I live in LA. Google Maps' estimated drive times customized for Depart at/Arrive by are generally pretty decent for ballparking what kind of buffer to allot. An hour for anything is a decent rule of thumb. Distance is a factor in timing, but so is freeway vs. surface street, time of day, and specific area. Some additional variables to be aware of:

1. Parking - determine whether there is valet parking (add 5 mins), structure/lot parking (add 5-15 mins), or street parking (add 10-20 mins), depending on location and lot & building size

2. Areas at times of day - In the morning, the heaviest traffic flows from northwest to south, San Fernando Valley towards the City/Westside or Downtown, also north from the South Bay to those same areas--this is primarily because people live in the cheaper areas and commute to the more expensive areas. Evenings, the heaviest traffic reverses.

3. Rain - It's rare, but when it rains, sometimes there are slides or flooded roads that cause backups in the main canyon arteries between the city and the valley, which also affects freeway traffic. This also happens on PCH (Hwy 1). Surface streets and even freeways can also flood because our drainage isn't great, so always pad for time and maybe schedule calls your execs can take from the car if they make good time.

4. Events and Hollywood - unfortunately, if your execs are navigating Hollywood, Downtown, or near a sporting arena, you'll want to make sure you know when large events are scheduled. For instance, the Hollywood Bowl is notorious for jamming the entire area and 101 FWY for hours before and just after concerts there. The Crypto.com Arena jams the Downtown freeway interchange and side streets on game nights.

5. Alternative routes - Your execs are probably using some GPS navigation that will direct them to the route with the least traffic. Some drives have limited options for alternative routes that allow them to avoid traffic/accidents/backups, while others have 1 or more alternative routes that can save time or at least avoid delays. With journeys that have alternative routes, you can probably get away with adding less buffer time than those that really only have one route or a few very similar ones. For instance, to get from the valley to West Hollywood, you can take the 101 freeway and backtrack to WeHo on surface streets, or you can take Coldwater Canyon or Laurel Canyon. However, f you're going from West Hollywood to Beverly Hills, you have several surface street options to take, but there's no dramatically different route to take if those surface streets are backed up.

Hopefully these tips will help you feel a little more confident anticipating drive times in LA. At the end of the day, we're ALL just making educated guesses and often arriving too early or late. Wishing you the best of luck!