A growing number of hotels across Canada are converting into special COVID-19 crisis sites, as low occupancy rates have prompted dozens of properties to suspend normal operations, putting tens of thousands of Canadians out of work.
The Quality Suites hotel in Laval, Que., is housing up to 130 mental health and palliative care patients. They came from the nearby Hôpital de la Cité-de-la-Santé, which brought in its own staff and is now essentially leasing out the property, explained Brian Leon, president of Choice Hotels Canada.
Patients from a different hospital, in Northern Ontario, are staying at another hotel in the franchise. And two affiliated properties in the Montreal area have government contracts to house isolating international