Out of curiosity - what about hotels that offer courier services to and from an airport? Are all of those drivers also commercially licensed?
Yes. Whereas in France they don't need to be, so you get a lot of British-run (and others) ski holiday transfers picking up from Geneva, but they're not allowed to use the Swiss side for pickups.
I don't think that's correct. A foreign company can't both pick up and drop off domestically so GVA-Zermatt is out of the question but Flixbus, GoEuro, and others, pick up domestically and drop off abroad, e.g. Zürich-München, as well as vice versa.
Pickup and dropoff by the hotel may not fall under the "berufsmässiger Personentransport" (or maybe not, this is a bit of a guess) because usually it's a free service for the guests.
Why isn't my transportation a free service for the guests of my tour? The touring happens outside the vehicle.
This here (in German) has pointers to laws, regulations, and literature which may be relevant:
https://www.reiserecht.ch/reiseleist...eisebegleitung
https://www.reiserecht.ch/reiseleist...sonentransport
https://www.reiserecht.ch/reiseleist...ansferleistung
As usual the law can be found on the official Swiss government website in the major three official languages, some of them also in English and Rumantsch:
https://www.admin.ch/opc/de/classifi.../national.html
I feel like a lawyer is needed to decipher this.
Yes, I was referring to French operations, who they're able to pick up at Geneva and transport to French destinations. The point was that they're not allowed to user the Swiss side pickup area.
The drivers do it as part of their job, for which they're paid, so yes, it does.
Again, you're doing it as part of a service for which you're being paid. Whether you're charging separately for the transportation is irrelevant.
I just found a quote, in Italiano, from a UDC candidate regarding UBER specifically:
"Infatti, il servizio Uber più economico può essere svolto da chiunque sia in possesso della licenza di condurre, di un’autovettura a cinque posti e non abbia riportato condanne giudiziarie."
This is exactly my plan. "chiunque sia in possesso della licenza di condurre".
Is this Ticino-specific??
Driving without a cab license for Uber is illegal.
Got it. As said before, this looks like I'm unable to do this until I'm fluent in Italian - so maybe never!
Just pass by the gemeinde/police, tell them what you would like to do, and have them confirm what really is needed before you make a decision.
Actually it doesn't, with the condition that the distance can't exceed 50km.
Kanton Bern mentions this case explicitly.
50km in total, or in longest direction? From my starting point to furthest point is 29km in total. Then 29km to return.
The gemeinde, or commune, aren't a competent legal authority. Their opinion won't provide any protection if something they say is allowed then later turns out not to be. If they're being prudent they'll not comment. It's really someone like the Police cantonale du commerce that's required which is who the commune ought to defer to.
For a hotel the free transport is something like an unnecessary accessory as the core service can be provided with or without it. This appears to not apply to your situation so you may be unable to play the same card.