How to set hourly limo rates and minimum hours

Two ways clients book a car

Some clients want to go from one address to another. Others want a car and a chauffeur for an evening, a wedding or a day of meetings, with the route decided as they go. The first is a point-to-point ride; the second is hourly service, sometimes called as-directed. Each needs its own price logic, and mixing them up is how companies end up undercharging for long waits.

Pricing hourly service

Hourly service is usually priced as a rate per hour with a minimum number of hours. The minimum protects you from short jobs that still block a car and a chauffeur for most of an evening. Larger vehicles such as SUVs, sprinters and stretch limousines generally carry a higher rate and a longer minimum than a sedan.

Long hourly bookings can also cover a lot of distance. Many companies include a number of kilometres or miles per hour and charge for distance beyond that, so a day trip out of town is priced differently from a day spent between downtown offices.

Pricing point-to-point rides by distance and time

For point-to-point rides, distance alone misses traffic. A twenty-minute drive at midnight and the same route at rush hour cost you very different amounts of chauffeur time. Combining a price per kilometre or mile with a price per driving hour, counted by the minute, reflects both. A minimum fare per one-way trip keeps short hops worth sending a car for.

Setting rates in LimOperations

In Quote settings, the Services section lets you offer Point-to-point, Round trip and Hourly service. Under Vehicle rates, each vehicle has a Point-to-point group with Per km/mi, Per driving hour and Minimum fare per one-way trip, and an Hourly group with Hourly rate, Minimum hours, km included per hour and price per extra km.

On your quote form, an hourly request asks for the number of hours, from 1 to 24. The estimate multiplies the hourly rate by the hours and adds any extra distance beyond what is included. If a client picks fewer hours than the vehicle's minimum, the form says so instead of quoting a price you would not accept. A rate left at zero is simply not charged.

Keeping hourly bookings clear

Write down when the hours start and end, for example from the scheduled pickup until the last drop-off, and say whether waiting during the booking counts. Clear rules prevent the end-of-night discussion about whether the last stop was included.

Hourly rates checklist

• Set an hourly rate and a minimum number of hours per vehicle.
• Decide how much distance each hour includes.
• Price point-to-point rides by both distance and driving time.
• Add a minimum fare for short one-way trips.
• Request a test quote on your own form before sharing it.