Airport meet and greet means the chauffeur waits inside arrivals with the passenger’s name and walks them to the car. It costs the airport’s parking (Heathrow forecourts are set-down only at 7 pounds since January 2026, with terminal parking from about 8.50 pounds; Dublin pick-ups go through short-stay car parks from 3 euros an hour), thirty to forty-five minutes of the chauffeur’s time and the free waiting period you promise. Price it as a flat extra on every airport transfer, send the driver’s details and meeting point the evening before, track the flight and put the fee on the price so nobody waits at the kerb.
What is airport meet and greet, and why sell it separately?
Meet and greet is the version of an airport transfer where the chauffeur waits inside the arrivals hall with the passenger's name, takes the luggage, and walks them to the car, instead of waiting at a kerb or a car park for a phone call. Travellers pay for it because it removes the one moment of an arrival they dread, which is standing in a foreign terminal with two bags and a dead phone. Chauffeur companies sell it because it is the difference between their product and a taxi app, and because it costs the company real money that should be on the price rather than absorbed.
What does it cost you to provide?
Three things most companies forget to price:
- The airport's charges. At Heathrow the terminal forecourts are set-down only, with a 7 pound charge and a ten-minute limit since 1 January 2026, so a meet and greet means the car in Terminal Parking, listed by transfer operators at about 8.50 pounds for the first half hour at Terminal 5 and more as the wait grows, after waiting in the authorised vehicle area at 1 pound an hour. At Dublin Airport the set-down zones are free but pick-ups go through the short-stay car parks from 3 euros an hour, according to the airport's own guidance. Check your airport's page, because the figures change and the blogs that quote them are written by competitors.
- The chauffeur's time: a flight tracked, the car parked, the walk to arrivals, the wait, the walk back. Thirty to forty-five minutes on top of the drive, on a good day.
- The waiting rule: the free period you promise after landing, usually 45 to 60 minutes on an international arrival, and the per-quarter-hour charge after it, which the driver has to be able to apply from the app.
Put the first two on the price and the third in the terms, and meet and greet pays. Leave them off and it is the most expensive favour your company does.
How should you price it?
As a named extra on every airport transfer, at a flat amount per pickup that covers the parking and the time, rather than hidden in the fare. A flat extra reads as a service the traveller chooses; a higher base fare reads as expensive. Hotels and travel agents in particular want it as a line they can resell, as the net rates guide explains. The pricing guide covers the hourly cost the extra has to clear, and the no-show policy guide the waiting and no-show rules that go with it.
What should the traveller get?
- The driver's name, photo and number the evening before, and a message when the driver is in position.
- The flight tracked, so a two-hour delay moves the pickup without a phone call.
- A clear meeting point named in the confirmation, with a photo of it, because arrivals halls are large and "by the exit" means nothing at Heathrow.
- The name board with the passenger's name as they wrote it on the booking, never the company's logo alone.
- Help with the luggage and a short walk, which means the car park nearest the hall even when it costs more.
The confirmation and the "in position" message should come from the booking system, not from the driver's memory; the limo booking software guide covers what to look for.
Where does meet and greet sell?
On your own route pages for each airport, as the first extra under the price; on Viator, where Irish Transfer's Shannon Airport to Galway City transfer sits under Airport and Hotel Transfers; on the transfer platforms, most of which assume it and some of which pay waiting time only when the app shows it, as the transfer platforms guide sets out; and in the partner pack for hotels, whose guests are the people who book it most. It also sells in Google Ads, where "meet and greet" and "chauffeur" in the same search is a traveller who has already decided not to take a taxi; the negative keywords guide covers keeping the airport parking searches out of that campaign.
What goes wrong, and how do you stop it?
Flights that land early while the driver is still in the waiting area; terminals confused on the booking; a passenger who walks past the board because the name was misspelled; a driver who waits at the kerb to save the parking fee and is moved on. Each has the same fix: the flight number and terminal on the booking, the name copied from the booking to the board, the parking fee on the price so nobody is tempted to save it, and a message to the passenger with the driver's position before they switch their phone on.
Questions owners ask
What does airport meet and greet include?
The chauffeur inside the arrivals hall with the passenger’s name, the flight tracked, help with luggage and a short walk to the car, with the driver’s details and the meeting point sent the evening before.
How much should a chauffeur company charge for meet and greet?
A flat extra per pickup that covers the airport’s parking, thirty to forty-five minutes of the chauffeur’s time and the free waiting period, on top of the transfer fare.
Can a chauffeur wait at the terminal kerb at Heathrow?
No. Transfer operators’ guides say the forecourts are set-down only with a 7 pound charge and a ten-minute limit since 1 January 2026, and pick-ups go through terminal parking. Check heathrow.com for the current rules.
How long should the free waiting time be after landing?
Usually 45 to 60 minutes on an international arrival, written into the terms with a charge per quarter hour after it that the driver can apply from the app.
Where does meet and greet sell best?
On your own airport route pages as the first extra under the price, on Viator and the transfer platforms, and in the partner pack for hotels whose guests book it most.
