Rural Quebec hotel joins short-term rental movement

New owners hope to attract vacationers looking for unique experiences

When Nathalie Gagnon and her partner bought a closed-down inn in Quebec last year, they had no intention of reopening it under the traditional model.

Instead, the couple decided to list the entire 17-bedroom, eightbathroom hotel — complete with pool, sauna, kitchen, game room and hot tub — online on a shortterm rental website.

Gagnon and her husband already owned a smaller property they rented out on a home and cottage rental website, and decided the concept might work for their “Au Domaine William Wentworth” inn.

“Traditional doesn’t work as well right now,” Gagnon said in a recent interview at the establishment, which borders a river in St-Félixde-Kingsey, about halfway between Montreal and Quebec City.

“There are too many places offering the same services.”

For groups of 36 or more, Gagnon and her partner throw in an adjacent five-bedroom, two-bath Victorian manor home built in the late 19th century by Wentworth, a British loyalist who settled in the area.

The property is listed beginning at $1,495 per night.

While short-term rental websites have been around for decades, the runaway popularity of sites like Airbnb has led to an expansion in the kinds of properties that are offered for rent, according to one hospitality industry expert.

“You’re going to see more and more people who have extra space that’s unused find ways to try to rent it... from sailing boats to old warehouses to tree forts,” said Chris Gibbs, a professor at Ryerson University’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.

“When it comes to food, people want bolder flavours, more variety,” he said. “When it comes to accommodation, they want different experiences too, like the ability to sleep in a tent or a Winnebago.”

A representative for the company that lists Gagnon’s property agrees.

“Families don’t live together in the same place anymore,” said Camille Dumas. “Families prefer to meet somewhere and rent a place to themselves (rather than) rooms in an inn.”

In exchange for a fee, short-term rental platforms generally handle all the booking and advertising costs, saving property owners the expense of investing in technology, Gibbs said.

And, while finding a whole inn to rent is still a rarity, he points out there is an increasing number of three- and four-bedroom luxury homes being listed.

Gagnon’s inn was built as a health-and-wellness-themed facility in the mid-1990s by Quebec TV personality Claire Lamarche, but closed in 2011 due to declining customer demand.

Thus far, Gagnon said “Au Domaine William Wentworth” has been a success and is booked every weekend until November.

“I guess we were crazy,” Gagnon said of the decision to purchase the property.

“But, sometimes in life, opportunities come up and you have to decide whether you’re getting on the train.”