Using Uber and other services to/from luxury hotels

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Aug 28, 2015, 12:25 pm

#16

offerendum

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Join Date: Mar 2006

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Quote:

Originally Posted by pricesquire

Never even heard of Blacklane. Very interesting!

Never used it but always take it as reference. It´s a German company with local partners.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacklane

Aug 28, 2015, 1:01 pm

#17

FlyingDoctorwu

Join Date: Mar 2004

Location: Baltimore MD

Posts: 3,457

I've used Blacklane for transfers on multiple occassions.. I've been quite happy with them. WHen I used them for family travel in Chicago, I noted requests for a car seat which was taken care of without any difficulty. Very very pleasant experience... it's my go to now for booking transfers...

FDW

Aug 28, 2015, 4:58 pm

#18

Kagehitokiri

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Quote:

Originally Posted by pricesquire

Never even heard of Blacklane. Very interesting!

was mentioned in first post of this thread, and one of the replies >

Quote:

Originally Posted by LM225

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).

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.

Quote:

Originally Posted by xray

Always use hotel cars if I'm coming off an overnight flight and arriving early...

Once I become familiar with a destination, I'm more apt to use blacklane or uber. Paris would be an example.

blacklane - 5 posts in luxury hotels forum outside this thread, and 88 posts elsewhere on flyertalk
may have launched in US (and some other non-EU destinations) about a year ago, so newer expansion

Last edited by Kagehitokiri; Aug 29, 2015 at 3:00 pm

Aug 28, 2015, 4:58 pm

#19

FlyerEC

Join Date: Dec 2006

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Usually book directly with hotel for transfers unless familiar with city & have local connections including regular chauffeurs .
In some cities in Asia , there is GrabTaxi , also GrabCar which is a separate division . Think cheaper than Uber , reliable too .

Aug 28, 2015, 8:54 pm

#20

MikeFromTokyo

Join Date: Jan 2009

Location: BKK

Posts: 6,741

Are Uber and Blacklane third party agencies that deal with reputable livery services? i.e. will the car and driver potentially be exactly the same as what the hotel would provide (for hotels that do not have their own fleet of cars), or what I could book myself through Amex etc..?

It soulds like UberX drivers could be anyone with a car...

Uber Black/Luxury sound like what most people on this forum are referring to. I am inclined to give it a try given positive reviews from forum regulars.

Aug 28, 2015, 10:33 pm

#21

Aventine

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Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeFromTokyo

I think Uber itself is supposed to be the reputable company. Uber Black drivers must have commercial licensing and registration, and Uber Black cars must be luxury vehicles. This can vary according to locale though, like Thailand, where a CR-V is luxury enough to be an Uber black

. They will also have airport park permits and privileges in some cities.

Aug 29, 2015, 3:42 am

#22

scented

Join Date: Sep 2009

Location: Europe

Posts: 2,600

London is my favorite city for Uber Black, as they have the latest 7 Series and S class for the service and it's reasonably priced. Absolutely fantastic.
Paris is good, too, but a notch below, with E class or 5 Series, or the occasional Jaguar if you're lucky.

Aug 29, 2015, 4:32 am

#23

MikeFromTokyo

Join Date: Jan 2009

Location: BKK

Posts: 6,741

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aventine

. They will also have airport park permits and privileges in some cities.

Thanks Aventine, I will try it the next time I travel abroad. I have my own car (and driver if needed) here, so probably won't use it any time soon in BKK anyway.

It sounds like you have had good experiences in Japan and Korea with it. How do rates in Tokyo compare with taxis?

Aug 29, 2015, 5:03 am

#24

Aventine

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Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeFromTokyo

It's more expensive than the normal taxis and I don't normally take it in Tokyo either. Just not worth the premium when the Japanese Taxis are pretty decent. You can get a Fuga or Crown athletic as a normal taxi anyway. I did it twice and because there were no taxis around near Hiroo. Very attentive and literally stopped outside our restaurant door and took us back confidently to Andaz. Gave that man an easy 5 stars. Hope to hear your thoughts!

Aug 29, 2015, 6:15 am

#25

MikeFromTokyo

Join Date: Jan 2009

Location: BKK

Posts: 6,741

It sounds great for times when it is not convenient or possible to hail a cab. So, if I understand correctly, one can just open the app on a smartphone while finishing dinner, and then a car will be diapatched and just show up at your current location? That sounds great.

Aug 29, 2015, 6:21 am

#26

LM225

Join Date: Apr 2008

Posts: 1,151

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeFromTokyo

Exactly. And you can track the car's exact location (and ETA) on a map, or simply wait and get an alert when the car has arrived. I also like that you can input your destination directly into the app and have it pre-load into the driver's GPS, so there's never any confusion as to where you're actually going.

That, plus the fact that you don't need to pull out your wallet, deal with cash or calculate tips, is enough for me to have not gotten into a taxi in a couple of years now in cities where Uber is available.

Aug 29, 2015, 6:25 am

#27

FlyingDoctorwu

Join Date: Mar 2004

Location: Baltimore MD

Posts: 3,457

Quote:

Originally Posted by LM225

Fairly solid customer service as well. I order an UberBlack for my MIL to go to the airport from my house. When I got the receipt I noticed that the driver had taken the super long way, so I emailed support and they adjusted the charge to reflect the most direct route.

One thing I really like about Blacklane is the ability to preschedule. With uber you're at the whims of whatever is available at that time. Also blacklane a pricing is fixed so it doesn't matter how long or what route they take.

Fdw

Aug 29, 2015, 10:44 am

#28

Aventine

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Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeFromTokyo

Works best late night in Gangnam, Seoul when the cabbies are being ultra choosey and only taking long fares. The whole pay by card, no fiddling with money, tips and prechoosing destination is great. Their customer service is quite reasonable too. They will make fare adjustments if the driver is being dumb and taking the scenic route. Also, if the driver fails to live up to the "black car service" luxury driver standard. Smells like BO, rude, doesnt help with bags, etc.

Aug 29, 2015, 11:05 am

#29

RichardInSF

Moderator: Luxury Hotels and FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Sep 2002

Location: Palo Alto, California,USA

Posts: 17,856

I have split off this from the thread on using hotel car services (hence it may be a bit disjointed) and will move it to the forum for rideshare services.

RichardInSF, moderator, luxury hotels