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The U.S. Travel Association (USTA), which launched its Let’s Go There campaign earlier this year, is now turning its eye to the beleaguered meeting industry. As domestic travel heads toward full recovery of its pre-pandemic numbers, the work isn’t done until other segments of travel are also seeing similar gains.
As such, USTA has launched its Let’s Meet There, a campaign that targets the struggling business travel and professional meetings and events (PMEs) sectors. According to data from the association, the US saw a decline of more than $200 billion last year in direct spending generated from business travel (of which roughly $100 billion was directly due to declines in meetings and events), leading to the loss of nearly 1.5 million jobs and $28.8 billion in tax revenue.
The segment’s revival is crucial to chauffeured transportation's long-term health as well as the overall travel economy. Business trips account for a majority of air travel and lodging, with 500 million trips taken in 2019 alone, representing 2.5 million American jobs and a massive $348 billion in spending. Polls show, including those from the Global Business Travel Association, show that business travelers are itching to get back on the road, and that their employers are steadily moving toward it. This campaign aims to convince reluctant C-suite executives that travel is imperative to company success as face-to-face meetings tend to be more productive and business-building than phone calls or even video conferencing.
According to the campaign’s website: “Let’s Meet There will seek to elevate the economic importance of PMEs—and the fact that it is possible to resume PMEs safely—to state and local policymakers, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to encourage a reassessment of guidance for PMEs. As stated in a review of current best evidence led by scientists at The Ohio State University, PMEs have the advantage of being structured and well-organized large gatherings where mitigation factors can be enforced to protect the health and safety of those in attendance.”
“We have a lot of work ahead of us, but I am confident that we can accelerate the recovery of this crucial sector of the travel economy,” says USTA President & CEO Roger Dow. “The same energy, focus, and collaboration that made Let’s Go There such a great success will carry the Let’s Meet There campaign through this next chapter. I am looking forward to continuing working with all of our partners and know this will be an important part of our industry’s comeback story.”
Visit ustravel.org or letsmeetthere.travel for more information.
[06.29.21]
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- Category: Industry News
You asked for it and we listened. In this column, we ask operators of all sizes and from all walks of the industry a question about their business and report their answers so you can assess how your own company compares to your peers. If you would like to participate, please email Rob Smentek at rob@chauffeurdriven.com for next issue’s question.
TOPIC: In light of the upswing in costs, have you raised your rates? If so, by how much (%)? How have clients reacted? If not, are you planning an increase in the near future?
Maya Adrine, Vice President/Business Development
Golden Limousine International in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Kirk Bagger, CEO
Captains Car Service in Parma, Ohio
Michael Barreto, President
Metropolis Passenger Logistics in Philadelphia, Pa.
Maurice Brewster, CEO
Mosaic Global Transportation in San Jose, Calif.
Fernando Carlison, Jr., Co-founder/CEO
Mundi Limousine in Deerfield Beach, Fla.
Carlos Cortez, President/CEO
Cortez Transportation Company in Topeka, Kan.
Richard de Krijger, General Manager
DMC Limousines in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Eric Devlin, President/Owner
Premier Transportation Services in Dallas, Texas
Katharina Monsberger, Managing Director
RSL Premium Chauffeured Services in Vienna, Austria
Michael Oldenburg, CEO/President
United Limousines in Offenbach, Germany
Gus Ortis, CEO
Executive Transportation in Minneapolis, Minn.
Sam Rubin, Owner
Four Seasons Concierge Transportation in Park City, Utah
Doug Schwartz, Founder
Executive Ground Transportation in West Babylon, N.Y.
Quentin Shackelford, Owner
AllClassLimo.com in Wichita, Kan.
Bart van Leijden, CEO/Founder
ETS Luxury Driving in Barendrecht, Netherlands
Joseph Votano, CEO
Abaser Limousine Service in Barcelona, Spain
We’ve loved hearing your answers to our benchmarking questions—but we always welcome suggestions for future topics, too!
Send an email to rob@chauffeurdriven.com you just might see your query answered in our next E-News.
[06.29.21]
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- Category: Industry News
SafeLimos, an independent third-party compliance check for passenger transportation providers, has announced that it has integrated with GNet by GRiDD Technologies. GNet, a popular platform in the industry that connects users on disparate technologies to prevent costly errors and data entry time, is currently integrated with nearly all major software providers for chauffeured transportation.
“GNet was a natural partner for us,” says SafeLimos Co-founder Chris Przybylski. “Both SafeLimos and GNet are founded on the principal of eliminating redundant work while maximizing efficiency. Now not only can you find a legal partner in each market, you can easily connect your reservation platforms.”
Przybylski added that SafeLimos users can search for partners on their own software, or integrated through GNet, and by accepting an affiliate partnership through SafeLimos, companies can be automatically connected through their GNet IDs, eliminating the need to connect directly in the GNet portal. Users on the GNet platform will see the SafeLimos icon next to qualified operators, making it easy to select only approved partners in each market.
“We are very excited about our integration with SafeLimos because it is filling a much-needed gap in our industry,” says GRiDD Technologies Founder and CEO Amir Zafar.
The companies will be hosting a live webinar to demonstrate the integration capabilities on July 1 at 2:00 p.m. ET. To register for the session (seats are limited), click here.
[06.22.21]