- Details
- Category: Industry News
HALCA President Ismail Abed of LaBresse Limousine Houston — The Houston Area Livery & Charter Association (HALCA) held its annual year-end holiday party December 10 at the Marriott Westchase, where nearly 135 guests came out for a night full of merriment and cheer.
HALCA President Ismail Abed of LaBresse Limousine said that he knew the event would be influenced by the lingering effects of the late-summer ravages of Hurricane Harvey, so the association went the extra mile to buy more than 50 gifts—as well as accept a few donated items—to ensure that nearly half of all party-goers walked away with some extra goodies.
“We had a lot of presents—and expensive ones, too, like a case of wine and a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label that I wished I could have won,” Abed said with a laugh. “HALCA bought most of it, with two or three items donated by board members and vendors. We wanted to make sure lots of members got something.”
HALCA members enjoyed each other’s company during the December 10 holiday party Among the donated items was a pass to the 2018 Chauffeur Driven Executive Retreat in San Diego, which was won by Richard Mishriky of CTI Transportation.
The holiday party is HALCA’s biggest event of the year, and the association goes all out accordingly. The evening included a buffet dinner, desserts, various casino tables that offered some generous winnings, the ever-popular photo booth where attendees snapped more than 1,000 photos in just a few hours, a belly dancer, a DJ, and dancing.
“There was something for everyone, and we made sure that everybody left happy,” Abed said. “It was an awesome event, and everybody was in a great mood. Nobody forgot what happened during Harvey and what is happening in our industry, but we’re all fighters. This was a night to focus on the good, and everyone was in good spirits and had a great time together.”
A belly dancer was among the evening’s entertainment offerings A fundraising component is always included in HALCA’s festive end-of-the-year soirees. While this year’s final total is still being tabulated, Abed estimates that the evening raised at least $4,000 for the association—plus a donation from Jeff Brodsly of Chosen Payments.
Abed is already planning next year’s holiday party, and the association is currently planning its 2018 meeting schedule.
Visit houstonlimos.info for more information.
[CD1217]
- Details
- Category: Industry News
President & CEO, John Rizzo
San Francisco, Calif. — Deem, a mobile and cloud technology provider for the business travel industry, and Professional Travel Service International Express, a provider of travel services to the corporate travel industry, announced they have entered a multi-year strategic partnership. Under the agreement, Professional Travel Service will resell Deem Work Fource, a suite of solutions, including Intelligent Attach, designed for managing, servicing, and controlling travel and ground-related, bookings, and spend.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to help Professional Travel Service serve their customers on a global scale,” said John F. Rizzo, president and chief operating officer, Deem. “With advanced features like pre-trip approval, proactive check-in and linked calendar, travel managers and travelers can focus on their job and not on the time-consuming admin of planning and booking a trip.”
“For us to compete and grow in the current market, we need exceptional partners,” said Roger Lee, president, Professional Travel Service. “Our customers want a solution that is dynamic and seamless, with features and functionality that help them control their spend and help travelers get where they’re going with the least amount of fuss. Deem has that functionality.”
Professional Travel Service is a global full-service travel management company based in Minneapolis.
Under the agreement, Professional Travel Service will resell Deem’s Work Fource travel booking and management tools for business travelers and corporate travel managers, as well as Deem’s Ground Work car service booking tool and Intelligent Attach for hotel conversion.
“Deem Work Fource is the best technology in the market, and we are excited about applying Intelligent Attach to our itineraries,” said Diane Achterkirch, director of sales, Professional Travel Service. “When you pair that with Deem’s exceptional customer support, it’s the ideal solution for our customers and their travelers.”
“Deem’s Intelligent Attach makes life easier for travelers, and creates value for our TMC partners and the companies they serve,” said Tony D’Astolfo, chief commercial officer, Deem. “It increases hotel attach rates, ensures better duty of care and helps corporations control their overall costs.”
Fifty thousand customers use Deem-powered booking tools, such as Work Fource to book and manage end-to-end travel itineraries on desktop and mobile. With advanced Intelligent Attach technology, the software automatically recommends hotel and car service options matched to travelers’ preferences, behavior and corporate policies.
“Professional Travel Service has been a great partner,” said Mike Daly, Vice President, Travel and Car Service, Deem. “They understand that investing in new technologies, like Intelligent Attach takes effort, but ultimately pays off in the long run.”
Visit deem.com or professionaltravelservice.com for more information.
[CD1217]
- Details
- Category: Industry News
CFLA President Wendy Kleefisch of Brevard Executive Limousine Indialantic, Fla. — Wendy Kleefisch, president of Brevard Executive Limousine, once again assumed the role of “North Pole Elf” to collect and distribute toys for local charity Brevard Toys for Kids. This marks her 11th consecutive year donating her time to the non-profit, which helped more than 2,400 families this holiday season.
For the first time, Kleefisch called on her colleagues from the Central Florida Limousine Association (CFLA) to assist with toy collection at their recent holiday party. In total, just over 3,000 toys were donated and stuffed into one of Brevard Executive’s limousines, which, in this instance, doubled as Santa’s sleigh.
Area families that signed up for the Toys for Kids program picked up their toys at Azan Shriners Center in Melbourne, Fla. Children, accompanied by an “elf,” were allowed to pick out toys for themselves and/or siblings, and then wrap the gift on site. Sweets and treats were also given out, courtesy of donors such as Publix Super Markets.
Limo packed with toys for Brevard Toys for Kids “Toys for Kids is very close to my heart and I’m very passionate about it,” says Kleefisch. “It’s been a really rough year for a lot of people in Florida with all the hurricanes and devastation. There are still displaced families who still aren’t in their homes. To be able to help make Christmas special for them is really a great thing.”
In a video posted online, Timmy Vee, the founder of Brevard Toys for Kids, personally thanked the CFLA for their involvement with the toy drive.
“I want the association to be known for giving back,” adds Kleefisch. “I live my life that way. I think we did an amazing job as an association to bring smiles and happiness to these children.”
Visit toysforkidsbrevard.org or brevardexecutivelimos.com for more information.
[CD1217]