When disruption hits, reliable luxury companies need to adapt to survive and best serve their clients. Here's how SOHO VIP did that during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The situation
When South Africa went into hard lockdown on 27 March 2020, the borders closed, most travel came to a halt, and the diary went quiet within days. Airport collections, the heart of a chauffeur business, simply stopped. SOHO VIP had been running since 2005, and nothing in those fifteen years looked like this.
Some people still had to move, though, as essential work remained running. Later, the government allowed more travel, but under strict protocols.
The challenge
A chauffeur car is a small closed room, and in 2020 to 2022, that was the whole problem. A guest who had been through an airport wanted to know what had happened in that car before they got in. The chauffeur wanted to know the same about the guest.
Plenty of travel operators came to a complete standstill during this time. I didn’t think that was fair to the people who still had to travel.
What we did
We perfected our protocol instead of leaning on good intentions. It followed the World Health Organization’s guidance on cleaning and disinfection and the South African regulations in force at each lockdown level. Our staff were trained to maintain the strictest hygiene standards at all times and were regularly tested for the virus.
But we also realised that, while much of what happened during the pandemic was out of our control, we still had charge of our clients’ experience, and everyone needed extra love during those turbulent waves. We went the extra mile to ensure the enjoyment and comfort of the executives, VIPs, and families under our care. And we’ve never needed to pivot as much – something we did without ever making the client feel like they’ve burdened us with a sudden change of plans. We worked hard to build what I’d like to call the “currency of trust”. When everything else felt uncertain, reliability was all the more important.
This protocol sat on top of what was already in place: safe, geo-tracked luxury vehicles, background-checked, well-trained chauffeurs, and a flexible, client-centred approach.
Our clients’ wellbeing and safety have always been a core value, so keeping them protected and happy was second nature to us.
The result
We did not stop operating. Rather, we served our high-net-worth clients by offering comfort and safety on their journeys during this unprecedented time of discomfort and threat.
We found pride in the fact that the people we moved had a luxury chauffeur service they could truly trust when little else felt certain. We continued to build our loyal client base during those years.
What stayed
The protocol did not disappear completely when restrictions lifted. We still protect our clients’ health with our strict hygiene practices. Nobody wants to land in Cape Town just to end up in bed with a bug that could have been avoided.
The closed borders taught us something else, too. Our guests rarely start and end a trip in one city, and during that period, it was even more important to have operators they could trust. So we began building a network throughout South Africa and beyond. Each partner is held to the same standards we hold ourselves to at home: client safety and comfort, tracked vehicles, strict confidentiality, checked chauffeurs, and a true luxury mindset. Whether a client steps into a vehicle in Cape Town, Johannesburg, or an international business hub, the expectation stays the same.
I was sad to see many local businesses take a knock during the COVID-19 lockdown, and I've never been more aware of how a CEO needs to think outside the box and turn every disruption into a growth opportunity.
The lockdown period was hard. But SOHO VIP navigated it like any of our journeys – smoothly and with our clients in mind.
Nazeem Jamie, Founder and CEO: SOHO VIP Chauffeurs
