As high-net-worth individuals continue to flock to Dubai, a new chauffeur-on-demand service has launched in the city, aiming to be the transportation equivalent of Emirates First Class. WHEELY, a Swiss-born company has expanded its operations to Dubai in addition to service in Paris, Moscow, and London.
“In the past few years, a lot of European high net worths moved to Dubai and many Middle Eastern residents have experienced our services in London and Paris. Dubai also became the most requested destination by our customers,” Anton Chirkunov, Co-Founder and CEO of WHEELY said in an exclusive interview with Arabian Business.
“There is a lot of opportunity with the city’s almost 70k millionaires,” he added.
Rides in Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 5 Series G60
Three new exclusive services are now available in Dubai: New Business Class, New First Class and XL.
New First Class is a member-only service, in a W223 Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Equipped with scents of Acqua di Parma car diffuser, Oshibori towels and complimentary bottles of FIJI water. The ride is highly personalised and customisable from choice of music, interior lighting, massage seats, entertainment systems and more.
This premium service is available at a premium cost – AED100 pickup fare, minimum fare of AED150 and AED5 per minute. Parking and toll fee come at an extra charge to the client.
“We stick to one make and model per product – we do not say “Mercedes S Class or similar” and an Audi arrives,” Chirkunov explained, hinting at other transportation business models, “New First Class features the latest generation of the Mercedes S-Class, with a long wheelbase, reclining seats, sunroof and privacy blinds.”
However, to achieve this level of service consistency was not an easy feat, Chirkunov highlighted a unique challenge – the limited availability of this specific vehicle type in Dubai.
“When we arrived in Dubai there were barely any of these vehicles in the city. So, we needed to work with our local suppliers to source a large number of S Classes. Probably over 90 percent of the new generation Mercedes S class, licensed in Dubai, are for WHEELY specifically,” he explained.
On the other hand, New Business Class will offer transport in the latest BMW 5 Series G60, with a minimum fare of AED75 and AED2 per minute. Parking and toll fee come at an extra charge to the client.
“As the first on-demand luxury chauffeur service of its kind, one way to think of WHEELY is akin to having a private chauffeur. Our chauffeurs go beyond simply transporting passengers from A to B, to deliver an experience.”
“Customers can trust WHEELY chauffeurs with more than just transportation, including personal journeys such as picking up relatives or school drop-offs,” he asserted.
The consistency of service is key to the business, not just in the region but across all the cities in operation.
“We maintain a consistent approach across all cities to ensure our customers receive the same exceptional level of service, whether they’re in Dubai, London, or Paris. This means we don’t customize our products or services based on location,” Chirkunov highlighted.
Dealing with high-net-worth clients comes with the need for a curtain of discretion and privacy both in the cars and with in other service aspects. Cards are equipped with privacy blinds but aside from this the entire WHEELY team is under a strict NDA, this also includes chauffeur partners.
Chirkunov revealed that the company aims to take privacy to the next level, WHEELY is currently developing a technology that will place customer data beyond the reach of company members too.
Alongside serving Dubai’s wealthy, Wheely plans to create over 500 jobs in the city in 18-24 months, with further plans to grow the Middle East team to a network to over 1,000 in three to five years.
“That means thousands of cars in the region and services as big as in London and Paris,” Chirkunov said.
However, even with the availability of several positions within the city, being hired as a chauffeur for instance, requires the completion of a rigorous training process with several aspects covered including safety, etiquette and discretion.
“The academy is designed to make sure every chauffeur can provide the same service that you’d expect from a 5-star hotel. And we are able to do that because the academy has been designed by former hoteliers,” he explained.
Chirkunov boasted the London academy which is “renowned for producing highly skilled chauffeurs, setting industry benchmarks in service.”
WHEELY’s Dubai expansion: Gateway to the Middle East
WHEELY’s Dubai expansion aims to be a “gateway to the entire Middle Eastern region.”
“It feels natural for WHEELY to be in Dubai,” Chirkunov said, attributing several factors, “Dubai has become a global hub for innovation and luxury. The most successful restaurants in London or Paris are opening branches in Dubai, the city has more restaurants per capita than New York. The world’s biggest hotels are establishing a presence in the city – and it has more than 50k five-star hotel rooms.”
Looking ahead, WHEELY plans to launch in the US market due to the current observed demand from many North American travellers.
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