- Details
- Category: Industry News
Marlton, N.J. — Keeping up with the latest technology is imperative for today’s ground transportation providers. Reservations, dispatch, fleet management, and office management are reliant on having up-to-the-minute software and equipment to keep their operations running smoothly. With that in mind, the 2019 Chauffeur Driven Show, held October 13-16 at the Westin Boston Waterfront, is THE place to be this fall for companies looking to stay on top of technology trends and innovations, and their effect on our industry.
We’re pleased to announce that three of the industry’s top tech providers—FASTTRAK Technologies, GroundWidgets, and Hudson Software—have partnered with CD and the National Limousine Association (NLA) as exclusive vendors and sponsors of CD/NLA events. Moreover, on Tuesday, October 15 at 10 a.m., these three tech titans will take part in our Center Stage Tech Panel along with some of the top names of the field. Joining FASTTRAK President/Founder Eddie McCoy, GroundWidgets Chairman & CEO Apurva Patel, and Hudson Software Vice President of Software Development Derek Skawinski are a who’s who in industry tech providers, including Limo Anywhere President Sean Arena and Livery Coach Solutions President David Hirsch. They will join CD Education Committee co-chair Jason Sharenow of Broadway Elite Worldwide for a moderated discussion that will cover a spectrum of tech-related topics, ranging from automation, apps, interconnectivity, analytics, and so much more.
“FASTTRAK Technologies is proud to pledge its exclusive support to the NLA and their choice of Chauffeur Driven to bring the finest in education to the industry via their co-produced events and programs,” says McCoy.
“The GroundWidgets team has long been an integral part of the limousine and chauffeured industry. Our support for the NLA is unwavering and we are committed to working with the NLA to provide best-in-class technology services and products to their members and our industry. We are thrilled to be supporting the NLA and Chauffeur Driven Show exclusively in the coming years as we believe that this is a strong partnership that will benefit the industry and the NLA membership,” says Patel.
"Hudson Software is proud to exclusively support Chauffeur Driven, the NLA, and their upcoming initiatives. We look forward to serving on the technology panel and sharing our vision with attendees, as our commitment to delivering transformative technology to this industry is as strong today, as it was 20 years ago when we first launched,” says Hudson Software Vice President of Operations Gustavo Gomez. “We thank the entire Chauffeur Driven/NLA team for including us in this opportunity to come together and discuss technology innovation that benefits all within this industry.”
Chauffeur Driven understands that choosing the right technology for your company can be a daunting prospect, in terms of both expense and ease of operation. At the end of the session, time will be allotted for our panel of experts to field questions from attendees that will not only help you make the best decision for your company, but to ensure a smooth transition.
“Livery Coach is pleased to be part of the tech panel in Boston this year. The more operators understand how technology can help their business, the stronger we all become,” offers Hirsch.
“I am thrilled to be participating in the upcoming Chauffeur Driven Tech Panel this October in Boston,” adds Limo Anywhere President Sean Arena. “With the rapid pace of change in technology, it is imperative that we focus our attention on the trends and opportunities that are shaping our industry, as well as the world around us.”
Further, panelists will offer insight on the future of the luxury ground transportation industry as it relates to technology. Whether it’s near-demand booking, autonomous cars, or global networking, the experts will share their vision as it relates to efficiency, safety, customer service, and the industry as a whole.
“Embracing real-time dispatch and mobile technology to provide travel analytics to all stakeholders is more important today than at any time in our industry’s history,” says McCoy.
With the show just a few weeks away, if you haven’t yet registered, now is the time. Our room block at the Westin is now sold out, but we’ve been able to secure rooms at the neighboring Aloft for the unbelievable rate of $227 a night. Spaces are filling up fast, so take advantage of this offer while it lasts. Once these rooms are gone, you aren’t likely to find a comparable room rate in the Waterfront area.
Visit chauffeurdrivenshow.com for more information.
[CD0919]
- Details
- Category: Industry News
Charlotte, N.C. —The Peak Limousine family is pleased to announce its recent acquisition of Limo-Zen, which will help the Charlotte-based company expand its operational reach into a previously untapped North Carolina market in a resort mountain destination.
“The purchase of Limo-Zen will allow us to increase our Asheville footprint and expand into the Greenville, S.C., market,” said Peak Limousine President & CEO Shawn Glasgow.
The deal was closed September 9 after what Peak Limousine Vice President Faith described as a "quick and painless process" that benefited from all parties being on good terms.
“Since getting into the Asheville market in 2017, we’ve been looking at what else was out there, and Limo-Zen was a company that we had not only become friendly with, but also knew that they have some great accounts,” she explained. “They are good people who started their business in 2015, though it’s more of a hobby for them rather than the livelihood it is for us. Their books were clean and, while we still did our due diligence, there was enough of a trust factor that it made for an easy transition.”
The Glasgows describe their new venture into the Asheville, Greenville. Tryon market as a true destination in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains that, despite its clear demand for a high-touch one-stop shop, is largely under-represented by larger operators. It is also a significant part of a long-term plan that will help Peak plant its flag in a North Carolina market that the Glasgows have been eager to break into.
“There are not many luxury providers in the area, and we know there’s a need for it: This is a destination with high-quality hotels, so you’ve got the demand for a luxury service,” Faith said. “It was a good time for us because expanding into Asheville and Greenville was part of our five-year plan; now that we’ve been in Asheville for two years, we’ve established enough of a base there that we felt it was time for the next progression of our plan, which was to reinforce our presence in the Asheville market while acquiring a business in the Greenville market too.”
The region also offers niche appeal with its sought-after training and completive grounds for the likes of athletes ranging from internationally ranked cyclists to competitive equestrians.
“Because it’s a mountainous region, serious bicyclists like George Hincapie come out here to get their legs and lungs ready,” explained Shawn. “One of our new accounts is a hotel that caters to them while they’re up here training in the mountains. Another aspect is that there’s a half-a-billion-dollar facility here for horses and equestrian training, which was designed to host major events—which tend to attract high end, luxury travelers. So that’s something that we’re getting into while earning everyone’s trust.”
With the new company, Peak will welcome almost a dozen new employees between chauffeurs and office staff, as well as two websites and an impressive client database. The Glasgows already feel that the veteran LimoZen staff has proven to be a valuable addition, having offered considerable guidance throughout the early transition period that has included numerous face-to-face meetings with new accounts’ key players.
And they are grateful for the two office employees they’ve acquired with LimoZen, who have helped facilitate an even smoother transition.
“We’re so thankful these two employees have come on board because they are so knowledgeable about the accounts,” Faith said. “A lot of the clients have gotten comfy and familiar with the staff, and since they come from luxury mountain neighborhoods, they expect the soft-touch service that they’re used to.”
Visit peaklimo.com for more information.
[CD0919]
- Details
- Category: Industry News
Los Angeles —With some major topics on the agenda for the evening, the Greater California Livery Association (GCLA) welcomed roughly 120 attendees to its September 17 meeting, including CD Publisher Chris Weiss, who was one of the evening’s speakers.
With the recent noteworthy passage of Assembly Bill 5 generating quite the buzz among luxury ground transportation operators from coast to coast, it’s no surprise that the bill was on everyone’s mind the evening of its passage right in the association’s backyard—though GCLA Director and Chairman of the Legislative Committee Mark Stewart of CLI Worldwide says that “I don’t think anyone thought the governor would sign it so quickly.”
AB5, which aims to make sweeping reforms to the misclassification of so-called “gig economy” workers as independent contractors instead of being considered the employees they should have rightfully been considered in the first place, will piggyback on the “ABC Test” that determines what protections are owed to a worker based on three metrics. Employers must prove that a worker is free from their control, performing work beyond the parameters of regular business, and independently entrenched in the trade in question to ensure their IC status; otherwise, they are a bona-fide employee.
While the GCLA is understandably pleased to see its labors finally met with the start of a truly level playing field, Stewart knows this is not the time to rest on one’s laurels.
“The bill becomes effective January 1, so we feel like this is just the beginning,” he said. “Uber especially, their legal officers have been pretty arrogantly and openly defiant in stating how they’re not going to obey. So that’s going to be the big issue. We figure that all the rideshare companies, including the food delivery services, are not going to obey the law—but they are aware of that amendment. There’s a key amendment that came in at the 11th hour in that bill prior to it being approved, and that was the enforcement issue.”
While the GCLA still has questions about what that enforcement is going to look like, it has been in talks with the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and will continue to be so, as members are heartened by the direction things are going.
In fact, the day Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB5 into law, Stewart was joined by other members of the GCLA legislative team—President Mo Garkani of The COTS Group, Past President David Kinney of API Global Transportation, and lobbyist Gregg Cook—in their first-ever meeting with PUC Executive Director Alice Steadman while “everyone from the PUC transportation team was on the phone” in a one-hour meeting that Stewart summarizes as being “very well-received, we were really impressed with the takeaway.”
The meeting also included discussion of another considerable win, an amendment to AB1810 that finally made it illegal to smoke or vape cannabis in a commercial vehicle—which had previously been legal after Prop 64 passed, which legalized the drug in California.
“As far as I know, the governor hasn’t signed that bill so he still has 30 days to do that,” Stewart said. “But having that amendment placed onto 1810 is a big deal.”
In addition to a legislative landscape that finally reflects the association’s dedicated lobbying efforts, the meeting itself hosted speakers who tackled an array of topics. Weiss spoke of industry trends that are establishing themselves as mainstays, which included the larger motorcoaches and buses that speaker Joe Guinn of Limo & Bus Compliance addressed in his own presentation about how staying with regulatory compliance will be changing for big-group-movers in the coming year.
Bill Wheeler of Black Tie Transportation and Matthew Strack of Strack Transportation offered “a semi-panel” about their journeys from being small operators to growing their companies to the larger presences they are now, which Stewart said “hit every topic non-stop” in just 15 minutes.
Visit gcla.org for more information.
[CD0919]