PACK EXPO International 2026: A Transportation Guide for Exhibitors and Corporate Teams

Start with the schedule beyond the show floor

Before arranging individual rides, bring your team’s transportation needs into one shared itinerary. Include airport arrivals and departures, hotel locations, required arrival times at McCormick Place, off-site meetings, and evening events. Identify which trips involve your internal team and which include clients, executives, or other guests.

Separate fixed appointments from flexible plans. An airport departure or scheduled customer presentation needs a different approach from an evening when your team has not yet decided where to have dinner.

For each confirmed trip, record the passenger count, pickup location, destination, required arrival time, and person responsible for communicating changes. Mark tentative plans clearly rather than treating them as confirmed reservations.

You do not need every detail finalized to start a conversation with a transportation provider. A working itinerary gives you something concrete to review and refine.

Coordinate airport arrivals around the travelers

PACK EXPO’s official travel resources identify both O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and
Midway International Airport (MDW) as arrival options. Confirm each traveler’s airport rather than assuming everyone is flying into the same location.

Collect flight numbers, arrival dates, passenger contact information, luggage requirements, and hotel destinations. For international arrivals, discuss pickup timing with your transportation provider rather than treating the scheduled landing time as the time a passenger will be ready to leave.

When colleagues arrive around the same time, ask whether a shared transfer makes sense. Consider the waiting time as well as the passenger count: combining arrivals may be practical, but it may not suit an executive heading directly to a meeting.

Dav El | BostonCoach offers airport rides with flight tracking when flight information is included in the reservation, so pickup timing can be adjusted for early arrivals or delays. Before travel, make sure each passenger knows how to locate their chauffeur and whom to contact if plans change.

Be specific about McCormick Place pickups

“Meet us at McCormick Place” is not a complete pickup instruction.

PACK EXPO International 2026 lists exhibits across the venue’s North, South, West, and Lakeside Center buildings. Plan around the building your team needs to reach—not simply the convention center’s general address.

Confirm the appropriate building and permitted pickup or drop-off location with your transportation provider. Share those instructions with passengers in advance.

For departures, allow time for your team to finish conversations, walk from the exhibit floor, and gather at the agreed meeting point. A meeting ending at 5 p.m. should not automatically become a vehicle departure at 5 p.m. For larger groups, designate one person to confirm that everyone is present and communicate with the transportation team.

Use the official hotel shuttles where they fit

PACK EXPO advertises complimentary shuttle service between official show hotels and McCormick Place. Review the organizer’s current shuttle information for your hotel’s boarding location, route, and operating schedule before arranging additional transportation.

The practical question is where your itinerary needs something different. Private transportation may be worth considering for airport transfers, executive schedules, client dinners, off-site appointments, or groups that need to travel together at a specific time.

You do not have to use the same transportation option for every trip. Consider using the official shuttle for routine show travel and arranging private service for the portions of your schedule that require a different route or departure time.

The goal is to support your itinerary—not duplicate arrangements that already work.

Plan the return trip before the client dinner begins

A dinner reservation is only one part of the evening. Confirm where guests will be picked up, whether they need time to return to their hotels first, and whether everyone will leave the dinner together. Guests staying at different hotels may need separate return arrangements or a planned sequence of stops.

Make one person responsible for communicating timing changes. That allows your hosts to focus on their guests rather than coordinating vehicles at the restaurant entrance.

For a straightforward evening, ask about scheduled point-to-point or round-trip service. For an itinerary with several stops or a less predictable finish, discuss whether hourly service would be more appropriate. Dav El | BostonCoach offers point-to-point, round-trip, and hourly ride options.
Confirm the service terms and timing expectations when booking so everyone understands how changes will be handled.

Match the vehicle to the trip—not just the headcount

Passenger count is a starting point, not the entire vehicle-selection process. An airport transfer needs to account for luggage. A client outing may call for the group to travel together. Travelers with accessibility requirements should have those needs discussed and confirmed before a vehicle is assigned.

Share the purpose of each trip as well as the number of passengers. Ask your transportation provider to recommend an appropriate vehicle and confirm the expected luggage capacity, boarding arrangements, and any specific requirements.

Dav El | BostonCoach’s meetings and events services include vehicle options ranging from sedans and SUVs to vans and buses, supported by a dedicated events team that assists with manifests, reservations, and transportation logistics. Vehicle options and arrangements are subject to availability and confirmation.

Keep one transportation plan—and one clear point of contact

Before your team travels, circulate a concise transportation summary with confirmed pickup times, meeting locations, destinations, and contact details. Keep one master version of the itinerary. Identify who can approve changes and how updated instructions will reach passengers.

Pay particular attention to the final day. Confirm whether departing travelers will return to their hotel for luggage or leave from another location, and review their airport pickup times accordingly.

A transportation plan does not have to be complicated. It does need to be clear enough that travelers know where to go and organizers know whom to call.