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Mark Kini, founder and CEO of Boston Chauffeur, has announced that Peter Herman has joined the team as the company’s new head of meetings & events, a division Kini says he is looking to grow.
Boston Chauffeur Head of Meetings & Events Peter Herman
Herman has a long history in the hospitality industry, most recently splitting his time between Dav El | BostonCoach’s Destination Management Company and events department. For more than 15 years, Herman was a restaurant manager, where he worked in various types of eateries from casual to fine dining. Soon after making the change to destination management, he says he found a passion in event transportation, logistics, and onsite management.
“Peter will use his experience to work on strengthening our sales and events team. We are excited to have him on our team!” says Kini.
Herman can be reached at peter@bostonchauffeur.com or 978.921.4334.
Boston Chauffeur, founded in 2001, also celebrated its 20th anniversary this year.
Visit bostonchauffeur.com for more information.
[11.02.21]
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US Travel Association (USTA) convened top leaders in travel, transportation, and technology with policymakers and administration officials for the association’s first-ever Future of Travel Mobility Summit, which was held on October 26. It was held just ahead of the opening of the US to vaccinated international travelers on November 8.
The association noted that discussions were focused on issues central to the coming decade and beyond of transportation and technology innovation that will reshape how people travel, and which will ultimately enhance the traveler experience. Key topics included sustainability, seamless and secure travel, and innovative and emerging technology.
New research by Ipsos released in late October underscored the necessity of accelerating the advancement of new technologies and innovations, as highlighted at the summit. Over the next two to five years, one-in-four (24 percent) Americans plan to take fewer leisure trips than they did prior to the pandemic, according to Ipsos. Two-in-five (40 percent) business travelers plan to travel less for business than they did before COVID.
The same survey showed that the demand for travel would only increase if Americans had access to more sustainable, seamless, secure, and modern travel options, such as electric vehicles; airlines and fuels that produced fewer carbon emissions; improved Transportation Security Administration screening; and more efficient transportation technologies such as hyperloops or supersonic aircraft.
If travel were to increase by just 5 percent as a result of more sustainable travel options, it would result in an additional $50 billion in travel spending and $130 billion in economic output annually—supporting roughly 850,000 additional American jobs.
“These conversations are so important because we see that new, innovative transportation solutions are more than a customer preference—they are a necessity as we look ahead to the future of our industry,” said USTA President & CEO Roger Dow. “This is an opportunity to build a travel industry that is stronger, more modern, and more globally competitive than ever before.”
Remarks were delivered by Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), Representative Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Representative John Katko (R-N.Y.), and Austin Brown, Senior Director for Transportation Emissions, White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy.
They were joined by private-sector leaders including Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian; GM President Mark Reuss; Virgin Hyperloop CEO Josh Giegel, Joby Aviation CEO JoeBen Bevirt, and many more.
A recording of the full event is available here.
“US Travel is proud to bring so many incredibly relevant industry and government leaders together for this critical discussion across the travel, transportation and technology sectors. It is imperative that we continue to collaborate to drive the necessary policy outcomes and bring new ideas to the forefront to benefit the US economy and travelers alike,” said USTA Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy Tori Emerson Barnes.
Visit ustravel.org for more information.
[11.02.21]
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- Category: Industry News
SC Coach of Aiken, S.C., announced that it has added a new MCI J4500 motorcoach to its fleet. The company received the motorcoach as a demo unit in late 2020, which then turned into a 6-month lease, and ultimately they purchased the coach in October. This makes the ninth (soon to be tenth) J4500 in their fleet.
MCI J4500 at the College of Charleston
“MCI turned around a less-than-ideal situation on a previously purchased coach and was able to find a remedy with this coach. The customer service we received through the process was exceptional and made the sale simple and easy during a rocky time in the industry. This J4500 truly sets the bar for ground transportation in our area, and I could not be prouder to brand it with our logo,” says SC Coach Founder Jeff Canady.
Founded in 2000 as CLT Express Livery with just one sedan, they acquired their first coach company, Busy Bee Coach, in 2015. Busy Bee was rebranded into SC Coach, and the company soon traded in their existing fleet of coaches for their first J4500s. SC Coach has grown into 16 coach (and growing) fleet in just 6 short years. They are currently the largest chauffeured transportation provider in the Carolinas with over 85 vehicles.
SC Coach-branded MCI J4500
“This new J4500 ties SC Coach back into our roots, truly bringing the limousine feel into the coach industry. From the leather seating, to the mood lighting, to the exceptional ride quality, the company feels that the luxurious feeling of an MCI is incomparable,” added Canady.
“When they say Reliability Driven, they mean it,” says Dustin Robinson, a driver with SC Coach assigned to the vehicle. “Almost every day I’m behind the wheel of this coach and I’ve yet to find a feature or, in better words, a lack of feature that I dislike. To pick a favorite, I’d have to say the mood lighting. When a team or group boards the coach and they see their colors, it takes it from another bus ride to a feeling of its their own team coach. From the ride quality to the comfort aspect, I love being behind the wheel of an MCI.”
SC Coach Maintenance Manager Jon Furtado is also impressed with the new coach.
“Running the most monthly miles in our fleet and only seeing it in the shop for routine services, inspections, and tires says a lot compared to our other new coaches with various other issues after delivery. From reliability to parts availability, to some of the best tech support in the industry, MCI makes a great product and stands behind it every step of the way,” says Furtado.
Visit scmotorcoach.com for more information.
[11.01.21]