Choose a corporate chauffeur service in Cape Town on what it will put in writing before the first trip: a quote that lists what is included, one named person who owns your bookings, clear rules on flight delays and waiting time, enough vehicles to move your largest group, and account and cancellation terms your finance team can live with. The paperwork and the person behind it decide how the week actually runs, as much as the vehicle does.
Most companies only find out how good their provider is on the day something changes. A board member's flight lands three hours late, a client dinner moves from Constantia to the Waterfront, a delegation grows from six to eleven. The checks below are designed to surface those answers before you need them.
What a corporate chauffeur service in Cape Town should put in writing
A professional operator sends a written quote for every booking, with a reference number, and the quote answers the questions your travellers would otherwise ask the driver. Look for these lines:
- What the rate covers. Driver, fuel and tolls should be inside the rate, along with the hours and kilometres it buys. A full day that quietly excludes fuel is a different product.
- How the rate is counted. Per vehicle or per person. Per vehicle is easier to budget for a group, because two passengers and six passengers in the same vehicle cost the same.
- What happens after the included time. Overtime and extra distance should be stated as rates on the quote, so a late dinner does not turn into a dispute on the invoice.
- What sits outside the quote. Venue parking, entrance fees and tastings are normally for the client's account unless they are itemised. That should be said, not assumed.
At West Landau the rate is per vehicle and includes the driver, fuel, tolls, Wi-Fi, chilled water and privacy glass. A half day is five hours and 100 km inside the metro, a full day ten hours and 250 km. Anything beyond that is billed at the overtime and distance rates printed on the quote.
Questions to ask before you appoint a provider
These are the questions that separate a dispatcher with cars from a service that can carry a programme.
- Who is my contact, and are they the same person every time? A shared inbox means every change is explained from the start. A named concierge who stays with the booking knows that the CFO prefers the front seat and that the Thursday dinner has moved.
- How do you handle a delayed or cancelled flight? The answer should mention tracking by flight number, a stated amount of included waiting time, and what happens when the airline cancels. At West Landau the first 60 minutes after actual touchdown are included, and an airline cancellation or diversion moves the transfer to the new arrival at no charge, subject to availability.
- What do my travellers receive before the trip? A traveller who knows the driver's name, face and number before landing does not need to phone the office from the arrivals hall. Our clients receive all three the evening before.
- Can the same driver stay with us for the whole visit? On a roadshow or a three-day conference, continuity saves time every morning. The driver already knows the hotel entrance, the meeting addresses and who travels with whom.
- Can you show your operating documents? Anyone carrying passengers for reward in South Africa needs a professional driving permit (PrDP), and the vehicle needs an operating licence. Ask any provider to show you both. West Landau shows its operating licence, its drivers' PrDPs and its passenger insurance on request. Our guide on how to check a chauffeur service before you book goes through the full list.
Fleet and capacity: can they move the whole delegation
A provider with one or two vehicles is fine for a single executive. It becomes a risk when a visiting team of fourteen lands on the same flight and the second vehicle has to be borrowed from someone else, in a different colour, with a driver who has not seen the run sheet.
Ask how many vehicles the operator runs itself, how many passengers each takes with luggage, and how a larger group is split. West Landau runs three 2025 Hyundai Staria Luxury, each seating eight passengers plus the driver, and two 2025 Hyundai Palisade Elite, each seating six. All five together move 36 passengers with five drivers. Parties of nine or more travel in two vehicles, one driver each, quoted as one booking.
Luggage is the detail most often missed. A full Staria takes around four large suitcases plus hand luggage, a full Palisade three to four. A team arriving for a week with exhibition material will not fit in the seat count alone, and a good operator quotes the second vehicle before the day rather than discovering the problem at the kerb.
Account billing, cancellations and the small print
Your finance team will care about three things: how bookings are paid, how they are invoiced, and what a late change costs.
Many operators require payment before each trip. For a company that books every week, that becomes administration. Ask whether a monthly account is available and on what basis. Corporate and multi-day clients at West Landau can be invoiced monthly on account by arrangement, which is covered in more detail in how a corporate chauffeur account works.
Cancellation terms deserve a careful read, especially for multi-day bookings. Ours are free more than 48 hours before pickup, 50% retained within 48 hours, and 100% within 24 hours or for a no-show. On a multi-day booking those windows apply to each day separately, so cancelling the final day of a four-day roadshow a week ahead costs nothing. The full wording is in the booking terms.
When a corporate chauffeur is the wrong spend
A chauffeur service is not the answer to every business trip. A single consultant staying at a Foreshore hotel, walking to the CTICC and taking one e-hailing car to the airport at midday does not need a dedicated driver. Spending on it would be hard to justify.
The case for a chauffeur service is strongest when the cost of a failure is high: a senior visitor who must not wait in arrivals, a schedule of back-to-back meetings across the city, a group that must arrive together, or a duty of care your company takes seriously. Our note on duty of care for visiting staff sets out how companies usually think about that last point.
If your bookings are mostly short single trips, ask the provider for point-to-point transfers rather than hourly hire. The difference is explained in point-to-point or hourly chauffeur.
Common questions
Should we use one provider or several?
One provider with enough vehicles is easier to manage, because one person holds the whole schedule. Several providers can work for very large events, but someone in your team then has to coordinate between them.
What is a reasonable response time for a quote?
Within the same business day is a fair expectation. West Landau's concierge replies within the hour during business hours, every day from 07:00 to 21:00, with a written quote and a booking reference.
Can drivers speak languages other than English?
Ask each provider directly. At West Landau a German, French or Mandarin-speaking chauffeur can be arranged on request.
Do we need to sign a long contract?
Not usually. Most companies start with a single booking, then move to an account once the pattern of travel is clear.
To start, send the concierge your typical booking pattern: who travels, how often, the usual pickups and destinations, and how your company prefers to be invoiced. You will receive a written quote and, if it suits, the details for an account. The corporate chauffeur page sets out the day rates and fleet in full.