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On June 2, the Minority Limousine Operators of America (MLOA) held their latest in a series of weekly meetings designed to keep their membership up to date on the industry during the COVID-19 crisis. The afternoon online meeting—the association’s first held via Zoom—was attended by operators from coast to coast, along with CD Editor Rob Smentek.
With the issue of EIDL and PPP “beaten to death” during the past weeks’ meetings, MLOA President Darrell Anderson of A-National Limousine expressed his desire to shift gears a bit and turn the focus of the group towards the future. As such, he welcomed MLOA Founder and current Board Member Maurice Brewster of Mosaic Global Transportation for a presentation to help operators get out of their comfort zone and look for new opportunities.
“The 800-pound gorilla in the room is the fact that we don’t know what tomorrow will bring,” said Brewster. “If we don’t have a paradigm change, we’re all going to be hurt.”
Brewster then began a slideshow presentation that he shared with GBTA members the previous week. The three-tiered session offered perspectives on the new norm, including new business opportunities; the essentials of what your business needs to do to protect clients and employees; and preparation for a seemingly inevitable second wave of the virus.
With 92 percent of business travel cancelled, and corporate bookings virtually non-existent, Brewster said that “now is the time to collaborate and share best practices—we are stronger than numbers.” Taking that to heart, he encouraged MLOA member to seek business with hospitals as Mosaic has had recent success with non-emergency patient transportation. Brewster pointed out that the luxury ground transportation industry can offer documentation of cleanliness and safety to hospitals, as well as patients and their families, as opposed to the gamble they take with TNCs, taxis, and other non-emergency medical transportation providers.
Next, Brewster’s presentation offered six essentials he believes need to be done to keep your employees and clients safe. These include preparing your building, prepping your workforce, controlling access to buildings and vehicles, developing a social distancing plan, reducing touch points and increasing cleaning, and over-communication with clients and staff. Training, following, and documenting these procedures to the letter will not only ease clients’ concerns—thereby enhancing your image—but also protect you from liability.
To conclude his presentation, Brewster encouraged his fellow operators to make preparations for an anticipated surge of cases again in the fall. “Don’t be afraid; be prepared,” he advised. With the current precautions currently being undertaken, both in terms of safety and fiscal matters, the industry will likely be much better prepared for the next round of the virus. Brewster urged members to listen to scientists instead of “their gut” when it comes to making decisions about COVID. He also suggested that companies and associations negotiate a deal for the industry to get certified by the Global Biorisk Advisory Council. This organization provides education, training, certification, response management, and crisis consulting for situations where environments require a much higher level of cleaning, disinfection, and restoration.
As the meeting commenced, MLOA board members were welcomed to speak and address the attendees. Newest Board Member Maya Adrine of Golden Limousine International used the opportunity to thank the organization and its membership for attending these meetings and spreading their insight. Lastly, the MLOA membership committee—Reggie Tymus of Capital City Limousine and Tiffany Hinton of MOTEV—informed the group that new onboarding processes are in effect for membership renewal.
Visit mlooa.org for more information, including a recording of each weekly meeting.
[06.05.20]
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The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) has endorsed the “Safe Stay” campaign recently established by American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA). According to AHLA’s website, the initiative focuses on enhanced hotel cleaning practices, social interactions, and workplace protocols to meet the new health and safety challenges and expectations presented by COVID-19. As restoring consumer confidence is critical to all sectors of travel post-COVID, including chauffeured transportation, understanding what vertical markets are doing to keep travelers safe is integral to achieving that goal.
GBTA members called on the hotel committees to discuss the opportunities for collaboration and a joint-up approach to the recovery period, as properties around the world look to reopen and start welcoming guests. The association will be supporting AHLA by lobbying the government to support these guidelines as minimum level standard agreements for hotels post COVID-19.
“GBTA is working with buyers and supplier members from all the travel verticals to find suitable solutions to manage the recovery following the pandemic. The committees made up of buyers and suppliers are experts in their field and a fantastic resource to help facilitate discussions and progress opportunities for collaboration and standardization. In the accommodation sector, each global hotel brand has their own reopening plan, but to restore consumer confidence and corporate confidence it is vital that this sector has a common protocol for cleaning standards. We are delighted to support the ‘Safe Stay’ program established by the AHLA to protect travelers,” said GBTA CEO Scott Solombrino.
Solombrino was the previously the chairman and CEO of Dav El/BostonCoach prior to accepting the position at GBTA in 2019, and was named as CEO this past April.
“As we reopen hotel doors and welcome back the traveling public, we want to assure employees and guests that their health and safety is paramount, and hotels are cleaner and safer than ever before. Safe Stay is an industrywide effort that will ensure greater transparency and confidence throughout the entire hotel experience and we appreciate GBTA for its support of this critical endeavor,” said AHLA President & CEO Chip Rogers.
Visit gbta.org for more information.
[06.03.20]
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There was a lot of ground to cover in the most recent weekly virtual meeting by the United Motorcoach Association (UMA) this past Thursday. Hosted by Interim President & CEO Larry Killingsworth and Vice President Ken Presley, nearly 400 attendees joined the hour-long meeting.
Presley noted that more and more UMA members are applying for and receiving funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), according to surveys taken by the association. Just before the call, the House passed H.R. 7010, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020, which lowered the forgiveness threshold for payroll and benefits from 75 percent to 60 percent and increased the eight-week window to 24 weeks. Although it’s a positive step for the industry, it still has to clear the Senate, which has proposed its own bill. The Senate is expected to vote on it this week.
Killingsworth and Presley detailed a few other programs that they are watching, including the Main Street Lending Program (MSLP), which is being handled by the Federal Reserve, and a proposed RESTART Program, which was proposed by Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) in late May. MSLP applies to small and midsize companies that were “financially sound prior to the COVID-19 pandemic” with a minimum loan size of $500,000 (lowered from $1M). With stricter qualification criteria and a four-year maturation, Killingsworth says that it can help businesses that need that capital but that it probably won’t be the answer for most because of the size and scope of the loan and the reluctance of companies to take on more debt without revenue.
According to Senator Bennet’s website, the RESTART Program was designed as the next step of the PPP, “to provide funding to cover the next six months of payroll, benefits, and fixed operating expenses for businesses that have taken a substantial revenue hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. A share of that loan will be forgiven based on the revenue losses suffered by the business in 2020, and the remainder can be repaid over seven years, with no interest payments due in the first year and no principal due for the first two years.” UMA is keeping an eye on the progress of the RESTART Program, although it does not currently have bipartisan support. The full text is available here.
Operators on the call shared what’s happening in their markets. Dale McMichael of Executive Coach in Pennsylvania said that he’s still doing wedding runs, while Elizabeth Kamalakis of Coachlight Tours in South Carolina commented that booked senior tours are proceeding but area schools may be closed through January. Both services have ramped up cleaning procedures. UMA Chairman Jeff Polzien shared his experience with flights in his area, noting that a common route from Oklahoma to Washington, D.C., was slowly returning to its pre-COVID numbers.
“I fell into the trap that we wouldn’t pick up until next spring, but I’m rethinking it,” Polzien said. “It feels like there’s pent-up demand,” and that operators should be ready for it.
Finally, Killingsworth shared his support for the state motorcoach rallies that were being organized by local state associations, tapping into the energy that was created with the Motorcoach Rolling for Awareness campaign that took place in Washington, D.C., on May 13. The rallies were expected in 40 states nationwide on June 3, but most associations decided this week to postpone in light of the widespread protests following the death of Minnesota man George Floyd while in police custody.
The next UMA call is scheduled for June 4. Visit uma.org for information on how to join.
[06.02.20]