The Palais des congrès de Montréal achieved a historic record in its 2022-2023 financial year with $426 million in economic benefits for its business events. It has welcomed more than 773,000 people to 300 events, including the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP15), the Lions Clubs International conference and AIDS 2022 – the international AIDS conference.
“The recovery is phenomenal,” says Élaine Legault, director of events and customer experience at the Palais des congrès de Montréal. While she agrees that this result is partly attributable to the numerous postponements of events due to the pandemic, she emphasizes that Montreal continues to stand out as a destination. In 2022, for the sixth consecutive year, the city ranked at the top of the Union of International Associations (ICCA) rankings for hosting international association events in the Americas.
“In 2023, we will have held around forty major international conferences, particularly in the fields of science and medicine,” indicates Élaine Legault. Our calendar is also already full for 2024, 2025 and 2026 with 68 conferences already confirmed, 55 of which are international and American. Despite inflation and the threat of recession, in these extremely important areas people need to meet and exchange best practices, so we are optimistic. »
If Montreal is doing well, the different regions of Quebec are experiencing different realities. “Some places are more difficult to access, for example because they require air travel or long hours on the road, so with the current price of gasoline, it is more difficult to remain competitive,” notes Charles Milliard, President and CEO of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Quebec.
However, he is of the opinion that business events must be held in the different regions of Quebec. “It is a very important socio-economic development tool, and the government must support regional infrastructure so that they can host events,” he says. In addition to frequenting hotels and restaurants, business people can do all kinds of activities on site, discover local businesses, etc. And when they visit areas for work, there’s a good chance they’ll want to return there with family. »
If, at the moment, business tourism is running at full speed, it nevertheless notes that in this catch-up mode, many postponed events are taking place with the prices negotiated for 2020 or 2021.
Gilber Paquette, general director of Tourisme d’affaires Québec, confirms that the pressure is strong in the industry. “As organizations lack the staff to invest time in reservations with different stakeholders in order to provide great experiences for participants, many request turnkey events from hoteliers,” he notes. But it takes time and creativity! Hoteliers also lack staff in coordination and sales for events. Everyone is overwhelmed. »
At the Palais des congrès de Montréal, which can count on relatively stable teams despite the labor shortage, efforts are being made to offer extraordinary experiences to convention attendees.
The Palais has therefore recently set up thematic zones, such as the après-ski zone, or the Saint-Laurent zone, all in blue, with whales, informative QR codes and natural light.
“When the delegates are in the dark rooms, they could be anywhere in the world,” says Élaine Legault. But when they go out and spend some time in one of our zones, they can live the experience of being in Quebec. »
The Palais can make different proposals to organizations thanks to its various partners, to build a tailor-made experience for their guests. “For example, for a cocktail in the Saint-Laurent area, we could create a menu composed of local specialties, with shrimp from Matane and algae grown in the river,” she illustrates. Then, cocktails can be made with products from the Distillerie du St. Laurent. People like it. It’s part of experiencing Montreal. »
In 2023, organizers must make efforts to offer eco-responsible events. This is even more true when they are aimed at young people. “More and more, organizers are looking to see if we have responsible management of our building, whether for water, energy and residual materials,” says Élaine Legault, of the Palais des congrès de Montréal. Our eco-conditionality policy also allows event organizers who take concrete actions in sustainable development to benefit from a discount of up to 10% for the rental of our rooms. »
People tend to register late for events. Or, they register but don’t show up. “It’s complicated for organizers who have to estimate the number of people who will be present,” says Gilber Paquette, of Tourisme d’affaires Québec. They tend to order too much food, so as not to run out. » Some hoteliers will also ask for room guarantees. “This increases the financial risk, particularly in the voluntary sector, where you never really know how many people will register,” he adds.
Online events have brought new expectations from attendees: they don’t just want to listen, they want to interact. Applications for preparing events by collecting a wealth of information on the interests of delegates are therefore popular. Participants can also make appointments with others. “This type of platform allows people who travel for the event to have a better return on their investment,” indicates Élaine Legault, specifying that the Palais has entered into a partnership with the Swapcard platform.
With teleworking, many organizations have reduced the size of their premises. Result ? They no longer necessarily have the space to bring all their employees together in the office. In addition, as people see each other less often, company management is more likely to organize motivational activities. “Meetings are very important for team cohesion and as long as they travel, people want to have a great experience, so hoteliers see a lot of requests for small one-day events,” notes Gilber Paquette.
