Conference centres near Toronto Pearson Airport

If most of your attendees fly in, a venue near Toronto Pearson International Airport can save each of them a night and a cab ride. The airport area has two of the largest exhibition and conference complexes in Canada, a hotel inside Terminal 3, and several conference hotels within a short shuttle ride. Here is how they compare, what to check, and when downtown is the better choice.

The main options at a glance

Figures are each venue’s own and change with renovations and layouts; confirm the room you need in the layout you will run. The Toronto Congress Centre, Delta and Sheraton are not yet profiled in our directory.

Getting attendees there

• From the terminals. The Sheraton Gateway connects directly to Terminal 3 and to the airport’s Terminal Link train. Most other airport hotels run a shuttle; ask the hours, how often it runs and whether it serves the conference centre as well as the hotel.
• From downtown. The UP Express runs between Terminal 1 and Union Station in about 25 minutes, every 15 minutes. That makes an airport-area venue reachable for downtown speakers, but the final leg from the terminal to Dixon Road or Airport Road still needs a shuttle, taxi or bus.
• By car. Both big complexes advertise free parking, which is a real saving over downtown. Staff and local attendees will drive; plan for winter traffic on the 401 and 427.
• By transit. TTC buses run along Dixon Road toward Kipling and other subway stations, and Mississauga routes serve Airport Road. Check the current routes on the TTC and MiWay sites and include them in the joining instructions.

When the airport is the right call

• More than half your attendees fly in, and the program is one or two days.
• You need exhibit halls with drive-in doors and free parking.
• Your budget cannot carry downtown hotel rates and parking.

When downtown wins

• The evening program matters, and you want restaurants, a reception venue or the waterfront within walking distance.
• Most attendees arrive by GO, VIA or subway.
• You need a hotel block and a meeting venue under one roof with the city as part of the draw; see the Toronto conference venues guide for downtown options.

Hotel rooms near the airport

Airport hotels fill with airline crews and travellers as well as groups, so ask early. Negotiate the block on the same terms as anywhere else: courtesy before contracted, a realistic size, review dates and a clear attrition clause. Rooms in Mississauga and Toronto carry 13 percent HST and a municipal accommodation tax set by each city; ask the hotel for the all-in nightly figure to send attendees. The room block guide walks through the contract.

Questions to ask an airport-area venue

• Does the airport shuttle serve the venue, and at what hours?
• Is parking free for attendees and exhibitors, and is there bus parking?
• Which hall or ballroom is ours, and who else is in the building that day?
• What are the food and beverage minimum, service charge and tax?
• Is in-house audio-visual required, and is there a dedicated internet line?
• What are the move-in and move-out times, dock access and labour rules?
• Where is the nearest hotel block, and is it walkable in winter?

Ready to compare? Browse conference venues, check the conference planning hub and get quotes from the venues that fit.