Canadian Grand Prix weekend in Montreal and few places will be more packed with race fans and car curios than Crescent Street downtown. The downtown core, however, isn't the only place where tables will be hard to get at restaurants, and line ups will be common outside of bars and clubs.

The payment processing company Moneris said that across the Island of Montreal during the 2022 Grand Prix weekend bar and snack shop volume increased by 30 per cent, restaurant volume was up 25 per cent and tourist attractions and hotel volume was up 10 per cent.

"It is a spike," said Moneris vice president of regional sales Stephen Turgeon. "It was good to be back. Moneris data shows week-over-week increases for businesses in Montreal for 2022 Grand Prix, champagne wasn't just for the race winners."

Jeff Picard is the managing partner of Brutopia Brew on Crescent and knows what an event like the Grand Prix means for businesses in the area.

"Grand Prix is probably the top weekend for our neighbourhood downtown," said Picard, adding that St. Patrick's Day is likely the only weekend that rivals Grand Prix for action downtown. "You can easily double up your regular activity... It's a huge boost definitely for everyone."

A large part of that boost comes from out-of-town tourists making a pilgrimage to the city.

"Crowds are fantastic," said Picard. "We see people from all over Canada, North America, Europe. People are in a great mood, people are happy to travel, and people love Montreal."

Staying in Montreal is not cheap, however, especially for those who didn't book in advance. Listings on Airbnb are well over $500 per night, and hotels anywhere close to the action can get to well over $1,000 per night on booking.com, with the cheapest options starting at $650.

Visitors will need to go off-island to find anything close to $100 per night on Expedia's site.

Jean-Sebastien Boudreault of the Greater Montreal Hotel Association (AHGM) said the occupancy rate should be between 93 and 95 per cent for the weekend and that this year, many reservations were made last minute.

"It's still an amazing weekend," he said. "A great start to a great summer."

Turgeon said inflation should mean numbers will be higher in 2023, but other factors could affect spending.

"Obviously with the inflation and everything that's going on in the economy, we have to think that it's a positive addition for Grand Prix for sure," he said. "Hopefully the weather will hold."

With rain and thunderstorms expected in Montreal and a worker strike at Loto-Quebec's flagship casino on Notre-Dame Island, some money may stay in the pockets of consumers.

Moneris data showed a 120 per cent increase in foreign spending in Montreal bars in 2022 compared to the week prior.

Toursist spending at restaurants and snack shops was up 50 per cent as well, and fast food joints saw a 20 per cent increase from their normal traffic.

Over half of those tourists came from the U.S. in 2022, with China making up the second highest number at 7 per cent, followed by the UK (4 per cent), and India and Ireland (3 per cent).

But Moneris data showed that 2022 was down from pre-pandemic numbers in 2019, with hotel spending a third lower. Bar spending in 2022 was three-quarters of what it was three years earlier.

Picard said though busy, the crowds tend to be easy-going and friendly with few issues.

"We see fathers and sons trips. I'm surprised how many fathers and sons I run into doing their annual pilgrimage to the race," said Picard. "It's just a good energy." 

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante said Grand Prix weekend is just the start of what will be a very busy summer.

"It's actually quite exciting because Tourism Montreal, based on the advertising and flights and hotel rooms, they're evaluating that a record of people, of visitors, 9 million people will be coming to Montreal for the summer," said Plante.