Canada has announced a mandatory hotel quarantine for all international air travellers beginning as of February 22, 2021.
The list of government-approved quarantine hotels is now available online, and you must reserve a three-night stay at one of these hotels prior to departing on your trip for Canada.
List of Government-Approved Quarantine Hotels
The government has published a list of 18 quarantine hotels in the four cities across Canada whose airports are currently handling international flights.
Calgary International Airport (YYC):
- Acclaim Hotel
- Marriott Calgary Airport In-Terminal Hotel
Vancouver International Airport (YVR):
- Days Inn by Wyndham
- Fairmont Vancouver Airport
- Four Points by Sheraton Vancouver Airport
- Radisson Vancouver Airport
- Westin Wall Centre Vancouver Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ):
- Alt Hotel Pearson Airport
- Fairfield Inn & Suites Toronto Airport
- Four Points by Sheraton and Element Toronto Airport
- Holiday Inn Toronto International Airport
- Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Toronto International Airport
- Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel & Conference Centre
Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL):
- Aloft Montreal Airport
- Baymont by Wyndham Montreal Airport
- Crowne Plaza Montreal Airport
- Holiday Inn Express and Suites Montreal Airport
- Marriott Montreal Airport In-Terminal Hotel
How to Book Your Quarantine Hotel
GB Travel Inc. has been chosen as the designated travel agency for handling quarantine hotel bookings. The bookings can only be made by phone at 1-800-294-8253 (toll-free within North America) or 1-613-830-2992 (collect outside of North America).
(American Express Global Business Travel had been listed as the designated travel agency as of the initial launch on February 19, but GB Travel Inc. seems to have taken over now.)
You’ll be able to choose from the listed hotel locations and be required to provide:
- Traveller name(s)
- Date(s) of birth
- Arrival city and date
- Payment information
- Special requests and accessibility concerns
- Pet information
Travellers will receive email confirmation of their accommodation within four hours of booking.
Cost of Quarantine Hotels
The costs of quarantine hotels will vary by location. The price will include costs associated with the room, food, transportation, infection prevention and control measures, and 24-hour security.
I called the designated American Express Global Business Travel phone line to get an idea of the costs for quarantine hotels. However, the agent seemed to mistakenly quote me the (much lower) regular public rates, instead of the special rates for the three-day quarantine.
Speaking to some of the individual hotels under the Marriott brand, however, I was informed that the special Marriott rate code for the three-night quarantine stays is “RZL”.
Using this code, we can pull up the actual expected rates for a three-night stay at one of the hotels (although the rooms cannot be booked online and still must be booked through the designated phone line).
Here are the rates at the Marriott Calgary Airport In-Terminal Hotel:
Here are the rates at the Westin Wall Centre Vancouver Airport:
Here are the rates at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Toronto Airport:
And here are the rates at the Marriott Montreal Airport In-Terminal Hotel:
As you can see, the rates are on par with the $2,000+ cost of a three-night quarantine hotel that was initially communicated by the federal government, although some rooms can be booked for as little as $1,300. The other non-Marriott hotels around each airport may be even cheaper.
Each rate includes three meals a day delivered to your room (seemingly up to a maximum of $125), as well as the cost of 24-hour security at the hotel. The rates need to be prepaid in full at the time of booking.
Each hotel offers rooms that can accommodate a maximum occupancy of four, which you can use if travelling as a family. In most cases, if your group consists of more than four travellers, you’ll need to book multiple rooms.
The regular public rates at these hotels are obviously much lower. If you’ve booked a regular public rate but you show up at the hotel to complete your three-day quarantine, the front desk will have to modify your rate to the higher quarantine rate.
Speaking to a few of the hotels, I’ve been told that guests may attach their Marriott Bonvoy number to these rates after completing the reservation.
I wouldn’t necessarily expect to receive a room or suite upgrade (since I assume the hotels will have designated rooms on designated floors for their quarantining guests), but it should be possible to earn Marriott Bonvoy points on these rather expensive hotel stays – perhaps a small silver lining in the grand scheme of things.
Guidelines for Your Quarantine Hotel Stay
You’ll need to reserve your quarantine hotel prior to your arrival into Canada, and include the hotel booking as part of your declaration of your quarantine plans through the ArriveCAN app.
From the airport, you may drive yourself to your hotel if your private vehicle is parked in one of the airport’s parking lots and within walking distance from the airport. You are instructed to go directly to your hotel, without stopping for gas, food or other items.
Otherwise, if you don’t have a private vehicle, you may also take a hotel shuttle bus, taxi, or limousine.
The following rules and guidelines apply to your three-day hotel quarantine:
- Meals will be delivered to your room three times daily.
- Cleaning personnel won’t enter your room during this mandatory stopover period. You’ll be provided with 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizer and approved hard surface disinfectants to clean your room, and you may request additional towels and toiletries.
- Travellers who don’t have symptoms can go outside for limited, monitored, socially-distanced, and masked outdoor time. Check with the hotel for the location and schedule.
- Looking at the rate details for the Marriott hotels, it seems like you’re allowed to take “healthy or smoke breaks” up to three times per day.
- You aren’t permitted to interact with travellers outside your immediate household or visit common areas of the hotel, such as the lobby or pool.
Once you’ve received your negative test, even if it’s before the end of your scheduled three-night stay, you can call the hotel reception and notify them of your checkout. You may then proceed to your designated quarantine location to complete the remainder of your 14-day quarantine.
If you’ve received a positive test, stay in your room until you are contacted by a public health official with instructions. You’ll be required to isolate for 14 days from when the sample was collected in a federal designated quarantine facility.
If your test is inconclusive or you’re still awaiting a result after three days, you are also instructed to stay in your room until contacted by a public health official. You may be allowed to leave for your own quarantine location if you have a suitable quarantine plan in place.
What If Your Final Destination Is Elsewhere in Canada?
If you’re headed somewhere other than Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, or Montreal, you will still need to complete the three-day hotel quarantine around one of these four airports before catching the domestic flight(s) to your final destination upon checking out.
You may need to reschedule the final leg of your journey as a result. Canada’s airlines have implemented special policies to support the new hotel quarantine procedure, so you’ll be able to rebook your itinerary for no change fee and no fare difference to schedule your final domestic flight for three days after your initial arrival into Canada.
If you need to reschedule your domestic flight due to a positive or inconclusive test result, your airline should be able to accommodate that change request as well.
Conclusion
Canada’s hotel quarantine requirement for international air travellers will begin as of February 22, 2021.
The list of government-approved quarantine hotels is now available, and in most cases, the costs for a three-night stay appear to be far below the $2,000+ amount that was initially communicated.
We’ll soon find out more information about Canada’s hotel quarantine from travellers who actually undergo the process over the coming weeks, so feel free to share your experience with us in the comments below.
So if someone receives a positive covid result, they will have to quarantine in the hotel for at least 2 weeks (or someone in the government’s public health contacts them); what will the hotel charges be for an additional 2 weeks at the hotel?
I have a question about calculating the 14-day quarantine period.
If one arrives in Canada on Mar 1, is the person allowed to go outside again on the 14th or the 15th?
Thanks for anyone who can answer my question.
I land in Toronto, but my final destination is Montreal. Do I quarantine in Toronto or in Montreal? I assume Montreal, but I cannot find a clear answer online.
You’d quarantine in Toronto, before taking your domestic flight to Montreal upon exiting the 3-day hotel quarantine.
The Toronto airport is just a 4 hour layover while I wait to board my flight to Montreal
As mentioned in the article, you’ll need to reschedule the flight with your airline to three days later; they should be able to do it for free in light of the new quarantine rules.
People who have Amex MR points could pay with an AmEx card and take statement credit by using their MR points.
As well as those with Scotia Rewards points 🙂
Here is a suggestion, refuse to book the hotel, get a ticket for $880, and go home, quarantine for the full 14 days. Cheaper than a 3 night stay at a COVID hotel, and much safer. Fight the ticket in court, what happened to our rights?
A passenger got a $3000 ticket this week for that exact thing, so where does the $880 come from ?
Do you know if the 3 Day quarantine applies to flying in on a private smaller airline ?
If Marriott is billing, then I assume you could use an annual $200 travel credit against it for an effective 10-17% discount on the stay?
Interesting to see double occupancy is the same price as single occupancy but includes an extra person worth of room service credits. Almost feels like a waste to just be a single traveler since you’d be leaving $125 on the table.
Look for someone arriving same period as you and split the cost…Lol
Not unlike regular hotel stays – except many hotels typically do let you take advantage of two people’s food/breakfast credits as a solo traveller. I don’t think that’d be possible in this case.
I believe the single occupancy prices have been updated on the Marriott site.
Apparently the only way to book the hotel stay is through the 1-800 number provided. In many countries, you cannot access any 1-800 numbers, e.g. Barbados. You would need to use your own phone, racking up huge long distance charges, as I’m sure you would be on hold for many minutes. When I posted this issue on Trip Advisor, I got slammed for even thinking about travelling. There is so much animosity towards folks who may need to travel.
You can download the fongo app, get a canadian phone number and call for very cheap 🙂
Well, you’ll always find a sympathetic ear around here. You raise very valid points and it suffices to say that the government’s rollout of the hotel quarantine program has been quite shambolic in many ways – the phone-booking line following the original commitment to allow online bookings being just one example.
I can see daily _direct_ fligts available for purchase for March, April and so on between various US cities and Ottawa (mostly operated by United). Are these flights going to be cancelled or rerouted to YYZ/YUL? If not – is this a simplier way to get to Canada from US?
I live in YOW and don’t count on any direct flights running, plan for YYZ/YUL, this is what i have done.
FYI for any travellers planning on crossing at a land border. A negative PCR test taken in the US only within 72 hours is requires to cross the border. Also keep in mind every state has different quarantine laws. For example, you are allowed to ‘pass through’ NY state, but if in the state for more than 24 hours would have to follow their quarantine laws, hence, no flying into Buffalo, awaiting a test result, and then crossing the border as in all likelihood the test results would take more than 24 hours.
Are you allowed to drive over with a rental car, then take a ferry?
You are permitted to leave quarantine to leave the state/country in NY. Also many locations have rapid molecular tests that are valid for entry by land. Not the the antigen one but the rapid pcr.
Are travelers charged by the hotel at checkout or by Amex Travel at time of reservation?
The hotel.
The Vancouver Westin $125/day food credit will not cover 3 meals/day at in room dining rates. For anyone returning from a US visit it is better to fly into Bellingham or Seattle and make a land return into Canada and quarantine at home.
Most definitely, 😄.
I wonder if a Marriott member/Amex cardholder could pay for the stay of a friend or family member who is required to use this service, and get the Marriott points.
The Bonvoy number must match the name of the traveller, and in this case the hotel needs to report on the traveller’s quarantine status (i.e., the fact that they are remaining in the room, showing no symptoms, etc.) to the government, so I don’t think the “second guest trick” would fly.
If I had to come back to Canada after February 22 – I’d rather fly into Buffalo NY or any other US airport close to the Canadian destination, drive to the border and cross by foot.
This way you skip this expensive 3-day jail stay – just go home to quarantine.
Yes, this is possible. Personally I’d probably go with the Fairfield Inn YYZ though. Yes, it’s an extra $1,000 for three nights, but once you add up the time and hassle of going through Buffalo, you probably aren’t coming out too far ahead.
Still, it’s an extra $1,000+ or extra hassle either way – which is the true objective of these quarantine requirements, I suppose.
I agree that the cost is likely worth the convenience. My concern is if by some bad luck you end up testing positive and have to spend the next 14 days in a govt facility/hotel; no thank you. I’d rather be quarantined in my basement and hence why going through trouble of the land crossing is worth it, imo.
Is this possible? This hotel approach is incredibly idiotic, and just seems so unnecessary regarding testing. I’m pretty sure you can get your test results back within a day at most if you’re willing to pay for it. Why go through this idiotic posturing and extra work?
Hi Darren,
Yes – this loophole is alive. At least for now.
of course you will incur additional expenses and hassle, and probably have to have someone on the Canadian side to pick you up – but it would be still way cheaper and more convenient to quarantine home, rather than in a paid jail.
Is there a requirement to quarantine (and/or get PCR test) if the trip (to Canada) is just for business meetings etc.?
Yes. The only exemptions are for essential workers.
What happens to your non refundable hotel reservation if your flight is cancelled, delayed or rerouted ?
So it’s more like – around $2000 for a couple – decent hotels – if you can order ubereats, doesn’t seem so bad. I can’t see a scenario where it takes three days to get test results.
Three days to get a test result back, when you can pay a private lab for one and have the results back in less than 24 hours. What a crock of s**t. Maybe that should be an option.
Yeah, the room rates being based on occupancy is much better than $2,000 per person. You can order Uber Eats, but you’d still pay for the same room rate that includes the 3 meals a day from the hotel restaurant.
I booked Fairfield YYZ Airport on Marriott website using the code RZL. It accepted my booking and on the confirmation stated it was a Gov Canada Quarantine Rate for Returning Residents I am checking with hotel if it is allowed or not.
Please let me know if this is acceptable. I did the same thing as well. Does anyone know if the code works on the hilton hotels? I want to compare prices
I might just have to fly to the US – then fly back home – I could use two or three day break at a decent hotel, with ubereats, to get a break from my family.
Can you book these 3 nights on points instead of paying cash?
No.
If someone leaves after day 1, will travellers get back refunds?
Different hotels gave me different answers on this one. Since the billing is handled by each individual hotel, I do think the answer will vary from place to place.
The Sheraton Gateway YYZ said that if you check out by the scheduled checkout time (12pm) on say Day 2, then yes you’d be eligible for a refund of the third night. The Marriott YYC said that you’d still have to pay for all three nights. Both said that if you happen to stay extra night(s) (perhaps while waiting to be contacted by a health official following a positive test) then you’d have to pay for the extra night(s).