Rolls Royce with chauffeur: how the booking works, what it costs and what to ask

A Rolls-Royce with chauffeur through Elly8.net is booked as a whole vehicle for two passengers and two bags, with a professional chauffeur, for a transfer or a block of hours. Because the cars are rare and their availability differs from city to city, the Rolls-Royce is priced for your exact date, route and hours in the web booker rather than on a fixed list, and the all-in total appears before you confirm.

Most people who search for a Rolls-Royce with a chauffeur want one of four things: a wedding car, a memorable arrival for an anniversary or milestone birthday, a statement pickup for a VIP guest or client, or a private-jet arrival that matches the aircraft. This guide covers the last three in detail; for the wedding day itself, our companion guide to the Rolls Royce car for a wedding walks through the timeline and contract hour by hour.

What do you get when you book a Rolls-Royce with chauffeur?

The chauffeur is the part people underestimate. A Rolls-Royce arrival only works if the car is in the right place at the right minute: at the hotel porte cochere rather than across the street, at the FBO gate your operator uses rather than the main terminal, at the side entrance of the venue the organisers named rather than the crowded front. Our guide to what a chauffeur is explains the job in full; for a Rolls-Royce booking, the planning matters even more than usual.

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Seats and bags: plan around two

The fleet page lists the Rolls-Royce for two passengers and two bags. That is how the desk books it, and it is the right way to think about the car: a cabin for two people to arrive together in comfort, not a vehicle for moving a family with suitcases.

Three practical consequences follow:

• Luggage travels separately. For an airport or FBO arrival with more than two bags, book a Business SUV alongside the Rolls-Royce. The SUV carries up to six passengers and six bags and follows the Rolls to the hotel, so the principal arrives with the car and the luggage arrives at the same time.
• The entourage needs its own car. An assistant, a security lead or other family members ride in a second vehicle. A First Class SUV, an Escalade, Navigator or similar, is a natural pair.
• Formal wear takes space. Two adults in evening dress, or one passenger with a long gown, use the cabin fully. Do not plan a third rider.

The hourly figures above are the lowest published rates in our cities, from the Rome, Florence and other European price lists; in North America they run higher. In New York, for example, the First Class Sedan is US$170 an hour and the First Class SUV US$160 an hour, both with a 3-hour minimum.

How the price is built

A chauffeured Rolls-Royce is priced the way every Elly8.net booking is priced: per vehicle, all-in. The total includes the chauffeur, the car, taxes and a standard gratuity. Tolls, parking and waiting beyond the booked time are billed at cost. What makes the Rolls-Royce different is supply. A city may have only a handful of chauffeured Rolls-Royces available on a given night, so the booker prices the car for your date, route and hours instead of publishing one rate for the year.

Three things move the number most:

• Hours. A one-way transfer from an airport or FBO is the shortest booking. An evening with the car waiting outside a restaurant or gala is a block of hours.
• The date. Saturday evenings in wedding season and gala nights are when the cars are most in demand.
• Positioning. A car that has to travel a long way to reach your pickup point costs more than one already nearby. The desk will tell you when a different pickup point saves money without changing the experience.

For a budget you can check today, use the fixed First Class Sedan as the floor. In Los Angeles, the evening out and event night package, 5 hours, costs US$850 in a First Class Sedan; in New York, also US$850; in Toronto, US$900. A Rolls-Royce for the same evening will be priced in the booker, and the gap between the two numbers is the price of the statement.

Model years and what "Rolls-Royce" means on a booking

Elly8.net's partner rule for vehicle age is four model years or newer for most of the fleet, and seven model years or newer for Rolls-Royce, Maybach and Bentley. The longer window reflects how these cars are kept and how slowly the models change. In practice, ask two questions when you book:

1. Which model and year? The exact car depends on the licensed partner in that city. If a specific model matters to you, say so at booking, and the desk will confirm what is available or tell you plainly that it is not.
2. Can you send a photograph of the actual car? Not a brochure image. The car that arrives should be the car you were shown.

We do not promise a specific model in a specific city until the desk has confirmed it, and we would rather tell you that a city has no Rolls-Royce available on your date than send something else under the same name.

Arrivals by private jet

A private-jet arrival is where a chauffeured Rolls-Royce makes the most sense, because the timing is precise and the walk is short. Private flights use FBOs, the private terminals at general aviation airports and at the edges of the big hubs. Van Nuys Airport serves Los Angeles; Teterboro Airport, run by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, serves Manhattan.

Tell the desk the airport, the FBO and the tail number. The chauffeur tracks the flight and is at the FBO your operator uses when the aircraft arrives. For arrivals with more than two bags, the Business SUV follows with the luggage. Our private jet and FBO transfers page covers the service in detail. As a fixed reference, a Business Sedan from Teterboro to Midtown Manhattan costs US$170 and a First Class Sedan US$300; from Van Nuys to Beverly Hills, US$200 and US$350.

Principals who need discretion can ask for an NDA, which the desk arranges on request. For executive arrivals that should feel premium without being conspicuous, a Mercedes-Maybach or a First Class Sedan is often the better choice than a Rolls-Royce.

Anniversaries, milestone birthdays and proposals

For a private occasion, the car is part of the story, and the plan is simple:

• Pickup at home or the hotel, with a few minutes for photographs at the car.
• Dinner, with the car waiting nearby or released and recalled. Waiting is usually simpler for an evening under four or five hours.
• A short drive after dinner, if the city has a view worth the detour.
• Home, with the door opened at the end as at the start.

For a proposal, tell the desk the plan when you book. The chauffeur will time the arrival at the chosen place and keep the car out of sight until the moment, if that is what you want. On drinks: rules on alcohol in hired vehicles differ by city, state and country, and the chauffeur follows the local rules.

If the occasion is on the same date as a big event in the city, book early. Gala nights and award seasons fill the premium cars first.

One more thought for surprises: decide in advance who holds the booking confirmation. If the person being celebrated must not see an email from the desk, book under your own name and contact details, add a note for the chauffeur, and keep the timing in your own hands. The chauffeur will ask for the name on the booking, not the guest of honour, at pickup.

VIP guests and client hospitality

Companies book a chauffeured Rolls-Royce to collect a guest of honour, a keynote speaker or a client who is being courted. Three habits make these bookings run well:

1. Book on a corporate account. A corporate account gives monthly invoicing and lets an assistant book in the company's name, with the guest's details on the reservation.
2. Give the desk the guest's flight or the meeting point. The chauffeur works to the guest's schedule, not the booker's.
3. Plan the second car. The guest's colleagues or luggage almost always need one.

For the rest of the visit, a First Class Sedan at a fixed hourly rate is usually the more practical car, with the Rolls-Royce reserved for the moment that matters. A three-day client visit, for example, might use the Rolls-Royce for the airport arrival and the main dinner, and a First Class Sedan by the hour for the meetings in between, which keeps the budget predictable and the statement intact. The executive car service and hourly chauffeur pages explain those options.

Questions to ask before you book any chauffeured Rolls-Royce

• What is the exact model and year, and can I see a photograph of the actual car?
• Is the price for the whole vehicle, and does it include the chauffeur, taxes and gratuity?
• How are tolls, parking and extra waiting billed?
• When does the clock start and stop?
• What happens if my flight is delayed?
• Is the operator licensed and commercially insured where I am travelling?
• What is the cancellation policy, in hours and percentages?

Licensing can be checked independently in many cities. In New York City, for example, the Taxi and Limousine Commission's passenger FAQ points riders to a Find-a-Ride list of licensed for-hire services.

On an Elly8.net booking, the answers are fixed in advance: the price is all-in per vehicle, flights are tracked with complimentary waiting after a tracked landing, partners are licensed and commercially insured, and the cancellation terms are the same in every city. If you plan to thank the chauffeur, our guide on tipping a limo driver explains why a standard gratuity is already in the price.

Who operates the car

Toronto and the GTA run on the Elly8 fleet and chauffeurs. In every other city, rides are operated by licensed, commercially insured local chauffeur partners vetted through the Limousine Worldwide network; Elly8.net takes the booking, fixes the price and runs the 24/7 desk. Elly8.net is a member of LimousineWorldwide.Directory, LimousineAssociation.International, HotelsWorldwide.Directory and VacationsWorldwide.Directory. For flights and hotels, our travel partner is BookingWorldwide.net; Elly8.net books the car only.

How to book

1. Enter the pickup and drop-off in the web booker, with the flight number or FBO and tail number for an airport arrival.
2. Choose the Rolls-Royce and the hours, or a transfer. Add the second vehicle for luggage or companions if you need one.
3. Reserve. The total appears before you confirm, and the confirmation arrives by email. For a request the booker cannot express, such as a surprise or a specific model, add a note and the desk follows up.

For fixed-price alternatives by city, the packages page lists First Class Sedan and SUV prices; the New York and Los Angeles city pages show their airport and FBO fares.

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