Group luggage on a Dubai coach, counted properly

Why the bag count decides the vehicle

Planners tend to ask how many seats they need. Drivers tend to ask how many bags. The driver is right to worry, because a vehicle with 40 seats and room for 25 suitcases is a 25-person vehicle for anyone arriving with luggage.

The second problem is time. Bags have to be loaded at the airport, unloaded at the hotel, and often carried by someone other than the guest. The more bags, the longer each stage takes, and the more it matters whether anyone is waiting to help. The planning below is about getting the count right before the day and fitting the loading time into the schedule.

Counting: start with the airline, not a guess

Ask each guest or each sub-group leader for the number of checked bags and any large carry-on items. Airline allowances differ, and a group on a budget carrier with one small case each is a different job from a group on a full-service airline with two bags per person.

Use the actual numbers if you can. If you cannot, use a rule of thumb and say that it is one. We find these work as starting points:

These are general working figures, not measurements. Your own group may be different, and the real number from the bag tags beats any table.

What each vehicle holds

Hold space varies by vehicle, and we confirm the figures for your date on the quote. As a guide, the 50-seater coach has long under-floor holds that take roughly one medium suitcase per passenger. The mini coach has a rear luggage area for around twenty medium suitcases. Vans and the Sprinter have less space, because the bags share the cabin with the seats.

• 50-seater coach: under-floor holds, about one medium suitcase per seat.
• Mini coach: rear luggage area, around twenty medium suitcases. Fewer if the cases are large.
• Sprinter and 13-seater van: limited. With full suitcases, plan on fewer passengers than seats.

The rule that follows: when bags outnumber people, size the vehicle for the bags and leave seats empty. The sizing guide shows how that changes the headcount table.

Medium suitcase and everything else

A "medium suitcase" is the ordinary checked bag. Large cases take more room, and a few of them can fill a hold faster than the count suggests. Say how many are oversize, and mention anything that is not a suitcase: golf bags, musical instruments, trade-show boxes, sports kit, a wheelchair, a pushchair.

Anything fragile or valuable should travel with the guest or the group leader, in the cabin. We do not recommend leaving laptops, cameras or documents in the hold. Drivers load and unload what you hand them, and they will take care with it, but the cabin is the right place for items that cannot be replaced.

Putting bags on the quote

Include on your request the total number of bags, split into suitcases and special items, and whether any are heavy or oversize. We then choose the vehicle and, if needed, add a second vehicle for luggage. The written quote names it.

A second vehicle for bags is a normal answer. A group of 30 with an exhibition stand, for example, may be better served by a mini coach for people and a van for the stand than by one big coach that carries everything badly. It is also quicker to load.

The airport end

At DXB the driver meets the group, not the bags. Guests collect their luggage from the belts and bring it to the vehicle, where the driver and a helper load it. A group of 40 with 50 bags can take 20 to 30 minutes to load if the bags arrive in a steady flow. Some airlines deliver all the bags together and some trickle them out.

That is why the quote includes waiting time. Tell the group that loading is part of the plan and that the coach will wait. The group leader should count bags onto the coach and again off it at the hotel. The DXB terminals guide explains the meeting point, and big group arrival covers what the driver does in the hall.

The hotel end: bell desks and timing

Large hotels have a bell desk or porter team that unloads coaches and moves bags to rooms. When a coach of 40 arrives at once, the desk may take some time to process everyone. Tell the hotel the arrival time, the headcount and the number of bags ahead of the day, and ask whether bags can be tagged and sent to rooms.

Early morning arrivals are the usual trouble. Rooms may not be ready, so bags go to storage, and the group may want to go straight out. Agree with the hotel what happens: bag storage, an early check-in request, or a late-morning room. If the group is heading out for the day, the coach can carry bags on to the first stop only if you tell us in advance, otherwise they leave at the hotel.

On departure day, ask the hotel to stage bags in the lobby the evening before. Then the loading happens in a few minutes at the agreed time, rather than a scatter of guests arriving with cases at 04:00.

A worked example, labelled as an example

A group of 32 landing from Frankfurt with 41 bags

That is a mini coach with a 50-seater as the alternative. A 30-seat mini coach is a squeeze on seats, and its rear area takes about twenty medium cases, so 41 bags do not fit. We would put the group in a 50-seater: 32 people in the cabin, with the bags in the hold. The group leader counts 41 bags on, 41 off at the hotel, and the driver waits for the stragglers.

The starting price for the 50-seater is on the price page, and the written quote confirms the exact price for your date, route and hours.

Checklist for the group leader

1. Collect the bag counts from every guest or sub-group a week before travel.
2. Send the total, plus any oversize items, with the quote request.
3. Ask the hotel about bell desk arrangements and coach bay access.
4. Count bags on at the airport and off at the hotel.
5. Keep valuables, medicines and documents in the cabin.

Ready to ask for a price? Use the booking page. The quote checklist lists everything else that helps.

Related: How many buses · Big group arrival at DXB · DXB group pickup · Dubai airport transfer for groups · Get a quote

Keep reading

• How many buses: Rule-of-thumb sizing by headcount and luggage, plus the spare seats that stop a late guest becoming a problem.
• Big group arrival at DXB: How to land 30 or more people at Dubai International and get them onto the right coach: flight lists, luggage, split arrivals and a group leader who is easy to find.
• 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.
• Coach rental Dubai: Mini coaches and 50-seat coaches with a driver for tours, conferences, schools and teams, sized to the group and quoted in writing.
• DXB to Dubai Marina: Coaches, Sprinters and vans from DXB to Dubai Marina hotels for groups of 13 to 50: realistic timings, hotel drop points and luggage planned.
• Dubai airport transfer for groups: Vans, Sprinters, mini coaches and 50-seat coaches for groups landing at DXB or DWC, with the luggage and the split flights planned.