When other hotels in Montreal were shutting doors due to COVID after the first wave, the Sofitel Golden Mile was still going. From about mid-May 2020, the hotel was open at roughly 50-57% capacity starting that summer. Once Quebec added restrictions in late summer, the hotel still was able to hit its goal of about 45% occupancy that fall. While others ran half inventory because of staffing issues, the Sofitel was able to keep most of the food and beverage staff on payroll due because they kept the restaurant open delivering lunchboxes to the office or to homes.

The suites were full the week TravelPulse Canada visited; something Bruno Bernier, Director of Sales, unnecessarily apologized for as he would’ve liked to do our interview in one. It’s a great problem to have at a time when many hotels are running around half capacity, in September through November 2021, the Sofitel averaged 58.1%. This May, occupancy was 68.6% and June and July 2022 are expected to reach 83% and 72% respectively.

“For now, we are very close to the numbers we had pre-pandemic in 2019. So, it's like it's almost back to normal for us.”

Guests at the hotel are a mix of leisure and corporate, with business travellers making up the bulk of business during the week and mostly couples and some families visiting on the weekends. The Sofitel is the only European brand hotel in downtown Montreal and the only European five-star hotel on the ground in Quebec. Because of the European connection, there’s a natural influx of French, British and Italian travellers to the hotel.

“The corporate market in Canada have been picking up very much lately. The US market is starting to pick up both for corporate and leisure travel. Europeans have started to travel again and to us it's a big win.”

Corporate meeting bookings are starting to resume, though with some hesitation. Sofitel’s big advantage is they offer all of the amenities of a five-star brand, without the extravagant perception or price tag.

“We're a bit of the underdog of the five-star hotels in Montreal,” explains Bernier. “Some industries may want to book the better-known luxury brand names but are hesitant as even though they can afford the service, and they know it will be excellent service, it might look bad on them because of the price tag that's usually attached to their brands.

We have the same kind of service, we're just slightly more affordable and because not everybody knows Sofitel in North America; we're one of only five in North America, we attract that share of the market.”

There is close to 10,000 square feet of meeting space, with 6 ballrooms. The main ballroom’s capacity is 300 and on average the hotel handles conferences between 125 and 250 delegates.

A key to Sofitel’s success, beyond their staff, is their partnerships. The hotel works with airlines and offers commission to travel agents on bookings. There’s a special focus on the arts, with tickets available to the Museum of Fine Art, local shows and CF Montreal games as well as off-site spa services. In-room body products will also change soon to Balmain.

The hotel’s ecological goal is to eliminate single-use plastic throughout the hotel by the end of 2022, a reason why they now provide FLOW water bottles in room. The hotel is also pet friendly.

In the fall the hotel will be celebrating its 20th anniversary, and plans are underway to celebrate. Cornelius Van Horn mansion was torn down in 1972, and an office building was built in its place. It was shuttered in 2000 and opened as the Sofitel in 2002. A major renovation is planned for the end of 2023, which will include an overhaul of all the rooms, the lobby space, public area, the meeting space, perhaps even an extension of the restaurant.

“It’s going to be a good mix of the new and the old. We're not going to reinvent ourselves. We'll continue to progress through time.”

Agents who wish to book clients at the Sofitel Golden Mile, can contact Bruno directly at bruno.bernier@sofitel.com.