“We need more supply in Lower Town, so we welcome that. Our industry is growing and new players are welcome,” shares in an interview with Soleil Alupa Clarke, general director of the Quebec Region Hotel Association (AHRQ).
The new player in question is the hotel that developer Trudel plans to build on the Dorchester block. In the heart of Saint-Roch, the private group will eliminate the current parking lot in favor of 410 housing units, a high-volume grocery store, local shops and green spaces.
The real estate and commercial development will also include a hotel component, at the top of the most imposing building in the project, 20 floors high. The future hotel will have some 150 rooms spread over the six highest floors.
To justify it, Trudel invokes a “necessary” addition to ensure the profitability of his vision, also motivated by a “shortage” of hotel rooms in Quebec. The developer concludes from the comments of various stakeholders in the field that “at least” a thousand are missing.
The future hotel on the Dorchester block will have some 150 rooms spread over the six highest floors. (Trudel Group)
Trudel sees in a new hotel a way to remedy the 30% increase in the cost of overnight stays between 2019 and 2022, the “proliferation” of Airbnb-type accommodation in tourist sectors and a way to “enhance” non-residential traffic. reside in the neighborhood.
High demand
Saint-Roch, however, already has its share of hotels.
Only in the quadrangle, the PUR Hotel, the Best Western Plus, the Royal William and hotel apartment buildings are nearby. Another with 40 rooms, the Boxotel, was also supposed to be built not far from there, before construction was interrupted a little over a year ago.
However, large international hotel chains are already showing “a lot of interest” in the Saint-Roch sector. Ongoing discussions with one of them could lead to the erection of an “iconic establishment with a vibrant and fashionable brand”.
The PUR Hotel is less than half a kilometer from Dorchester Islet. (The Sun, Erick Labbé)
No wonder new industry players are eyeing Lowertown in this post-pandemic recovery, according to AHRQ’s Alupa Clarke. “There is demand in Lower Town and in general for all of Quebec City,” he notes.
Without reservation, while waiting to know all the details of its future competitor, the director of operations and interim general manager of the PUR hotel welcomes the arrival of an additional hotelier.
“I think it’s a good thing for Saint-Roch and that it will bring even more customers to Lower Town. It brings competition, but everything is comparable,” expresses Alexandra Wiegert.
“Authenticity”
Tourists are, she observes, increasingly attracted to this “developing sector”, recognized for its “authenticity”. “Many want to experience the local culture as it is and I think that’s why Saint-Roch is growing so much. If the Trudel brothers are interested in putting a hotel there, it’s because they too see the potential.”
The 2023 annual report from Destination Québec cited confirms that the district of La Cité-Limoilou, which includes the Upper and Lower Town, as well as Limoilou, is the sector where the highest occupancy rate is recorded and where average daily rates are, by far, the highest in the entire region.
“Quebec has succeeded in adequately repositioning itself as an international destination.”
— Alupa Clarke, general director of the Quebec City Region Hotel Association
Summer 2024 ends with an average occupancy rate of 83% in hotel establishments.
“We know that in a few years, we will have to have more hotel offers, because since the post-pandemic return, Quebec continues to gain momentum,” notes the general director of the AHRQ.
Revitalize a neighborhood
For the neighborhood, Éric Merlin, general manager and owner of Lofts du Vieux-Québec, also sees in the arrival of a new hotel an opportunity to “revitalize” a sector which, for the moment, is only an open-air parking lot “not very beautiful”.
With its 150 apartments scattered across eight buildings in Lower Town, the company manager is not worried about seeing his revenues cannibalized by an even larger hotel offering.
“I don’t think it’s bad. There are going to be more people and if there are more people, the businesses will do better,” he analyzes, not hiding however some fears regarding the upcoming construction site.
Beyond “competition”, the Quebec City Region Hotel Association believes that the entire destination will benefit.
“Often, hoteliers, when they are full, they need a nearby hotel offering where they can refer customers. The goal is always to ensure that the customer is well served in Quebec, otherwise, he will not come back,” argues the general manager, Alupa Clarke.
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