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Industries · Tourist accommodation
Booking platforms find you guests and keep a cut of every night. A good site convinces those guests to book direct next time, with your registration number in view and Montreal's rules respected.
The essentials
The context
In Montreal, renting your principal residence to tourists is only allowed from June 10 to September 10, with a City permit renewed every year. Lachine, Saint-Laurent and Saint-Léonard don't allow it at all, and Verdun no longer allows new B&Bs. These rules move; check the current version.
Source: Ville de Montréal ↗As a general rule, the tax on lodging is 3.5% of the nightly price, excluding breakfast or parking. When a registered platform collects the payment, the platform collects the tax; when guests book direct, you do. Your booking page has to show it properly.
Source: Revenu Québec ↗On a single festival weekend you might host people from Quebec City, Toronto, Boston and Lyon. French first is the law; polished English is common sense; anything beyond that depends on who actually books with you.
What usually goes wrong
A lodging site has one real job: get to a booking. Here's what gets in the way most often.
It's on Airbnb, but not on your own site or your Instagram. The requirement covers all advertising, including your own website and social media.
The site is in French, then the guest clicks “Book” and lands in an English-only widget. It's the step that matters most, and the one nobody remembers to check.
Taxes and cleaning fees show up on the last screen and the guest leaves. Say clearly, right on the room page, what gets added to the nightly rate.
Ten photos of the room, none of the street. Guests want to know whether they're five minutes from Mont-Royal station or twenty minutes by bus, and whether there are three floors of spiral staircase.
The rules that apply
General information, not legal advice. Here's what we build in from the start, and where to check it.
Operators must clearly show their registration number (6 digits, e.g. “Enr. XXXXXX”) in their advertising, including their own website and social media. According to Québec.ca, leaving it out carries a fine of $1,000 to $10,000 for an individual and $2,000 to $20,000 in other cases.
Official source ↗ (www.quebec.ca)For a principal residence, the City requires an annual operating permit and limits tourist rentals to June 10 through September 10. Outside that window, only certain areas allow commercial tourist residences. Check with the City and your borough before opening dates.
Official source ↗ (montreal.ca)Commercial publications, including websites and social media, must be available in French on terms at least as favourable as any other language. In practice that includes the booking flow and its terms. English can be added, as can other languages.
Official source ↗ (oqlf.gouv.qc.ca)A booking collects names, emails, phone numbers and sometimes more. Ask only for what you need, publish your privacy policy and your privacy officer's title and contact details, and don't switch on ad tracking by default.
Official source ↗ (www.cai.gouv.qc.ca)General information, not legal advice. Check with the relevant regulator.
What we build
Six pieces that all serve one idea: the next booking should happen on your site.
The booking engine or calendar you already use, built into the site where the tool allows it and offers a French version. Otherwise, a simple booking request with no online payment.
Entered once, shown in the footer and on every room page. The certificate's expiry date sits in the dashboard so the renewal doesn't sneak up on you.
Photos, beds, bathroom, accessibility, stairs or no stairs. In Montreal, the outdoor-staircase question is far from theoretical for anyone arriving with two suitcases.
Nearest metro, parking, groceries, Jean-Talon or Atwater market, local cafés and restaurants. Useful for guests, useful for Google, and it answers emails before anyone sends them.
Deposit, cancellation, check-in times, tax on lodging: all explained before payment, not buried in the confirmation email.
For a principal residence, bookable dates limited to the allowed period. For a year-round property, seasonal pages (summer festivals, Grand Prix, winter) for searches that come back every year.
Found in your neighbourhood
Travellers search by neighbourhood and landmark: “B&B Plateau”, “hotel near the Old Port”, “gîte près du marché Jean-Talon”. We build pages that answer those searches in both languages and line up your Google profile, your site and your platform listings with the same details, registration number included.
Line Lodging
Checklist
FAQ
Another question? Write to us in English or French.
info@webdevelopmentmontreal.caYes. Québec.ca says the number must appear in the establishment's advertising, including its website and social media. A bare contact listing (name, address, phone) is exempt, but a booking site is hardly a bare listing.
Not if it's your principal residence: the City limits that to June 10 through September 10, with a permit. Commercial tourist residences are only allowed in certain areas. The rules changed recently, so check with the City before you build your calendar.
No, we're not lawyers. What we write here is general information drawn from official sources. For your situation, confirm with the CITQ, the City of Montreal and your borough, Revenu Québec or a lawyer.
Often, yes, if the tool offers an embeddable widget or link and a French version. We check before promising anything, and what's planned goes in the written quote.
A bilingual site and an online store for packages or gift cards are quoted differently, based on what you sell and how you take bookings. Either way: fixed price, written quote.
Useful services
Your project
Tell us about your property, your season and the tools you already use. Fixed-price written quote, French first.
