A guest at the desk wants a car in ten minutes. The house car left for Heathrow at six.
We put cars and chauffeurs behind your concierge desk: a house car stationed at the property, overflow when the mornings stack up, and one number that is answered at three in the morning.
- 20+years in private travel
- Ownedchauffeur fleet in London and Manchester, a trusted global network beyond
- 24/7operations desk, one contact
- 3services on one itinerary: car, jet and yacht
In partnership with Harrods Aviation · Signature Aviation · SW Global
What usually goes wrong
The problems particular to a hotel
- Three car requests between seven and nine in the morning, and one house car, which is already halfway to the airport
- A bank of long haul flights landing within the same hour, so four guests need meeting at once and the desk is also checking people in
- Suppliers who park on the forecourt, block the porte cochere and have to be moved in front of arriving guests
- Drivers who do not know the property: which entrance, where to wait, whom to ask for, and how not to announce a guest's name across a lobby
- Billing that has to go to the room for one guest, to a corporate account for another and to your own ledger for a third
- Peak weeks, when every good car in London was committed months ago and a guest asks on the day
How we work with hotels
Behind the desk, never in front of it
The concierge owns the guest relationship and we do not interfere with it. Chauffeurs report to the desk rather than to the guest, wait where you tell them to wait rather than on the forecourt, use the entrance you use, and do not hand out cards. If a guest asks who arranged the car, the answer is the hotel.
Underneath that, the arrangement is usually one of three shapes, or a mixture of them. A house car programme puts a dedicated car and chauffeur at the property by the month or for a season, so the desk has something to offer immediately. Overflow cover means you keep your own arrangement and call us when it runs out, which is most mornings between seven and nine. A preferred supplier arrangement is simply the desk having one number that always answers, for anything from an airport run to a week of as directed work for a guest in a suite.
Our own cars and chauffeurs are in London and Manchester, with a trusted global network everywhere else. When your guest goes on to the Cotswolds, the Alps or the Riviera, we arrange the cars there through operators we know, and the journey stays with the same coordinator here.
A house car programme
What it looks like
- The carStationed at the propertyAn S-Class for most work, or a V-Class where families and luggage dominate.
- The chauffeurThe same faceHe learns your building, your procedure and your regular guests, which is most of the value.
- The hoursSet by youA working day, a split shift across the morning and evening peaks, or around the clock during a busy season.
- OverflowFrom our own fleetWhen the house car is out, the next car comes from the same desk and the same standard.
What your guests ask for
The requests that reach the desk
Airport transfers
Flights tracked, guests met inside the terminal, waiting time handled quietly.
Meet and greet
A name board at arrivals, or a meeting point agreed with the guest in advance.
A car for the day
As directed, at the guest's disposal, with the chauffeur waiting off the forecourt.
Shopping and evenings
Bond Street, Knightsbridge, dinner and the theatre, with bags taken back to the hotel.
Out of town
Windsor, the Cotswolds, an estate, a wedding, a day at the races.
Aircraft and yachts
When a guest asks the concierge for something rather larger.
What the desk gets
The things concierges actually care about
- One number and a named coordinator, answered by a person at any hour, not a booking form
- A quote back in a form you can read to a guest standing in front of you
- Chauffeurs who wait where you tell them and move the moment the desk asks
- No branding on the car, no cards handed to guests, no approach to a guest after the journey
- Cars that are clean at four in the afternoon as well as at eight in the morning
- An honest answer when something is not possible, early enough for you to offer the guest an alternative
The commercial side
Billed the way your ledger works
- Charged toThe hotel or the guestTo your account and on to the room, or direct to the guest, journey by journey.
- BookersNamed by youConcierge, guest relations, reservations, the duty manager overnight.
- ReportingBy journey and by guestYour reference on every job so the desk and finance can reconcile it.
- CoverageLondon and Manchester, and beyondOur own cars in both cities, and arranged vehicles elsewhere through operators we know.
For the desk
Tell us about your property
Where you are, how many car requests a day the desk handles, when the peaks fall and whether you want a house car, overflow cover or both. We will come back with how we would set it up.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
From hotels and concierge desks
Can you provide a house car?
Yes, by the month or for a season, with the same chauffeur. See dedicated chauffeur.
Who does the guest pay?
Either the hotel, with the journey posted to the room, or the guest directly. Many properties use both, depending on the guest.
Will your chauffeurs follow our arrival procedure?
Yes, and we would rather be briefed on it properly at the start than learn it by getting it wrong on a busy morning.
What about the busiest weeks of the year?
Tell us your dates as early as you can. The best cars and chauffeurs in London are committed a long way ahead for the summer events season, and early notice is what makes the difference.
Do you cover Manchester?
Yes. We own and run our cars and employ our chauffeurs in both London and Manchester. See Manchester.
Can you handle a conference or a group arrival?
Yes, including multiple vehicles arriving in sequence so the forecourt is never blocked. See group and delegation travel.
One contact, wherever you are