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UPDATED 3.8.22 with schedule information.
Calling all bikers—and bikers at heart—who want to ride for a fantastic cause! The Limo Patriot Ride (LPR), a motorcycle caravan of industry friends raising money to help injured veterans, will once again take to the open roads of Valley of Fire Park, a spectacular natural area located about an hour from Las Vegas. The time-honored event, supporting Semper Fi & America's Fund, will take place on Thursday, March 31—the day after the close of the CD/NLA Show (scheduled for March 27-30 at the Paris Hotel Las Vegas). A pre-ride orientation dinner will also be held on Wednesday, March 30, in preparation for the next day’s ride.
The schedule for the March 31 ride is as follows:
8:00 a.m. Paris Hotel (Location TBA)
9:00 a.m. EagleRider Rentals, 5182 S. Arville St. Las Vegas, NV
10:00 a.m. Ride to the Valley of Fire, lunch
3:00 p.m. End of 2022 event, back to EagleRider
7:00 p.m. Dinner and drinks
Not a fan of the wind on your face and prefer the comfy cabin of your vehicle? No problem! The convoy invites anyone using their sedan, SUV, or bus (or for a local operator to shuttle volunteers) to follow the group as they drive by the stunning red and tan sandstone formations of the picturesque state park. All are welcome! LPR organizers have also arranged for discounted motorcycle rentals through EagleRider for those who won’t be riding their personal hog to Las Vegas. There is a minimum contribution of $100 to join the procession.
LPR’s designated charity, Semper Fi & America's Fund, provides immediate financial assistance and lifetime support to combat wounded, critically ill, and catastrophically injured members of all branches of the US Armed Forces and their families. Semper Fi & America's Fund delivers important resources to those veterans during recovery and transition back to their communities. The Fund is a 501(c)(3) where all donations are tax-deductible, and 100 percent of all contributions go directly to the charity. The Fund, which has a 97.28 score (out of 100) according to Charity Navigator, was established in 2004 and has assisted more than 27,000 veterans over the last two decades.
If you can’t join the event, you can still support LPR in its fundraising efforts through these designated links: Semper Fi or Facebook.
Visit limopatriotride.org for more information or contact the event organizers/volunteers below.
Tracy Salinger: tracy@uniquelimousine.com
Bill Kerr: wkerr@camryn-limo.com
Jennifer Wong: jennifer@limo-marketing.com
David Eckstein: david.eckstein@valeraglobal.com
[03.08.22]
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The National Limousine Association (NLA) is ensuring that a dozen new operators will have the opportunity to networking and learn with their peers at the upcoming CD/NLA Show in Las Vegas this March 27-30. Through its NLA Scholarship Program, the association offers a chance for newer operators to attend their first show by providing a full show pass, a three-night stay at the show’s host property (Paris Hotel), and a one-year membership to the NLA. The Scholarship Committee, co-chaired by Kevin Illingworth of Classique Worldwide Transportation and Joe Reinhardt of Carolina Limo & Coach, chose the winners from nearly three dozen applicants. They are:
Carlos Alvarez of Boulder Transport
Joanne Cornetta of Rides By Joanne
Bruce Hill of Black Pearl Transportation
Emily Knafel of Ohio Luxury Transportation & Airport Service
Jonathan Meersman of Luxury SUV Rides
Robert McIntosh of Coastal Event Shuttle and Car Service
Charlita Moss of Atchison Transportation Services
Patricia Rivera of Uruguay Limos
Eli Thrift of Atlantic Coach
Donna Vander Baan of DVB Transportation, LLC
Andrew Wasmundt of Two Brothers Transportation
John Webb of WebbTrans.com
Congrats to the winners!
The announcement was made by NLA President Robert Alexander of RMA Worldwide in his weekly membership letter.
“The NLA has always been committed to ushering new operators into the industry through education, mentorship, and support. One of the ways we do this is through the NLA Scholarship Program, which enables operators to attend their first CD/NLA Show where they can take advantage of networking, education, and more. Thank you to the whole committee for their dedication and care of this important program,” said Alexander in the letter.
In other news, the NLA also announced that registration is open for its annual Day on the Hill, scheduled for May 11-12 in Washington, D.C. During the in-person event, the first since 2019, NLA members will meet with their elected representatives to educate them on the issues and concerns facing our industry.
Click here to learn more about this year's schedule and access discounted room rates at three District Wharf hotels near the meeting and dinner locations.
Visit limo.org for more information.
[02.22.22]
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Business travel is coming back but—according to a new study from The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the world’s largest business travel association, and made possible by travel and expense technology company, Serko—it might not be business-as-usual post-pandemic for corporate travel managers, programs, and policies. How will the pandemic and business travel recovery change corporate travel programs going forward? Are pandemic-related changes to company travel policies likely to remain permanent? Will the business travel ecosystem and travel programs in 2022 look vastly different than they did in pre-pandemic 2019?
GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang
These topics are explored in the new report from the association, The Return to Business Travel: A New Paradigm on the Evolution of Buyers and Stakeholders Post-Covid. Based on survey responses from US and Canadian travel managers, the study outlines how the return of business travel might look post-pandemic from the lens of corporate travel managers and especially for managed online business travel bookings.
“Now is the moment that corporate travel managers are moving from triage and temporary solutions that may have been required to address business travel during the pandemic, to a longer range, more considered view based on new requirements—from technologies to policies to processes—that will be the basis for the next chapter and best outcomes for companies, business travelers, and managed business travel programs,” said Serko CMO Nick Whitehead.
“When the pandemic brought almost all travel to a halt there was a recognition of the important role of business travel in helping companies grow their revenue, workforces, and share prices. But as we get back to business travel, the landscape has changed. Travel managers are actively embracing evolution to determine what will be needed next,” said GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang.
Survey highlights:
- Temporary tightening of travel policies? Seven in ten (71 percent) travel managers report their company’s booking-related travel policies have become stricter due to the pandemic—however, six in ten (61 percent) of those expect the changes to be temporary.
- Uptick in assisted bookings. Booking business travel via an online booking tool (OBT) has declined during the pandemic, forcing a greater reliance on agent-assisted bookings. Pre-pandemic, only 9 percent of travel managers said their company had a high-touch model where travelers typically made “managed” bookings directly with a travel agent. Now, one in five (20 percent) say their company has a high-touch model.
- To restore confidence in moving bookings back online, travel managers most pointed to the need for key features such as integrated destination health and safety information (85 percent), automatic ticket credits (77 percent), contextual policy applications (57 percent), and visually highlighted hotels that meet COVID safety protocols (53 percent).
- Approvals go manual and multiple. In the current environment, travel programs often require manual approval of business trips by multiple people. Of those that do, two in five (42 percent) respondents say most of their manual processing requires multiple approvers (e.g., employee’s manager and HR employee).
- Reeling bookings back in. Addressing leakage (i.e., business travel bookings made outside a company’s preferred channels) has become an even greater priority. Half of travel managers (46 percent) say reducing leakage is a “greater” or “much greater” priority than before the pandemic or equal priority (40 percent) today as before the pandemic. Travel managers identified OBT features that would help reduce leakage including rich airfare information and imagery and New Distribution Capability-enabled bookings.
- When it comes to OBT innovation, travel managers are seeking to streamline the booking process and ensure alignment with corporate policies and goals. OBT features of most interest include personalized itinerary recommendations (78 percent) and conversational chatbot booking (73 percent) using intelligent technology (i.e., artificial intelligence) as well as insights into the environmental impact of the travel itinerary (61 percent).
The survey was conducted from September 20-October 3, 2021, by GBTA with full or partial responses received from 161 corporate travel managers in the US and Canada. Those respondents indicated they were involved in managing or procuring travel on behalf of their company and whose business travelers used corporate online booking tools prior to the pandemic.
GBTA members can access the complete survey report and infographic in the GBTA Hub.
Visit gbta.org for more information.
[02.22.22]