Paired Midprice/Extended Stay Hotel Development Debuts In Montreal
Last summer, the first local paired-development hotel project coupling an extended-stay hotel with a midprice hotel opened at the Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. The traditional midprice Courtyard by Marriott, partnering with the extended stay Residence Inn by Marriott, was the brands' first representation in this growing and expanding marketplace.
"The market on the west islands is very vibrant and in need of new up-to-date product, since much of it was obsolete," said Kevin Urgo, vice president of Urgo Hotels, the hotel development, management and consulting firm behind the project.
Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport currently is undergoing a C$716 million major expansion and modernization that began in 2000 designed to increase the terminal's capacity and substantially enhance the level of passenger service.
The program includes the construction of several brand-new facilities, including a jetty for flights to the United States, another for overseas flights and a huge international arrivals complex. The major part of this program is now completed and passengers are enjoying the comfort, space and user-friendliness of the new facilities. The revitalization of the airport has brought additional traffic to the area and Urgo Hotels found this economic boon to be a prime incentive for their paired project.
"We saw this opportunity to put in that marketplace two of the best brand concepts out there," said Urgo. "The idea of two towers which will share a central core of common area and public space provides a tremendous cost-savings benefit on construction and allows for great synergy and efficiency and savings on operating costs as well."
The Residence Inn Montreal Airport is a six-floor hotel with 169 suites with an average length of stay per traveler of 20 to 30 nights. Suites come equipped with a living room, a full kitchen and luxury bedding amenities.
"The Residence Inn Montreal Airport a good hotel for those who are training for a period of time or relocating to the marketplace, or for families on vacation who need a larger unit because they have children," said Urgo.
The six-floor Courtyard Montreal Hotel has 160 350-sq.-ft. rooms and seven meeting rooms with a total of 6,000 square feet of total meeting space, and a host of upscale amenities.
The Courtyard shares many services with the Marriott Residence Inn Montreal Airport, including a restaurant and bar. This partnership between the two brands allows the hotels to share amenities while meeting the needs of two different clientele. "They are two very different concepts, but together, you're able to take advantage of catering to both segments of travelers while operating as one operating team," said Urgo.
Urgo said that feedback on the new project has been positive. "The project is full during its peak periods of the year, and in the slower, off-season, it's still well above its fair share of the marketplace," said Urgo.