A full time chauffeur for a week from HamiltonLimo.net is a multi-day hourly booking: the same vehicle and, on request, the same chauffeur reserved for set hours each day. Five eight-hour days cost about $4,800–5,800 in a business sedan, $7,600–9,400 in an executive SUV and $11,400–14,000 in a first-class sedan, all-in plus HST, with each day priced separately.
What "a full time chauffeur for a week" actually means
When people ask for a full time chauffeur for a week, they rarely mean a driver on call 24 hours a day. They mean one reliable person and one car available through the working day, every day, with evenings when needed. Our private chauffeur in Hamilton page introduces multi-day arrangements; this post explains the mechanics of a week: how the days are blocked, what happens between them, what it costs across different patterns, and how to change things mid-week without drama.
How a week booking is built
A week is not one long booking. It is a series of daily hourly bookings linked together, each with its own start time, length and notes. That structure has three advantages:
- Each day can be a different length. Monday might be a six-hour arrival day and Wednesday a ten-hour roadshow.
- You pay only for the hours reserved each day, not for the nights when the car is in the garage.
- Changes are day by day. Cancelling Thursday does not touch Tuesday.
The daily minimum is three hours for sedans, SUVs, vans and Sprinters. Extra time on any day is billed in 30-minute blocks at the booked rate.
Five-day prices by vehicle and day length
| Pattern | Business sedan | Executive SUV or van | First-class sedan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 days × 4 hours | $2,400–2,900 | $3,800–4,700 | $5,700–7,000 |
| 5 days × 6 hours | $3,600–4,350 | $5,700–7,050 | $8,550–10,500 |
| 5 days × 8 hours | $4,800–5,800 | $7,600–9,400 | $11,400–14,000 |
| 5 days × 10 hours | $6,000–7,250 | $9,500–11,750 | $14,250–17,500 |
| 7 days × 8 hours | $6,720–8,120 | $10,640–13,160 | $15,960–19,600 |
All planning figures, all-in with fuel, 407 tolls when used, airport fees and gratuity; add 13 per cent HST. A business SUV (Tahoe or Yukon, five passengers) sits between the sedan and the executive SUV at $145–175 per hour, or $5,800–7,000 for five eight-hour days. The reservation engine prices each day exactly before you confirm, and a coordinator can put a whole-week plan in writing.
Same chauffeur all week: how it works
Continuity is the reason most clients book a week rather than a string of separate rides. Ask for one chauffeur across all days in the booking notes. Dispatch assigns that person wherever the schedule allows and tells you in advance about any day they cannot cover, so a different face at the door is never a surprise.
By the second morning the chauffeur knows the hotel's side entrance, which meeting room building has a loading zone, how you like the temperature and whether you take calls on the move. That knowledge is worth more than any single feature of the car.
What a working day looks like, and the chauffeur's limits
A week only works if the chauffeur is rested. Dispatch plans each day so the chauffeur takes breaks while you are in meetings or at meals, never while you are waiting at the curb. For very long days, or a day that starts early after a late finish the night before, dispatch may suggest a different start time or talk to you about a second chauffeur for the evening. A tired driver is a risk nobody should accept, and we will say so plainly.
As a guide, a pattern of eight to ten hours a day across five days is comfortable. Twelve-hour days back to back need a conversation first.
Evenings, early mornings and weekends
- Evening events. Add them as extra time on the same day if they follow on, or as a separate evening booking if there is a long gap. A dinner three hours after the day ends is usually cheaper as a separate booking than as idle hours.
- Early airport runs. A 5 a.m. departure for Pearson (about 70 km, 45–65 minutes from downtown Hamilton) is often better as a one-way fare, $245–300 in a sedan, than as the start of an hourly day.
- Weekends. Saturdays and Sundays are priced the same as weekdays; there is no surge. What changes is availability, especially from May to October.
Four weeks we plan regularly
The visiting executive. Arrives Monday at Pearson, spends five days between a Hamilton head office, a Stoney Creek plant and customers in Burlington, Oakville and Mississauga, and flies home Friday evening. Five eight-hour first-class sedan days, with the Friday airport drop inside the booked hours: about $11,400–14,000 before HST. See corporate car service for invoicing on one account.
The wedding family. Parents of the groom fly in from abroad for a week of events: a rehearsal dinner in Dundas, the wedding in Ancaster, a brunch and a day at Niagara Falls. Mixed pattern: a one-way airport arrival, three four-hour days, the wedding day at eight hours and a Niagara day at eight. The executive SUV carries the grandparents and luggage.
The treatment week. A patient from out of town has daily appointments at a Hamilton hospital. Five three-hour sedan bookings, each covering the drive from a hotel, the appointment and the return, cost about $1,800–2,175 before HST. Chauffeurs help with doors, bags and walkers but are not caregivers; see our medical appointments page for what we can and cannot do. Hospital information is on the Hamilton Health Sciences site.
The relocation week. A family house-hunting, touring schools and meeting a lawyer and a bank. A luxury van with two car seats, six hours a day for five days: about $5,700–7,050 before HST, plus the seats.
A sample week, day by day
Here is a real-world pattern for a visiting director staying at a downtown Hamilton hotel.
- Monday: 11:40 a.m. landing at Pearson; drive to Hamilton; afternoon at head office. 7 hours.
- Tuesday: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.: Stoney Creek plant, lunch in Burlington, supplier in Brantford (40 km, 30–40 min). 9 hours.
- Wednesday: Morning meetings downtown, afternoon at McMaster Innovation Park, dinner in Dundas. 8 hours.
- Thursday: Toronto day: meetings near Union Station (68 km, 50–75 min each way). 10 hours.
- Friday: Checkout, one meeting, Pearson for a 5:30 p.m. flight. 6 hours.
Total 40 hours. In a business sedan about $4,800–5,800; in a first-class sedan about $11,400–14,000; before HST.
Changing the plan mid-week
Weeks change. A meeting moves, a dinner is added, a day is cancelled. Tell dispatch as early as you can. Changes of time or address are free while they can still be covered. Adding hours on a day is possible when the chauffeur's schedule allows. Removing a day follows the cancellation rule for that day, measured from its scheduled pickup: more than 72 hours before, no charge; 72 hours or less, 10 %; 48 hours or less, 50 %; 24 hours or less or a no-show, 100 %. Build the week with realistic hours and you will rarely need to cancel.
Overnight trips during the week
If part of the week is out of town, for example two nights in Niagara-on-the-Lake with theatre at the Shaw Festival, the chauffeur's accommodation and the vehicle's time away are priced in writing before you commit. Often the simpler answer is a one-way transfer out and back (about 70 km, 50–60 minutes, $230–280 each way in a sedan) with walking and local taxis in between.
Full time chauffeur for a week vs hiring someone yourself
For a single week, employing a driver makes little sense: you would need to find, vet and insure someone for five days, and arrange cover if they fall ill. A car service handles the car, the insurance and the backup. The question becomes relevant only for ongoing, full-time needs; we discuss it in can you hire a chauffeur to drive your own car.
What to send dispatch before the week starts
A one-page brief makes Monday morning smooth:
- Passenger names, phone numbers and how they like to be greeted.
- Flights, hotel names and room-block contacts.
- Each day's start time, fixed appointments and likely finish.
- Addresses with notes on entrances, gates and parking.
- Luggage, equipment, car seats or mobility aids.
- Who can approve changes: the traveller, an assistant or a family member.
Where the chauffeur waits during a long week
Downtown, the chauffeur holds near the building and returns when you text. At plants and sites, the car waits in visitor parking. At hospitals, it uses the pickup loop or visitor lots where allowed. At the hotel overnight, the car goes home with the chauffeur, and returns before the next pickup. Hotels we serve are listed on our downtown Hamilton hotels and Oakville hotels pages.
When one car is not enough for part of the week
Weeks with a big day in the middle often need a second vehicle for a few hours. A visiting delegation of eight might use one first-class sedan all week for the director, and add a 14-seat Sprinter on Wednesday for a plant tour with the whole team. A wedding family might keep an SUV all week and add a partner stretch limousine for the wedding evening only. Each extra vehicle is a separate hourly booking with its own minimum; a coordinator can put a multi-vehicle week in writing so every car arrives in the right order. See Sprinter group transportation for the larger vehicle.
Guests staying outside Hamilton
Not every week is based downtown. Guests staying in Burlington, Oakville or Niagara-on-the-Lake can still book a Hamilton-based chauffeur for the week. The only difference is the first and last leg of each day: from Oakville to downtown Hamilton is about 40 km and 30–40 minutes, which uses booked time on an hourly day. Dispatch can suggest whether a base closer to your meetings saves more than it costs. Distances and one-way fares for every nearby town are on our cities pages.
Winter weeks
A January week needs more slack. Lake-effect snow on the QEW and ice on the escarpment accesses can add 15–30 minutes to a drive. Chauffeurs check Ontario 511 each morning and may suggest an SUV for the week. The rates do not change with the weather.
Booking the week
On HamiltonLimo.net's reservation engine, book each day as an hourly booking with the same vehicle class, and write "same chauffeur all week" in the notes. For five or more days, or several vehicles, dispatch can build the whole programme and a coordinator can confirm it in writing. The fixed all-in price for each day appears before you confirm. For the cost of a single long day, see how much a limo costs for a full day; the full rate card is on the rates page.
