By Mohammed Rashad Hussain, Managing PartnerPublished 7 min read
A message that says “need a car tomorrow morning” starts a round of questions. A message with every detail in it comes back as a quote. This guide shows what to put in that first message, how to describe where you are, and what a proper confirmation contains.
Assure takes bookings on WhatsApp at +971 56 684 8148, answered 24/7.
What should your first WhatsApp message include?
| Detail | Write it like this | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Date and time | 14 November, 07:15 | A car and chauffeur are assigned to that slot |
| Pickup | Hotel name and entrance, or airport, terminal and flight number | The chauffeur goes to one exact spot |
| Drop-off or hours | An address, or “6 hours from pickup” | Decides between a transfer and hourly hire |
| Passengers | 2 adults and 1 child aged 3 | Sets the car, and the child seat |
| Bags | 3 large suitcases and 2 cabin bags | Often decides the car class on its own |
| Car | Business sedan, first class sedan, SUV, van, or “suggest one” | Sets the price band |
| Extras | A child seat, a second stop, a company invoice | Everything in the quote, nothing added later |
| Passenger name | The name for the board, if it is not yours | What the chauffeur holds up in arrivals |
Bags are easy to forget, and they often decide the car. A first class sedan takes 2 large cases, and the Mercedes-Benz V-Class takes 4. The capacity chart for every chauffeur car shows what fits where.
Children need a line of their own. RTA and Dubai Police point to the traffic law: every child under 4 needs a child seat, and no child aged 10 or under, or below 145 cm, rides up front. Give each child’s age, and the quote confirms the seats.
A message you can copy
Hi Assure, I need a chauffeur
Date and time: 14 November, 07:15
Pickup: DXB Terminal 3, flight number EK ___
Drop-off: (hotel name), Dubai Marina
Passengers: 2 adults, 1 child aged 3
Bags: 3 large, 2 cabin
Car: SUV
Extras: 1 child seat
Name on the board: (guest name)You can also open a blank template in WhatsApp and fill in the gaps.
How do you describe a pickup point so the driver finds you?
Name the building, then the door. A hotel name alone leaves the chauffeur guessing which entrance you will walk out of.
- Hotels. Give the hotel’s full name and the entrance: the main lobby, a named tower, or the beach club. If the hotel has more than one porte-cochère, say which one.
- Residential towers. Give the tower name, the community and the nearest landmark. In Jumeirah Lake Towers, the cluster letter matters, because many towers share a street.
- Offices. Give the tower and the gate. The DIFC Gate Building, for example, is a clearer pickup than “DIFC”.
- Malls. Large malls have several entrances, each with its own drop-off lane. Name the one you will leave by.
- Beaches, parks and camps. Send a location pin from WhatsApp, since there is no street address the driver can search for.
When the plan is clear, the type of booking follows. A single run is quoted as a transfer, and a day with stops as a car with driver by the hour.
Airport pickups: why does the flight number matter?
The flight number tells the chauffeur when you really land and at which terminal. With it, the pickup can follow a delay or an early landing, so the chauffeur is in the hall when you come through customs, not when the schedule said.
At Dubai International, the terminal follows the airline:
- Terminal 3: the A, B and C gates, used primarily by Emirates, flydubai, United and Air Canada.
- Terminal 2: flydubai’s base, used by some 21 airlines. It sits apart from the other two, with roads in from Al Twar and Rashidiya.
- Terminal 1: the D gates, serving numerous international carriers.
Inside the arrivals hall, the chauffeur holds up a board with your name. Private cars cannot wait at the arrivals kerb, because Dubai Airports has no pick-up area there, so the walk ends in the terminal car park. Terminal 3 also has DXB Greet and Go. Registered limousine providers send the guest a QR code before arrival, and a kiosk scan shows the driver and the car. Ask whether your pickup uses it.
Each terminal’s meeting point is on the DXB airport transfer page. The difference between the airport’s own fast-track meet-and-greet service and a chauffeur’s name-board pickup is explained in Dubai airport meet and greet. For every other UAE airport, see airport transfers.
What does a proper confirmation look like?
A booking runs through three written steps, all in the same chat.
| Step | It should state |
|---|---|
| The quote | Route or hours, car class, pickup time, price, what the price covers, waiting terms, cancellation terms |
| Your acceptance | A reply in the chat accepting that quote, which makes it the booking |
| Before pickup | The chauffeur’s name, the car model, the meeting point and how to reach the chauffeur |
If the plate number is not in the pickup message, ask for it. Matching the name, the car and the plate at the kerb takes 10 seconds and rules out the wrong car. How the price in that quote is built is set out in what a chauffeur costs in Dubai.
How do you change or cancel a booking?
Message the same chat, as soon as you know. A new flight number, a later pickup or an extra passenger all go there, so the chauffeur and the office see the same record.
Cancellation follows the terms written in your accepted quote, so read them before you accept. Moving the time or upgrading the car works if a car is free in the new slot, and the figure may change. Any new price is set out in the chat for you to accept first.
How does payment work without an online checkout?
Assure has no online payment on its website. Your quote sets out the payment method and when it is due, and you agree both in the chat before the trip.
A business that books often can move to an account with one invoice a month, set up through our corporate chauffeur service. For a one-off business trip, ask for a company invoice in your first message.
How do you share live location with your chauffeur?
WhatsApp’s live location feature shows your position in the chat for a period you choose, and you can stop it early. It helps when the pickup point has no address, such as a spot on Kite Beach or a gate at a desert camp.
Share it a few minutes before the pickup time, and stop it once you are in the car. For a building with a clear address, a single location pin is enough.
What should you not send over chat?
A chauffeur booking inside the UAE needs the details in the table above, and nothing more. Keep these out of the chat.
- card numbers, security codes or one-time passwords
- online banking logins
- passport or Emirates ID scans, which a trip inside the UAE does not need for a quote
- personal details of other passengers beyond a name and a phone number
Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 protects personal data in the UAE, and processing it needs the owner’s consent, apart from some exceptions. How Assure handles the details in your chat is set out in our privacy policy.
Can you book for a guest or a colleague?
Yes. List three things: the name for the board, the guest’s own mobile number with country code, and who receives the progress messages. A guest arriving for a board meeting can be booked a first class sedan through our chauffeur service. A gala dinner or an anniversary suits the cars on our limousine service.
If you would rather call or use a form, the contact page has every option. The trip form on each page opens WhatsApp with your details already typed, so the booking still lands in one chat. For the bigger picture, start with hiring a chauffeur in Dubai.
Photos in this guide
The gated entrance and welcome centre on the approach road to the Burj Al Arab in DubaiCT Cooper / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Towers in Jumeirah Lake Towers seen across a landscaped parkGuilhem Vellut / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
An Emirates Airbus A380 at gate C32 at Dubai International as a flydubai jet comes in to landAndy Mabbett / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The sun setting over Kite Beach in Dubai, with a lifeguard tower on the sandNihad Nitz / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
