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March is National Women’s History Month. To mark the occasion, BUSRide magazine and the American Bus Association’s Women in Buses Council compiled a trove of stories highlighting leading women in the industry. The piece, called 50 Stories From 50 States, showcases women from every state in the country who have played a key role in building the industry since the beginning, many leading their family-owned businesses today.
The stories can be accessed here.
"The stories that follow are a testament to women who work in, lead, and support the industry. Our sincere thanks to BUSRide Magazine for giving these amazing women in the motorcoach industry a platform to share their challenges and accomplishments that have helped shape this industry," said ABA President & CEO Peter Pantuso. "The stories you read here will give you an insight into what it is like to work in an industry that has been evolving for over 100 years and many of these women are part of the third, fourth, fifth generation of their family’s business. To understand that these families and companies have gone through so many challenges over the years including global conflicts, financial disasters, and pandemics like COVID-19, but they remain standing today and still moving forward. It is nothing short of amazing."
ABA also announced that it will hold its annual Capitol Hill Fly-In event, virtually for 2021, on April 14. While the economy is certainly improving with a vamp up in vaccinations, this is a critical time for the transportation industries as we all look to return to profitability. More information about getting involved is available here. All members of the industry are invited to join the event, regardless of ABA membership.
Visit buses.org for more information about ABA. For more information about BUSRide, visit busride.com.
[03.22.21]
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The Greater California Livery Association (GCLA) is the latest association to test the waters for a return to live events, as it will hold its Spring Conference in person at the Orange County Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach on March 30, 2021. Space is limited, and pre-registration is required.
GCLA President Mo Garkani
The theme of the event is We Move California—LIVE!, which will have a dedicated focus on helping area operators reboot their businesses, regain lost clients, and explore additional revue streams.
The full-day agenda is a deep dive into every sector of hospitality and travel—business and luxury travel, meetings and events, and retail work like weddings—as well as plenty of legislative updates from the association. The list of panelists includes experts from within and outside of the industry; the entire agenda is available at gcla.show/agenda.
Matt Daus of Windels Marx
After a coffee and networking hour in the morning, GCLA President Mo Garkani of The COTS Group will open the day with a state of the industry delivered by Matt Daus of Windels Marx and the association’s Stakeholder Report. Q&A is expected to follow.
Proposition 22, a voter initiative that passed handily by California voters last November that allowed app-based companies to continue to classify their workers as independent contractors, is also on the agenda as state operators adapt to the new law. GCLA Board Member Mark Stewart of Ground Logistics International is expected to lead the conversation and will also act as a moderator for the day’s sessions.
The close out the day, the association will also host a two-tier Wine Tasting Fundraiser, which will include four tastings, networking, and plenty of door prizes. The first level, the Happy Hour event for $25 per person, will take place at 4:30 p.m., while the Private Reserve event is available for $100 per person starting at 9:00 p.m. All proceeds benefit the GCLA.
Additional information can be found at gcla.show.
[03.16.21]
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The February jobs report hit last week, and the early reports from the Department of Labor show that the Leisure & Hospitality sector added 355,000 jobs during the month, which dropped the segment’s unemployment rate from 15.9 percent to 13.5 percent. The national unemployment rate across the U.S. economy fell slightly from 6.3 percent to 6.2 percent.
You don’t need us to tell you that the Leisure & Hospitality sector was the hardest hit during the pandemic, accounting for nearly 40 percent of all jobs lost. While these numbers are trending positively for those who rely on a healthy travel market, especially as vaccinations begin to increase consumer confidence, there is work to do. At its highest, unemployment in this sector was at a whopping 39.3 percent (April 2020) and didn’t fall below 20 percent until September 2020.
U.S. Travel Association President & CEO Roger Dow
U.S. Travel Association President & CEO Roger Dow was cautiously optimistic about the report. “While today’s report shows travel industry jobs heading in the right direction, the fact remains that the Leisure & Hospitality sector’s total jobs are still at just 80 percent of the levels we saw last February—a staggering figure. The travel industry lost millions of jobs,” he said. “Even with the progress made with vaccinations, it is far from clear when travel demand will be able to rebound on its own. The outlook will remain dire for travel businesses and workers without substantial policy assistance from Washington to shorten the recovery period and bring back jobs as quickly as possible.”
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, better known as the latest $1.9 trillion stimulus plan signed into law by President Joe Biden, does provide assistance to our industry, albeit mostly indirectly. Besides the additional money for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) through the Small Business Administration, the expanded Employee Retention Credit (ERC) provisions that were set to expire on July 1 will be made available through Dec. 31, 2021, for eligible employers. For the large hospitality industry, the plan includes $14 billion in aid to the airline industry (which was effected to help stave off mass layoffs again) as well as direct funds to ramp up vaccinations for all American adults by the summer. Additionally, restaurants receive some much-needed aid with the Restaurant Revitalization Fund ($29 billion) with the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant finally open for live venues to fight on another day. Biden says that he hopes to relax all regulations by the Fourth of July holiday.
The March jobs report is expected to be released on April 2.
[03.16.21]