BIZ TRAVEL ROUND-UP: The Wall Street Journal offers a comprehensive update of
business travel activity across various customer and vendor markets in today's editions. . .
MAY 2010 LCT MAGAZINE:
LCT's most popular issue of the year should be in your hands or about to land in mailboxes; a preview of content is now posted at LCTMAG.COM home page and under ARTICLES.
In this issue, LCT provides an OVERVIEW OF THE INDUSTRY, a look at the latest trends in SOCIAL NETWORKING AND MEDIA, a sampler of CHARTER & TOUR survey results, a profile of ULTIMATE CUSTOM COACH, and as usual, a business message from the LCT PUBLISHER. Complete findings and lists of course are in the print issue; extra copies are available for $40 each by calling (310) 533-2432 9 a.m. to 5 p.m PDT/ Noon to 8 p.m. EDT on weekdays. Ask for Melba.
Also posted, a NEW LCT WEB POLL question at the center of the home page and a MONTHLY MARKETING TIP courtesy of Create-A-Card Inc.
This year, LCT cleaned up and updated much of its database given the sheer volume of company and vendor changes throughout the industry this year. Our directories will soon be posted and continuously corrected/updated at LCTMAG.COM.
If you have any ideas for future survey questions or particular findings/stats you would like to see in the 2011 FACT BOOK, please e-mail me at martin@lctmag.com.
-- Martin Romjue, LCT editor
CHAUFFEURED TRANSPORTATION CATCHING UP? That's the next question beyond today's report from Business Travel News on
SOARING DEMAND FOR BUSINESS TRAVEL. All those travelers need to get somewhere when they land.
ECO-SOBRIETY CHECKPOINT: How much did you spend on your green vehicle?! Well, step away from the vehicle please, because you just blew a 15. -- the number of years it takes to recoup the added cost of a Toyota Camry Hybrid.
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NO MORE FEAR: In these difficult economic times, we must concentrate and avoid falling into depression and fear. Stay positive and make it a GREAT day.
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POLL RESULTS:
For all the green regulations and smaller vehicles in Europe, stretch limousines and luxury livery vehicles remain popular in the United Kingdom.
LimoBroker poll shows the ROLLS-ROYCE PHANTOM to be the CHAUFFEURED VEHICLE OF CHOICE among wedding couples.
UP AND UP: The surest signs of a recovery do not come from statistics, but rather the every day anecdotes conveyed word of mouth. Three well-known industry operators share some recent revenue figures.
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BIZ TRAVEL REBOUND: The most optimistic report yet on business travel shows companies cannot afford to keep their staffs grounded for very long. Face-to-face interactions are crucial to good business. But non-grounded staffs will still need quality ground transportation upon arrival. . .
ON-ITS-OWN-RECOVERY: Thanks to the private sector for generating whatever recovery is taking shape in spite of government drag on the economy in the form of massive stimulus and health care measures.
A leading survey indicates most economists don't think the $787 billion stimulus rammed through last year deserves credit for the incipient recovery. So if you know any Obamamatrons parroting the party stimulus line, this survey should HOPEfully CHANGE their views. -- M.R.
BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS: In a good sign of recovery, a hotel chain typically used by business travelers
SEES SOLID GROWTH in room rentals. Rate increases are not far behind. Operators should make sure the added guests have plenty of access to chauffeured service.
LONG-TERM MARKETING: Operators who provide limo service for school academic rewards programs not only build good will but get future limo clients hooked at an early age. One program in South Carolina creates the full red-carpet treatment (note the limousines and clapping chauffeurs). ARTICLE HERE. EVEN BETTER VIDEO HERE.
CLEAN & GREEN: The American Bus Association reminds everyone today what being green really means. After 40 years of Earth Days, let's dedicate this day to making the world greener by fueling prosperity, i.e. green money in your pocket. How about tax cuts and exemptions for the motorcoach and chauffeured transportation industries -- the real green movers on the planet? Now that would be an Earth Day event worth celebrating.
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LIMOS ARE GREEN:
Group transportation is still the greenest form of mobility around, whether it's two execs in a Town Car, a small group in a limo, or 60-plus passengers on a motorcoach. Let's not forget that the number one source of a cleaner environment for the last few decades has been technology. Of course, such advancement is made possible through entrepreneurship cultivated by economic growth, low taxes, and sensible and fair regulations.
Thanks to technological innovations, engines consume fuel more efficiently than ever before and our air -- at least here in Los Angeles -- has gotten progressively cleaner in the last few decades, despite more people and vehicles. So tell everyone to make a pro-Earth statement: Go Green In A Limousine! -- M.R.
SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Sensitive pricing for today’s economy can make you flexible enough to get the sales volume you need.
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CUSTOMERS FIRST: A recent letter from the president of the National Business Travel Association underscores the importance of helping out clients/customers during a crisis. Many travel-related business are forgoing the price-gouging that occurs in desperate situations. Caring for your customers during times of distress is a sure way for operators to secure lasting loyalty that can pay off for years to come. Click below to read letter.
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PROFILE IN PROGRESS: The owner of
COMPASS COACH in Cedar Springs, Mich. has seen revenue growth by milking the markets for charter buses full of gamblers to casinos, college students on tours, and high-end luxury travel for weddings and other fancy celebrations, according to a recent
profile in the The Grand Rapids Press newspaper.
POSITIVE PUBLICITY: A 22-passenger Tiffany limo bus becomes the
biggest limo in town in Sudbury, Ontario. The operator of
Nite Lite Limousine Service scores a publicity coup of sorts with a 2-minute 30-second
SLIDE SHOW on the hometown newspaper's web site.
MAJOR CATFIGHT, ERR, CABFIGHT:
NY cabbies are furious about accusations from the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission that they GOUGED CUSTOMERS through meter manipulations; whatever the final conclusions, i.e. the truth which is likely somewhere in between, we can safely say you don't have such pricing drama with the more upfront, reservation-oriented chauffeured transportation services.
New York luxury limousine operators should take full advantage of recent developments -- the meter fights, crabby cabbies, cell phone rudeness -- to promote and market the saner, more practical benefits of chauffeured transportation. This could be a golden moment to educate the riding public about luxury-limo and gain some market share. -- M.R.
LCT wants to know what operators prefer in a Lincoln Town Car successor model for MY2012: CUV or sedan? Don't forget to take
LCT WEB POLL HERE. Results are live.
ULTRA HIGH-END:
Audi has built a SOUPED-UP A-8 SEDAN to compete with the MAYBACH, the highest-end luxury sedan that costs, oh, only about $360,000.
Is there even a market among limousine clients for such extravagant vehicles? Apparently, yes, at EMPIRE CLS, for example.
EMPLOYEE STAKEHOLDERS? Whether to give employees company shares in lieu of pay raises was the issue covered in a SMALL BUSINESS FEATURE in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal that quoted and pictured Mary Paul of Chicago-based CROWN CARS & LIMOUSINES. Whenever operators are quoted in the media on business and economic matters, it helps the chauffeured transportation industry look serious and substantial in public eyes. -- M.R.
LEAP OF LUXURY:
Hyundai is not an auto name commonly associated with luxury, but as automakers vie for a more diversified fleet market, the South Korean automaker is establishing its upper end brand in the form of the HYUNDAI EQUUS LIMOUSINE, most popular in South Korea.
The pricetag is an astounding $113,000, even more than the Mercedes S550. Hyundai should not be counted out in the U.S., though; a chauffeured black Hyundai Genesis has been spotted on an L.A. freeway. -- M.R.
NO MORE NEW MOONS: This week, Jim Luff shares painful personal details on the effects of depression in his family.
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BIG PICTURE: Statistics are just numbers, not rules. So what do the latest “bright spots” really mean for the direction of the economy?
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NEXT-GEN LIMO VEHICLE:
As the Ford Motor Co. quietly shops around a possible successor to the Lincoln Town Car, what would operators rather see -- another full-size sedan or a cross-over utility vehicle? Lincoln will end production of the longtime Lincoln Town Car after the 2011 model year.
Operators have been eyeing a proposed successor model being shown at select industry association meetings around the nation.
Tell LCT what you want by taking the latest LCT MAGAZINE WEB POLL at the LCTMAG.COM Home Page.
PROMOTING THE PROM: Several limousine operators in the Springfiled, Mo., area -- home to some of the world's leading coachbuilders -- got a big publicity boost from an article in the local newspaper and lays out DIFFERENT PROM LIMO OPTIONS. This is an idea that can work in any newspaper for any number of operators. Suggest an article or informal "prom limo guide" to a local media outlet as a way to get your limo options out to the prom market. -- M.R.
BLACK & GREEN REASONS:
Autoblog.com has an extensive review and photos of the $90,000-plus 2010 Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid sedan, the greener version of the S550.
The reviewer seems befuddled about the reason for such a hybrid vehicle, given its high expense and comparatively lower mileage savings than a Prius or Fusion. As many chauffeured transportation operators will tell you, there is a market among wealthy travelers and corporate clients to be comfortable while appearing green.
Green amenities are more likley to be afforded by the upper-income brackets, so if there are clients willing to spend, there are operators more than happy to collect. -- M.R.
FUN, FAST & FURIOUS:
Glad to see that British limo clients have chosen one of the most politically incorrect limousines possible as their collective favorite.
No need to go green, just be seen in a mean-behaving limo. -- M.R.
NEW OPPS: With the limo-bus charter business still sluggish, California operator Jim Luff sells a wine tour on Facebook.
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COMING OUT AHEAD: What will it take to get through this deep recession?
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INDUSTRY PLUG?
The New York Post couldn't have run a better "AD/PROMO" for the luxury limousine and black car industries.
Tip to the NYTLC: A good chauffeur knows how and when to safely use a Bluetooth/hands-free phone. -- M.R.
TRAVEL BAG:
Corporate CEOs are spending more on private jets, figures show, and of course such tidbits invariably are meant to stoke PC resentments toward the rich. LCT supports increase use of private jets, especially at FBOs, since jet passengers often get to the FBO in a chauffeured vehicle.
More flights = More chauffeured runs = More business for operators. Meanwhile, a second item in the same article reports that meeting planners are still penching pennies. -- M.R.
QUOTABLE & NOTABLE:
NLA board director Deena Papagni of A Touch of Class Transportation in Fresno, CA is quoted,and one of her chauffeurs is pictured, in an article in her hometown newspaper about the state of the local limousine industry in the heart of California's Central Valley.
(Papagni also has one of the industry's most innovative web sites -- click above link above). -- M.R.
LCTMAG.COM:
A new round of FEATURE ARTICLES from the March/April issue of LCT have been posted on LCTMAG.COM; the articles loosely revolve around the theme of operators who succeed on their terms in tough times. Despite the economic shellacking of the past year, you can always find businesses that bloom where they're put, or with what they have.
The PUBLISHER'S PAGE looks at sales strategies for operators going forward; a new WEB POLL asks a rather politically incorrect question (be honest); and we've posted a new MARKETING TIP.
Next month -- in the MAY 2010 ISSUE OF LCT -- we present our annual Fact Book & Industry Guide. Look for dramatically updated listings that have coincided with a complete overhaul of LCT's industry database. We've also selected the survey statistics more closely, focusing on those that are most relevant to operators. Some sections will be shorter; others, longer. Also, we'll have a complete Fact Book database available online within a few months with regular updates.
-- Martin Romjue, LCT editor