Study finds private chauffeur services may help business travelers stay focused. Whether traveling from home to the airport or between meetings in an unfamiliar city, getting where you need to go is part of every business trip. Research from private chauffeur service Blacklane suggests that how you get there may be just as important as how you're going. The company's Finding Flow: How Executives Excel on the Move report surveyed more than 500 U.S. business leaders and found that business travelers who experience smooth, stress-free journeys are more likely to stay productive, think clearly and arrive ready for important meetings. Among the report's findings: * 93% said smooth travel improves productivity. * 89% said some of their most valuable thinking happens while traveling. * 86% said travel disruptions make it harder to reach peak mental performance. * More than one-quarter said some of their best thinking happens during the car ride itself. The report also identified several factors that help business travelers stay focused while on the road. Feeling calm, traveling with a trusted provider, having privacy and maintaining reliable connectivity ranked among the top contributors to staying productive during a trip. Anyone who travels for work knows those in-between moments often become productive time. The ride from the airport may be when a presentation gets one last review, emails get answered or thoughts are organized before walking into an important meeting. Research like this suggests those moments may deserve more attention than they often receive. Keep in mind, private chauffeur services are one of several ground transportation options available to business travelers. Depending on the destination, travelers may opt for a rental car or managed rideshare programs, such as Uber for Business or Lyft Business. Even Sixt Car Rentals is now offering a black car service option. Each serves a different purpose based on the trip, traveler preferences and company travel policy. Blacklane's research focuses specifically on the private chauffeur experience and its potential impact on executive performance. Organizations using private chauffeur services should also evaluate providers beyond price alone. The National Limousine Association recommends considering factors such as commercial licensing, insurance, chauffeur training, vehicle standards and regulatory compliance when selecting a provider. Those considerations can help organizations identify providers equipped to deliver a consistent executive transportation experience. How Business Travel Destinations get around makes a difference and ground transportation deserves a spot in its travel plans. Choosing private chauffeur services. Photo: Courtesy of Blacklane

Sixt car rental customers could be liable for the price of a replacement car if their rental is damaged or stolen. New US-style 'no extra protection' leaves unwitting UK consumers liable for tens of thousands of pounds Guy Hobbs Principal researcher & writer Guy is an award-winning travel writer with 20+ years' experience. He runs a crack team of researchers, unearthing everything from the best beaches to the worst car hire companies. German car hire giant Sixt has introduced a 'no extra protection' option that leaves anyone who doesn't actively add additional insurance liable for a potentially ruinous bill if the car is stolen or written off. It is unheard of for car hire in the UK or Europe to be sold without a Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) automatically included. A CDW caps the renter's liability so that you would only ever have to pay the excess (usually around €1,000 to €2,500), not the full value of the car. But Sixt's new 'no extra protection' does not cap the renter's liability. Which? is concerned that UK renters are so used to the 'included' insurance consisting of a CDW, with excess, that they run the risk of unwittingly being liable for a bill of tens of thousands of pounds. When Which? checked Sixt rentals from Heathrow, Which? found a Maserati Grecale - a premium SUV, retailing at around £60,000 - available to hire with 'no extra protection'. If the customer does not add additional insurance, at an extra cost, during the booking process, they would be liable for the full value of that car. Where to next? Discover inspiring destinations, recommended by its in-house travel experts. Know the best places to go, who to book with and how to pay less. Usually £49 - save 25%, £36.75 for a year, offer ends 3 August 2026 Third-party insurance doesn't cover 'no-protection' rentals. Customers who have their own annual or single-trip car hire insurance might think that they're already covered. But when Which? checked with specialist insurers, they told Which? standalone car hire insurance, known as Excess Reimbursement Insurance (ERI), will not cover you for this type of hire. That's because standard ERI policies only cover the excess of an existing CDW policy. If you have no CDW at all, then there is no excess to cover. To reduce your liability when hiring with Sixt, you have to opt in to one of its more premium insurance options: Basic Protection, Smart Protection or All Inclusive Protection. Its Basic Protection option includes a CDW and is the equivalent of what's included for free, and as standard, with all other major providers. If you choose this option, you may also want to protect the excess. Car hire customers unwittingly liable for tens of thousands of pounds. Car rental broker Zest Car Rental told Which? that it was previously 'not aware of this type of product (without CDW) being offered in the UK or Europe'. Because UK consumers are used to basic insurance being included in their rental, Which? believe there's a risk they get caught out when booking. Sixt told Which?: 'Customers are presented with all available options. The liability is displayed clearly and prominently, including through colour-coded visual cues, at the relevant step of the booking process.' In its most recent survey of car rental experiences, one Sixt customer told Which?: 'Sixt's website was not clear where CDW was concerned. Upon collecting the car, I was informed that there was no CDW included. I had to pay an additional £248.' Why is this a 'US-style' insurance option? In the USA and Canada, it's common for rental cars to come with only the bare minimum of third-party liability insurance included, to cover injury to another person, or damage to someone else's property in the event of an accident. Basic vehicle insurance (CDW) is often not included as part of the hire. This is because North American residents can often hire a car under their own car insurance, or have insurance provided by their bank or credit card. Sixt told Which? that the UK is going the same way: 'The 'no extra protection' option is designed to reflect the reality that a significant and growing number of Sixt customers already hold complementary insurance coverage, whether through their own motor policy, a credit card benefit, or a third-party product.' Which? asked insurers if that was true. Admiral, one of the UK's biggest car insurers, told Which? that that Driving Other Cars (DOC) cover (on your own vehicle) 'can't be used to drive a hire or rental car'. The Association of British Insurers agreed, telling Which? 'standard UK motor insurance policies do not typically include cover for rental vehicles'. Which? also found that standard UK credit cards offer zero car rental protection. The only exception Which? could find was with the high-end (annual fee of £650 per year) American Express Platinum card, which does offer comprehensive worldwide car rental insurance. In short, no: very few UK drivers have existing insurance cover for car hire. Is Sixt breaking the law? No. The legal requirement for car hire companies that sell to UK consumers renting in Europe is that they include third-party insurance with rentals. And even Sixt's 'no extra protection' rentals cover damage or injury to third parties. However, Sixt is a member of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA). The BVRLA's code of conduct states that the rental company shall inform the customer (at the point of booking) about their maximum financial responsibility. Which? don't think it's reasonable for a Sixt car hire customer to be expected to know the 'full vehicle value', especially as they only select a 'class of vehicle' when booking, not a specific model. The current value will also depend on age, condition and mileage. When Which? complained to the BVRLA, it told Which? that it is 'engaging with Sixt to establish the relevant facts and determine whether any further action is appropriate'. Sixt told Which?: 'Requiring every customer to purchase additional protection regardless of their existing cover would not serve those customers well and would not reflect the level of choice its customers want. 'The 'no extra protection' option is well established and understood by customers in a number of other markets in which Sixt operates, and Which? is providing that same customer freedom to its UK customers, with full disclosure of what that choice entails.'

SIXT USA has partnered with American Airlines to become a featured rental car partner of the AAdvantage programme. AAdvantage members can now earn 2 miles for every dollar spent on time and mileage with SIXT rentals worldwide, excluding taxes and fees. Members can book through SIXT.com or the SIXT app by entering their AAdvantage number during booking. SIXT is also featured in the AAdvantage section on aa.com, and members can redeem miles for rentals through the AAdvantage Cars platform. The partnership expands SIXT's strategic collaborations within the aviation and airline ecosystem. Since entering the US market in 2011, SIXT employs over 2,000 team members and continues expanding across major airports and metropolitan areas. The company reported consolidated revenue of €4.28 billion in 2025.