Annual Report 2010 - Hostelling International Canada

ANNUAL REPORT 2009-10
St-Lawrence youth hostels
«To help all,
especially the young,
gain a greater understanding,
of peoples, places and cultures
through hostelling ».
HOSTEL MAP OF THE QUÉBEC AND GREAT LAKES REGION.......................................... 2
PRESIDENT’S REPORT................................................................................................................... 4
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT............................................................................................. 5
DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT............................................................................ 6
MEMBERSHIP................................................................................................................................... 7
HI-MONTRÉAL. ................................................................................................................................ 8
HI-TORONTO................................................................................................................................. 10
HI-MONT-TREMBLANT................................................................................................................ 12
HI-NIAGARA FALLS..................................................................................................................... 13
GROUP RESERVATIONS............................................................................................................ 14
AUBERGE INTERNATIONALE DE QUÉBEC........................................................................... 15
AUBERGE INTERNATIONALE DE RIVIÈRE-DU-LOUP.......................................................... 16
AUBERGE FESTIVE SEA SHACK.............................................................................................. 17
OUR TEAM..................................................................................................................................... 18
COMMUNITY LINKS................................................................................................................... 19
--
Hostels of the Québec
and Great Lakes Region
HI-Mont-Tremblant
La Résidence
La Tuque
HI-Petite-Nation
St-André-Avellin
Auberge Esprit
Davidson
HI-Montréal
Georgian Green
Summer Hostel Barrie
HI-Toronto
HI-Niagara Falls
--
Le Tangon
Sept-Îles
Sea Shack
Ste-Anne-des-Monts
HI-Îles-de-la-Madeleine
HI-Rivière-du-Loup
HI-Québec
HI-Trois-Rivières
--
President’s Report
New challenges
As Exective Director, Jacques Perreault, mentioned in his annual report,
the financial and economic crisis impacted our performance more than
expected, particularly in the first quarter of fiscal year 2009-2010. Through
vigorous and sustained action, we nevertheless managed to keep our
heads above water and finish the year on a high financial note, despite an
operating deficit. Our liquidity is good and prospects for 2010-2011 are more
than encouraging.
In my last report I mentioned the major strategic orientations guiding the
development of our Association and its hostels. These same orientations
continue to serve as our beacon. With regard to the first strategic direction,
the consolidation of our new roles as a regional association, we have been
active within HI-Canada (Canadian hostelling association) and we worked
with other regional associations to clarify what sets our service offering apart
from the competition. We must now, in this new chapter, not only identify
what distinguishes us but evaluate it. At HI-Canada, a review of the General Regulations
is currently underway, mainly with regard to the exercise of voting rights, the composition
of the board of HI-Canada and term durations for directors. This contemplation is a reflection of the democratic health of our Association’s structures, a hallmark that will always
remain an integral part of what makes us DIFFERENT!
Regarding our other strategic orientations, we also made some progress with respect to
aligning our activities with a sustainable development strategy — a policy is currently
being developed — and we have clarified with Kéroul (the Quebec association for the
promotion of tourism and culture for people with physical disabilities) what we intend to
do in the next two years to increase the accessibility of our services to this clientele.
The St. Lawrence Youth Hostel Association also committed itself to increase the supply
of accommodation in its territory with the help of the affiliated hostels in Quebec and
Ontario. In this regard, we plan to take concrete steps in the following years, certainly the
most ambitious being the revisiting of our range of accommodation in Montreal. The hostel on Mackay Street is a high quality hostel, but we have outgrown it somewhat: shared
spaces are limited and do not promote the diversification of our services (e.g. meeting
rooms, common areas and exhibitions spaces). It is becoming imperative that we seriously consider the establishment of a 21st century hostel in Montreal that will respect
the highest standards in sustainable development, while continuing to provide — in the
spirit of our mission — young travellers an accessible, friendly and safe environment. This
large international hostel cannot materialize by itself. If the Association intends to be its
principal architect, it will certainly need the assistance of active forces in the Montreal
community. The 2010-2011 year should tell us whether this dream can be realized in the
near future.
There is therefore no shortage of projects for the coming years : as a social economy
enterprise, we must both ensure the sustainability of our association and hostels in the
service of the community — especially young travellers — but also envisage the future
with optimism by realizing exciting new projects! Of course all this could not happen
without the hard work and commitment of the General Director, managers, all hostel staff
and the members of the Board of Directors. For the work they accomplish in sometimes
difficult times, and for the challenges ahead, we must show them great appreciation and
sincere thanks.
Louis Jolin
President
--
Executive Director’s Report
A second year marked by recession
The 2009-2010 year began the same way as the previous year ended: on a sharp decline in
overnight revenues. We were in the midst of a recession, with all this implies for trying to maintain quality services and jobs. The first quarter concluded on the biggest deficit we’ve ever
seen for this period. By the second quarter, the crisis that had persisted since January 2009 was
eroding all our liquidity reserves.
To survive, we had to change some of our ways of doing business, particularly with respect
to marketing. Specifically, this area had to become more efficient and involve less investment.
This does not mean that what we had been doing before was not good, but rather that we
simply could no longer afford to work that way. We had to focus on the short term.
Therefore, we went back to the basics of the 4 Ps: price, product, place and promotion. We
reworked our pricing structures to arrive at an accommodation offer with more rate options;
we did our homework on the Internet by improving the SEO of our sites and ensuring our placement on various online reservation systems. We also increased our visibility through social media. We took out some ads in travel trade magazines and attended various major trade shows.
A toll free line – 1.888.910.GOHI (4644) – was established to enable travellers, from a single
phone number, to reach any HI hostel in Canada that also has a toll-free number.
After the Winter Olympics in western Canada, things started to get better for us in the East.
The third quarter ended with the largest surpluses seen in the past five years. Then, in summer 2010, business
returned to normal for the last quarter of our fiscal year.
The financial crisis gave us a scare, but it forced us to be smarter and more resourceful and adopt new ways of
operating. In fact, a part of marketing is now decentralized to the hostels, specifically with regard to new media.
INDIVIDUAL HI MEMBERSHIPS
This year also saw a significant drop in our individual members. We believe this decline is due to the recession
that lasted more than 18 months. However, subscriptions to our travel community have been stagnant for some
years now. Through our regional partnership with Hostelling International Canada, a strategic plan for membership development was collaboratively developed. The plan specifies that we will take on a greater and more
active role in the organizing our members’ trips and, upon their return, offer them additional rewards, thereby
increasing the value of their membership. This new initiative with our members will be implemented gradually
over the next three years.
AFFILIATED HOSTELS
One affiliated hostel decided to leave us after more than twenty years in the Canadian HI network — again, we
believe the recession might have had something to do with this. Nevertheless, another hostel has decided to join
us. I will leave the details to be reported by my colleague responsible for the development of affiliate hostels.
OUR TEAMS
A number of changes took place in the composition of our teams : One position was cut due to the recession,
a new team was formed at the Niagara Falls hostel, we saw a new Manager and new Assistant Manager at the
Montreal hostel, a new Assistant Manager at the Mont-Tremblant hostel and a new Deputy Executive Director at
head office. Most people involved in this employee “musical chairs” were already employed by our organization
— some of whom for over 10 years, even.
I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the quality of the St. Lawrence Youth Hostel teams and the
patience and dedication they have shown during these difficult months we have come through, and congratulate them on this hard-won, yet solid recovery achieved at year-end.
Thank you to the entire team, staff and volunteers as well as our HI partners and external partners, without whom
access to travel for young people would certainly be much more difficult.
Jacques Perreault
Executive Director
-5
-
Deputy Executive Director’s Report
2009-2010: My first almost-full-year in the Association as Deputy Executive Director.
My new duties consisted, among others, in providing support to the General Director, acting
as a liaison between our association, the affiliated hostels and the HI-Canada network, and
performing other tasks that fall within the rather broad category of “all related tasks.”
QUALITY STANDARDS
During winter 2009-2010, I joined the HI-Canada Quality Standards Committee, taking over
from Nicolas Lemaire as both committee member and hostel inspector.
Affiliated hostels together with the HI St. Lawrence hostels earned an average rating of 75.8% in
the 2010 summer HI-Canada inspections compared to a 73% rating the previous year.
The combined average for our four hostels was 78.5%, up 6 points from last year. Our region’s
affiliated hostels also improved the quality of their offering with an average score rise from
73.5% to 74.8%.
2009-10
in numbers
Overnights
(4 ASL hostels)
2009-10
107 825
2008-09
112 882
- 5 057
Overnights
(all hostels of the St-Lawrence region)
2009-10
168 484
2008-09
170 203
- 1 719
Bookings - hihostels.ca
(all hostels of the St-Lawrence region)
Overnights
15 497
Revenus ($)
679 462
TOP 10 - Origins of travellers
(all hostels of the St-Lawrence region)
1 Québec
27 091
2 France
24 436
3 United States
14 357
4 Ontario
13 069
5 Germany
11 800
6 Australia
8 812
7 England
7 566
8 Japan
5 287
9 British
Columbia
3 773
10 Brazil
AFFILIATED HOSTELS
In April 2010, the number of HI hostels in the St. Lawrence Region territory decreased from 14
to 13 when the Auberge du Château Bahia, a youth hostel in Gaspésie and partner for over
twenty years, decided to withdraw from the network.
The number of hostels on our territory was however quickly restored to 14, when just a few
days later, we happily announced that the Petite Nation Solidarity Cooperative Youth Hostel
had joined our network. This is a brand new hostel located in the beautiful Outaouais region
near Montebello.
Between October 2009 and September 2010, the Association of St. Lawrence Youth Hostels
received 14 requests for information about the affiliation process. Four requests were from
Ontario and ten were from Quebec. Some requests were from hostels that are already in operation, while other parties were in still in the very early stages of planning to open a hostel.
As an inspector, in July 2010, at the request of its director of development, I visited the Maison
Price Youth Hostel in Chicoutimi, Quebec to assess the potential for it to become a partner
in our hostel network. I subsequently gave him my recommendations for the hostel to meet
HI-Canada standards. And now the ball is in their court!
In August 2010, I also visited the Griffon Aventure camp site. This co-op approached us to
become, thanks to its rustic cabins, the first rustic affiliated hostel of our Region. This file is
currently under review.
Hopefully in 2011 we will be able to claim the addition of two new hostels in the network!
ONLINE RESERVATIONS
Much time was devoted to ensuring that reservations at all our affiliated hostels could be
made directly online. Some hostels just needed to update their information, while others had
to create a profile from scratch. Only one hostel remains to be completed before reservations to any hostel in the entire St. Lawrence Region network can be made directly through
hihostels.ca. A lot of time was also devoted for the same purpose to the international website,
hihostels.com, which is missing only three hostels from our Region.
In total, our network had just over 168 400 overnights from October 2009 to September 2010.
Our four hostels logged just over 107 800 overnight stays during the fiscal year presented in
this report. This represents approximately 5 000 fewer nights than the previous year.
A big thank you to the team that facilitated my integration at head office. It is a delight to
work with you.
3 559
Isabelle Boyer
Deputy Executive Director
--
Membership
Following the restructuring of the Marketing Department, 2009-2010 was structured into
short-term measures instead of major, long-term projects.
TRAVEL SHOWS
This year, we continued our presence at the various major tourism fairs to promote the
HI network and membership card. We hosted a booth at the four-day Toronto Ski, Snowboard and Travel Show in October 2009, where we promoted the HI-Mont-Tremblant hostel and ski packages. To draw a student clientele, we participated in the Passport to the
World Day at Ahuntsic College, Montreal in November 2009 and the Go Global Expo in
Toronto in September 2010. These events afford us greater visibility among thousands of
students, young and old, who share a passion for travel.
Total membership cards sold from
October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010
Adult
5 057
Life
111
International
3 500
Junior
278
Group
92
TOTAL
9 038
There was a decrease of 8.25% from
the previous fiscal year in adult card sales
and an increase of 16.8% in international
card sales.
On September 30, 2010, the
Association of St-Lawrence Hostels
had 12 416 active members.
Life
9%
Junior
8.5 %
(1 043)
Group
1.5 %
(174)
(1 139)
Adult
81 %
(10 060)
eMSA
Last year we launched the eMSA (electronic membership sales agents) program to sell
membership cards via a link on the websites of various partners, without them having
to manage any inventory. At the end of the fiscal year, we counted 17 eMSAs, including
three national partners, who generated sales for the St. Lawrence Region of more than
135 membership cards worth over $5,000 in revenues, compared to 86 card sales and
$2,200 in 2008 -2009.
PETIT FUTÉ – HI-HOSTEL GUIDE
Again this year, the Petit Futé travel guide for HI hostels was distributed to all new members
in Quebec and Ontario as well as to the tourism offices in Montreal and Quebec City
and the hostels themselves.
NOMAD
The Nomad, our bimonthly e-newsletter sent to HI members and other subscribers
interested in the Hostelling International network, was revamped and given a new editorial
policy. Each issue is now oriented around a featured destination, the objective being to
consolidate multiple destinations and create an online reference tool. The Nomad has
a readership of approximately 30,000, mostly from Quebec and Ontario.
BROCHURES THAT EXEMPLIFY OUR BRAND IMAGE
This year, custom designed display racks were created to group together the brochures
of all of our hostels and thus facilitate their placement in the affiliated hostels as well
as make them more visible to our members and other HI travellers. Placed side by side,
these flyers illustrate both the uniqueness of each hostel and a unified community of
travellers.
The membership in numbers
As of September 30, 2010, we had 12,416 active members (10,060 adult members,
1139 life members, 1043 junior members, and 174 group members).
Marie-Eve Lavoie
Membership Coordinator
--
HI-Montréal
The fiscal year that ended in September was eventful; complete with its share of
changes and happenings that were mostly positive but sometimes less so. The
return of F1 was one such happy occurrence, as was the resumption of tourist
traffic in early summer. Conversely, a higher than usual employee turnover forced
us to double our efforts to maintain our standard of quality services and accommodations. Overall, however, the portrait presented here of the past year is a
positive one.
HI-Montréal
in numbers
Total overnights
2009-10
50 358
2008-09
52 042
- 1 684
TOP 10 - Origins of travellers
1
France
7 170
14 %
2
United States
6 428
13 %
3
Québec
3 192
6%
4
Germany
2 852
5.5 %
5
Australia
2 836
5.5 %
6
England
1766
3.5 %
7
Brazil
1 392
2.5 %
8
Japan
1 350
2.5 %
9
British
Columbia
1 326
2.5 %
Switzerland
1 022
2%
10
CHANGES IN THE MANAGEMENT TEAM
The beginning of the 2009-10 fiscal year proved difficult for the hostel. Autumn
was disappointing in terms of revenues and tourists were fewer in number. Fierce
competition on the Internet, an unfavourable exchange rate, and the requirement
of passports for Americans and visas for Mexicans — to name a few challenges —
resulted in a substantial reduction in occupancy rates, while the supply of accommodations continues to grow. In the same period, a changing of the guards took
place in our management. Isabelle Boyer left the hostel to take on new challenges
as Deputy Executive Director at head office. I then took over the management of the
hostel with Gabrielle de la Durantaye at my side as Assistant Manager. Well versed
in the corporate philosophy, the transition was able to take place smoothly without
any abrupt changes or cuts. I would like to thank Ms. Boyer for her contribution
during her years of service at the hostel.
In winter 2010, the hostel undertook to diversify its range of prices in an attempt
to stem the decline in occupancy. A wider range of choices was offered: shared
rooms with 4, 6 or 10 beds and private rooms with 2, 3, 4 and 6 beds. The results were
mixed: revenues began to increase from the first month, but the occupancy rate
continued to drop. On another front, the efforts of a year’s work were rewarded with
the HI-Quality Certification program, which helps participating hostels ensure the
effectiveness and quality of their services by providing them with recognized and
approved methods.
IMPROVEMENTS
As usual, the arrival of spring coincided with preparations for the peak season. In
addition, we undertook some major projects, including the refurbishment of the
brick walls of the hostel’s exterior façade. A number of other improvements were
made to procedures and services: systematic sending of electronic comments
and suggestions cards to past guests; adding a compost bin for employees;
creating an outdoor terrace in the front of the hostel and the establishment of a free
food counter for travellers. This last measure helped reduce the number of negative
comments about the absence of free breakfast, without affecting the sales of the
Globe Trotter Café-Bistro. In addition, an assistant named Arelis Aranda was hired
in Group Services, which inherited the management of group reservations for the
Toronto and Niagara Falls hostels in February 2010.
- 10 -
INCREASED OVERNIGHTS
Finally, with the return of summer, the hostel met with prosperity
again. Throughout the summer, business was at its height. At the
same time, we had to manage an unusually high turnover in staff.
However, the team’s efforts were rewarded: the months of July and
August saw the highest revenues ever recorded in all of the hostel’s
years of operation.
ACTIVITIES
All the while, the hostel maintained a broad programme of activities
for its guests. With the twofold objective of bringing guests together
and promoting the Montreal experience, the daily schedule was
further complemented by some special events (e.g. fireworks, concerts,
festivals). The excellence of our activities service was provided by
Christopher Ascroft, Coordinator of Programming.
GUESTS RATINGS
An annual report would not be complete without a reference to the
hostel’s guest satisfaction report. Based on the results of our electronic
comments cards, we learned that the satisfaction rate of travellers
who stay at the hostel is 84%. On the Hostelling International website,
our satisfaction rate is approximately 87%, while private booking sites
give us a performance rating that hovers around 90%. On two occasions in July and August, HI Montreal youth hostel was awarded a
certificate affirming its place among the 10 best hostels in Canada
according to Hostelworld’s website!
Let’s hope that the recovery at the end of fiscal year 2009-10 will prove
to be a good omen for the coming year.
A wider range of choices of accommodation was offered: shared
rooms with 4, 6 or 10 beds and private rooms with 2, 3, 4 and 6 beds.
Sincerely,
Nicolas Lemaire
Hostel Manager
The hostel maintained a broad programme of activities for its
guests with the twofold objective of bringing guests together and
promoting the Montreal experience.
- 11 -
HI-Toronto
A year of stability and cosmetic improvements to the building
IMPROVEMENTS
With a decrease in numbers of backpackers in 2009, filling the hostel was a challenge at the beginning of fiscal 2010. To compensate for this drop, we turned to other
types of monthly accommodations packages: almost 30% of the hostel was taken
up by students. The downturn also created an opportunity to innovate and offer
more attractive accommodations with the launch of our new “deluxe” shared rooms.
This basically entailed turning a six-bed dorm into a 3-person shared room with three
single beds, higher quality bedding, toiletries, a computer desk and a big-screen TV.
This move proved to be a success, as we were able to generate higher revenues and
increase the value of our offering, while reducing the maintenance costs.
What’s more, during the winter Sara Feeny “channelled” Debbie Travis as she designed and chose a fabulous colour scheme for the foyer and front desk area.
Having received resounding praise on the results, Sara continued to work her magic
in the common areas.
Energized by my trip to Amsterdam for the Hostel Managers Meeting (HMM), at the
close of the 2009 calendar year, I sat down with the HI-Toronto team to set out our
goals for the following year: equip the rooms with bedside lockers, bedside lamps
and shelving, and install new flooring in the kitchen and on the patio. I am very proud
of my maintenance team headed by Mark O’Sullivan and supported by Sandy Yates.
They completed all requests and did so ahead of schedule.
HI-Toronto
in numbers
Total overnights
2009-10
40 806
2008-09
43 222
- 2 416
TOP 10 - Origins of travellers
1
Germany
5 483
13 %
2
England
3 578
9%
3
Ontario
3 478
8%
4
France
3 437
8%
5
Australia
3 205
8%
6
United States
2 552
6%
7
Québec
2 147
5%
8
Japan
1 881
4.5 %
9
Ireland
1 849
4%
Brazil
1 386
3%
10
GUESTS RATINGS
Another goal of ours was to boost HI-Toronto’s online ratings to 85%. At the time of
the HMM meeting, our ratings were as follows: 82% from HI Hostels.com; 83% from
Hostelworld; 82% from Hostels.com; and 84% from Hostelbookers. Furthermore, we
ranked 154th in the world at HI Hostels.com, and we had received a grade of 70.09%
from our previous year’s HI-Canada inspection.
How have we fared since then?
Our rating on HI-Hostels.com is now 86% and Hostelworld’s rating remains at 83%
— although we did reach 85% during the summer. Our rating on Hostels.com
has climbed to 84%, and Hostelbookers has us at 76%, a surprising result we are
looking into.
- 12 -
Our world rank on hihostels.com is 101, a very positive jump of 53
hostels. Our HI-Canada inspection result this summer was 81.2 — an
improvement of 10.3 points.
I have included below a note from our Inspector, Vincent Berube.
“Bonjour
Thank you for the warm welcome. I felt that people at front desk, programming and cleaning were happy to be working there. The hostel
is very clean and well kept. (...) I feel that you are almost getting to
an end of a very, very long run to catch up on quality. Great job and
bravo for all these small, creative and useful services and amenities.
We felt that everybody got involved in quality development.”
HUMAN RESOURCES
So all in all, 2009-2010 was a most positive year. Our success is no doubt
thanks to the continuity of key staff. By retaining Sara Feeny, Rebecca
Kinos-Varo and Christina Garcia, we were able to invest our energies
in improving the facilities and providing training. Notably, we trained
Julia Rodrigues in certain managerial duties, and we invested in
language classes for Joshua Montgomery to improve his front desk
skills. Ana Batista has continued to excel with her team and, through all
the changes and challenges, has remained steadfast to the cause.
We look forward to the year ahead and the new set of challenges
it holds.
Desmond Tibby
ASL – Ontario Regional operation Manager
The new “deluxe” shared rooms, a 3-person shared
room with three single beds, higher quality bedding,
toiletries, a computer desk and a big-screen TV. proved
to be a success.
- 13 -
HI-Mont-Tremblant
The year 2009-2010, as with the previous year, was not exceptional. It must be said
that tourism in the region is not the most flourishing these days.
OVERNIGHTS
Last winter’s overnights melted away like snow in the sun... and what an apt pun
it is, because in reality we did not have any snowfall in March and very little in
February.The winter season ended much too soon! However, we were open all year,
and our small team of six was not discouraged. Because while there might have
been a decline in overnights, revenues from the bar were fortunately better than
expected.
Apart from a slight increase in Canadian and the French travellers, few differences
were noted in the place of origin of our customers in 2009-2010.
HUMAN RESOURCES
On the human resources front, much to my delight there were no changes in staff
during the year, with the exception of Marion, the Belgian intern who joined the team
for the summer 2010. I want to express my appreciation for my staff and their involvement in the overall running of the hostel. We are always recognized as a friendly
hostel, and this is without a doubt thanks to each staff member.
HI-Mont-Tremblant
in numbers
IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR FACILITIES
Not a single year goes by without us devoting our energies to the upkeep of the
building and our equipment. Among other things this year, we replaced the bathroom fans, re-varnished the tables in the dining room and bar and, we are proud
to say, we built the new teepee 4 hours’ time!
Total overnights
ACTIVITIES
This year, we offered a weekly activity schedule that was met with great success.
We offered guided trips in the Parc du Mont-Tremblant and Tremblant Discovery
Outing In addition, thanks to our partnership with Cybercile Inc, we had a new
product to avail to our guests: mountain bikes! This new addition was very popular,
with more than 90 visitors who had smiles plastered to their faces after their mountain-biking adventure!
I would especially like to thank Emiliano Garriz for his excellent work in animating the activities and all the volunteer hours he gave to both the guests and the
hostel.
2009-10
8 461
2008-09
9 258
- 797
TOP 10 - Origins of travellers
1
Québec
2 066
2
France
1 320
16 %
3
Ontario
1 024
12 %
4
England
337
4%
5
Germany
287
3%
6
Australia
279
3%
7
United States
268
3%
8
Switzerland
169
2%
9
Belgium
121
1%
Japan
103
1%
10
24 %
SOCIAL MEDIA
Since July 2010, in an effort to increase our popularity and maintain a personal
contact with our members, initiatives were undertaken on various social media
networks like Facebook (345 friends) and Bougex (90 members).
In closing, I’d like to once again extend a sincere thanks to the team: Emiliano
Garriz, Maxime Bodson, Marcellaise Labrosse, Micaela Couture, Dior Fall, Brian
Dennison and Marion Standaert.
Élisabeth Voutaz
Hostel Manager
- 14 -
HI-Niagara Falls
The 2009-2010 year has been for the Niagara Falls Youth Hostel a year of
change. It all began on October 1, 2009, when I became the hostel Manager.
FRESH START
The first actions undertaken were to improve various reception desk procedures. The way we worked with RoomMaster was revised to better monitor all
operations. Also, the job description for each shift has been completely redefined. I must mention that the HI-Quality manual from HI-Montreal was a source
of great inspiration in these changes. In addition, a completely new team was
formed (with the exception of Martha Sanchez who only stayed with us until
January 2010). In this way, the Niagara Falls Youth Hostel essentially had a
completely fresh start.
HI-Niagara Falls
in numbers
Total overnights
2009-10
8 200
2008-09
8 360
- 160
TOP 10 - Origins of travellers
1
Germany
878
11 %
2
United States
818
10 %
3
France
739
9%
4
Ontario
678
8%
5
Australia
620
8%
6
Japan
602
7%
7
England
601
7%
8
Québec
503
6%
9
British
Columbia
265
3%
New Zealand
262
3%
10
IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR FACILITIES
We took advantage of the winter lull in Niagara to get ready for the peak 2010 summer season.
In addition to hiring a new receptionist, Michael Teddiman, we began renovations to the hostel
common rooms. The basic idea was to enhance the image of the hostel. Our guests’ first and last
impressions were the key elements targeted in the change. As such, the first step was to paint the
reception area, kitchen, computer room, all the public corridors and the public bathrooms.
Subsequently, with the help of volunteer, Michael Lotfi-Kadri, we removed the carpet — which had
covered most of the 2nd floor — and replaced it with a floating wood floor, which is much easier
to maintain.
During the month of April, I began hiring for our summer team, specifically three new receptionists
named Alex Boenhke, Ben Dyer and Victoria O’Neil. With Ben’s considerable manual skills, we were
able to realize several projects for the exterior of the hostel: an outdoor fireplace at the entrance to
procure a more welcoming and warm atmosphere; a new picnic table with a roof and integrated
electrical outlets; and in the backyard, we created a new space for a huge BBQ, built by Ben with
an immense hot water tank.
Additionally, with Alex’s help, we installed a green space at the rear of the hostel. This area is
designed to maximize revenues by providing a “camping” option for travellers.
ACTIVITIES
Before the high season began, I hired Adam Kotyk, a tourism student at Niagara College, who
was paid by the Ontario government as part of the Second Career Choice program. Together, we
created a list of activities for our guests:
• Sightseeing Tour of the Niagara Region: a tour that stops at specific highlight locations in the region;
• Walking Tour: walk at the Falls, around the whirlpool and the surrounding area;
• Crystal Beach: a twice weekly group outing to the shores of Lake Erie;
• BBQ + Fireworks: a festive BBQ, followed by a walk to see the fireworks.
Reflecting back, this past year can truly be described as a year of transformation. I personally
learned a lot from this hostel, which is constantly evolving.
I would like to thank and underline the commitment and efforts made by Desmond Tibby to assist
our team. Throughout the year, Desmond took time out of his own schedule to come and give us
a helping hand.
I would also like to express how impressed I am by the staff I had surrounding me this year. The team
I had this summer was frankly unbelievable. As a new manager, I feel very fortunate to have had a
team that was so full of initiative and ready to work hard.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge the wonderful support and encouragement I received from
head office. In particular, Jacques Perreault’s and Isabelle Boyer’s assistance was an important
factor in the hostel’s development.
Olivier Pépin-Perreault
Hostel Manager
- 15 -
Group Reservations
The years pass by and yet each one is different from the next
This year, the group overnights at HI-Montreal were 10 451. With a mere 23 night difference from
the previous year, the results appear very similar by comparison. This fact contradicts the title
chosen for this report, I know, but be patient, it will all soon be made clear!
The difference between the two fiscal years is that the only three months when we had more
group nights than the previous year were January, June and July. In these three months we
made 2400 more nights than in 2009:
January (+667)
June (+222)
July (+1 512)
2009-10
16 groups
28 groups
32 groups
2008-09
11 groups
11 groups
28 groups
(No F1 groups:
±500 overnights)
Unlike in past years where, after the Grand Prix, overnight groups begin to decline, this year
Group Services was very busy until August.
I must mention the major change that took place in Group Services this year, which was that
since February 2010, I have been responsible for group bookings at HI-Montreal, HI-Toronto and
HI-Niagara Falls.
I thus went to visit our Torontonian and Niagaran colleagues last February to familiarize myself
with the two hostels and their surroundings. During this visit, I received my first request for a group
booking for HI-Toronto and HI-Montreal. Since that time, we have responded to approximately
120 reservation requests that resulted in forty odd confirmed group bookings, in addition to the
many bookings that Makwa Adventure and Trek America made with us during the summer.
As I have not yet completed a full year of work for Group Services at HI-Toronto and HI-Niagara
Falls, I don’t have all of the data to complete the group statistics. However, from March 2009
to September 2010, approximately 1,900 overnights were reserved at HI-Toronto through our
HI-Montreal office. As for HI-Niagara, about four groups, for a total of 53 person nights, were
reserved through HI- Montreal.
The other significant event was that I agreed to take on an intern in April for five weeks, Arelis
Aranda. My initial thought was that it was a very bad time to train an intern, since April is the
busiest time of year in Group Services. I mainly agreed to this challenge because I was already
familiar with Arelis from when she had worked for the housekeeping team during her studies.
In the end, it turned out to be a blessing because she was, and continues to be, a big help
to me. At the beginning I let her “get her feet wet” by handling the reservations for HI-Montreal
only, while I was took care of the Toronto and Niagara Falls hostels. When she has mastered the
work for HI-Montreal, I showed her how to process reservations for the other two hostels. Now,
either one of us can handle the reservations for the three hostels. We do not receive many
requests for HI-Niagara but we make a point of promoting this hostel whenever the opportunity
presents itself.
All in all, we had a good year in Group Services, and I hope it will only get better and better in
2010-2011. Arelis and I are standing by, ready to fill our hostels!
A very successful 2011 to all!
Renée Charbonneau
Group Service Manager
- 16 -
AFFILIATED HOSTEL
Auberge Internationale de Québec
Following the extraordinary year of 2008 and the announcement of an imminent
recession, we started the 2009-2010 fiscal year in a modest and prudent way,
knowing that revenues would be lower than the previous year. Moreover, the loss
of our status as a charity organization would also impact our revenues negatively.
Thankfully, our charity status was only revoked at the end of the year.
Notwithstanding the above, 2009-2010 was a rather busy year. On the social front,
we renewed our partnership with the Québec CRDI (rehabilitation centre for people
with intellectual disabilities) and welcomed among our team Sylvain Lacroix, our
autistic colleague, who continues to work in housekeeping. Also, a major project
was carried out in collaboration with the Centre Jacques Cartier, a centre offering
youth aged 16 to 35 a platform for taking on a variety of social projects. This partnership gave eight local artists the opportunity to create seven large murals depicting
various scenes of Quebec City. Beyond embellishing the hostel walls, these young
muralists left their mark in many indelible ways.
In addition to the new murals and the replacement of some equipment, the hostel
enjoyed a Web makeover. Indeed, a brand new Website has emerged. Staying true
to the new Hostelling Canada branding and, more importantly, giving the Website a
younger and more dynamic look, it now fits better with the hostel’s image. We must
admit that this had become a priority project. Our previous Website waspretty outdated with respect to our primary clientele, the forever-Web-surfing 18 to 24 year-olds.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Hostelling International network, the hostel
carried the travelling exhibition of photographs for one month. We also hosted the
annual managers meeting for the St-Lawrence Region Youth Hostels, and we took
part in an internship exchange with the LaRochelle Hostel in France. This exchange
enabled our services manager to compare our methods and procedures with those
of the LaRochelle Hostel, which is comparable in size to ours. We have to say we are
doing rather well after all!
Québec hostel patio.
For the coming year, we plan to finish phases II and III of our windows replacement.
We must also aggressively tackle the number of overnights, which continues to
decline. While it may be a generalized trend across the country, we must nonetheless address this challenge through canvassing, soliciting and good media communications. We will also remain steadfast to our green roof project. Beyond that, who
knows? One can always dream!
I would like to highlight the extraordinary involvement of Stephen Lirette, our outgoing president, who fulfilled the maximum term allowable by serving six years on the
board. Mr. Lirette has contributed greatly to the financial and administrative reorganization of the hostel, following the renovation and expansion of 2003-2004.
On behalf of the entire team, Stephen, please accept our heartfelt thanks. Also, we
would like to give a special thank you to the six other directors who, through their
individual expertise, play an important role in the management of the hostel and
who have solidified its governance.
Thank you!
8 local artists created seven large
murals depicting various scenes
of Quebec City.
Lyne Landry
General Manager
- 17 -
Stéphane Lirette
Chairman of the Board of Directors
AFFILIATED HOSTEL
Auberge Internationale de Rivière-du-Loup
The year 2009-2010 was one of major changes to the infrastructure and
organization of our hostel.
In order to make our hostel greener we put a lot of work into properly insulating our buildings, we installed an innovative surface geothermal heating
system as well as underground pipes to collect grey water from showers and
sinks, and we replaced our old doors and windows. Again with the help
of CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) and the Canada
Infrastructure Program, we were also able to bring our second building
to the cutting edge of client expectations. We now boast more modern
rooms, more meeting spaces, two rooms that are fully wheelchair accessible, and a whole new landscaping. Investments for the entire year totalled
approximately $210,000.
The challenges associated with the operational changes remain considerable. Even more so are the challenges associated with meeting our
mission as a social economy enterprise, particularly with respect to providing
a unique working platform for young people from all walks of life, while at the
same time ensuring the complete satisfaction of our clientele. We’re getting
there, but it’s something that has to be worked at constantly.
Our plans for 2011 are numerous, and the spring season will finally bring
to light a project dear to our hearts: the Denis Longchamps Scholarships,
which are travel and discovery monies awarded to youth of our region.
These scholarships are intended to create opportunities to open doors to
Rivière-du-Loup youth hostel.
other cultures and meet and share experiences with others. We look forward
to the future with much happiness and would love to welcome you at our
hostel this year!
Vincent Bérubé
Manager
Hostel self-service kitchen.
- 18 -
AFFILIATED HOSTEL
Auberge festive Sea Shack
It is not easy to describe the Sea Shack in just a few short words — it is a unique
experience in and of itself. We believe that what makes our hostel so exceptional
is its friendly and community atmosphere. We are located on the edge of the
sea, a few kilometres from all services. During the day, travellers are often pursuing
their activities outside our walls, but when dinner time arrives, everyone returns to
the hostel to gather. And this is when the fun takes place! It goes without saying,
of course, that the festive atmosphere livens and unites everyone during our wild
parties!
This year, our site underwent a complete transformation. Major renovations were
begun in spring 2009 and are now nearing completion! Here is an overview
of what has been done so far: complete renovation and refurbishment of our
common building called the “hostel” and the addition of a restaurant; construction of seven new cabins; construction of a new toilet block affectionately named
“Chin Tas;” creation of two new paths to the cabins; installation of a “perched” yurt;
installation of a new septic tank; and the creation of trails at the Parc côtier du
Ruisseau-Castor (Beaver Creek Coastal Park).
The renovations did not however stop us from offering a full range of activities to
our guests. For example, this year we offered yoga classes under the trees, sea
kayaking, canyoning, international cooking workshops, snowshoeing and cross
country skiing, outdoor and indoor shows, documentary film evenings and hockey
nights.
Hostel bar, on the beach.
Our overnights increased by approximately 30%. This is due to our expanded
accommodation capacity afforded by our new cabins. We receive a lot of publicity through word of mouth. The more people visit the hostel, the more they tell their
friends! We even experienced an increase in traffic during the off-season. The slight
decline in travel in the Haute-Gaspésie region did not appear to affect us.
Our employee turnover remained essentially the same as in the past, which is very
low. For the last four years, we have had the same a core team working with us
at the hostel. Some of these people work year round, while others are with us for
the summer.
This past summer, we had a team of 15 employees, nine of whom were permanent
members of our team or returning seasonal employees. The six new employees
who joined us were friends of the hostel staff who wanted to come work with us.
Some of these people are on track to join our team of permanent/seasonal staff.
The Sea Shack has seven new cabins and a new toilet
block affectionately named “Chin Tas”.
Yet again this year, our team was part of what made our hostel most unique. We
all came together to manage a youth hostel, but more than simply being a team
of employees, we are a group of friends who enjoy working together. This positive
energy spreads to our guests who in turn become our friends and enjoy our good
vibe.
And of course, our revamped site is also very appealing and offers an incredible
setting where anything can happen...
Alexis Poirier
Manager
- 19 -
Jacynthe Duval
Assistant Manager
St-Lawrence
youth hostels
2010 team
HEAD OFFICE
HI-MONTRÉAL
HI-TORONTO
Jacques Perreault******
Executive Director
Nicolas Lemaire**
Hostel Manager
Isabelle Boyer**
Deputy Executive Director
Gabrielle de la Durantaye
Renée Charbonneau
Juana Davis-Pope****
Serge Lajeunesse
Desmond Tibby
ASL - Ontario Regional
operation Manager
Bernard Brient
Controller
Daniel Ménard
Accountant
Christine Hayhurst
Accountant - Great Lakes
Marie-Eve Lavoie
Membership Coordinator
Rebecca Kinos-Varo
Client Development Coordinator
Great Lakes
Nathalie Lemay*
Communications Coordinator
Julien Samson
Director of Marketing
HI-MONT-TREMBLANT
Élizabeth Voutaz****
Hostel Manager
Emiliano Garriz
Brian Dennison
Dior Fall
Marcellaise Labrosse
Maxime-Laurence Bodson-Clermont
Mélanie Samson
Micaele Couture-Geoffroy
Olivier Lamoine
HI-NIAGARA FALLS
Olivier Pépin-Perreault
Hostel Manager
Alexandra Belisle-Paquette
Amélie Dumont
Arélis Aranda
Aude Mortillon
Carolina Betancourt-Laserna
Catherine Morel Tison
Christopher Ascroft
Claude Laporte
Cindy Parisé Rousselle
Émilie Morneau
Emilie Rocheleau
Frédérique Marseille
Gabriel Comtois
Gael Chartrand*
Julien Roy
Kevin Mac Donald
Louis-Philippe Carrière
Louis-Philippe L’heureux
Lysandre Maheu-Roy
Mariane Gilbert
Mathieu Laguë-Gomez
Matthew Poggi
Maxime Demers
Nader Wahba
Nathan Ethier-Myette
Pierre Bruneau
Philippe Ouellet
Samuel Paulin-Langlois
Sophie P. Montgomery
Victor Dagenais
Zoé Ménard
Alexander Boehnke
Benjamin Dyer
Jasmin-Coralie Keller
Michael Lotfy-Kadri
Michael Teddiman
Nadine Blais
Victoria O’Neill
Sarah Feeny
Julia Castro-Rodrigues
Mark O’Sullivan
Aidan Holsgrove
Aileen McCormack
Alexander Yates
Allan Lyons (Tor.)
Amelia Lizano
Anastasia Giles
Anke Vollmer
Benedict Schlosser
Bremeline Muthurajah
Brittany Persaud
Christian York
Christina Garcia
Conny Grabner
Cristine Delay
Dave Martyn
Derek Holden
Dunia Flis
Dylan Whitty
Gwyneth Barton
Joshua Montgomerry
Juliette Fresneau
Kevin Menager
Lonnie McDonnell
Martha L. Sanchez
Nikki Quenet
Rachael Carnegie
Rachel Wood
Raisa-Lee Wimbs
Sean Morrisroe
Yabo Cui
2010 Certificates in recognition of the
contribution to Hostelling International
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS
Allan Pope and his housekeeping team at HI-Montréal
Ana Batista and her housekeeping team at HI-Toronto
Philippe Beauvais, Café Globe Trotter
- 20 -
5 years = *
10 years = **
15 years = ***
20 years = ****
25 years = *****
30 years = ******
Community links
OITS – AmEriCAS
OITS - Americas is the American branch of the International Organization of Social Tourism (formerly known as the International
Bureau of Social Tourism). The St-Lawrence Youth hostels Association is a member since 1996 and its representatives have held various
positions on the board. Jacques Perreault is the president since the World Congress of Social Tourism in October 2008. In addition, the
President, Louis Jolin, is in charge of the BITS Scientific Committee which became recently the OITS -Alliance on Training and Research
on Social and Responsible Tourism.
CITQ
The St-Lawrence Youth hostels Association represents the hostel sector in Quebec within the Corporation de l’Industrie touristique du
Québec (CITQ). The CITQ is the administrator of the official accommodation classification program in Quebec. The person who represents us at the CITQ is Lyne Landry, CEO of Auberge internationale de Québec. She serves as Vice-Chair of the Board of this organization.
CESIM
The Executive Director, Jacques Perreault, represents the tourism sector in the Comité d’Économie Sociale de l’Île de Montréal, the
CESIM (Social Economy Committee of the Island of Montreal) which is an advisory committee of the CRE, the Conférence régionale
des élus or in English the Regional Conference of Elected Officers.
GRAP
Jacques Perreault sits as a representative of CESIM within the Groupe régional (Montréal) d’activités partenariales (Regional Group
(Montreal) business partnership), which is a regional committee of the Réseau québécois de recherche partenariale en économie
sociale (RQRP-ÉS).
Kéroul
The President, Louis Jolin, sits on the advisory committee of this organization dedicated to the promotion and development of
accessible tourism for people with physical disabilities. The St-Lawrence Youth hostels Association support Kéroul financially during the
benefit gala organized annually by this organization and has signed the Declaration on Tourism Accessibility for persons with physical
disabilities, which implies some concrete commitments in this regard.
RESO Investissements
Jacques Perreault was appointed by the majority shareholder RESO (Regroupement économique et social du Sud-Ouest) to sit on
the board of that company of venture capital with a mandate to assist companies in South-West to obtain funding to support employment in this sector of Montreal.
Youth Club – Destination YOUNG TO MontrEal
This group includes Montreal merchants who work to make Montreal a destination that attracts young tourists. Jacques Perreault
occupies the presidency. There are currently about 25 members.
Hostelling International-Canada (HI-C)
The St-Lawrence Youth hostels Association is a region of HI-C and as such, has many representatives that sit in various committees:
• Council of Executive Directors (CED): Jacques Perreault sits automatically on that council;
• Committee on Membership: Marie-Eve Lavoie, Membership coordinator and Jacques Perreault sit on that committee;
• Committee on the website development of HI-C: Nathalie Lemay, communication coordinator, and Isabelle Boyer,
deputy executive director sit on that committee ;
• The Quality Assurance Standards (QAS): Vincent Bérubé, Rivière-du-Loup Hostel Manager, and Isabelle Boyer both sit on
that committee.
• The Presidents’ Forum: President, Louis Jolin, or vice-president, Benoit Legault, represents the Association on the Forum.
The St-Lawrence Youth hostels Association has always wanted to represent itself directly without entrusting this function to other
organizations. This explains why the Association is present at various table meetings.
We are also members of other organizations
• Tourism Toronto
• The Hotel Association of Greater Toronto
• Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce
• Tourism Montreal
• Tourism Mont-Tremblant (Mont-Tremblant Chamber of Commerce)
• Tourism Laurentians
• Regroupement économique et social du Sud-Ouest (RESO)
• The Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE)
• Culture Montreal
- 21 -
- 22 -