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CEO David Seelinger (right) with other members of the EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation team (L to R): Marissa Criaris, Dina Perazzo, and Michael Burnett
Denver — The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) held its record-breaking 48th annual Convention from July 16-20. Risk, duty of care, and technology’s impact on business travel were the dominant themes throughout the five-day gathering that brought together 6,587 travel professionals and industry leaders—including CD Publisher Chris Weiss. The event included a sold-out Expo floor featuring more than 400 vendors showcasing business travel’s latest products and services.
Featured speakers included United CEO Oscar Munoz, who offered a candid assessment of his airline and air travel in general: “The airline industry has made travel hell for business travelers. We need to do better to improve the air travel experience. My goal is to show you can run a business with heart that also makes money for its investors,” he told the audience. TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger also took the stage for a one-on-one interview with GBTA Executive Director and COO Michael W. McCormick.
With mergers and acquisitions of some of the best-known brands in the air travel, lodging, and ground transportation sectors continuing at a rapid pace, GBTA Convention 2016 featured a Center Stage panel discussion on the topic of consolidation with some of the most well-known experts in the field. Moderated by Guy Langford of Deloitte & Touche, the panel comprised: Cvent CEO and Founder Reggie Aggarwal; Expedia President and CEO Dara Khosrowshahi; and Accor Hotels COO Kevin Frid. The panelists agreed that with a healthy and robust reliance on technology, as well as the continued environment of low borrowing and easy access to capital, consolidation will continue to be a major driver shaping the business travel landscape for years to come.
Scott Solombrino of Dav El/BostonCoach (left) and David Seelinger of EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation
CNN anchor Richard Quest moderated a lively discussion on the future of ground transportation between Lyft Chief Business Officer David Baga and Dav El/BostonCoach CEO Scott Solombrino. Duty of care, fair wages for drivers, and safety based on background checks seem to be where the traditional ground transportation companies make their strongest arguments. Ride-sharing services, on the other hand, point to their high demand and successful business model to advance the argument that travelers have made their decision.
Solombrino was also joined by David Seelinger of EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services to discuss how their companies have spearheaded an effort to join together several hundred affiliates across the country for an extensive "ASAP Fleet" of luxury cars. New York City will be the first location to launch later this summer, followed by a systematic roll-out of destinations across the U.S. More information will be available at a later date.
The new app will provide corporate clients and consumers with not only the convenience of tap-and-ride transportation but also an unmatched level of service and safety measures (including background checks, drug testing, insurance, defensive driver training, etc.), which can only be available from companies who have spent years training and managing professional chauffeurs.
"This is an exciting time in the chauffeured car industry," Solombrino said. "It is extremely important to both companies that our clients continue to receive the highest level of customer care they have always enjoyed, while at the same time have access to the immediacy of on-demand technology which smartphones and portable devices can now provide."
Lenore D’Anzieri of Limo Alliance and CD Publisher Chris Weiss
"Our new on-demand service will streamline the process for clients to book rides with us and our affiliates," added Seelinger. "The app is our safe solution for clients who need last-minute transportation and have high expectations for the quality of their ride."
Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus and NFL quarterback Peyton Manning also inspired the audience, as did Featured Speaker and NASA astronaut Navy Captain Scott Kelly, who has spent more time in space than any other American—including his record-breaking year at the International Space Station. Captain Kelly spoke of the many similarities between space and business travel: "If you don't try to make things better—even a little bit—they are going to get worse... Sometimes you have to prepare for a very unlikely scenario that could have a huge impact."
Next year’s Convention will be in Boston, Mass., July 15-19, 2017.
Visit www.gbta.org for more information.
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CD Publisher Chris Weiss (center) with Show pass winners Avi Ancel of Uptown Limo and Steve Felt of Colorado Black Car
Aurora, Colo. — More than 20 members and supporters of the Colorado Limousine Association (CLA) were present for the association’s July 19 meeting, including CD Publisher Chris Weiss, who was the meeting’s guest speaker.
CLA President Dianne Cavender of DDG Classic Limousine kicked off the meeting with introductions, housekeeping, and expressing her satisfaction with the evening event’s turnout. Treasurer Nikko Ouzounis of White Dove Limousine then presented his financial report, and Doug Pooley of Colorado Limousine and Jody Cowen of Carey Denver provided an update on their efforts to thwart Denver’s unconstitutional herdic law, which encompasses municipal ordinances mandating that all for-hire vehicles operating within the city have a herdic license.
Weiss then spoke to those in attendance about both the benefits of attending CD’s 2016 Show in Washington, D.C. and how Colorado market at large compares and contrasts to the industry on a national level. He emphasized that while TNCs have invaded the region’s ground transportation, the luxury sector will remain competitive with corporate travel and airport transfers.
He also discussed the growing trend of group work, and how both retail and bus-type trips will continue to be assets to the industry with their high barriers to entry for TNCs. With the Global Business Travel Association’s (GBTA’s) 2016 Convention going on in nearby Denver, the event’s announcements, like EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services and Dav El/BostonCoach coming together to create an industry-wide on-demand app, were also explored.
Members of the CLA at the June 19 meeting
After also touching upon the growing trend of operators putting buses and motorcoaches in their fleets and how technology continues to be an instrument of evolution in chauffeured transportation, Weiss raffled off two passes to CD’s Show, which were won by Avi Ancel of Uptown Limo and Steve Felt of Colorado Black Car.
Among CLA’s many committees reporting on their efforts, the Legislative/PUC/Airport Report indicated that measures have been taken to get rid of all non-safety-related rules, with a particular focus on eliminating the 10-year rule for vehicle turnover. The Education Committee has reached out both legal and transportation speakers to present at future meetings, while the Public Relations Committee called for newsletter submissions, social media materials, and volunteers to keep the PR momentum going.
Cavender then reminded members that they can submit questions for the board to address at future meetings’ roundtable discussions, which aim to clarify any concerns that any members have about everything from insurance to the industry in general to the association in particular. She also put out the call for more member involvement with the CLA’s Legislative, Membership, Sponsorship, and Education committees to help maximize the benefits of being an association member.
The next CLA general meeting will be September 20.
Visit cololimo.org for more information.
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Jason Sharenow President of LANJ
The Limousine Association of New Jersey (LANJ) has just debuted its LANJ Member Badge initiative as the newest benefit of association membership, which also includes the right to display the association’s logo—the organization's mark of professionalism—as confirmation that your company stands with the very best in the region’s chauffeured transportation industry.
For this reason—and to keep members’ digital presence professionally consistent—the association has designed a new LANJ Member Badge specifically for members' online exposition. All members are encouraged to exhibit this sign of affiliation prominently on their websites.
According to LANJ President Jason Sharenow of Broadway Elite Chauffeured Services Worldwide, the initiative has its roots as a rejoinder to TNCs’ highly visible badges and branding.
“This was born of a response to TNCs going around with their own badges—which don’t say that they’re professionals at all but are, nonetheless, part of their branding—and that we felt that, as an organization, this would give us our own mark of professionalism,” Sharenow says. “Each of our member companies can display the new badge, which is how they’ll be recognized by corporate and retail clientele alike as legitimate professional, insured, and authorized operations.”
Members’ webmasters can access the badge from LANJ.org by following these easy steps:
1. Click on "Log In" at the top left of the LANJ.org home page;
2. Type in your company's LANJ username and password in the spaces provided;
3. Click on "Member Area" at the top left of the landing page;
4. Click on "Resources" in the left-hand menu on the next landing page; and
5. Copy and paste the code provided onto your website where you want the badge to appear.
If you have forgotten your LANJ username and/or password, email LANJ Executive Director Patty Nelson at patricia.nelson103@gmail.com and you will be given your information by return email.
Members who currently display the standalone LANJ logo are requested to replace it with the new LANJ Member Badge for unity of online branding—and an updated look.
LANJ is presently gearing up for its next meeting, which will be its Vendor Appreciation Day on September 28. According to Sharenow, anyone who is a LANJ vendor member in good standing is invited to sign up for a table at the event, where they can connect with operator members and other association supporters on a more personal level.
Visit lanj.org for more information.
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