How to plan an hourly corporate day in Los Angeles

Start with the calendar, not the car. Write every stop in order with an address, an arrival time and how long you expect to stay, including short ones like a coffee meeting or a quick hotel stop. Mark which times are fixed, such as a client meeting or a flight, and which can move. This list becomes the brief your chauffeur works from, and it shows quickly whether the day fits one hourly block or needs a different plan.

• Address and building entrance for each stop
• Arrival time and expected time on site
• Fixed or flexible for each item
• Names and mobile numbers of anyone joining mid-day
• Final drop-off address, which may not be the pickup

Los Angeles distances look short on a map and run long in traffic. Downtown to Century City is about 13 miles, Century City to Santa Monica about 7 miles, and LAX to Downtown about 19 miles. Midday trips between those areas can take far longer than the mileage suggests, and late afternoon is usually slower still. Add a buffer of 15 to 30 minutes on top of each estimated drive, and more for any leg that crosses the city during the evening commute.

Add up the time on site, the drive times and the buffers, then round up to the next full hour. Online hourly bookings start at a 3-hour minimum. If the total lands between two blocks, take the larger one, because time past the booked hours is billed at the hourly rate of the vehicle booked. When meetings are far apart and each one lasts most of the day, compare the hourly quote with separate one-way rides before you decide. The sample day below shows the math.

• 9:00 am pickup at a Beverly Hills hotel
• 9:45 to 11:00 am meeting in Downtown Los Angeles
• 11:45 am to 1:15 pm lunch meeting in Century City
• 2:00 to 3:30 pm meeting in Santa Monica
• 4:15 pm drop-off back at the hotel: 7 hours 15 minutes, so book 8 hours

Match the vehicle to the people and what they carry. A Comfort Sedan or Executive Sedan carries up to 3 passengers and 3 bags. A Luxury SUV carries up to 7 passengers and 6 bags, and the Escalade Elite up to 6 passengers and 5 bags. For a full team, the Mercedes Sprinter Van carries up to 16 passengers and 18 bags. Count presentation cases, sample kits and carry-ons as luggage, and remember that capacities are maximums.

Many corporate days start or end at an airport. An arrival can be booked as its own airport pickup, where the chauffeur monitors the flight and arrives based on the actual landing time, with 45 to 60 minutes of complimentary waiting after international arrivals. Or start the hourly block at the airport if meetings begin right after landing, and set the start time with margin for a late flight. See our LAX pickup options guide for how terminal pickups work.

Send the stop list to everyone on the itinerary and keep the phone number on the reservation reachable all day. Before pickup you receive the chauffeur's details and a live tracking link, which makes it easy to coordinate when a meeting ends early or runs over. If the schedule changes before the day, reply to the confirmation e-mail or call (424) 209-8001 as early as possible. If it changes during the day, tell the chauffeur directly.

Gratuity is chosen at checkout: 15, 18, 20 or 25 percent, or a custom amount. The total shown at checkout includes that gratuity and any add-ons, and it is the amount charged. Each reservation has its own confirmation e-mail from Lux4Rides, so file it with the trip's expense report. If the day does run past the booked hours, the extra time is billed at the vehicle's hourly rate. For recurring schedules, see corporate car service.