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For those customers that have registered on EmpireCLS.com, select Login to reach your account home page to book, view, modify and cancel reservations. For new customers, create a new account by selecting Register on the homepage.
Customers can also bypass setting up an account and use the Quick Book feature to book a trip. After receiving the reservation confirmation e-mail, use the View Guest Booking feature to view, modify or cancel the reservation.
For immediate assistance modifying or canceling a reservation, EmpireCLS reservation agents are available to help 24/7 at (800) 451-5466, or (201) 784-1200 for calls outside the US and Canada.
After any modifications or cancellations, EmpireCLS sends a confirmation to the e-mail for that reservation.
Building a profile in EmpireCLS’ online reservation system makes booking trips with us even easier and faster.
Additional online features include pricing out your next trip with the Instant Rate Quote feature and using the Quick Book feature to book trips without setting up a profile.
Click here to register an account today!
To ensure we will have a vehicle available when you need it, the farther in advance of your travel date that you can book, the better. EmpireCLS also strives to accommodate even same day, last-minute reservations. Call when you’re ready to book, and we will do everything possible to meet your needs.
Great question. EmpireCLS is a brick-and-mortar company, and everyone here, especially our chauffeurs, is an employee; while we provide chauffeured transportation, EmpireCLS is not an on-demand transportation or transportation network company provider.
Because EmpireCLS does not provide ODT services, we require at least two hours’ notice for any reservation, though we will do our best to accommodate your request. We plan on releasing an app in 2015 to give you and your travel coordinator mobile access to our services.
Please read below to familiarize yourself with EmpireCLS’ billing procedure for all reservations.
Reservation Confirmation: After purchasing services from EmpireCLS, you will receive a reservation confirmation e-mail. The charges contained in your confirmation are calculated based on the information provided to us at the time of the reservation, and are intended to serve as a good faith estimate only. The final trip total will be calculated based on duration of travel time, tolls, parking, taxes and additional charges, where applicable.
Pre-Authorization: Thirty-six hours prior to your trip, EmpireCLS will request a pre-authorization of your credit, debit or pre-paid account for the estimated total of your reservation confirmation, and an additional 30% of the total. A pre-authorization is a “hold” on funds from your bank account drawn by EmpireCLS when we initially take your account and payment information, but have not yet processed the final charge(s) for your trip. The pre-authorization guarantees that the provided account information has the available funds to pay for the services purchased from EmpireCLS, and is removed when processing the final total. Your trip may be canceled if we are unable to request a pre-authorization from the provided payment information prior to your trip.
Final total: The final trip total is calculated after the vehicle returns to our facilities and will be reflected on your provided payment information within 48 to 72 business hours after the completion of the trip. If you do not receive a final receipt, please contact our Accounting department at (800) 451-5466 x2900 or account@empirecls.com.
Please note that you may experience one of the following situations as a result of the pre-authorized charge on your payment information:
EmpireCLS is not responsible for any services fees or charges you may incur when authorizing the provided payment information.
Below are types of charges that may represent your final trip total for purchasing EmpireCLS’ services. While the estimated total on your reservation confirmation includes base rate, gratuity, fuel surcharge and administration fee, some charges may not apply when calculating your final total.
Administration fee: This charge refers to a very small fraction of varying operational costs of handling and monitoring the reservation, imposed by municipal, state and federal governments, agencies and commissions, including airport, regulatory, licensing and other fees.
Airport fee: This charge represents airport parking fees incurred by EmpireCLS for all airport arrival reservations. This flat fee of $18 is subject to change without notice, as EmpireCLS has no control over if and when increases will be imposed by various governmental agencies.
Base rate: This charge represents the cost of the purchased vehicle at the hourly minimum of your reservation. Hourly minimums may vary, depending upon the type of reservation. For example, flat-rate reservations have a set hourly minimum, versus an “As Directed” or hourly reservations. See Hourly Minimum for more information.
Discretionary gratuity: For all reservations, a suggested percentage of the vehicle’s base rate added to the trip total for chauffeur gratuity. Any gratuity that may appear on your invoice is wholly voluntary; the amount constitutes only a suggested sum and is entirely left to the discretion of the customer, and can be negotiated or waived at any time.
Early morning/late night surcharge: For all reservations scheduled between the hours of 12 – 5a, an additional charge of $25 will be applied to the base rate of the reservation.
Extra stop fee: For any stop requested of the chauffeur during the reservation that is not included on your reservation confirmation, an extra stop charge will be incurred. In-route extra stops in the same town are $20 each, and in-route stops in a different town are $30 each. Our-of-route-stops are quote on a trip-by-trip basis. Flat-rate reservations can add up to three additional stops before being converted to an hourly reservation.
Fuel surcharge: The fuel surcharge is based on the average cost of fuel at the time of the reservation, as reported weekly by the Energy Information Administration, a statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Energy. This charge will therefore increase or decrease with fuel price levels.
Hourly minimum: Also known as “garage-to-garage time” or “portal time,” this standard charge reflects the minimum hourly rate of any vehicle. For flat-rate transfers, this flat charge represents the time the vehicle leaves our facility until it returns after drop off. As Directed reservations are billed at a higher hourly minimum, as the reservation is billed hourly. Hourly minimums may increase depending upon vehicle type and the final travel time of the vehicle during your reservation.
Late cancellation: When customers are unable to provide adequate notice of canceling a reservation, they will be charged the full trip fare and a 20% gratuity charge. EmpireCLS must have two hours’ notice from the pickup time on the reservation.
No-show: This charge is incurred when the passenger cannot be located or contacted by the chauffeur or EmpireCLS within (a) one hour for airport pickups (time begins when passenger’s plane lands) or (b) 30 minutes for non-airport pickups. A no-show charge includes the full trip fare and a 20% gratuity charge to the customer’s payment information. Customers having trouble locating your chauffeur should avoid incurring this charge by not leaving the requested pickup location without first contacting us at (800) 451-5466 or (201) 784-1200.
Taxes: Taxes are subject to change without notification, as EmpireCLS has no control over if or when a tax increase may be imposed by various governmental agencies. Taxes are charged as incurred.
Tolls: This charge represents tolls that may be incurred by EmpireCLS between the pickup and drop-off destinations, as well as for tolls during the chauffeur’s return trip. Tolls are calculated for all flat-rate transfers based upon the most expeditious route. Tolls are billed as incurred for hourly reservations.
Waiting time: Delays are inevitable, which can sometimes keep customers from meeting their chauffeurs. For each reservation, we provide a window of time for customers to greet their chauffeurs at the requested pick-up time and location before incurring charges.
Our Accounting department is standing by to answer any billing questions you may have, and can be contacted at (800) 451-5466 x2900 or at account@empirecls.com.
The Fleet page showcases the vehicles EmpireCLS has selected to transport its customers. We utilize a late-model, luxury fleet of sedans, SUVs and large-capacity vehicles, which includes the Cadillac XTS, Cadillac Escalade, Lincoln Navigator, Mercedes S-Class and Mercedes Sprinter vans.
Our vehicles are garaged in a climate-controlled environment and consistently serviced and inspected by our in-house, ASE-certified maintenance centers.
Vehicle type and availability may vary when traveling outside of our corporate-owned locations.
Yes! In order to transport our customers, EmpireCLS’ affiliate partners must reflect our customer service and operations philosophy. We have an extended affiliate network with partners that operate all over the world under a set of standards that meet our most stringent and highest expectations.
Customers with account profiles can print trip receipts instantly by logging into their account and accessing My Receipts, along with the many other benefits that come with creating a customer profile.
Receipt requests can be processed through our Accounting department at (800) 451-5466 x2900 (or by selecting option 7), or submitted via e-mail to receipt@empirecls.com.
EmpireCLS take reservation changes and cancelations by e-mail and phone. Let us know about any updates as soon as possible.
By e-mail: Requests submitted via e-mail can be made at least 24 hours prior to the pickup time on your reservation, which can be submitted to specialservices@empirecls.com. Make sure to reference your reservation confirmation number.
By phone: Requests submitted via phone can be made at least two hours prior to the pickup time on your reservation in New York and Los Angeles (and one hour prior to the pickup time in affiliate markets), by notifying our reservation agents at (800) 451-5466 or (201) 784-1200.
Periodically, our experienced and professional chauffeurs have difficulty making contact with customers. Even though our chauffeur is in your neighborhood, it may be difficult for him or her to make contact with you.
If you are having trouble locating your chauffeur, please take the following steps to ensure you avoid incurring any no show, late cancellation or wait time charges.
Customers can elect to receive Chauffeur Notification SMS alerts to let you know when your driver has been assigned and again when they arrive at your pickup location.
To receive these alerts for a current reservation, give your reservation confirmation number to a reservation agent, at (800) 451-5466 or (201) 784-1200. Don’t forget to sign up for Chauffeur Notification alerts the next time you’re booking a reservation.
A lot goes into training and selecting the few to become EmpireCLS chauffeurs, and we’re so happy to hear you had a great experience.
When booking your next reservation online, submit your request, along with the chauffeur’s name, in the Comments for the Chauffeur field. If you’re having trouble remembering his or her name, speak to someone in our Reservation Center to help find that information. When booking over the phone, let our reservation agents know who your favorite chauffeur is.
We understand how comforting it can be to have a chauffeur you know and trust. While we cannot guarantee your request, we will do everything possible to have your favorite chauffeur available.
A discretionary gratuity charge is calculated into the total on your reservation confirmation. Any gratuity that may appear on your reservation confirmation is wholly voluntary and the amount constitutes a discretionary sum only and is entirely left to the discretion of the customer, and can be negotiated or waived at any time.
Absolutely. EmpireCLS provide smart, luxury, chauffeured transportation services for corporate travel and the traveling CEOs and executives in today’s business world.
To set up a new corporate account, contact our Sales or Meetings & Events departments today, or reach out to us through the Contact page and request a corporate direct billing account.
You bet. We partner with many travel agencies when their customers require trusted chauffeured transportation providers. Our reservation system is seamlessly integrated with Deem and other global distribution systems and online travel booking tools to receive reservation requests instantly.
Reach out to our Sales department at (800) 451-5466 x2897 or sales@empirecls.com to learn more how we can support your customers. Ask us about creating a travel agent commission program for new and ongoing business.
