Four-star services and business traveler wellness are not a luxury for road warriors

 

   ~ Travel managers, take note

 

A uniformed driver (we still call the best ones chauffeurs) with a polished luxury Lincoln sedan pulls into your neighbor’s Darien driveway: “Impressive.” But it was at 5AM. So next time you see the neighbor, you ask and learn she had a 7:30AM flight out of LaGuardia to Chicago. “Business class!? Nice.” And she stayed at an upscale business hotel for two nights and enjoyed a couple of splendid dinners at 4-star restaurants – not bad at all!

But if you are envious, don’t be. An extensive 2018 study[1], by the Global Business Travel Association and American Express found a “strong correlation between frequency of business travel and a wide range of physical and behavioral risks” according a 2018 article[2] in Harvard Business Review.

Think back and there seems to be a private car service driver in her driveway about every other week! ..and usually very early in the morning. She tells you she’s been on that punishing schedule for years. She is away from her family until late Wednesday or Thursday night on those weeks. That is a lot of missed Little League games and dance recitals – a heavy burden indeed.

“Compared to those who spent one to six nights a month away from home for business travel, those who spent 14 or more nights away from home per month had significantly higher body mass index scores” writes Andrew Rundle in HBR, “and were significantly more likely to report the following: poor self-rated health; clinical symptoms of anxiety, depression and alcohol dependence; no physical activity or exercise; smoking; and trouble sleeping. The odds of being obese were 92% higher for those who traveled 21 or more nights per month compared to those who traveled only one to six nights per month, and this ultra-traveling group also had higher diastolic blood pressure and lower high density lipoprotein (the good cholesterol).

Sixty-seven percent of surveyed business travelers reported that frequently or occasionally they experienced “reduced confidence that I can keep up with the pace of work and fulfill commitments” according to a slide in an April 2020 Business Travel News webinar attended by this author. Well over half surveyed also ‘frequently or occasionally’ felt significant fatigue, back disorders, anxiety, trouble sleeping and a negative impact on personal/family relationships.

Even with the cost of executive car service, seat upgrades and top hotels, business travel has a 12:1 Return on Investment. And the people who travel most frequently typically command a company’s highest pay scale. So, it pays to keep your road warriors not only happy, but safe and productive. The best talent demand a valid and vetted safe executive-tier car, upgraded air and hotel services and command it at the best companies.

There is just no easy way to get from Connecticut or Westchester to LaGuardia (LGA), Kennedy (JFK) or Newark Liberty Airport (EWR).

After all, New York City and Fairfield County are consistently ranked as two of the top five worst traffic areas in the United States.  So, having a heavily-vetted professional driver in a gracious Lincoln motorcar – with fully 7.2 inches more rear seat legroom than Mercedes’ biggest sedan – will take a tremendous burden off the shoulders of your top rainmakers and go far in helping them be successful on behalf of your company. A private car service from the airport gets them home much sooner and lets road warriors get their post-meeting work done, instead of fighting New York traffic, and be ready to enjoy the family when they arrive home.

For Teddy’s Hartford County clientele, the benefits are manifold:

It is downright dangerous to think you can safely drive yourself all the way home from JFK or Boston Logan (BOS) after an international or west coast flight.

Recruiting top talent?

The BTN webinar findings show the top three travel wellness wants are:

1. “the option to include an extra day in-destination to prepare and acclimate
2. Time off work at the employee’s discretion after long trips
3. The ability to upgrade my room or bed type

 

Teddy’s Transportation System, established in Westport in 1932, is the 2020 LCT magazine National Limousine Operator of the Year.

[1] https://www.amexglobalbusinesstravel.com/press-room/business-travel-responsible-547-billion-gdp-2016-creates-74-million-jobs/

[2] https://hbr.org/2018/05/just-how-bad-is-business-travel-for-your-health-heres-the-data

Since March, Teddy’s private car service drivers have been instructed to crack open the car windows, when able, during the coronavirus crisis. Today, Teddy’s received OSHA guidance confirming this policy is helpful.

Teddy’s professional chauffeurs are also instructed on how to set the air conditioning system for fresh are, not recirculated air.

Public health officials are also increasingly trumpeting the benefits of open windows and fresh air to help mitigate the virus. According to an article at Medium.com, a 2019 study found natural ventilation can reduce transmission of tuberculosis by 72%. Now the CDC recommends opening windows to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, as mentioned in the same article.

Whether it be Westport to Westchester, Darien to LaGuardia, JFK to Stamford or Bradley to Bristol, be assured your professional Teddy’s driver is trained on all the latest clean-car and safety needs to make your business travel safe.

Our time to shine

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting business crisis come with astronomical human and financial costs. But this week, as folks are starting to head back to LaGuardia, Kennedy, Newark, White Plains, Hartford/Springfield and Boston Logan, I wrote to Team Teddy’s about this being an opportunity to demonstrate the value of a truly professional private car service.

“…business travel managers feel assured their Duty of Care responsibilities are met and this is now more crucial than ever.”

Premium executive transportation has always been a trusted boutique niche in the ground transportation industry which, in general, has as many customers as the airline and hotel industry. But only about three percent of the overall market, the most influential, hardest working and wealthy travelers typically leverage the added productivity of premium private car service.

This positioning has been challenged by global app-cab platforms to share personal cars which blurs lines and may have travelers and travel managers begin to question our value equation. Many observers have thought that our niche would be further eroded by futuristic mass transit algorithms, automated marketplaces and artificially powered robots.

‘Yes,’ we had to re-energize to show that a qualified, duly vetted, trained, briefed, managed and committed professional driver in an impeccably spotless premium vehicle has remarkable value. Such service keeps you safer, more productive and greatly increases the peace-of-mind of the traveler as well as that of his family and his corporate risk manager.

If your team’s travelers are flying business class and staying in premium boutique hotels, they command the added comfort and productivity of a professional private car service. Luckily, Teddy’s professional private sedan service from, say LaGuardia to Westport or JFK to Stamford is still about $100 less than UberBlack during busier times of day at airports!

To this, add the new dimension of travel during the COVID crisis. “Premium private car” has always helped business travel managers feel assured their Duty of Care responsibilities are met and this is now more crucial than ever. As our industry deploys the safest and most stringent COVID protocols, business travelers, older people and families, being cautious, will favor our pro solution and much more lightly used vehicles over jumping into a random personal-car driver with a cab app and many times the per-day fare count.

Pre-trip chauffeur COVID-19 testing now available

You can now have Teddy’s test your chauffeur the day before your trip. Teddy’s will have the CareStart COVID-19 rapid antigen test administered to your scheduled chauffeur. This is a ‘rapid test.’ Results are available immediately but rapid tests for antigens are less reliable than the PCR tests and by requesting this service you agree Teddy’s Transportation  System and it’s owners, executives and staff will be held harmless. The cost of this service is $75.00 each.

UPDATE AUG 24, 2020   Car traffic in New York and Boston are back up to 80% of pre-pandemic levels and TSA agents report steady growth in airport passenger counts. If yours is a team that needs to capitalize on face-to-face business in these early back-to-work days, be assured Teddy’s staying ahead of the curve to keep you productive, in traffic and safe en route.

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Each year, Luxury Coach & Transportation Magazine awards the best players in the luxury coach and transportation business for their high standards, best practices and stellar performance. This year’s award ceremony took place Feb. 18, at The Venetian in Las Vegas, and recognized, for the first time ever, operators outside of the United States, in addition to all those operators located nationwide.

In the 31–44 vehicle category (operators with a fleet of 31-44 vehicles), Teddy’s Transportation System won Luxury Coach & Transportation Operator of the Year, beating out an array of other very impressive contenders to come out on top as the best in the biz for an operation with such a large fleet size.

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