Hosting clients at Cheltenham Festival goes well when you treat the journey as a small event of its own. You need one list of guests, as few pickups as you can manage, one agreed meeting time and a plan for the journey home. The rest of the day is easier when nobody is hunting for a car, or for each other, in a crowd.
The Festival takes place from Tuesday 16 to Friday 19 March 2027. Transport for corporate guests at the Cheltenham Festival is a job with a clear order, and this guide follows it. It covers what to ask your guests, how to group pickups, how many vehicles to book, how to hand guests over at the course and how to bring everyone home. You will also find two short messages you can copy and send.
What the Festival offers hosts
The Jockey Club sells hospitality itself, through restaurants and private boxes, and its hospitality team takes enquiries. It also takes group ticket bookings. That is where client entertainment at Cheltenham Festival starts, and this guide does not cover it. Choose your package on thejockeyclub.co.uk, because the Jockey Club owns those details.
Two related questions have their own pages. Ticket costs are in our guide to what a Festival day costs. If you are still choosing a day for your guests, our day-by-day comparison will help.
Once the day is booked, the next question is how people get there.
A planning timeline for hosting clients at Cheltenham Festival
Each stage below matters. Get each one right and the rest takes care of itself.
When you invite
Ask for pickup details in the invitation, not later. Guests say yes more easily when the journey is already sorted, and you learn early who needs what. Say who is paying for transport so nobody has to wonder, and agree internally who signs off the booking.
When numbers are final
Ask guests to confirm about four weeks before. Then close the list, group guests by area and choose your vehicles. Book as soon as the numbers are firm. Festival week is a bad time to be looking for cars at the last minute.
A week before
Send each guest their pickup time and address. Include your mobile number, the name of your deputy and what will happen when they arrive. Tell them who else shares their car. Clients like to know who they will spend the morning with.
The day before
Send a short reminder and check your travel sheet against the transport company’s copy. Confirm that every guest has their tickets or entry details, and that the drivers have your number. A five-minute check here saves an hour on the day.
What to collect from guests
Ask for these in one message, so you only chase once:
- Full name, and the name of anyone they are bringing
- A mobile number they will answer on the day
- Pickup address, with postcode
- Any mobility needs, such as step-free access
- Anything that affects timing, such as a guest who must leave early
Handle dietary and other personal needs yourself, with the venue or hospitality team. The driver does not need them. Use the details you collect for the journey only, and say so when you ask.
Guests with mobility needs
Ask early, and ask kindly. A simple line works: “Is there anything that would make the day easier for you?” Some guests will mention step-free access. Others will tell you how far they can comfortably walk.
Pass what you learn to the transport company when you book, so the right vehicle and a sensible drop-off plan are ready. Then check the Jockey Club’s accessibility information, or ask its team, about the course itself. Do not promise a guest a particular arrangement until the Jockey Club has confirmed it.
Keep one travel sheet
Put everything in a single sheet that you, a colleague and the transport company can all read. One row per guest is enough.
| Guest | Mobile | Pickup address | Vehicle | Pickup time | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Number | Address and postcode | Which car | Agreed time | Mobility or timing notes |
Name one person on your team as the transport lead. Everyone else sends changes to them. When several people each tell the driver something different, the driver follows none of it.
Group guests by area
Put every address on a map. Guests who live near each other go in the same car. For a Midlands party, that might mean one group from south Birmingham and Solihull, another from Sutton Coldfield and the north, and a third from Coventry. Your own list will decide the real split.
Each extra pickup adds time, and the first guest in the car waits the longest. Plan the order so the car moves steadily towards Cheltenham, starting with the guest who lives farthest away.
When addresses are scattered, offer a central pickup instead. Your office works well. Give guests a fixed time to arrive there, and the group leaves together.
For the route and fixed prices from Birmingham, see our Birmingham to Cheltenham transfer page.
Cheltenham Festival group transport: one vehicle or several?
Size matters here. The Mercedes S-Class carries up to 3 passengers. The V-Class carries up to 7.
One V-Class suits a group that shares a pickup area and wants to arrive together. It makes the handover simple, because there is one vehicle to find. Several S-Class cars suit senior clients, guests who want a quieter journey, or people coming from different parts of the region. A larger party often needs both: a V-Class for the main group and a car or two for the guests who live farthest out.
Leave a seat free if you can. Coats and bags take more room than people expect.
Decide whether your own team travels with the clients. Some hosts ride along to talk on the way. Others give clients some space and meet them at the course. Neither is wrong, but guests should know which to expect.
For a wider look at travel from Birmingham, see our transport guide for race day travellers.
Timing the arrival
The aim is simple. Every guest arrives, and the group meets you together.
Work backwards. Choose the time you want everyone to meet, then ask the transport company for leaving times that fit. Traffic near big events is hard to predict, so add a cushion. A late guest at one pickup delays everyone behind them.
Here is how that works in practice. Take the journey time from the last pickup, add the time for each earlier stop, then add your cushion. The first guest’s pickup time is whatever number you land on. It is often earlier than guests expect, so tell them why. A guest who knows the car is collecting several people is far more likely to be ready on the doorstep.
Our guide on when to leave for the Festival covers gates and traffic, so we will not repeat that here.
If several cars carry your guests, give them all the same meeting time. Tell every driver where the others will drop off. Agree one spot inside the course as well, in case the group splits.
The handover at the course
Drop-off points and parking rules can change from day to day. Our parking guide covers both, so read it before you tell guests where the car will stop.
Agree this order with the transport company before the day:
- The driver checks each guest’s name against the list.
- Guests check that they have their tickets, phones and belongings.
- The driver points out where the group will meet and gives guests your number.
- You, or your deputy, greet the group and count heads before anyone goes in.
Send tickets or entry details early if you can. Handing them out at the entrance holds the group up while other racegoers queue behind you. If you plan to meet guests there, stand somewhere easy to find and message them when you arrive. Guests should not have to search for you.
Think about the journey itself too. Guests may spend a long stretch of the morning in the car, and for some of them it is the longest time they have spent with you. Decide whether you want to talk business on the way or keep it light. If you plan to bring anything into the vehicle, such as drinks or gifts, ask the transport company first about what is allowed.
Dress guidance deserves its own message. The Jockey Club website is the place to check it.
The journey home
Evening collection is where plans slip, because everyone leaves at the same time. Pick a collection point that guests can find and describe in a few words. Send a map pin the day before. Give guests a window, not a single minute, and put it in writing. Tell them whether the car waits for the group or leaves when it is full.
Count heads again before the cars leave. Drop-offs usually work best in the reverse of the pickup order, so the guest who was collected first is home last. Check that each driver has the list.
Early leavers and late stayers
Ask guests before the day whether they expect to leave early. For those who do, arrange a separate car or an earlier collection, and tell the rest of the group so nobody is surprised.
For guests who want to stay late, agree a latest collection time and what happens after it. They can make their own way home, but they should know that in advance. Ask your transport company how extra cars or changed times affect the price, so you hear it from them first and not from your finance team.
A backup plan for delays
Settle these points before the day, and tell guests the ones that affect them:
- How long a driver waits at a pickup before moving on, and who calls the missing guest
- Who tells the guests if the road is slow, the driver or you
- Where a guest should go if they lose the group at the end of the day
- A named deputy with a working phone, in case you cannot answer
- What the transport company does if a vehicle has a problem
The last point is a fair question to ask any provider. A good one will have an answer ready.
Plan for the quiet problems too. A guest may feel unwell, or may simply want to go home. Tell guests they can come to you or your deputy at any point. You then call the driver, and the guest leaves without a fuss and without ending the day for everyone else.
What to tell guests beforehand
Guests relax when they know what happens next. Make sure each one knows:
- Their pickup time and address, and who shares the car
- The type of vehicle, so they know what to look for
- Your mobile number and your deputy’s
- How their ticket reaches them
- Where the group will meet at the course
- Where and when the evening collection happens
- What to do if they are delayed, or want to leave early
Here is a message you can send a week before. Change it to suit your tone.
Hi all, a quick note on travel for the Festival. Your driver will collect you from your home address, and I will message you the evening before with your pickup time. Please keep your phone on and answer if the driver calls. We will meet together at the course and head in as a group. If you need to leave early or stay on after the rest of us, tell me before the day so I can plan it. Reply if any of your pickup details have changed. Looking forward to it.
And a shorter one for the day before:
Hi all, a reminder for tomorrow. Your pickup time and car details are above. Please save my number and have your ticket ready. If anything changes this evening, message me straight away.
How NET helps hosts
NET collects passengers from Birmingham and across the Midlands, including from several addresses on the same day. We agree a fixed price before travel, so you can give your finance team a number in advance. You can choose from the Mercedes E-Class, V-Class and S-Class.
Companies that host often can ask about a corporate chauffeur account with monthly invoicing. That puts the transport on one invoice and not many separate payments.
We do not publish prices here. If you want a Cheltenham Festival chauffeur for your guests, send us your groups by area and your date, and ask for a quote on our Cheltenham races page.
Conclusion
Start with a simple list of your guests and their postcodes, then send it to us with your date. NET collects passengers from across Birmingham and the Midlands, agrees a fixed price before travel and offers corporate accounts with monthly invoicing, so one invoice can cover the whole day. Tell our team how many guests you are hosting and where they live, and we will help you match the right Mercedes E-Class, V-Class or S-Class to each group. Contact our chauffeur service Birmingham team early, and the only thing your clients have to think about is the day itself.
