“Maine is really our place! “says Michelle Sauvé, who is about to return to Biddeford Pool, north of Old Orchard, where she has been spending two weeks on vacation with her family and seven others for about 30 years. This post-pandemic return was not easy to organise…because houses for rent are becoming rarer and more expensive. But there is no question for her, as for many Quebecers, of being discouraged by inflation.
Posted at 5:00 p.m.
“We lost our house in Maine,” said Michelle Sauvé. But our agency offered us a different one for one week, and we rented a smaller one elsewhere for the other. »
“There are almost no more houses on the market,” continues the 62-year-old woman who lives in Beaconsfield. People who buy today have more money and no longer need to rent their homes. »
As a result, prices go up. The family must pay US$1,500 more per week than before the pandemic, or around US$5,000 for a house that can accommodate nine people, including children and grandchildren. And at that price, the house is not even on the beach…
Michelle Sauvé adds that all the friends she will meet there this summer as before, and who are used to cycling or playing golf together, “had a lot of difficulty” finding a place to rent. .
At the Jean Knapp Rentals agency in Ogunquit, vacation rental manager John Guy admits that it has not been easy to “protect” the weeks of Quebec customers who have been deprived of Maine since 2020. “Between 35 % and 40% of our clients speak French, and some have rented the same house for decades, he says. We hold on to them. In the end, the majority will be able to return during their usual weeks because they have postponed their reservation from year to year. »
Photo Olivier Jean, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE
Old Orchard beach, July 2018
“The Canadians are really back! »
In Ogunquit as in Old Orchard Beach, Quebecers are already back, especially since the end of May. And their number will only increase in the coming weeks, rejoice the hoteliers joined by The Press.
“At certain times of the summer, French Canadians account for 40% or 50% of our clientele,” explains Kevin Zheng, employee at the Beau Rivage motel in Old Orchard. We are very happy to see them again, because our last two summers have been more difficult. We had clients from elsewhere in the United States, from as far away as Oregon, but not as many. This year, we are already sold out for certain periods. »
Same story at Sea Cliff House, still in Old Orchard. “Almost everything is rented for July and August,” says Ily, a receptionist. The Canadians are really back! »
Photo Olivier Jean, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE
In Ogunquit as in Old Orchard Beach, Quebecers are already back, especially since the end of May.
And the prices? The two establishments recognize that they have gone up, but “reasonably”, they believe. “You have to stay competitive,” they say at the Sea Cliff House, where a room for two is listed from US$209 a night at the end of August. “Our prices have remained very similar,” says the Beau Rivage, which offers overnight stays at US$189 for the same period.
Inflation or not, Michelle Sauvé never questioned her vacation in Maine. “It’s been two years since the last time, so here we go,” she says. It means so much to the family… And then, we tried the Îles-de-la-Madeleine last year, but we were unlucky: we had eight days of rain and wind out of ten spent there. »
“In fact, the only thing that would make me doubt going back, concludes Michelle Sauvé, is if Trump comes back! »