Delegate transfers in Cape Town run well when they are planned from a single arrivals manifest: every delegate's name, flight number, arrival time, luggage and hotel in one list, grouped into vehicles by arrival window and destination. The drivers then track each flight, meet delegates in the arrivals hall at Cape Town International with a name board, and take them straight to the hotel or venue.
The work is mostly in the spreadsheet. A delegate who lands to find nobody there will remember it longer than any session, and so will the person who invited them.
Start with the arrivals manifest
Ask every delegate for their flight details at registration, and put them in one list with these columns:
| Column | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Full name, as on the board | The driver holds it up in arrivals, so match the passport name or the name they use |
| Flight number and date | Drivers track the flight, not the scheduled time |
| Domestic or international | International arrivals take longer through passport control |
| Mobile number with country code | So the driver can reach them when the phone comes back on |
| Luggage | Large cases, golf bags, exhibition material |
| Destination | Hotel name and address, or the venue |
| Notes | Seniority, a child seat, a wheelchair, a language |
Send the manifest to the concierge as soon as it is reasonably complete, and send changes as they come in. One list, kept current, avoids the most common failure: a driver working from an old version.
Grouping delegate transfers by arrival window
Delegates rarely land together. A three-day conference may see arrivals spread across two days on a dozen flights. The skill is in grouping them so nobody waits too long and no vehicle runs half empty.
- Same flight, same hotel: one vehicle. A Hyundai Staria Luxury takes eight passengers, a Hyundai Palisade Elite six.
- Flights landing within about an hour of each other, same area: these can share, but tell the first arrivals they may wait. For senior delegates, send them on their own.
- International and domestic on the same afternoon: keep them separate where possible. An international arrival can take much longer to come through.
- One VIP: a vehicle of their own, every time.
Remember that luggage limits a vehicle before the seats do. A full Staria takes around four large suitcases plus hand luggage, and a full Palisade three to four. Delegates on a long trip, or exhibitors carrying stands and samples, need fewer people per vehicle or a second vehicle. The concierge will quote that rather than squeeze.
For a large group on one flight, airport transfers for groups of 8 to 36 explains how the five vehicles run together.
The meet in the arrivals hall
Each driver waits in the arrivals hall holding a name board. When several drivers are waiting at once for one conference, it helps if the board also shows the event or company name, so ask the concierge for that when you book. The evening before, the driver's name, photo and direct number are sent to you or straight to the delegate, so the delegate knows who to look for.
The first 60 minutes after actual touchdown are included. That covers passport control, the baggage belt and the walk out on most arrivals. Waiting beyond the hour is billed hourly at the rate on the quote, and the concierge is told if a delegate has not appeared. A lost bag is the usual cause. The driver waits while the report is filed.
What a single private transfer includes is set out in what a private airport transfer in Cape Town includes.
Delays, cancellations and the delegate who changes flights
Because drivers track flight numbers, an early or late landing does not cost anything extra. If the airline cancels or diverts the flight, the transfer moves to the new arrival at no charge, subject to availability, and it is never treated as a cancellation by you.
The harder case is the delegate who changes their own booking and tells nobody. Ask delegates to send flight changes to one address, yours or the concierge's, and ask the concierge to confirm changes in writing. More detail is in what happens to your transfer when your flight is delayed.
Departure day
Departures are easier to plan than arrivals and more often forgotten. Delegates leave from the venue on the last afternoon, often all at once, and the N2 to the airport is busiest in the late afternoon. Cape Town International is about 20 km from the city centre, about 20 to 25 minutes outside peak traffic. In the rush, allow much longer.
Collect the departure flights in the same manifest, and set pickups that leave time for check-in. For international departures most delegates will want to be at the airport well over two hours before their flight. The return leg can go on the same quote as the arrival.
Common questions
Can we book transfers for delegates we will not meet ourselves?
Yes. Give the concierge each delegate's name, flight and destination. The name board carries their name, and the driver's details can be sent to them directly.
Do we pay per delegate or per vehicle?
Per vehicle, by zone. Airport transfers are a fixed fee per zone and per vehicle, so six delegates in one Palisade cost the same as two. See the airport transfers page for the zones.
Can we be invoiced after the conference?
Corporate clients can be invoiced monthly on account by arrangement with the concierge. Other bookings are confirmed on full payment by EFT.
What if our delegates arrive on 40 different flights?
That is manageable with a good manifest. The five vehicles can run several arrivals each through the day. For very large numbers, combine coaches for the main waves with chauffeur-driven vehicles for speakers and senior guests.
For a quote, send the concierge the manifest, or a first version of it, with the conference dates, the venue and the hotels. The reply is a written quote with a booking reference. For the conference days themselves, the CTICC conference transport guide and the corporate chauffeur page cover the rest.