Business transfers from Whitstable: meetings, London offices and flights

Business transfers from Whitstable: what they cover

Express Travel Kent runs business transfers alongside its airport work: executive and corporate travel to meetings, London offices, airports and events. Every journey is pre-booked and the fare for the car is fixed before you travel, so the cost of a trip to a client is known when the diary is drawn up.

The executive saloon is the usual choice. It seats up to four and takes two or three large cases, enough for a team of three with a sample case or a presenter with display kit. For a bigger group, the MPV seats six with room for four or more large cases.

Pickups at John Wilson Business Park and around Chestfield

John Wilson Business Park sits on Harvey Drive and Reeves Way in Chestfield, beside the A2990 and about half a mile from Chestfield & Swalecliffe station. The site spans the postcodes CT5 3QZ, CT5 3QT and CT5 3SS, so the unit number is the detail that brings the car to the right entrance first time.

Visitors flying in to see a business on the park work the other way round: book the collection from the airport with their flight number, and the drop-off at the unit. The flight is tracked, so the driver is in arrivals when the plane actually lands.

Train or car to London?

Whitstable station has an hourly off-peak high-speed service to London St Pancras International and an hourly train to London Victoria, with extra peak trains to London Bridge and Cannon Street. For one meeting close to one of those stations, the train is hard to beat.

A car earns its place when the day is more involved: several addresses in one trip, heavy or confidential material, a meeting that may run late, or a group whose rail tickets add up. Because the fare is for the car rather than per person, three or four colleagues travelling together change the sums considerably.

Planning a day with several stops

Put every stop in the booking. A stop that was not booked can be added to the fare, as can a big change of route asked for once you are moving, whereas a planned itinerary is priced in from the start.

When the timetable is uncertain, as-directed hire books the car and driver by the hour or the day, so you are not booking leg by leg while meetings overrun or move.

• Every address, in order, with postcodes
• Meeting times and any hard deadlines
• Names of the passengers and a mobile number for the lead traveller
• Luggage or equipment that needs space
• Whether the return time is fixed or open

Early flights from London City and Heathrow

For short-haul business flights, London City is typically 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes from Whitstable, through the Blackwall or Silvertown tunnel at the end of the A2. Its drop-off zone has a 10-minute limit, which suits a traveller with hand luggage only. For long-haul, Heathrow is typically 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours via the M25.

The fixed fare is the same at 4am as at noon. On the way back the driver is in the arrivals hall with a name board when you land, timed to the real landing rather than the schedule.

Booking and paying for business travel

Book online for an instant fixed fare, or by phone on 01843 247247, by WhatsApp on +44 7783 973058 or by email at booking@expresstravelkent.co.uk. The online system accepts card payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna and Revolut, and the code ExpressTravelKent takes 10% off a booking made there.

An assistant or office manager can book on a traveller's behalf: give the traveller's name for the name board and their own mobile number, so the driver reaches the person in the car rather than the person who booked it.

If a meeting moves, cancel more than 24 hours ahead and there is nothing to pay. Between 6 and 24 hours before the pickup, up to half the fare may be charged, and inside 6 hours, or once the car has left, the full fare may apply.

Clients and colleagues visiting Whitstable

Visitors can be collected from any of the five London airports and taken straight to a hotel such as the Hotel Continental on Beach Walk, The Marine on Marine Parade in Tankerton or the Premier Inn on the Thanet Way, or directly to the office. Every driver holds a local-authority private hire licence, which requires an enhanced DBS check, and every car carries hire and reward insurance.

Give the guest's name for the name board and their mobile number, and add the hotel's postcode so the end of the journey is as precise as the start.