Ground Transport in MICE & Hotel RFPs (Plain English Definition + Examples)
Definition
Ground transport is the contracted movement of attendees between airport, hotel, and offsite venues during an event — covering coaches, executive sedans, shuttle services, and VIP cars, billed per vehicle, per hour, or per attendee.
In day-to-day European event sourcing, ground transport sits inside a broader workflow that includes the brief, the longlist, the shortlist, the contract negotiation, and the post-event reconciliation. Understanding it in isolation is not enough — what matters is how it interacts with the other levers a planner can pull. The definition above is the textbook version; the sections below explain how it actually behaves in real RFPs.
Why Ground Transport matters
Ground transport is the most under-budgeted line item in MICE — planners typically allocate 4-6% of total event cost when reality is 7-10%. The lever is consolidation: 4 coach runs at €380 each (€1,520) replaces 60 individual airport transfers at €85 each (€5,100). For events with 100+ attendees arriving on the same day, coach consolidation is the highest-ROI logistics decision.
Example
A 220-attendee European sales conference with arrivals concentrated on Day -1 between 14:00-18:00 contracts 5 coach runs (50 seats each) at €420/coach = €2,100 vs the same attendees in 220 individual sedans at €78 each = €17,160. Savings: €15,060. Attendee survey: 'coach was efficient, met colleagues immediately'.
Where Ground Transport appears in contracts
Ground transport is usually contracted separately from the hotel — through a destination management company (DMC) or specialist ground transport vendor. Always require: backup vehicle protocol, English-speaking drivers, manifests synced 24h pre-arrival, contingency for delayed flights.
When reviewing a hotel proposal or contract draft, scan for ground transport early — it is often easier to negotiate before the supplier has anchored on their preferred position. Easy RFP surfaces these terms in every comparison view so planners can spot deviations from market-standard ranges at a glance, rather than reading 14-page proposals line by line.