There are times when using a hire car is essential, unavoidable and a great way to do business – if you're out on the open road or whizzing around small towns, having your own transport is practical and enjoyable. But many business travellers find themselves in situations where being behind the wheel can be frustrating, time-consuming or even dangerous.
Paul Tilstone, executive director of the Institute of Travel Management, explains: "There are some places where you would naturally have a hire car as a business traveller, particularly if you are there for a long time. The US is the perfect example. If you are in the mid-west for a week working for an oil company, you need a car, otherwise you wouldn't be able to get anywhere. But if you are on business in Paris, it's a different story."
Tilstone says the move by employers towards duty of care to staff means more are looking at alternatives to car rental, such as a chauffeur-driven service. This option – offered by suppliers including Sixt Rent-a-Car, Hertz, Avis, Budget and National Car Rental – sells particularly well in perceived high-risk areas, such as Johannesburg or Nigeria, although there is demand for other parts of the world too, such as Asia and the Middle East.
Avis's Chauffeur Drive service, for example, offers a "Point to Point" option in South Africa where, for the price of a local taxi, customers can call a uniformed driver to take them wherever they want to go. "In some Asian countries, such as Hong Kong, Singapore and India, demand for luxury cars is particularly high, and Avis has adapted its fleet accordingly," says a spokesperson. "In China, Chauffeur Drive is highly recommended. Most visitors find they have enough trouble surviving Chinese traffic without actually taking the wheel."
Budget's worldwide franchisees operate chauffeur-driven services "wherever there's an opportunity and a need", according to a spokesperson. Those destinations currently include the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. In Egypt, a car with a driver is offered as standard. "It's a relatively new product for us, and we are starting to identify more locations that require this kind of service."
Elsewhere, there's a growing demand for pre-bookable private airport-to-hotel transportation and two companies that originally offered this service to leisure travellers have recently moved into the business travel market.
Business Taxis is an offshoot of Holiday Taxis, which was set up to provide transfers for people holidaying in Spain and now has worldwide coverage. Managing director Paul Stanyer says: "Some of our leisure accounts also have business outlets and were looking to see if we could accommodate them. For business travel accounts, flexibility needs are greater – we can change their itineraries before or during travel.
"Bookings are made online and our technology allows corporates and travel management systems to track every journey and give detailed management information that they don't currently have access to. We are just offering a different service for a business traveller who wants to arrive at his or her meeting on time and unflustered, and check their mobile or Blackberry or do some work in the back of the car."
A similar service, ResortHoppa, was set up in 2003. It operates a CityHoppa division, initially aimed at leisure travellers on a city break. By the end of September, it will service 500 airports worldwide, offering a range of options from pre-booked airport shuttles for the cost-conscious business traveller to more luxurious options such as limousines and helicopter transfers.
Neville Wynn, chief executive, says: "The business travel market was not our target market, but came to us by default. People have used our ResortHoppa service on holiday and started booking us on business. From a company's point of view, they have control over the expenditure – they know exactly what the price will be in advance and they know their staff are going to get into a safe, reliable, insured cab. From the employee's point of view, they don't have to fork out cash all the time, our drivers know the arrival time and clients are given an emergency contact in case of problems."
While BusinessTaxis and CityHoppa are relatively new players, there are existing chauffeur services that have been around for much longer. Carey, for example, was formed in the US in 1921 and opened a UK office 25 years ago.
Nick Riley, Carey's UK finance director, says: "Corporate clients travel with us for security from a professional viewpoint. They know that the car is going to be top-of-the-range, the chauffeur has had a full security check, and the vehicle is safe and reliable. If someone is new to the area, we can offer our customers advice on what they should be wearing, where they should be going. Our chauffeurs offer a similar service to a five-star hotel concierge."
Carey offers two types of service: the simple meet-and-greet and "as directed", where the driver picks up at the airport or hotel in the morning and takes instructions from the business traveller as the day unfolds. "What's key is absolute discretion and security. In cities such as Sao Paolo or Johannesburg is where we can really add value," says Riley. "I often think that we are a military intelligence company that happens to provide some chauffeur-drive on the side."
Visit avis.com, budget.com, hertz.com, nationalcar.co.uk, e-sixt.co.uk, careyuk.com, businesstaxis.com, city.resorthoppa.com.
