What’s up with the high hotel prices in Montreal this summer?

[wolfie7]

I get that summer is high season for Montreal. And I get pricing is always crazy for Grand Prix week. But for all the major hotel programs - Marriott, Hilton, etc. - the prices are ridiculously high compared to earlier this year (Feb, March, April). And even looking out to after Labor Day, to October and November, prices are still inflated. $200+ USD per night.

25 years of coming to Montreal, and I thought I had a good sense of the seasonality of hotel pricing. But not right now.

Montreal was always a great travel city - great hobbying, great food - and lots of options at the high end and low end for hotels at good prices. The hobbying has gone down the last few years - but the food and hotels were still great. But now…

I was planning a trip north - but at these prices, those plans have been scrapped. I could go to Europe, and pay about the same, all-in. Maybe less, because German hotels are always cheap. Not to even mention going to LatAm, where great, modern AirBnb’s are readily available at $50 USD a night.

Do other travelers see the same? Or is there a secret site for Canadians with better pricing lol? I know some of you guys hate Americans right now… but, geez…

 

[LeDodo]

Offer and demand.
Tariff war might be one thing too ...

 

[CLOUD 500]

I get that summer is high season for Montreal. And I get pricing is always crazy for Grand Prix week. But for all the major hotel programs - Marriott, Hilton, etc. - the prices are ridiculously high compared to earlier this year (Feb, March, April). And even looking out to after Labor Day, to October and November, prices are still inflated. $200+ USD per night.

25 years of coming to Montreal, and I thought I had a good sense of the seasonality of hotel pricing. But not right now.

Montreal was always a great travel city - great hobbying, great food - and lots of options at the high end and low end for hotels at good prices. The hobbying has gone down the last few years - but the food and hotels were still great. But now…

I was planning a trip north - but at these prices, those plans have been scrapped. I could go to Europe, and pay about the same, all-in. Maybe less, because German hotels are always cheap. Not to even mention going to LatAm, where great, modern AirBnb’s are readily available at $50 USD a night.

Do other travelers see the same? Or is there a secret site for Canadians with better pricing lol? I know some of you guys hate Americans right now… but, geez…

Because we are getting way too many tourists. Low dollar value plus a rapidly rising population due to mass immigration has caused way too much demand. These are issues happening in other countries like Spain. There was a big protest there about excessive tourism causing prices go to up. Post-covid I never seen so many people in the summer time, it is a sausage fest.

 

[wolfie7]

Because we are getting way too many tourists. Low dollar value plus a rapidly rising population due to mass immigration has caused way too much demand. These are issues happening in other countries like Spain. There was a big protest there about excessive tourism causing prices go to up. Post-covid I never seen so many people in the summer time, it is a sausage fest.

That sucks - the crowds that is.

For what it’s worth, hotel pricing in Spain has gone up a little the last few years. A few percentage points. But nothing like in Montreal. And you can still find plenty of decent 3-star hotels at around $100 USD.

 

[CLOUD 500]

That sucks - the crowds that is.

For what it’s worth, hotel pricing in Spain has gone up a little the last few years. A few percentage points. But nothing like in Montreal. And you can still find plenty of decent 3-star hotels at around $100 USD.

Low dollar value invites a lot of tourists. The value of the CAD has went down significantly, Spain uses Euros. It might help them have less tourists then Canada. It is cheaper for people from Europe and the US to come to Canada. And people in Canada are traveling more inter provincially, low dollar value makes those trips more expensive and now you got Trump's tariffs. It is a triple whaming. Government has no incentive to to anything, it benefits them as they are cashing in big time from this. But Canadians are not like Europeans, they will remain quiet about this.

 

[LC18]

A lot more Canadians are travelling within Canada this year as opposed to going to the US which can affect the prices of hotel rooms. Like someone mentioned “supply and demand “

You can always rent a Airbnb some providers are comfortable with visiting them or if they aren’t you can consider visiting them instead or last resort you can rent a very cheap Airbnb and then book a room in a fancier hotel on dayuse to host but that option will cost you the same as just renting the room full time

Good luck I guess

 

[happyfranc]

The hobby has lost much of its lustre these past few years
The hotel prices would be tolerable but it's not worth it given the declining quality of the out call providers
No matter what the embellished reviews might say
Not a fan of the assembly line in call model
If the hotels are getting good business they will charge more and provide worse customer service
Exactly the same with the agencies
Definitely have been visiting the city less with each passing year, and working on improving the golf game instead

 

[LC18]

Exactly the same with the agencies

Maybe it’s time for you to look at the independent ads and find a provider that’s within your budget and who has good reviews

It could be a more tailored experience, less foot traffic than an agency incall where multiple girls work in the same unit (not at the same time) more discreet than a massage parlour (with the big signs on the street) and you wouldn’t need to rent a hotel room that’s more expensive than it needs to be

 

[Gazoo64]

The hobby has lost much of its lustre these past few years
The hotel prices would be tolerable but it's not worth it given the declining quality of the out call providers
No matter what the embellished reviews might say
Not a fan of the assembly line in call model
If the hotels are getting good business they will charge more and provide worse customer service
Exactly the same with the agencies
Definitely have been visiting the city less with each passing year, and working on improving the golf game instead

Very well said! But it seems that some guys don’t care if they get lousy service, they keep booking anyway.

I’m a local and I do incall, so my comment is not relevant to high hotel prices.
But I’ll chime in anyway….

I’ve been booking more often with Indies these days and IMO, having a better and more personalized experience. On the other hand, it’s more expensive.

I’ll still occasionally book agency SPs as well, but I’m more selective about who I book.
As for the popular agency SPs, they’re almost impossible to book.
And I’m not one of those guys who waits until the schedule comes out and refreshes the page 100s of times and texts the agency ASAP to get a “spot”. Loool!
No thanks, I’ll let others “fight” for a spot with a popular lady.

Instead I’ll just text a regular Indy that I see and I can pretty much get any day/time that I want.
My 2 cents.

 

[philonius]

A lot more Canadians are travelling within Canada this year as opposed to going to the US which can affect the prices of hotel rooms. Like someone mentioned “supply and demand “

You can always rent a Airbnb some providers are comfortable with visiting them or if they aren’t you can consider visiting them instead or last resort you can rent a very cheap Airbnb and then book a room in a fancier hotel on dayuse to host but that option will cost you the same as just renting the room full time

Good luck I guess

With the additional fees (mandatory 'cleaning fee' on top of me tidying up/taking out trash is weird) and the rise of the AirBNB Landlords these have become worse that hotels in most cases now. Used to be that you could find really good deals, esp when splitting with other people, but every time I look now I'd rather spend the same amount at hotel that's better located and priced.

 

[wolfie7]

Airbnb’s are no-go’s in developed countries, as a general rule, for me…

They’re expensive, don’t look all that great, and just not enough of a (good) differential vs hotels in Canada and Europe to make them worthwhile. Montreal sucks for Airbnb when I’ve checked in the past, and just now.

In LatAm, because labor is cheap, for renovating and cleaning, and theres a lot of new buildings, and there’s not as many rules protecting domestic home ownership - Airbnb’s are much better quality and pricing than hotels. Brand new modern apartments vs aging dated hotel rooms. Easy choice.

 

[wolfie7]

The hobby has lost much of its lustre these past few years
The hotel prices would be tolerable but it's not worth it given the declining quality of the out call providers
No matter what the embellished reviews might say
Not a fan of the assembly line in call model
If the hotels are getting good business they will charge more and provide worse customer service
Exactly the same with the agencies
Definitely have been visiting the city less with each passing year, and working on improving the golf game instead

I did the same calculus as you.

When I scanned the rosters, it’s more or less the same tired few. While there’s a handful I like, it’s not worth the extra travel cost. There’s just better places elsewhere in the world.

And I hear what Gazoo said… And glad it’s worked out for him. But I do volume, always have, always will, for hobbying. I’m not a once-a-week guy. If I travel to hobby, I’m doing one a day to get my travel’s worth, if not more. And none of the indies I see on MERB make sense for seeing at volume. I don’t have that much cash to burn. Volume and variety is why I preferred agencies.

Most of the indies in Montréal are below-grade, and the few who pass muster are overpriced. Often grossly. Nobody in the same class as Zoe and Isabella, who were the high water marks in indy-land IMO. So again, it’s just not worth it.

 

[happyfranc]

for non-locals who are less price sensitive, the hotel and provider rates are not the deciding factor when choosing whether or not to visit
convenience of booking and quality (looks/service/attitude) are of more importance

speaking with a few veteran providers, they've mentioned that the client base has changed a lot recently too
they've either left the industry entirely or been planning their exit strategy
anecdotally, a large group of boorish drunks, perhaps a bachelor party, were making a huge ruckus in a nice hotel lobby
imagine seeing a provider after she'd dealt with that bunch

increase in number of people, and decrease in available quality providers. just check out the help wanted section.
back to the hotel rates, yes pre covid they were much more reasonable, and you could consistently book an 8+ provider the same day.
not possible these days, and today's 8 was yesterday's 6

 

[EagerBeaver]

I can go the other way and say Montreal hotels are dirt cheap doing an apples to apples comparison with US northeastern hotels on the same dates.

I ran a PL search for Montreal using the dates of 8/23/2025 (tonight) to 8/25/2025. Before PL fees/taxes, I see that the Omni is $508 and Le Centre Sheraton $490 for those 2 nights.

Doing the exact same search on similar properties the same nights in Portland, Maine, I see that the Portland Harbor Hotel is $1307 and the Hyatt Place $848. I have stayed at those 2 hotels as well as the Omni and Sheraton. The PHH and HP are the Portland equivalents of the Omni and Sheraton, respectively. The PHH is almost triple the price of the Omni, whereas the Hyatt is $350 more than the Sheraton those 2 nights.

I was considering Maine or Montreal for my 2025 warm weather weekend trips, and I opted into a Maine trip based on the drive being shorter for me back in May. However, for a possible end of September trip (9/26/2025-9/28/2025) you are looking at even more extreme price differentials as between Montreal and Portland. So I may have to do that weekend in Montreal to save $500 or more.

 

[wolfie7]

Lobster rolls, as delicious as they are, are a sad substitute for a proper Montreal GFE… But then again, one’s endangered and the other is still plentiful. Haha.

It’s probably because of an influx of tourists from the NE, and this calculus, that’s pushed up the demand and prices in Montréal. SMH.

 

[LeDodo]

The hobby has lost much of its lustre these past few years
The hotel prices would be tolerable but it's not worth it given the declining quality of the out call providers
No matter what the embellished reviews might say
Not a fan of the assembly line in call model
If the hotels are getting good business they will charge more and provide worse customer service
Exactly the same with the agencies
Definitely have been visiting the city less with each passing year, and working on improving the golf game instead

You still have the dayuse options which is less expensive than a full day. But in your case I assume you're not living here so it might not be relevant for you.

Outcall total cost (if not at your place) is becoming definitely more expensive. But I would choose this option only and fork the money for a special SP not for TOFTT.