Originally Posted by
LM225
Something I've been wondering about lately....
When you book a luxury hotel, do you "default" to using the hotel's own airport transfer service? If so, why?
The FS Florence quoted me 195Eur for a daytime (S Class) transfer from FLR, which, to me, seems a bit nutty for a 20-minute ride. For comparison, Blacklane offers the same transfer in an S Class for 82 Eur (or a lowly E Class for 50Eur, which is what I'd probably opt for).
I understand the argument that it could make the check-in process smoother, but are there other benefits? Are you more likely to get an upgrade? Early check-in?
How do you make your decision when booking a transfer?
For the purposes of this thread, I'm not really referring to remote resorts where the hotel transfer is the only option, or where local options might be harder to research.
For the record, I'll typically opt for trains and public transportation where it's faster and traffic can be awful (e.g., Tokyo or London), and then about a 60/40 split of Uber/Blacklane (or other prebooked car service) for the rest.
I base my decision on how much the price difference is from outside company to the hotel itself. For the FS example you gave, I'd probably also go with the outside 50 EUR E-class. Seems it's only a short ride and well I'm sure you're booking through FSPP, Virtuoso or some other luxury travel program to get your "VIPness" and upgrades handled.
Let's break this down by city:
BKK
One time in Bangkok to the PEN, I decided to use the AOT limo service at BKK instead of the Pen car. It was a normal E-class that saw better days and well the driver wasn't the best either (smelled a bit). The price difference wasn't too vast and my partner told me off for trying to save whatever baht. Never used AOT again.
I've used the car services for the MO and GH there and they were superb S-class long wheelbases. We already had very nice rooms so I don't believe the car influenced upgrades there. The senior duty staff for both hotels were there to greet us and take us to our rooms.
HKG
I always recommend hotel car service in HKG because private limos have that sweet spot just outside of arrivals. There's no waiting for them to pull the car around because it's usually already there.
PEN: no room upgrade. Just what we paid for. The Rolls was a special treat but I'm sure their 7 series are just as good.
MO: this was a time where using their car service didn't give any room upgrade and when we actually could have used more prep space getting ready for an anniversary photoshoot. The departure was lousy too when I paid our bill and the duty manager just said goodbye then stayed inside. Not MO HK's finest hour in my eyes.
FS: We already had a nice room and Ms. Birdie Ho, front office manager saw us off until the car pulled out. This was a fabulous Mercedes S-class pickup and drop off.
PVG (Shanghai):
Been scammed by a taxi late night before who wanted an absurd amount of money with his rigged meter. Not the best welcome after a redeye flight and China is probably the last place I want to direct a taxi (day or night).
MO: We did the Smartelite gate service and car pickup. The gate service isn't worth it, IMO. There's no J or F lanes and all she can do is let you cut the other foreigners in line upon arrival. They get you your boarding pass and take you to an empty security line but this I could have done through flying in C.
The car from MO was a nice S-class long wheelbase. Driver did his best to get us there quickly for our spa appointments and bypassing whatever traffic he could. Continuing the trend, we had a nice Mandarin room and stayed in the same Mandarin room. The only thing was the senior staff were on hand to greet, take luggage, make small talk, etc. I recommend the car service from MO PVG.
NRT (Tokyo):
SL: Just a superb mint condition obsidian grey Audi A8L with an iPad connected to LTE. Was great for tethering to our devices (I love when cars have a wi-fi egg or the like). It was more than double Uber's rate (50000 or 60000 yen vs. 25 or 28000 yen for Uber) but got us there in 40-45 mins. Like a brilliant whirlwind. Pricey but worth it to avoid escalators and dragging bags.
We had our favorite room type there. I don't really care for the suites at SL TYO and well the service is always pristine, even, if we don't take their car. The guest relations manager is ALWAYS on hand to greet us.
Andaz: Even more expensive than SL and not even an in-house service or driver.
KIX (Osaka, destination Kyoto):
HR Kyoto: this was the worst airport transfer in my life. For whatever we paid, 28000 yen, I expected a decent car and driver. HR Kyoto subcontracts it out to MK taxi and well we got an smelly MK Taxi Crown and my name spelled up-sided down and wrong. He drove Japanese speed (read: slow) when we had an urgent appointment to keep. We barely made it. MK Taxi wouldn't really accept responsibility and didn't discount or refund me the one-way airport transfer. I paid and bared it just to keep our good relations with HR Kyoto.
As for check-in and coordination, well, you or your agent can give the hotel your flight details and expected check-in time and they should be ready for you. They shouldn't be more ready or less ready depending if you use their car or not.