MICE lists 64 shuttle and transfer operators nationwide. How to use them for staggered conference arrivals, and who runs in each region.
MICE lists 64 shuttle and transfer operators across New Zealand. Shuttles are the right tool for the part of a conference that coaches handle badly: delegates arriving in ones and twos across a whole day, on flights that shift, to hotels scattered across a city.
The full list sits under MICE transport.
Three patterns cover most conferences.
Meet-and-greet arrivals. The operator holds a manifest of flight numbers and meets delegates in the terminal. This is worth paying for when your delegates are inbound international, or when the airport is far enough from the venue that a wrong turn costs an hour.
A scheduled loop. A shuttle running a fixed circuit between two or three hotels and the venue, every 15 or 20 minutes across a defined window. Cheaper than door-to-door and far more predictable for delegates.
Overflow and edge cases. Late arrivals, early departures, the delegate who missed the coach. Holding one shuttle on standby is usually cheaper than the disruption of not having it.
Ask whether the quoted vehicle is a van or a small bus — "shuttle" covers both, and the difference matters for luggage. And agree in writing what happens when a flight is delayed: whether the operator waits, re-books, or charges a no-show.
Once transfers are settled, match them to your venue and, for VIPs travelling separately, a chauffeur operator from the same transport directory.
MICE lists 64 shuttle and transfer operators across New Zealand, covering all 16 main business-events regions in the directory.
Shuttles are smaller vehicles suited to staggered arrivals, door-to-door transfers and short scheduled loops. Coaches move a whole group at once on a fixed schedule and are better for hotel-to-venue runs and offsite dinners.
Many offer a meet-and-greet service where the driver holds a manifest of flight numbers and meets delegates inside the terminal. Availability varies by operator, so confirm it when booking rather than assuming it is included.
Policies differ between operators. Agree in writing before the event whether the driver waits, re-books onto a later run, or treats it as a no-show, since this is the most common source of transfer disputes.
For hotel-to-venue movement during a conference, a fixed loop running every 15 to 20 minutes is usually cheaper per delegate and more predictable than booking individual transfers. Individual transfers work better for airport arrivals spread across the day.
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