The Best Way to Get Guests to a Special Event in Hills and Canyons of L.A.

October 08, 2014

- Posted by Stephen Chapek

canyons-la

Everyone knows that Los Angeles is entertainment capital of the world. There are always industry events and parties going on at all times of the year. And of course, with many celebrities making their home here, there’s always plenty of private parties happening too, even if they’re not strictly business.

After all, celebrities have birthdays, and celebrate the holidays, and like to throw fun get-togethers, just like ordinary folks.  And many of those events happen in the hills and canyons of Los Angeles, where you’ll find multi-million dollar homes perched precariously on hillsides, up steep windy roads, overlooking dramatic canyons and offering fantastic views of the city.

Luxury Transportation to the Hills and Canyons of LA

Despite the incredible views of the surrounding areas, it can be challenging to hold a large social event at some of the more difficult locations.

Of course, the westside and hills of Los Angeles and Beverly Hills are home to many large estates with large grounds. But given the topography of the area, there are also many more fancy homes that are hanging off the sides of steep hills. That’s because some of LA’s most expensive real estate is in the hills where physical land is scarce, so people have literally create space out of thin air.

So if you live in one of these areas, the question becomes how do I hold a large event at my property where people can enjoy the great views? It’s a challenge because for many of these locations, parking is non-existent, and some of the streets are too narrow to accommodate large shuttle buses.

The answer is of course, that it takes a lot of planning and careful preparation.  In most cases, in order to bring large numbers of people to your property, you will have to set up a valet parking arrangement, where guests cars are parked far away from the event location, and have to be retrieved at the end of the night, causing major delays.

Or the alternative is to set up a shuttle service where people can be bused in from a central meeting place in the city, like a hotel or large parking structure.

Arranging a Shuttle Service Will Make The Party Work

This is where Brilliant Transportation can help! As a premier limousine and executive transportation company, we are transporting guests to large special events all the time. And all things being equal, I think that shuttle option works better than trying to set up a complex valet service.

I say that not out of self interest, but because it’s simply more efficient.  There is no good parking opportunities anywhere in the Hollywood Hills, and valets have to go a long distance to park cars, often on other, windy residential streets, where cars can be exposed to being hit by other cars on the road, and also generally annoying the heck out of your neighbors.

With a shuttle service, groups of guests can be ferried down to to central location, like UCLA/Westwood or Studio City where more parking is available. Also riding with other shuttle guests down the hill gives party goers the chance to continue to socialize, meet new people and still have fun while they wait to get dropped off by their vehicle.

Use Luxury Shuttles To Create A  First Class Event

Brilliant Transportation offers many different luxury vehicle options for small group transportation to special events, from our Mercedes Sprinter vans to larger mini-coaches for when you have to move 50+ people at a time. Whatever your particular needs are, Brilliant can come up with transportation solution tailored to your specific situation.

Shuttle service can be arranged in any number of ways, depending upon your circumstances. Even if you of lot of guests, you don’t necessarily need to use humongous vehicles to do the shuttling. Especially if the meeting place is not too far from your property, you can use several vans making multiple trips to shuttle a large number of people in a short period if you’re on a continuous loop. And you can really elevate the style and feel of your event by using specialty luxury vehicles to make all of your guests feel like true VIPs.

The Brilliant Van Is The Ultimate Luxury People Hauler

A great example of this would be our 7 passenger Brilliant Van. At Brilliant, we’re well known for our custom converted fleet of Mercedes Sprinter Vans. Sprinters are top of the line when it comes to van transportation. And especially so when they’re pimped out like our vans are! Our luxury vans have been favorably compared to the interior of a first class corporate jet.

When you enter the Brilliant Van, you’ll find four large, comfortable, leather covered captains chairs that recline and also offer footrests. There is a beautiful hardwood floor. The four chairs face each other in a salon type seating arrangement, which is great for lively conversation. A comfortable rear bench seats another 3 adults or can fold down into a daybed. Also there is room for an 8th passenger up front with the driver.

The Brilliant Van is also loaded with great entertainment technology: two large flat screen TVs (32”), 158 channels of DirecTV, a great sounds system and speakers, satellite radio, Sony PlayStation, WiFi, DVD player, and the list goes on. Obviously there’s plenty of options to keep guests entertained whether it’s a long or short trip in the van.

For shuttling groups you could use several of the luxury vans to bring all of your guests to party, each one of them feeling like a VIP. However there are events where the guest list is large enough you’ll want to use a bigger capacity vehicle, and there Brilliant has you covered too.

Minibuses Are Ideal For Small Group Transportation

We also offer the 14 passenger model Sprinter van, also known as the minibus. These are extremely nice vans with the same exterior as the luxury model, but the interior is more of standard factory affair. Several rows of comfortable bench row seating with headrests can accommodate 13 people in the back and one extra person up front.

These 14 vans are the perfect shuttle vehicle. You can combine them in a fleet to move a large group of people in a short period of time. For example, with six Sprinter vans at your disposal, you can move 84 people at one time! The black Sprinter vans also look wonderful when they line up together in procession. Very impressive indeed!

Another advantage of the Sprinter vans are their tall roofs. There is over 6’3” of headroom inside, making it possible to stand up inside and move around. It is also very easy to enter and exit the vehicle with high roof, the running board which provides a handy step up and large side sliding door that give one plenty of room to load.

These are eminently practical vehicles with a touch a luxury as well. Our Los Angeles 14 passenger vans have been slightly modified to include a large flat screen TV in front of the passenger cabin area, with DirecTV also.

Another advantage of the Sprinter vans is that although they are tall and long (20 feet for the extended wheelbase version), they are still able to navigate those narrow, curvy roads in the Hills where a larger bus simply wouldn’t fit, or would take up the entire road, creating hazards around blind curves. There are also many streets in the hills where there is no room for buses to turn around, so the approach has to be planned carefully, with exit options already in mind.

Large Mini-Coaches Work Well For Bigger Groups

Of course there may be occasions when you’re hosting a really big event, with hundreds of people. In that case, you may well opt for the larger mini-coaches. Our company fleet offers luxury mini-coaches in the 28 and 36 passenger range. All of our vehicles come in luxury trim, with leather seating, many passenger amenities and premium features, offering our passengers an experience and ride that is far and away nicer than your average shuttle bus experience.

But we also have access to an expanded fleet of buses through our affiliate network, so we can actually provide any size vehicle you need, whether its a full sized motor coach seating 56 passengers or a small sized mini-coach seating 21 or any size in between.

Regardless of which type of vehicles you choose to transport your special event, the most important factor for the success of the event is not actually the vehicles themselves (although that’s important), but the quality of service that you receive.

Quality Customer Service Is The Most Important Element

At Brilliant Transportation, we are customer service specialists! We treat all of our guests like VIPs and we offer a transportation experience that is akin to checking in to a five star hotel. The guest experience, taking care of their needs and wishes are the most important element of the reservation, along with flawless job execution and organization.

We work very hard to be perfect on all those accounts. Every detail, every guest, every issue that has to be handled for the smooth operation of the event are what we obsess over. Every aspect of the reservation and vehicles and staff will be double checked and in optimal condition for the event before us.  

It is the striving for excellence and attention to detail that ensures our success and defines us as an organization. That’s exactly the kind of vendor you want working for you. To execute on a high level does cost a bit more, because you’re not cutting corners, but for clients who understand quality and need to have that level of perfection to best represent their event, they are more than happy to pay that little bit extra to make sure things are done right.

We Offer Customized Planning And Client Handling

Our customer service extends not just to the guests who are being transported, but also to the client who books the trip. Brilliant will give you the level of attention and time you deserve in order to plan your event correctly.  

We offer a consultative approach to our clients, by rolling up our sleeves and helping plan every last detail with your planner so that they can get exactly what they want. Other clients, who are pressed for time, may want more of a turn-key operation where they don’t have to worry about every little detail, and we can offer that as a service as well for those clients who need it.  

As I mentioned, planning a big event is  a big chore, and transportation should never be an afterthought. We’ll provide a strategic review of your plans to make sure you’re on the right track, we can conduct dry runs the day before if necessary to harmonize with your elaborate choreography of vendors and timing of events. We’ll perform an on-site inspection of the property or access roads to make sure your transportation plan and requested vehicles will actually fit and that turning radii are accurate and there are no height restrictions to worry about so that drivers don’t get stuck.

On the day of the event, we can also provide on-site coordinators so that there is no passenger confusion about where and when to board which vehicles. Taking these steps will ensure a finer guest experience when the event is unfolding.

In short, we are one-stop shop for event transportation solutions and when you absolutely need everything to be perfect, call Brilliant!

Our experienced reservations staff is standing by to provide you a custom quote today. Contact 1–800–543–1001 for further information.

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Topics: Los Angeles



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The Brilliant Agency LLC
PO Box 9796, Jackson, WY, 83002

Luxury transportation experts focusing on special event transportation using Mercedes Sprinters, luxury mini buses, and coach buses in NYC and LA.