Posts Tagged ‘limousine companies’

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Being met at the airport by Chauffeured Services for the first time

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

Things to expect when taking the ride

As with all things sometimes there is a little trepidation when you do anything for the first time. For instance, you may have just found out that you are going to be met at the airport by chauffeured transportation and it is your first time meeting a driver for a limousine airport transfer and you want to know what to expect. Being met at the airport by a chauffeur for limousine or sedan service is a very unique experience that not many people actually get to enjoy. Scheduling a limo or sedan service can be intimidating and so this blog is written to ease your mind and tell you what to expect.

When arranging your chauffeured transportation for limo or sedan service it is always a good idea to ask the particular limousine company that is providing the service a few questions with regard to the pick-up at the airport. These questions will be invaluable when arranging chauffeured services so that there aren’t any delays. All airports are different and many have very specific rules as to where and how a chauffeur can engage a passenger when they arrive. Asking specific questions can make finding your chauffeur much less difficult.

The following questions will lead to a very enjoyable experience:

1. Where exactly will the chauffeur meet me?
2. Can you provide a map of the airport and the precise location?
3. Will the chauffeur attend to my luggage?
4. What will be on the sign that the chauffeur is holding?
5. What is the name of the chauffeur?
6. Should I tip the chauffeur and if so how much?
7. How will the chauffeur be attired so that I will recognize him/her?
8. Will the chauffeur have a cell phone?
9. Will he have my cell phone in case we miss each other?
10. Can I have your number  so I can contact you?

These questions will assist you in making sure that your airport pick-up goes without a hitch and they will ensure that you are picked up and on your way without delay. As with anything, asking good questions and being prepared always leads to much better results and less stress.

Once you and the chauffeur have met and are in the limousine or sedan or whatever mode of transportation you have chosen, how you and your chauffeur conduct your relationship will be strictly up to you. In most cases a chauffeur is trained to not engage in conversation with the passenger except to confirm your destination and to secure payment if it has not been taken care of prior to the trip. The chauffeur is trained in most cases to conclude those dynamics of the trip in order to ensure that you arrive at your destination as quickly as possible.

If you want to engage the chauffeur in conversation, you most likely will have to initiate the conversation for the onset. Most chauffeurs are hired because of their professionalism and their customer service. However, they know too that most of their clients are busy with business, or talk amongst themselves and his interjection could be seen as rude or and interruption. So if you like to engage in banter about your visit with the chauffeur, feel free to engage him/her in conversation.

So there you have it. It should be a snap from there. You are now well equipped to go out and experience the wonder of being transported by professional chauffeured transportation with the fore knowledge of what to expect and how to proceed. Good Luck!

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Lasting Impressions, advice from the limousine and chauffeured transportation industry.

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Planning an event and you need a few limos or fully fledged chauffeured transportation services.

How do you ensure perfect service from your limousine or chauffeured transportation providers?

If you are an event planner your life is so very hectic when it comes to the planning and implementation of a major event for your client or company. The devil is in the details and oh my, there are so many details. There are rooms to secure, flight details to coordinate, convention and banquet halls to book, limousine or chauffeured transportation to schedule, catering, events, lectures, videos, photographers, sound systems, the list just never seems to end.

Bringing all of this together can be a sheer act of will. With so many facets of the event to be planned down to the minutest detail, you cannot afford to have anything go awry. It must be pulled off flawlessly. You are the one in control, all systems are “Go” and the event depends solely on your ability to coordinate a thousand details and do so without a hitch.

So planning the transportation of the few dozen, hundreds and in some cases thousands of event goers is just one of the many details that you must attend to. However, a word of caution, other than the trip to and from the event by aircraft, the transportation you put in place is the first and most importantly…the last impression your clients and event participants are going to have of the whole event. Therefore, pulling it off flawlessly is mission critical.

Planning transportation services for an event can be a daunting task. In most cases your event participants are going to show up on several different flights over the course of several hours or even days and pulling such a task off takes meticulous planning and a well coordinated effort in order to get all of your people where they need to go. Such a task not only takes great planning, it also takes working with the very best chauffeured transportation services available.

What makes a good chauffeured transportation service? How are you going to be able to discern which company is going to guarantee that your transportation needs are done with the precision of a Swiss watch? In this blog I am going to give you several tips that may help you find the perfect transportation service that will ensure that the “first and last impression” is the very best possible.

These are the steps that can you can take to ensure perfection:

1. Take the time to investigate several companies and ask for references of services they have provided for events that were similar in size and scope of your project.

2. Speak directly with the event coordinator that worked with that company and ask hard questions that will address any concerns you may have about your event.

3. Ask the Chauffeured service provider about their policies toward VIP’s and their overall system of executing such an event.

4. Find out how they handle emergencies, and what systems they have in place if something goes amiss.

5. Find out the size of their fleet and ask how many vehicles they are going to keep on “Stand By” if a vehicle breaks down or a driver is late.

6. Ask what system they use in order to turn your manifest in to an actionable pick-up and drop-off plan.

7. Have them tell you about the technologies they have in place to ensure on time service. Do the have GPS, cell phones or radio dispatch, a chauffeur training plan, an emergency back-up plan? These are all valid questions that will just further ensure success.

8. From a liability standpoint, make sure they have all of the proper licensing, insurances and bonding that is required by the state authority where your event is taking place.

9. If possible make sure that the company you choose has a good reputation with the venue of the event.

10. Ask who you are going to be working with throughout the entire process and make sure that they are going to be on duty at the times your event transportation needs take place.

11. Ensure that you have multiple communication paths established in order to ensure that a system to talk with the transportation coordinator you are working with can happen no matter where you are.

These are a few simple steps that you can take in order to make absolutely certain that you are working with the right company and that you have the right plan in place. If you follow these simple steps and take the time to investigate the limousine or chauffeured transportation service you are opting to work with, you will make a great “first and last impression” of your event is and guarantee it turns out perfect. Good Luck!

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Are there benefits to using the new online limousine booking websites?

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

As I travel around the country going to various industry shows and events I am asked if our new technology will really help limousine operators. It seems self serving to say yes just out of hand, so I have decided to list the benefits and you can decide on your very own. Let me assure you that I believe in our technology and its future impact on the limousine industry.

Here are some questions and scenarios and how our website helps limousine services:

What makes your company different from the big brokers?

CheapLimoRates.com does not price control, nor do we hold payment, nor do we ask you to lower your rates so that we can place our markup on your services. The benefits of this are obvious. The biggest difference however, is that you control the booking from beginning to end. The client is yours to take care of and cull a relationship.

Why do you say you are the first discount based comparison shopping website for the limousine industry?

CheapLimoRates.com’s technology was built with the goal of assisting limousine and sedan service providers the opportunity to market their unused/unscheduled vehicle inventory in real time. Our whole system is built to give the advantage to those providers who market their vehicles at the best rate. The better your rates the higher you are on the search results. This competitive model has worked in all of the OTA’s and we are bringing that same model to limousines.

How do I know it will work for me and my company?

CheapLimoRates.com is constantly building relationships with the travel industry in order to bring a greater number of consumers to our website and therefore to our Limousine Service Partners, and though we are a new enterprise, within the next year we see explosive growth forthcoming from these relationships. Registering your services with us cost you nothing and therefore, once you start receiving bookings, it will be the best advertising dollars you ever spent.

I have seen other booking engines out there lately.

CheapLimoRates.com believes that in the near future we will have many competitors. However, our advantage is the lack of price controls and the fact that we ensure that our partners pay nothing for services. Another major difference between CheapLimoRates.com and any other booking engine is the fact that we don’t make money unless you do.

Here is a scenario I would like you to consider.

Whether your vehicle is on the road at a discount or sitting in the garage earning nothing makes a huge difference in how much money you get to keep in your pockets at the end of the day. The vehicle cost the same whether your lease it for less or you do not. Our technology gives our Limousine Service Partners the ability to let the public know that they have vehicles at special rates that are ready to get out on the road.

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Limousine Services…Did you know?

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

It is kind of funny when you think about it. I tell people I meet in my day to day activities that I work for an internet based Limousine Company and the first thing they ask me is; “Do you get to ride around in a limousine?” When you describe limousine companies to most laymen they have no idea what is actually in the average company’s fleet.

When most people think of limousines or limousine companies, they think of those big, beautiful, gleaming stretch limousines that the rich and famous ride around in. They rarely think of SUV’s, vans or the steadfast luxury sedan. As most limousine service operators will tell you, most of their fleet of vehicles are sedans. Sedans are what fuel the chauffeured transportation industry. The average company has about 80% of their fleet committed to sedans and SUV’s. Very few companies commit their capital to a fleet of stretch limousines only.

Most business conducted by a chauffeured transportation company involve airport transfers. Most of these transfers are conducted through the use of luxury sedans or SUV’s. Many people who I come in contact with are not even aware that the black sedans they see out and about on the road are actually transporting VIP’s, celebs and busy business executives to and from their various activities.

The executive sedan is certainly not as ostentatious as the stretch limousine and certainly not nearly as over the top as the exotics like the stretch Hummers and Escalade’s out there on the road lately. However, the luxury executive sedan, these low profile, sedate vehicles are the mainstay of this industry. They offer the rider comfort, elegance and convenience along with the confidence that comes from utilizing a professional driver.

During my research on a recent blog “The Beast” I had discovered that over 95% of all presidential limousines ever put in service were produced from the Cadillac chassis and yet industry wide, 90% of most fleets are Lincoln Towncars. The Lincoln Towncar is roomy, powerful and has the elegant look that most customers are looking for. It also helps that the differences between a 2000 model Towncar and a 2009 model Towncar are negligible, therefore increasing the lifespan of this mainstay of the industry.

So the next time you think of a limousine or a limousine company, remember that the true work horse of this industry is the luxury sedan. Whether they are commuting a busy executive on the road or a famous celebrity to a show, these marvelous machines dominate the chauffeured transportation industry and will for many decades to come.

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CheapLimoRates.com Contributes to LCT Magazine’s blog site

Monday, February 15th, 2010

I had the honor of having a guest article appear in LCT’s online magazine blog site. Martin Romjue the editor of LCT magazine had read one of my articles “Are we going green?” and generously linked to my article from his blog site. I was very flattered that he mentioned me in his article, so I gave him a call and as a result I have been given the privilege of contributing to LCT’s online blogs.

Most of my blogs attempt to address issues that impact our industry in an adverse way. In my position I have been responsible for developing content for our website that gives our Limousine Service Partners the best opportunity to be successful. I hope than my contributions to LCT’s online blog site will also be helpful to their readers. You can read my first posted article “Cap N’ Trade: How It Would Hurt the Industry”

I am looking forward to contributing additional articles to LCT, and I hope that you will take the time to visit http://blogs.lctmag.com/lctblog/ and check out the many valuable articles that are posted on their site. If you are not a regular reader of the blog site you are missing out on some very interesting, entertaining and informative opinions about our industry.

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Limousine or Party Bus…You decide

Friday, January 29th, 2010

My boss was asked by a close friend’s wife to set up a party bus for her husband’s birthday. Being in the limousine industry, she knew that he would find the right party bus at the right price. As an owner of a limousine company he really thought that nothing could surprise him if it involved chauffeured transportation. He was in for a shock.

She had asked him to find a vehicle that would accommodate about 20 passengers and she also wanted him to find some entertainment as well (that story is for another time and another blog site.). Finding the party bus took very little time, finding a vendor that had several styles and models in his inventory and a selection was made fairly quickly.

On the night of the party, my boss with the rest of the passengers was introduced to the world of the party bus. Unlike a limousine, party buses offer conveniences that cannot be replicated in the largest of limousines, Hummers, Navigators, Expeditions etc. First, a party bus allows the passengers to stand fully erect and mill about the vehicle easily. It also has more space for larger sound systems, televisions and amenities like a full service bar, a kitchen, a restroom and large overstuffed seating.

The birthday party went off without a hitch. Dinner went well, the night on the town took on a character of its own and the dance club was a hoot. When the night was done, my boss was so impressed with the differences that a party bus offered over a limousine that he came in and told the entire staff, “If you are planning a night out with a large group of friends, the party bus is the only route to go.” That is a heck of a statement from a guy who has lived and breathed limos for the last ten years.

A party bus may not be the best route to take if you have ten or less passengers, but, if you are going to go out with a large group of friends for an event or get together, the party bus is the only way to travel, or so says my boss.

He told me that the pricing for the party bus they utilized that evening in comparison to leasing a hummer or navigator was negligible and yet the experience was completely different. So base on that, I think my recommendation would be to look into a party bus the next time you get a large group of friends together. Maybe after you experience it for yourself you can drop me a line and let me know if you found the experience to be that much better as well.

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Limousines Found! The Road Warriors best friend!

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

Does this sound like you? Your boss needs an airport transfer from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport to a hotel in Scottsdale. Your offices are in Chicago. You go on-line and you begin to search for a limousine service that can accommodate your needs, and do it at the right price. So you begin to look at the various websites in the area and realize that with over two hundred options, this could be a bit overwhelming. You call about a half dozen companies and you get three quotes. They all promise to email you a quote and you wait anxiously throughout the day and there you are at quitting time and you have received one quote. Does this sound familiar?

In my travels I have found literally hundreds of stories just like the one I described. Many administrative assistants have often asked why is it that the industry does not have a search engine similar to Expedia, Orbitz, or maybe even Hotels.com. It seems to be a valid question. If you need a hotel, an airline ticket or a rental car, with one click you can find the best price on any of those at any of the major on-line sites. However, if you need limousine service, sedan service or an airport transfer, well get a pot of coffee and hope for the best. Is there any place to go that can make this task easier? Why can’t a 10 billion dollar industry find a solution? The worst part is, that once you have found a company, there is no way to check on their service standards, there reputation or whether the vehicle listed on their website is really the vehicle you are about to reserve. Do you feel like saying “someone please help me.”

CheapLimoRates.com has done exactly that. by simply going to www.CheapLimoRates.com you will have access to thousands of our Limousine Service Partners and their rates all over the country. Once there you can comparison shop each of the providers. Just research each company’s customer reviews and determine the company that best suits you needs and do so with ease and confidence. Finding a limousine or sedan service is now as easy as one, two, three, Search – Shop – Book.

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Limousine Dreaming: An industry under assault

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

If you follow my blogs you may notice I tend to write about three basic topics limousines, CheapLimoRates.com and its technology and limousines. You would think I was obsessed with the whole limo thing. Though I know more than the average person does about limousines, I rarely use them. Oh a few times when traveling and a few times for a dinner (I missed my prom) but not as much as you would think.

I worked for a limousine company once where the owner of the company had a large fleet of limousines and sedans and had not ridden in a limousine until he had owned the company for six years. Imagine that, owning several hundred thousand dollar plus vehicle and you never utilize them yourself. Well I digress, the reason I write so much about limousines, other than the fact it is the career path I have chosen, it is because I have an insane desire to revitalize the limousine industry.

Here are some facts that you may find quite startling:

1. In the last year (2009) the number of limousine companies operating went from and average of around 11,000 companies to around 9000 companies and it continues to fall. That is an average loss of 167 companies per month.

2. The average limousine company employs 9 people (there are only 35 companies that do over 100 million dollars in revenue nationally) which means that last year over 18,000 people in the industry lost their jobs.

3. Whether it is a large or small company, they both average $60,000 per employee in annual revenue.

4. $60,000 dollars in revenue time 18,000 employees equals almost a billion dollars in lost revenue from the industry.

Opinions vary as to the size of the limousine industry. I have heard numbers as high as 20 billion and as low as 4 billion. However, whether it is 4 or 20 billion, a billion dollar loss from the industry is staggering.

The limousine industry is driven by business and leisure travelers. That being said, our technology was developed in order to help the limousine and sedan industry recover from losses incurred by idle vehicles and to help the business and leisure traveler find those idle vehicles at lower costs more conveniently. With both the limousine and sedan services and the consumer getting what they need, the industry has a chance to recover and potentially find an even larger base of consumers.

It may be a dream, it may be wishful thinking, but it is my goal to help our Limousine Service Partners and the industry as a whole come out of the recession stronger and larger than before, because as you know, limousines are meant to make everything appear larger than life.

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How CheapLimoRates.com came to be…

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

Early in 2007 we kicked around the idea of creating a company that could top companies like Limo Link and Savoya and compete with the big boys. Even then we thought that the aggregator companies and the lead generation model had just about run its course. The conversation actually started with the question: “Why is the limousine industry treated like the ugly step sister of the travel industry? The answer was simple. Every other part of the industry was part of the GDS system and the limousine industry is so fragmented that it is impossible to link them together.

With a focus on solving that issue, it became obvious that how companies like Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity became so important to the travel industry was the fact that they sold empty seats on planes and empty beds in hotels and empty cars at Hertz, Avis and the rest. So we began to map out a system that would do the same thing for the limousine services.

The first assumption was to build the platform on unused inventory, vehicles sitting in the garage. This was based on the fact that until our technology, limousine and sedan services had no means of advertising those garaged vehicles in real time. Next we had to decide how. The obvious answer was a web based online portal. Once that was decided, it had to be designed to be both and front end and back end system that had an incredible user interface and a functional easy to use back end for the supplier.

Once those things were mapped out it was time to develop the technology platform. It took nearly two years of customizing, testing and trial and error to find the website now known as CheapLimoRates.com. The journey has been well worth the wait. Our discount based model, allows our Limousine Service Partners to market their companies in real time. It allows customers the opportunity to comparison shop and book services in mere minutes and it creates the ability for our partners to be part of the travel industry on a whole new level.

We believe that throughout 2010 our technology will catch on with the travel industry. Once we have acceptance by the travel search sites, we believe that the limousine industry will see a resurgence that will allow all of us to become more successful. If you have not joined CheapLimoRates.com yet and you are involved in the chauffeured transportation industry in any capacity you need to join and become part of the revolution. Visit www.cheaplimorates.com and click on the limo partners join now tab. You will be glad you did.

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Odd facts about “The Beast” another great limousine

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

I am sure you have all heard about Barak Obama’s new Cadillac DTS Presidential limousine dubbed “The Beast”. Like previous Cadillac limousines made for the president, this vehicle was built from the ground up at the Cadillac plant for security reasons. It is believed that this new limousine has over five thousand pounds of armor that is rumored to be five to eight inches thick. It is also rumored that the vehicle is armed with tear gas cannons and Kevlar tires that are puncture proof.

The vehicle is based on a standard Cadillac DTS model, but is completely redesigned for functionality and safety reasons. It is said to have several different counter measures to ward of attack and contains a battery of arms. The vehicles chassis and driveline is actually from a GMC Topkick commercial truck. Even though it has the look of a Cadillac DTS, its headlights are designed after the Cadillac Escalade. The vehicle has been estimated to cost US Taxpayers over $300,000.

The vehicle has two independently reclining seats along with three rear facing seats for other occupants of the vehicle. The two reclining seats are for the President and a guest. The vehicle is also equipped with a fluorescent halo lighting system which is mounted in the headliner, due to the fact that the vehicles window glass is so thick that natural light is very limited. The US flag and the Presidential flag are both illuminated at night by an on board lighting system mounted in the hood.

The President utilizes this vehicle for all local travel as well as ground travel abroad. There are actually two of these vehicles in service at any given time and two more backup Cadillac vehicles that were used by President George W. Bush. You may not know this but the President also travels in a Presidential Suburban. This vehicle is equipped with a six barrel Gatling gun manufactured by the Scottsdale Arizona based company Dillon Aero. This weapon is capable of firing 3000 rounds a minute. The weapon pops up out of the vehicles roof and has a 360 degree field of fire. Ouch!

Being a limousine enthusiast, I thought I would share this information with my readers and let you know how your hard earned money is being spent in the defense of our President. One of the essential missions of the secret service is to protect the President from harm and as you can see, they spare no expense when it comes to the protection of the United States number one asset.

As a side note: The Lincoln town car is the most utilized sedan and limousine brand in the United States use by the livery industry and yet a Presidential limousine made by Lincoln has not been in service since 1989. Moreover, Cadillac has made over 90% of all of the limousines used by Presidents since 1912.

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