I am planning a rare visit to Montreal and was wondering how the scene evolved here. I moved to Toronto in 2019. Where is the best place to host for a first timer? Downtown? Laval? Rive Nord or Sud?
It really depends on whether you hope/plan to attract local clients or business/leisure travelers. Many locals would prefer a suburban location like south shore or north shore because they would probably be able to drive to your location and park for free. Visitors to Montreal would probably not want to travel outside of downtown, because they can get what they want downtown either at their own outcall location or at an incall convenient to downtown.
Given that your visit is in January, which is the slowest time of year in Montreal for leisure travelers, it might be better to stay in the suburbs and target locals and business travelers who happen to be staying in the suburbs.
Keep in mind that the geographic layout of the Montreal metro area is different from Toronto. Toronto has 3 or 4 different "downtowns"--the main one and then a few other ones that are spread out east, north and west of the city, including the airport. Montreal only has one downtown. Yes, the south shore and north shore have some dense concentrations of homes, stores and offices but not as significant as the multiple "downtowns" of Toronto. When I visited Toronto, I was a little surprised to find that many (maybe most) escorts were available mainly in one of the outlying areas. In Montreal, most (but not all) escorts are available in the main downtown area.