AI momentum in Montreal at Monville and Gault Hotels

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Monville Montreal

Situated in the same hot spot, The Hotels Monville and Gault are the perfect representation of Montreal city steeped in tradition but also a staple of modernity: Gault Hotel is located in an historical building and offers 30 suites across 11 different categories. This boutique hotel emphasizes art and culture, featuring unique local or national furniture makers and designers.

Monville Hotel offers 269 rooms in a tall glass encased building boasting panoramic views of the city. Created in 2018, it has become a partner for cultural events and comedy shows. Monville stands out for its original design, blending advanced technology, eco-friendly practices, and attentive service in a friendly atmosphere. The hotel features a robot for room service and airport-style check-in kiosks.

We had the pleasure to talk with Naomi Dupont, Head of Marketing for both hotels, about her experience with Quicktext, the hospitality AI super app.

Can you tell us about your decision to select and deploy an AI based solution in both your hotels?

Initially, we contracted with another vendor for a pilot project that lasted two years. We wanted to substantially increase direct bookings but we didn’t see a return on investment.. So we had to find a better solution. After several tests, we recognized the efficiency and flexibility of Velma (Quicktext AI assistant) and decided to deploy it at Gault, which is a smaller hotel. In February 2024, we rolled it out to both hotels. 

Does Quicktext meet your business needs?

Yes, primarily because of the direct revenue generated and a good conversion rate, granted there are very few issues and zero negative feedback from clients. Next step, we need to train and involve our reservations team to work alongside Velma. Automating is great but we need to add impactful and thoughtful emails in the loop to increase direct bookings further. 

We set up weekly follow-ups on Velma results and discussions with the reservations team. Initially, they were hesitant as it seemed time-consuming, but they are learning to use the platform effectively. We’ve also created a dedicated manual for internal training.

Do you get a good return on your investment?

Based on the aggregated dashboard for the group, and considering that hotels were gradually onboarded in 2024, our AI virtual assistant generated CAD 400 000 worth of booking requests with CAD 66 OOO directly converted from nearly 1,000 client conversations handled by Velma. 

As I stated before, we focus primarily on direct bookings. The ROI is very good, but we are not maximizing the full potential due to our back office learning curve. 

About 13% of conversations result in a request, 19% of reservation requests are confirmed by Velma, and we have a 2.66% conversion rate.

How do you see the future of hospitality and AI?

This is the beginning. We are actually involved in AI on multiple sides; hotel marketing and operation but also will be developing an AI based art project in the lobby. AI can have various applications, but we must remember that hospitality is a service industry. Fully AI-operated hotels could emerge, but the human element remains crucial.

On a scale from 0 to 10, what is your overall satisfaction with Quicktext?

Today, I would say 7. Next steps include setting up automatic email confirmations for clients and implementing a fool proof follow-up system.

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