A group transport quote checklist you can copy

Why the first message matters

You are comparing operators from another country, probably across several time zones, and each one will answer with a different set of questions. The operator who has to ask you eleven things before giving a price is not necessarily slower. They may simply be more careful. Still, a complete first message saves a day or two of back and forth that you may not have.

The list below is what we need to give a fixed written quote for a group. Copy it into an email, fill in what you know and mark the rest "not yet known". A partial list is fine. A list with unknowns flagged is more useful than a long message that leaves them out.

The ten things to send

1. Dates. List every day the group needs a vehicle, including the middle days.
2. Headcount. The number, or a range such as "between 38 and 46". Include leaders, guides and staff.
3. Number of bags. Suitcases and any bulky items such as equipment cases or sports kit.
4. Every pickup and drop-off. Hotel names, venue names or addresses, in the order the group visits them.
5. Times. Start time for each leg and the latest finish.
6. Flight details. Flight number, airline, origin, landing time and terminal if you know it.
7. The programme. A rough list of stops with how long you expect to stay at each.
8. Special needs. Wheelchairs, child seats, elderly guests, a PA microphone for a guide.
9. A contact on the day. Name and a mobile number that works in the UAE, ideally on WhatsApp.
10. Who pays. The company name for the quote, or the individual, and whether you need a written invoice in a particular format.

Flights: the detail that saves the most time

If the group arrives by air, the flight number is the single most useful item in the message. With it a driver can follow the landing time on the day, so a delay of two hours does not leave anyone standing under a sign. Without it the pickup is fixed to a clock time that may be wrong.

Send each flight separately when the group is split across aircraft. A group of 36 that is really 20 on one flight and 16 on another is two pickups, possibly at two terminals, and the quote should say so. The DXB terminals guide explains why terminal matters and how to find yours, and big group arrival at DXB covers what happens in the hall.

For departures, give the flight time and the terminal if you have it. We work backwards to a pickup time that leaves a sensible margin for check-in, and we write that time on the quote so the group leader can announce it.

Hotels and venues: names, not areas

"Downtown" is not a pickup point. Downtown has dozens of hotels, and the coach bay for each is in a different place. Send the hotel name in full, or the venue and the entrance the group uses. If two hotels share a name, as some chains do, add the area.

If you do not know the hotel yet, say so and give the area. We can still quote on the area and the distance, then update it when the booking is confirmed. What we cannot do is price a route we cannot picture, so a vague "central Dubai" for all eight stops will bring questions back.

Some hotels have a limited coach bay or ask for advance notice for large vehicles. That is worth asking your hotel about when you book the rooms.

Luggage, in numbers

We ask for bag counts because they decide the vehicle as much as the headcount does. A coach of 30 people with one case each is a different job from the same coach with two cases each and a pile of equipment boxes.

Give the total, then add anything unusual: golf bags, musical instruments, display stands, boxes of printed material. The luggage planning guide gives a rule of thumb for counting. If you do not have bag counts yet, estimate from the airline allowance and say it is an estimate.

A contact on the day

The person we call when the group is in the lobby is not always the person who booked. Name someone who will be with the group, speaks English or the group's language, and keeps their phone on. Add a second name if the first person is travelling on the same aircraft as the group and may be out of contact in the air.

We send the driver's name and mobile number ahead of the day. The group leader should save it and share it with whoever runs the pickup. A thirty-second call from the lobby sorts out most problems faster than a message to an office.

An example message

That is enough for a first written quote. The unknowns (flight number, hotel name) get filled in as you confirm them, and the price only changes if the route or hours do.

What comes back, and what to check

The written quote lists the vehicle for each leg, the date and time, the hours included, and the items that are in or out of the price: fuel, tolls, parking, waiting time. The guide to what is in a bus rental quote explains how to compare two quotes line by line.

Check that the number of seats is stated, that the pickup addresses match what you sent, and that the waiting time is written down. If anything is missing, ask. We would rather correct the quote than have the driver and the group leader discover a gap on the day.

Starting prices are on the price page and each quote confirms the exact price for your date, route and hours.

Where to send it

Use the booking page and ask for a fixed written quote. You can also email info@dubaibusservices.com or send the details on WhatsApp to +971 54 126 1681. If you are not sure how big the vehicle should be, read how many buses your group needs first, then send the range.

Related: How many buses · What’s in a bus rental quote · Group transfers for tour operators · Event & conference transport · Get a quote

Keep reading

• What’s in a bus rental quote: Hours, fuel, Salik, parking, waiting time and VAT: what a written bus quote should list, and how to compare two of them fairly.
• GITEX from the USA: A pre-flight checklist for US teams: jet lag, time zones, long-haul arrivals and show-day transport.
• Choosing a bus rental company: The questions to ask about permits, insurance, drivers and the quote, and what a good answer sounds like.
• Group luggage: How to count bags for a large group, what goes on the quote, and how hotel bell desks change drop-off timing.
• Group transfers for tour operators: A planning guide for tour operators and destination management companies: arrival waves, manifests, hotel driveways, luggage, coach sizes and what to send for a quote.
• Student tour transport: Coaches with seat belts and a professional driver for study tours, campus visits and school trips from abroad, on a fixed written quote.