Our history
Our first travelers
We welcomed our first customers on December 21st, 2002. A group consisting of 8 French people passing through Montreal, who wanted to leave the next day for a day of snowmobiling. At the time, we were distributing leaflets by hand to all the concierges of Montreal hotels (image above). We were concentrating our offer around snowmobile and dog sledding day trips, including round-trip transportation from Montreal.
The start of a revolution
It was by creating our first Authentik website that we came up with the idea of targeting international travelers directly via the Internet. This new business model subsequently revolutionized the distribution network of the tourism industry. Let us remember that, at the time, the Internet was not yet a very popular tool.
Finally ! A real office space.
It is clear that business is going well. At least well enough to pay for real offices on Wellington Street, in Verdun. During the summer, it gets really hot without air conditioning. The bosses go on slushies trips to keep our soldiers refreshed in. It was, nonetheless, our 1500 square feet of paradise.
Our first Authentik outing
We are now 6 full-time employees and we see it as an opportunity to have our first team building activity in order to get to know each other a little better. To do so, nothing felt more right than going on a 3-day canoe-camping adventure in the meanders of L'Assomption River.
Gold Laureate Grands Prix du Tourisme
We take great pride in having won the ultimate recognition of tourism in Quebec. That evening, we walked chests-out as the whole Authentik team went up on the stage to receive the Grand Prix du Tourisme. We saw it as a real pat on the back from the Quebec tourism industry, which only encouraged us to continue on our path to greater innovation.
Authentik, growth leader in Quebec
Each year, the renowned business magazine L'Actualité lists the companies that have experienced the strongest growth in Quebec over the past 5 years. In 2009, Authentik came in second place of this prestigious list, thanks to an explosive growth rate of 3557%.
Authentik USA
2011 marked the launch of Authentik USA, our sister company offering road trips across Western United States. This new venture is part of the strategies leading to the relaunch of the company following the financial crisis of 2008, which had its toll of damage on us
Our first travel guide
Authentik publishes its first travel guide, which visitors can download for free on the website.
Launch of our road trip planner
After a few years of innovation, Authentik is launching the very first "road trip planner" in the world. This is a new generation of website where one can plan a tailor-made road trip from A to Z, by hand-picking accommodations and destinations, and where it is also possible to add vehicle rental and air tickets to build a complete trip.
Grand Prix de l'Innovation
Authentik is awarded the Grand Prize for Innovation for the launch of its new road trip planner. The industry rewards the company for its years of innovation in trying to change the way of planning an online trip.
The 2018 Authentik Forest
The team is more than ever involved in the fight against climate change. In 2018, we came together to plant 1762 trees on the Ferme 5 Étoiles site in the Saguenay Fjord region.
Las Vegas Office
Authentik USA inaugurates its new office located at 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway in Las Vegas. The company thus wants to better position itself to help its eager clientele to realize their American dream.
Authentik World
In 2023, we launched Authentik World. We are now offering trips all over the world and thus have become the largest road trip planner in the world.