Take advantage of the windfall

“It works! We launched the transactional platform barely a year and a half ago, in the middle of a pandemic with waves of cancellations. And yet, we have just increased 500% since 2020,” rejoices the young owner. Dany Papineau considers that his company is better positioned than ever. “It is a niche in high demand, especially with local tourism that has exploded. And it will continue to grow. Teleworking is an opportunity: many are looking to work remotely, on a monthly basis. I am convinced that it will be there after the pandemic. Before, the market for nature cottages in Quebec was secondary, but not anymore. And obviously for the holidays, many have decided not to take the plane. In addition, they do not hesitate to treat themselves to luxury, for lack of going to the South. We want to spoil ourselves after what we have just experienced! And after, the foreign tourists will return.”

Share your experience

Dany started renting in 2012, when the phenomenon was not yet very popular. He launched the WeChalet mobile app and website in 2017, revamped last year. Today, he has 768 properties for rent.

"I want to share what I've learned. I've seen AirBnb grow." The entrepreneur, who started out as an actor and director (he produced 2 Frogs in the West, released in 17 theaters in Quebec in 2010), had to put his duplex up for sale in 2012 and rent it out while waiting for the sale to finance his feature film. "Looking back, it was already a big entrepreneurial project." That's where his adventure with AirBnb began: "It wasn't known as a way of doing things, we weren't sure we'd rent our place to someone we didn't know who was going to sleep in our bed... Until that Christmas when the rental contracts came rolling in and I realized I could make a living from it."

Dany learned on the job. Then he developed an online course, which became a blog, to share sound advice. “I myself have experienced the ups and downs of renting. One time, someone had a party at my place and I had $4,000 in damages. I also had to learn the ins and outs of transaction taxation, even though we didn’t know at that time who was responsible: the user, the platform or the owner. Ten years ago, it was the Wild West , but today it’s more regulated. I learned how to manage properties for others and automate processes.” By 2014, Dany had become an influencer in the field and was approached by the tourism ecosystem. Since then, he has been an expert in cottage rental investment.

A Quebec technological innovation

WeChalet was initially a self-funded project. “In 2015, I rented a chalet with friends, and Dax Da Silva, the founder of LightSpeed, was one of us. We talked about the project and how lucrative it could be; he injected money and became my mentor.” WeChalet is a startup incubated in 2019-20 at MT Lab. “Today, I am in the middle of a funding round because the project has become technological, with lots of features, and that is expensive.” Dany has just hired a new CTO with 25 years of experience in IT, and secured his first portion of funding. The Acet incubator has also invested.

WeChalet's model is like Airbnb's, with commissions. The display is free, an advantage over its competitors. It is the company that manages the full, secure and automated payment, the deposit and any disputes. It takes care of the lodging tax, the financial structure of which is different in each region of Quebec. There is a free and flexible cancellation policy, a live chat and real-time updating of the reservation calendar, which simplifies inventory management and avoids double bookings. On December 8, it also acquired price intelligence software. WeChalet stands out as the only 100% Quebec transactional platform.

The big names in tourist rentals like Airbnb, VRBO, booking.com , Trivago, Tripadvisor and Expedia are competing in a market held by Americans and Europeans. There are also classified ad sites like Kijiji, chaletsauquebec.com or chaletsalouer.com . Thousands of doors are available in Quebec in the short or medium term, but WeChalet is the only one in its category.

"We want to triple our inventory, get out of Quebec, especially to go to Ontario and British Columbia, which naturally display nature-adventure accommodation, our specialty. I have 10,000 properties to contact for 2022." Business is booming for Dany Papineau, a frog who is definitely driven towards success.