Limousine Service Partners who utilize the CheapLimoRates.com website are an exclusive group of limousine operators that understand why our services are so valuable. Just like you, they want the opportunity to take advantage of any and all opportunities they can find to keep their ground transportation business thriving and profitable. I write this blog today in order to help you the limo operator, get the maximum amount of benefit from the site. By following some of these simple tips you will be able to take advantage of our site and put more money to your bottom line.

First, making sure that you completely populate the site will give you an advantage over your competition in your local area. When you take the time to make your portal convey your message to the consumer you enhance your chances of getting your customers to keep coming back time and again. Make sure you tell them about your company, your services, your fleet and the benefits of using your company over your competitors. Give them information that will make their experience with your company better than the next guys. Airport limo transfer information, limousine packages, limo specials and personal information about you and your staff are really helpful.

Secondly, make sure that your offer as many amenities as possible to the extra services tab. Not only will you impress the consumer, but this is an opportunity to up sell your customer and make their experience the best it can possibly be. By offering services such as roses or flowers, various beverages, candy, newspapers, red carpet and other amenities that the consumer is looking for can make your company stand out from you competition. Offering extra services is an excellent opportunity to put money to your bottom line and make the customer experience a better one.

If your company has programs that another company does not offer in your area, make sure you let your customers know. If you are a second or third generation operation, make sure the client knows about that within your portal. No matter what it is about your company that makes you unique, you must convey that to your customers in order to stand out. Your Limo Partner Portal has dozens of features that allow you to express the unique qualities about your company that separate you from the crowd and taking the time to input that information in your portal will be well worth it.

Lastly, it is important to show a discount within the search results, in order to stay at the top of the search results page. There is an old adage that says “One hundred percent of nothing is in fact still nothing.” If you are not offering a discount and the competition is and they appear in the search results first and for less, that competitor will be making money, and though you didn’t discount your services, you will not make anything. It makes sense to monitor the search results often in order to stay on top. If you do and your competition does not, you will be the winner every time.

First, let me assure you that getting customers to select your company is easy if you follow a few simple ideas. You must keep your service levels at the highest degree possible so that customers have confidence in your services. You need to make sure that you have updated and entered your packages so that customers become familiar with the services your offer. You need to offer the customer a discount that makes your limousine company competitive with other limo services listed on our website.  Discounting gets customers to look at your chauffeured services first.  Our system defaults to the lowest prices being listed at the top of the search results, so just remember that discounting and competitive pricing gets you recognized.

The purpose of this site is to keep your fleet out of the garage and out on the road. Through our services, you are offered a free marketing tool that will give you a competitive advantage over the guy down the block. It is up to you to make this tool work. Our customers are looking for great rates and they are looking for impeccable service.

Another thing that will make you attractive to the customer is to have fun and tell them a little about you and your company. Post some videos, pictures of your chauffeurs and staff. Upload some photos of your fleet and your last office party. These simple things will give the customer a sense of knowing you and as you know people conduct business with those they know and trust.

Once the client has booked with you, make sure you have listed all of your extra services, like roses, champagne, beer and wine, bottled water, newspapers, flowers, red carpet service and any other unique service you offer. These services are all up-sell opportunities that will impress your customer and ring your cash register. The more services you offer the more likely the customer is going to find something they need. Do you have an emergency shaving kit that you can offer? Someone may need that service and boy wouldn’t you be their hero if you offered that to them.

Take the time to go through all of the tools that your web portal provides. You can get the customer to feel very good about conducting business with you if they see you and your company is all about them. Take the time to do it right and our free marketing service will work for you. Remember profits only come to those who do more than the next guy. Put some time into your Limousine Service Partner Portal and that time will pay off in the end. Just so you know we have some exciting things coming in the very near future and he who has done his best is going to profit the most. Good Luck.

CheapLimoRates.com’s technology was built on the premise that in order to survive this industry needs to reach out to a larger market base. As we all know if a consumer rode with us rather than utilizing a taxi or shuttle service they would never go back. In fact, in some cases it is dangerous for people to utilize taxi services. I just read and interesting article about cab services which support my belief. Our industry needs to provide services to the public that is both reliable and affordable, but first we must get their attention.

The question CheapLimoRates.com faced when developing our underling technology was how that can be done profitably. How can we provide discounts to the consumer and still keep the standards of service at a level that will make the experience the same. Our technology is based on the same principles as the Online Travel Agencies like Cheaptickets or Hotwire. They sell unbooked rooms, airline seats and rental cars. CheapLimoRates.com’s technology works on the same principle. We encourage our Limousine Service Partners to provide a list of unbooked vehicles on a daily basis and to discount those vehicles in order to provide the best rates possible to the consumer.

By providing these discounted rates to the consumer one of two things happens. First, the consumer will be encouraged to utilize our services over and over again, which increases the number of trips we provide, which in turn increases your business. Second, Limousine Service Partners keep more of their vehicles out on the road, rather than parked in their garages. This win-win scenario helps keep your company profitable and it keeps the customer coming back for more.

Another benefit of this relationship is the fact that when we market our discount based model to the consumer always conveying a convincing message that allows them to believe that for a few extra bucks they can have a much better experience utilizing your services, rather than those of a taxi or shuttle service. This allows our industry to attract a much larger audience than we currently service.

By using our services and providing discounts to the consumer, you can keep more of your vehicles out of the garage and you can increase profits substantially because by doing so you are allowing your unscheduled vehicles the ability to generate additional dollars for your company. We believe that once the consumer accepts the fact that our discounted rates provide them a much greater level of service and comfort over taxi or shuttle services, they will come back time and again.

Another great feature of the CheapLimoRates.com Limousine Service Partner relationship is that your company never pays a fee for our services unless you receive a confirmed booking. Our system only charges a customer when they book a ride with your company. We charge a modest 20% deposit that is based on thee base rate of your vehicle offering and any additional services that the consumer adds to their ride. You never see these charges and the customer is made aware that the deposit is to confirm and hold their reservation. With the feature enhancements of our website you can offer as many additional services as you want to offer the customer I.E. water, newspapers, roses, red carpet etc. Once the customer has booked with your company that customer is yours to woo and keep and all of this is at no charge to you.

CheapLimoRates.com is in the middle of negotiations with several major online travel services. These travel services provide services to millions of online consumers on a daily basis. Once those consumers realize that they can book chauffeured ground transportation online at discounted rates, together our businesses are going to flourish. We are talking about revolutionizing not only an industry, but also the way people think about our industry. So my advice to our Limousine Service Partners is to provide your discounted rates within your Partner Portal and sit back and watch your business grow.

There is another revolution that is taking place as well. Technology in the travel space is exploding. There are so many new advancements in travel technology that it is a wonder that the industry can keep up. As an example I had attended a technology conference in Orlando Florida not too long ago and the new technologies that were unveiled at that conference were truly astounding. There are technologies that can organize your entire travel itinerary automatically and make travel arrangements automatically. There are still others that will plan a list of entire trips, including bookings and pricing instantly. These technologies are simply amazing.

One of the things that have always fascinated me about chauffeured transportation is how far we as a group lag behind the rest of the travel sector in technologies that avail our services to the consumer. Our particular leg of the travel industry has always been somewhat of the “ugly stepsister”of the whole travel spectrum and the reason for that is obvious. Of all of the components of travel, we as an industry are by far the most fragmented.

Major travel agencies, hotels, airlines and rental car companies are hooked into a system known as the GDS (Global Distribution Systems – Amadeus, Sabre, Worldspan and Galileo just to name a few) these systems built for the airlines in the early 1960’s revolutionized the travel industries ability to have instant access to multiple airlines seating availability and pricing. Soon, hotels, and car rental companies were made part of the system too, which gave travel agents the ability to book an entire trip for the consumer making travel much more convenient.

A little over fifteen years ago a new technology came into being that caused a revolution in travel. Through the power of the internet the OTA (Online Travel Agency) was born with Expedia being the first to take advantage of online travel. All of the major OTA’s like Hotels.com, Expedia, Orbitz and dozens of others have changed the way people book travel because of the convenience of being able to book all their travel needs at one time right through their personal computer. These OTA’s were built on a model that offers at a discount, unscheduled inventory such as empty rooms, empty airline seats and unbooked rental cars.

Due to the fragmentation of our industry, directly hooking in to the GDS system is not an option for most chauffeured transportation providers, in fact, even though there are technologies available to providers out there that can give our industry a direct line to the GDS, they are so expensive as to make them cost prohibitive to the average operation. So the question is how do the little guys compete? The answers are available to anybody who owns a chauffeured transportation company if they are willing to look.

With the advent of the world wide web, companies have been created in recent times that have harnessed the power of the internet and utilize its tremendous capacity for instant communication to bring the travel industry right to the doorstep of the small to midsized operators. These companies allow the smaller operators the opportunity to plug in to these technologies and offer their services to a larger segment of the travel industry.

Companies that are building the technologies through the internet can aggregate hundreds if not thousands of small operators into one cohesive web platform, thus creating a virtual GDS. These new technologies give the larger search engines like Orbitz and others access to those small to medium size operators quickly, accurately and in real time. This ability to access the smaller operators, give these new internet technology based companies an opportunity to make CPC (Cost per Click) or CPA (Cost per Action) as well as other marketing agreements with the OTA’s, which in the very near future will drive millions of consumers to the smaller chauffeured transportation providers.

At no time in the history of this industry has the future looked so bright. Whether you are an airport shuttle service, a sedan or black car service or strictly a limousine provider or a combination of them all, there are technologies that are focused on your particular niche. If such opportunities are of interest to you, I recommend that you do a little research and find a company that suits your particular needs.  CheapLimoRates.com is a company that can get your company headed in the right direction and bring the new technologies to your world.

In today’s economic climate and with the introduction of these new technologies, if your company is sitting on the sidelines, operating as usual in the antiquated methods of the past, you are going to find yourself well behind the curve over the course of the next few years. The technological age is upon us. It is coming with a vengeance and the smart money is on those who see it and most importantly those who take advantage of its arrival.

Here are ten tips which may be helpful in generating new business for your company that we feel will grow your business and ensure your success:

1. Make sure you Become Limo Service Provider by registering on CheapLimoRates.com site.

2. Once you have registered to the site, begin to populate your portal so that you appear in the search results page for your area.

3. If you have vehicles that are unscheduled make sure to give your customers and incentive to book with you by putting a discount on the specific vehicles.

4. Solicit your customers to post reviews about their experiences on the CheapLimoRates.com website.

5. Give the consumer as much information as you can through your Limousine Partner Portal, such as airport pick-up information, special packages, complete fleet and vehicle information etc.

6. Post as many vehicle types as possible that are in your inventory, if you don’t offer it, you will not appear in the search results.

7. If you have relationships with other Affiliates that provide you services on vehicles that you don’t carry in your fleet, post those vehicles as well.

8. Conduct test trips in your area of various types (Airport, Point to Point, Hourly Services) to see what the customer sees when they view your company in the search results page.

9. Check your Limousine Service Partner Portal daily to make sure you are on top of any reservations or modifications.

10. Visit our blogs at least once a week to read up on any new industry information that may be posted.

Following these simple steps will start you on your way to generating new business with your existing fleet and will ensure that when the customer visits our site; you are the one they want to do business with when they book a trip. We care about your success and our professional support team is available to help you. Thank you for becoming part of the CheapLimoRates.com team, best of luck.

Twenty one months ago we began a journey to change (revolutionize is such an overused word these days) how the consumer searched for limousine services.  All along the way there were voices of opposition out there that said we were crazy, it just couldn’t be done and if we did create such a site, it wouldn’t catch on.  Well here we are today running our site and not only is it catching on, but we are competing for customers.  Let me repeat that, competing for customers.  Why?  Because there are now several search and booking engines online that give the consumer the ability to search several limousine services all in one website and book that trip right there.

Our competitors have done a fabulous job of giving the limousine operators an alternative means of marketing their fleet, however only CheapLimoRates.com promotes the limousine services competing for the customer through discounts and competitive pricing.  Our website is truly the first discount based comparison shopping and booking website for the limousine industry on the web.

Our Limousine Service Partners pay no upfront fees, the pay no monthly fees and in truth the only time they pay is…well never.  They receive their bookings and they charge the consumer and then they go about their business, because we never charge them for our services…ever!  Our method of doing business ensures our Limousine Service Partners that if they market with our website, they are never going to pay a dime.  They increase revenues, they improve their branding and they can reach out to the consumer in real time all for free.  What could be better than that?

I believe that once CheapLimoRates.com becomes part of the American lexicon, our services will not only help our industry, but too, it is our desire to create a whole new segment of consumers utilizing limousine and sedan services.  It is a dream, but hey, since it wasn’t supposed to work in the first place, I guess we can!

The atmosphere was quite quaint with a European rural Tuscan look and feel and a “made from scratch” menu that has so many appealing selections it was a chore just to pick the perfect breakfast. After sipping coffee for awhile and letting our breakfast settle we got back in the limousine and began the main thrust of our journey. I had prearranged with the driver to take the most scenic route to our ultimate destination.

Since this was a day trip, I wanted each part of the day to be its own unique experience. I had decided to take her on a wine tour in Sedona. If you have never been, you have truly missed some of the most beautiful sights in the world. Sedona has it all. With its red rock vistas and surrounding desert landscapes that sweep up from the surrounding area into Oak Creek Canyon, a drive that has so many incredible sights that it is breathtaking. You are taken from the lovely red clay desert floor into huge deep forest vistas that emerge from the desert and peak at the top of the canyon with view that stretches forever.

My ultimate destination in order to make this a truly wondrous day was to take her on a Sedona wine tour. Sedona offers not only many fantastic sights, glorious little shops and exquisite dining opportunities, but also some very exclusive wineries spread throughout the landscape. I had selected three of them to tour. The chauffeur was very experienced and gave us tons of information about the wineries we visited. The wineries themselves were quite exquisite and provided my girl and I with tons of information and many unique tasting experiences. All three wineries had tastings that were presented with cheese and crackers. It was quite fun. Here are some things you may not know about wines that I thought I would share. Wine gets its color from the skins of the grape, if they are left for a short period of time it creates a blush color, if they are left for longer it creates a red or burgundy color. All wine is pale, even wines created from red or purple grapes, it is the skin that gives all wine its color.

After we finished the wine tour and a light lunch we took in a little shopping in Sedona. There are lots of little curio shops as well as many shops that carry arts and crafts created by the local Indian communities in the area. The people in Sedona are quite friendly and the shopping experience was really fun. Though shopping was a blast it was time to end the evening on a high note so I took my girl to L’Auberge de Sedona’s, a five star restaurant nestled in the pines on the banks of the Oak Creek. The L’Auberge de Sedona’s has an extensive menu and an award winning wine list. The atmosphere was both chic and romantic.

It is about a two hour drive back to Phoenix from Sedona by limo, so we left around nine, headed back to the valley. During our ride home we conversed about all of the different sights and experiences of the day and she thanked me for a great birthday and was very grateful for such a unique experience. If you are looking for something that you can do to wow your special lady, I would recommend a similar investment in your girl for any special occasion.

The host had asked this scientist how he would explain the fact that Mars, Venus, and Uranus were all experiencing the exact same warming trends as the earth was. The scientist actually said they weren’t related at all. The host asked if it is possible that the warming trends experienced by the four planets could be related to the sun and the scientist replied no not necessarily. The host pushed further by asking if it could be possible, and the scientist said absolutely not.

Absolutely not! How can that be? With absolute certainty, how can he say that the planetary warming trend is not related to the sun and that it cannot possibly be related to the sun? I was aghast. Mainly due to the fact that there is increasing evidence that climate change scientist have been fabricating and hiding climate information for the past three decades in order to keep the climate change debate going. Add to that the fact that there is mounting evidence that the photographs and scientific reports on the crisis of the icecaps melting were fabricated. I think there can be no absolutes in this debate.

Global warming may be a problem, though I am doubtful for many reasons. However, a scientist saying irrefutably that the sun is absolutely not a factor in global or planetary warming is inane. I may not have a PHD or a doctorate, but common sense says that the sun may be the problem. I am sure I could conduct enough scientific studies to prove it one way or another, before I would just dismiss it as a possibility.

I only wrote this article, because as I hear more and more about the global warming problem and watch my colleagues in the limousine industry spend hundreds of thousands of dollars if not millions going green, I have the thought, that if this somewhat disingenuous scientist is one of the people leading the debate, this may be nothing more than an exercise in futility. I am not saying its all bunk, but with statements like the one cited above, it very well could be.

Did you know that right now, this very minute, over 40% of all of the sedans and limousines in the world are sitting idle in a garage somewhere?  It is staggering to think of the thousands of vehicles that sit empty on a daily basis.  Why are they sitting in garages?  Is there a lack of demand for these vehicles?  You know, in today’s economy that may very well be true.  However, Cheaplimorates.com believes that a significant reason for this statistic is that those operators cannot offer those vehicles to potential customers once they knew the vehicle wasn’t going to be scheduled that day or that hour.

Sedan and limousine service companies market their services through various methods, such as their own websites, yellow page advertising and in some cases local marketing campaigns.  Once these methods are in place, most of these companies are now in a wait and see mode.  However, once their vehicles are unbooked, they have no means to market that vehicle by any means.  Well, until now.  Cheaplimorates.com has developed an incredible solution that will give suppliers incredible flexibility to market their vehicle inventory and limo services.  This flexibility translates into incredible savings for those customers that utilize our services.

For this first time ever, customers have the ability to shop the entire market in one convenient site. This ability allows our suppliers the ability to communicate their services to those consumers.  CheapLimoRates.com believes that with our unique tool available to the industry, we have created the ultimate win/win for both our limousine partners and our valued customers.

I have this quirky habit of always trying to make people smile when they meet me and I have dozens of off the cuff sayings that make people not only smile, but also they make people think a little.  An example of that is when I am out shopping and I get to the counter invariably the cashier will say something like “Did you find everything okay?  To which I reply “I found it where you put it.”  I always get a smile from the cashier when I say that.  As I was going through my litany of lines I use in various situations to put a smile on the faces of people I ran into during the holidays, I thought it would be nice to share some ways that others could help put a smile on the faces of people they ran into. So here are some things you can do to make your little section of the world smile.

1. Make eye contact with everyone you can and just smile.

2. Compliment people you meet about their appearance or something they have done.

3. Take an old friend to lunch out of the blue just to catch up.

4. Give a friend a thank you card just for being your friend.

5. Tell a service person behind a counter how much you appreciated their help.

6. Write I love you on the bathroom mirror for your partner.

7. Learn a new tasteful joke and share it with your colleagues.

8. Bring donuts into work for everybody.

9. Hold open the door for a complete stranger and remember to smile.

10. Send emails out to people on your contact list wishing them a happy New Year.

All of these suggestions will put a smile on people’s faces and it will make you feel better as well. I like to think that we are all on this planet together for a reason and it should be to make each other’s lives better.  So as you go about your day today, think to yourself, how can I make everyone I meet today, smile?  From all of us at CheapLimoRates.com we wish you a very Happy Holiday and a very bright and Happy New Year!