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Toronto is getting glamorous! The Toronto International Film Festival is in town and along with several red carpet premieres, there will be lots of hot and exciting things to do in the city. The official TIFF guide can help you choose the best film, but if you are just into stargazing and possibly meeting celebrities, check out some popular places to explore for TIFF 2017.

Restaurants

Frings

This popular King-West restaurant has attracted a lot of attention since it opened in 2015. Managed by Executive Chef Susur Lee, this resto-lounge lists Toronto’s very own Aubrey “Drake” Graham as an owner. This comes as no surprise since the star is often spotted here when in town with his celebrity friends. Drake is expected to be in town for this year’s TIFF, as he is the executive producer on a basketball documentary called The Carter Effect.

Bosk

Comfortably located at the Shangri-La Hotel on University Avenue, this popular Asian-themed restaurant is familiar to many famous faces. The distinct menu features modern Asian dishes with a Canadian touch. In the past, celebrities such as George Clooney and Johnny Deep were spotted dining here.

STK

This hotspot made its debut after TIFF 2016 and is nestled in the heart of Yorkville. As you can guess by the name, this restaurant serves up delicious steaks among other bites. This year, the restaurant will host the Creative Coalition Spotlight Initiative gala on September 8. This gala is organized to honour certain celebrities that have contributed in some form. This non-profit charity is concerned about issues in the creative community. This year they will honour Jason Biggs, Zachary Quinto, Julienne Nicholson and Matthew Newton.

Luma

It won’t be right to have this list and not mention the official restaurant at the TIFF Bell Lightbox building. Located on the second floor at the spacious King-West space, this restaurant serves up authentically Canadian dishes in an upscale environment.

Bars

Everleigh

With so much happening for TIFF this weekend, there are expected to be lots of glamorous after parties hosted by celebs. On September 8, King-West hotspot Everleigh will be hosting musical sensation Akon. Akon has sold over 35 million albums worldwide and he’s come to share some of his talent in Toronto for TIFF.

Lavelle

This rooftop bar has gained a lot of momentum since its debut in 2016. What makes this party place lively is its location 16 storeys up in the busy King-West area and a sprawling 16,000 sq. ft lounge space. With an indoor and outdoor dining space, and a glamorous rooftop pool, this hotspot also boasts a great view of the CN tower. In 2016, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, and John Legend all attended the Hugo Boss party hosted for La La Land.

RBC House

RBC is an official sponsor of TIFF so its no surprise they will be hosting many parties for the celebs. Storys Building at 11 Duncan street will be the location for RBC House and will lay out the red carpet for many A- listers. Expected to make appearances are Nicole Kidman and Penelope Cruz. RBC House will also host many press junkets and a RBCX music party headlined by Canadian rock band, Arkells.

The Drake Hotel

This boutique hotel on Queen West is often more than just a hotel. With three levels of partying, the Drake Hotel has a lot of offer. From delicious brunches and a café in the day, the main level of the hotel bar often hosts live bands or dj’s by night.

Hotels

Bisha Hotel Toronto

This newly opened hotel is sure to be busy during the TIFF weekend. This luxury hotel located on Blue Jays Way in the heart of the city has a stunning rooftop pool and patio — 44 floors high. This hotel is classed as a luxury 5-star experience, so expect celebrities to be checking this one out.

Ritz Carlton Toronto

The Ritz is a classic hotel name and one where you may see many stars. This luxury five-star hotel is in the heart of the city, and just steps away from the official TIFF headquarters. One of the many delights you can enjoy at this hotel is their themed afternoon tea. This September there will be a Great Gatsby theme. Afternoon tea at the Ritz will cost you $54 dollars per person, but it’s a small amount to pay to possibly see a famous face.

The Four Seasons Toronto

This classic hotel is in the heart of Yorkville. After changing locations, they reopened doors in 2012. The Four Seasons is now located at the corner of Bay and Yorkville avenue and is also home to the Four Seasons private residences. Soaring 55 stories above the city, this hotel often has many special offers and packages such as a bed and breakfast package, a spa package and even a limited ‘Canada turns 150’ credit. These packages only require a stay of 1-2 nights.

The Hazelton Hotel

This Yorkville luxury hotel is only a few doors down from the Four Seasons, but is still a celeb favourite. Blake Lively, Ben Affleck, Julia Roberts, and Brad Pitt have all reportedly stayed here. If you want to scope this hotel out, the best bet is having a drink at the hotel’s famous ONE restaurant, featuring a lovely tree lined patio.

Where have you gone for stargazing? Let us know in the comment below!

Without a doubt, rental housing in Toronto is a problem, but are short-term rentals the cause?

The City of Toronto is investigating short-term rentals such as Airbnb, Flip Key and Roomorama to see whether these temporary stays are taking available homes away from people who live in Toronto. In Wednesday’s Executive Committee meeting, the council voted to report back with recommended regulations in Spring 2017.

What is in the city report?

The Executive Committee wants to create a database that provides a breakdown of every service provider and unit type, including a list of landlords running short-term rentals. The city also wants to look into cases of sexual violence in short-term stays, safety standards, and working conditions for employees. The city will look into regulating and possibly restricting temporary rentals through zoning bylaws and licensing. Another solution presented in the study is to tax companies such as Airbnb and similar businesses as hotels.

Currently, Airbnb has 9,460 units or rooms in Toronto that were rented in 2015. These rooms were run by 7,320 hosts. Sixty-eight per cent of the rentals are held in apartments and the rest consist of a single room rental. This shows that not all rentals are taking up entire residences, but also include single rooms in people’s primary homes. Research also determined that 68 per cent of rentals were hosted by people who owned a single home and 37 per cent of short-term rentals were owned by people with more than one house. The high average of people who are renting from their primary residence also shows that not many people in Toronto are trying to make a business from Airbnb, but instead use it as a way to make extra money if they are not staying in the home.

How is Airbnb reacting?

Airbnb has released a report to refute the claims that the City of Toronto needs to regulate their short-term rental stays. Airbnb report says there are 8,200 active participants using the short-term rental program, which accounts for o.7 per cent of Toronto’s housing market. The company also relayed that 46 per cent of the rentals were less than 30 days annually. This shows that people most likely use Airbnb to rent out their homes while they work abroad or are on vacation. Airbnb proves that it differs from a hotel service because most hosts are only using the service occasionally rather than as a principal business. Airbnb also pointed out that the typical home listing earned $6.650 in the last year, which would divide into $550 per month. A long-term rental would make a landlord substantially more money, which further shows that hosts are not using the Airbnb service in place of renting out their home to a possible tenant.

How are other cities approaching Airbnb?

Other cities have adopted regulation approaches, with the most extreme being New York having outright banned short-term rentals. Chicago, Seattle and Philadelphia have introduced regulations that ensure short-term rental hosts pay hotel and sales taxes for using the service. Chicago, London and San Francisco have put a cap on the number of nights per year that a property can be rented short-term. Vancouver is also in the process of introducing regulations to license short-term rentals that will allow an unlimited number of stays as long as it is the principal residence of a host.

Toronto is set to regulate temporary rentals in Spring 2017, although the details are still unknown. Licensing the various business ventures could have its merits, but restricting short-term rentals to avert the housing crisis will not work. By mandating that a host only use their principal residence, and limit the number of nights for short-term stay, it ensures that a host is not using their own home as a hotel, but is instead trying to make an extra buck when they are away from work. On the other hand, strict measures such as banning or taxing short-term rentals prevents people living in an expensive city like Toronto from profiting from their already pricey homes. Either way, the housing crisis remains and focusing on controlling short-term rentals seems to be merely a distraction from the lack of affordable housing that plagues Toronto’s future.

hotels

Where to go stargazing for celebrities at TIFF 2017

Is regulating Airbnb the answer to housing crisis?