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The Illinois Limousine & Bus Association (ILLBA) hosted an open industrywide conference and Skype call on March 17 to share the most up-to-date information with anxious operators—but also hope and optimism.
The nearly two-hour call included reps from PNC Bank, TIB Insurance, and Shriver Insurance, as well as Kyle Hammerschmidt of the NLA, Christina Davis of The LMC Groups, Andrew Newhart of the American Bus Association, Ken Presley of the United Motorcoach Association, and Cherie Hime of the Midwest Bus and Motorcoach Association.
The call was coordinated with the Midwest Bus & Motorcoach Association and held at Infinity Transportation’s headquarters, where a handful of ILLBA members were present to ask the speakers questions. ILLBA President Tracy Raimer of Windy City Limousine & Bus spearheaded the conversation, which included insurance, financial, and HR issues, as well as what’s happening on the national level.
The biggest takeaway: We’re all in this together, and the industry associations and leaders are working day and night on assisting and representing you.
Some of the key points of the call included:
- The majority of banks are well capitalized and with the support of the federal government, money should be available quickly to businesses. Rates are super low, thanks to the Fed Bank’s rate cut.
- Discuss all options with lenders that keep your payments manageable but also don’t interrupt your availability of credit. Now is the time to discuss lines of credit before income statement represents sharp drops. Lenders want to work with you.
- Insurers representing this industry are looking at options for operators; the majority at the time of the call had programs to preserve cash. The big shift is to park vehicles and remove plates: Make sure you are doing this properly! Talk with your insurance broker/company before moving forward with this, as well as state and local officials. Do NOT simply rely on suggestions from other operators.
- Ideally, find ways to work with staff so that you don’t lose your star players.
- Furloughs—temporary situations with the intention of bringing team members back—might be the best way to go for many operators. Furloughs are reassessed after a certain period of time and in the meantime, employees can collect unemployment. Layoffs mean the work isn’t available and the employee might not return. Laid-off employees are eligible for COBRA coverage if they received benefits from you; check with your benefits administrator on how to handle furloughed employees.
- The national associations are leading the charge in Washington to make sure that Congress is considering transportation an essential and vital industry as critically as the airlines (which recently received $50B in aid and loans). Together, they are fighting for emergency funding for all modes of transportation, including livery, motorcoaches, and paratransit operations.
Raimer offered special thanks to all of the speakers and industry association representatives who shared the latest information, in addition to ILLBA Executive Director Paula DeBiasi for helping to arrange the call and Api Dogan of Infinity Transportation for providing the technology and meeting space. Yes, social distancing was practiced.
ILLBA will keep members informed via email and on Facebook as news breaks.
Visit illinoislimousineassociation.com for more information.
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NELA Board Member Brett Barenholtz On Tuesday, March 10, the New England Livery Association (NELA) held their second quarter meeting at Spinelli’s restaurant. More than 50 members and guests were in attendance, including Mass. Senator Joseph Boncore (D). Sponsors for the event included Dedicated Funding, Commonwealth Worldwide, BostonCoach, Center Insurance, Royale Limousine, Great Bay Limousine, and Transport the People.
After a short cocktail hour NELA Executive Director Rick Szilagyi welcomed the evening’s first guest speaker, Massachusetts State Senator Joseph Boncore (D). As side chair of the transportation committee, Boncore is an ally of NELA and supportive of their battles with TNC. Recently, Boncore introduced legislation S.2032 that would require all for-hire drivers to be part of a drug and alcohol screening program. Szilagyi testified on the bill on January 17 at the state house, and it remains in committee. Boncore is also supportive of the association’s move to make fingerprinting mandatory for all TNC drivers.
After some words from the sponsors, NELA Board Member Brett Barenholtz of Above All Transportation/Boston Car delivered an address to the association entitled Crisis Management in the Livery Industry.
“On Monday night, Brett called me and asked if he could have a few minutes to talk to the members about what they can do to help themselves during the coronavirus,” says Szilagyi. “As the NLA Secretary, he’s really our local conduit to what’s happening nationally. He said that this isn’t the first time we’ve been challenged, but it’s really about managing these tough times.”
Barenholtz’s well-received presentation focused on ways that operators can cut costs during the unprecedented work stoppage caused by the pandemic. He advised members to contact their lenders, whether it’s insurance, auto loans, or real estate, and work with them to reduce or defer payments. Barenholtz also advised the operators to manage employee schedules to reduce payroll and even consider condensing hours of operation. All was not gloom and doom during the presentation, as Barenholtz reassured the attendees that there are still opportunities for work during this time, particularly with clients reluctant to fly or use public transportation. Calming your clients and informing them about what you are doing to mitigate transmission of COVID-19 can help in maintaining their business.
The evening’s final presentation was from Nadine Boone and Peter Kontakos of the Federal Small Business Association, who offered methods on how operators can get government contracts. Their talk showed the attendees how to create a profile in the SAM.gov system.
As is custom to NELA meetings, before the meeting concluded, there were several raffles. A 50/50 prize of $165 was won by Antonio Giorgi of T-Mobile. NELA Vice President Joe Cardillo of AOT Global was the winner of a Bose sound bar, while Desiree McCoy of Great Bay Limousine won a Google Home device. Lastly, Dan Morgan of Dedicated Funding won an assortment of scratch-off lottery tickets.
Visit nelivery.org for more information.
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LANJ President Jason Sharenow To ensure operators that they are not alone during the COVID-19 crisis, the Limousine Association of New Jersey (LANJ) hosted a web-based roundtable featuring professional from various sectors of our industry. Moderated by LANJ President Jason Sharenow of Broadway Elite Worldwide, the webinar included Mike Marroccoli of EPIC Insurance, National Limousine Association (NLA) President Robert Alexander of RMA Worldwide, Eric Coolbaugh of Access Commercial, Jeff Brodsly of Chosen Payments, Bill Faeth of Limo University, and George Jacobs of Windy City Limousine & Bus. Each of these leaders offered advice and insight designed to assuage the anxiety faced by every single operator today.
“Many of us lived through the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, 9/11, the stock market crash in 2008… but none of us have had a business during a crisis like this,” said Sharenow. “Will we last long enough to experience the recovery period that will follow? We will. We are a resilient group. We are smart, and we are one.”
Marroccoli started by telling the audience that “we need to work together.” He’d been in active contact with the majority of carriers, seeking answers to the major questions posited by luxury ground transportation operators.
In regards to “mothballing” vehicles, as details vary from state to state, and are based on fleet size, Marroccoli advised operators to call their broker. EPIC had spoken to a few carriers, who, at the time of the teleconference, were offering reduced or suspended premiums for vehicles pulled out of operation. Similarly, operators with questions about workers’ comp should reach out to brokers, as premiums are often revised when staff is reduced.
When asked about company liability if client or driver is exposed to virus, Marroccoli stressed that it’s imperative that operators follow all recommended protocols for cleaning and sanitizing vehicles, and best practices for chauffeurs. Records should be kept of when and what was cleaned along with the name of any product being used.
The insurance talk concluded with a bit of unfortunate news regarding loss of business plans. Marroccoli said that viral or bacterial infection is excluded on most insurance. Generally, the workplace needs to have sustained physical damage.
The next speaker was Alexander, who encouraged all watching to fill out the survey distributed by the NLA. The goal is to compile the data and combine it with affiliated associations, such as American Bus Association and United Motorcoach Association, so that they will be able to “tell a story” in order to get federal assistance down the line. Alexander also made it clear that at this time, “there are no silos”—the NLA is looking to help all operators, whether they are members or not. From his perspective as an owner/operator, he advised viewers to get down to a skeleton and keep cash spend at an absolutely minimum.
Two representatives from the financial side of the industry were next to speak. First, Coolbaugh from shed some light on how his company is addressing the crisis.
“These are untreaded waters,” said Coolbaugh. “We understand that there is a cash flow stoppage. We are actively offering deferrals, and having conversations about peoples’ businesses.”
Coolbaugh clarified that the 90-day deferment will be tagged on to the back end of the loan. He also encouraged operators to look at their financing, as there are dangers if a loan is interrupted or changed, making it a “non-conforming loan.”
In an effort to help Chosen Payments’ clients, Brodsly announced his intention on rebating all net profits from his company’s credit card processing back to the operators.
“A lot of the industry has welcomed us … with open arms,” said Brodsly. “During this time, I don’t need to profit on the industry. We’ll analyze each account and rebate processing fees for Chosen’s clients.”
Brodsly also warned operators to avoid predatory lenders who take advantage of small businesses during tough periods. He advised that people should be skeptical of anyone willing to lend money now, as undoubtedly, the teaser rate will come back and bite you in the long run.
Echoing the words of Alexander and Brodsly, Faeth used his screentime to discuss conserving cash flow. To get through what everyone hopes will be relatively short period of no work, he advised using a credit card and paying the minimums to cover some finances. The industry education also announced his intention to give away his CSR training program for free during this downturn. He asked operators to email him directly to receive the program.
Finally, veteran operator Jacobs had encouraging words for his peers with his trademark wit and candor.
“There is no blueprint for what we’re going to do today,” he said. “But we do know this is going to end… But as far is the future of our business goes, it’s going to come back.”
First and foremost, though, Jacobs advised viewers to pay their affiliates. Operators need the cash afforded to them for work that has be completed. This is particularly important for smaller companies. Jacobs also encouraged everyone—from owners to office staff—to be proactive with lenders and landlords in asking for relief.
“Most people in this industry are helping us, over and above what’s expected.”
To close the video conference, Sharenow fielded questions directly from Facebook users.
Visit facebook.com/limousineassociationNJ to view the session in its entirety.
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