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With over three decades of experience in the industry and worldwide clientele, it’s safe to say that we live and breathe all things luxury and travel-related. As an industry leader, nothing makes us prouder than to join other affiliated businesses in bringing exciting, innovative solutions to the ground transportation industry landscape. Over the past several years, we’ve earned ourselves a reputation as a forward-thinking travel provider that offers the best of both luxury and transportation.
Recently, at the Chauffeur Driven Trade Show and Conference, EmpireCLS gave a presentation alongside another ground transportation provider with whom we are proudly affiliated and introduced a brand-new, game-changing service to those in attendance. The affiliate meeting took place in South Beach, Miami, at one of the industry’s biggest trade shows. Operators of all sizes convened at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, from October 11 to October 14, to take in networking opportunities, educational workshops and a little bit of Miami nightlife.
During the affiliate meeting, EmpireCLS Chairman and CEO David Seelinger hosted a panel discussion with one of our affiliates. This event introduced attendees to Deem Car Service, a recently-launched technology designed to benefit both operators and clients in the age of the transportation network company.
As transportation network companies have become increasingly popular—and increasingly problematic for users, who experience uneven fares, inconsistent service and safety issues—the ground transportation industry has seen a significant need to incorporate TNC technology into its operations. An on-demand service that enhances the customer experience while retaining the safety and service standards put forth by the National Limousine Association Duty of Care is long overdue.
Deem Car Service is the leading-edge technology that the ground transportation industry and its customers deserve. This flexible application will allow travel buyers to find the best ground transportation providers for their budgets, selected only from National Limousine Association members, all of whom have pledged to uphold excellent standards of safety and service. Like TNC apps, Deem Car Service will allow both advanced reservations and real-time ride hailing for customers.
We are proud to have represented EmpireCLS and our fellow industry innovators this past October at Chauffeur Driven. For more industry news and updates, visit empirecls.com.
No matter what beautiful, unique souvenirs you brought back from your last vacation, the most cherished are undoubtedly the memories that you formed. As a luxury travel provider, it’s common wisdom to us that, despite the well-deserved appeal of luxury goods, nothing comes close to a one-of-a-kind travel experience.
And travelers seem to agree: according to a recent report on affluent travelers by Martini Media, the overwhelming majority of the nearly 900 respondents surveyed said that they would rather put their assets towards travel than material goods. Let’s look closer at the survey and what it means for the travel industry.
The Numbers
Martini Media (a division of Evolve Media) conducted the survey this past spring, surveying 875 respondents on their attitudes towards travels pending. Respondents were those with household incomes of at least $100,000, and included “hyper affluent” respondents who comprise the top 3% of American incomes.
According to the report, not only were 80% of respondents willing to spend on travel before they spent on goods, but half were more willing to spend on travel and vacations than last year, and 20% of respondents have travel plans within the next year.
Experience is a Luxury Investment
While the affluent overwhelmingly prioritize spending on experiences over goods, the luxury quality of each experience still counts, which is a key piece of information for travel providers and hoteliers.
75% of respondents said they preferred to stay in a hotel over a home-share, like those available on AirBnB, due to the levels of service and amenities that they’ve come to expect. The reputation of the hotelier is also a major factor, and 63% of respondents affirmed that a stay in a luxury hotel is worth the price tag. 50% of respondents were also willing to pay extra to travel on their favorite airline, confirming that travelers are most likely to put their assets towards travel experiences that they feel will give them memories of a luxurious, unique and enjoyable trip.
Business or Pleasure? In This Case, Both
Another interesting insight that the martini report offers is the fact that many affluent travelers routinely combine business travel with leisure vacations. Since most respondents have a say in where they stay for business trips, hoteliers do well to have packages or programs that draw in business travelers and make business trips as efficient and productive as they are luxurious and relaxing. Many of our Partner hotels offer packages tailored to the needs of business travelers.
Direct Booking
In keeping with the desire to make experiences as enjoyable as possible, affluent travelers do a significant amount of research—about twelve hours per trip, starting about six months before the vacation starts. While millennial travelers prefer to book through third-party apps, most travelers in the “hyper affluent” income bracket still prefer direct booking with hotels, airlines and ground transportation providers.
At EmpireCLS, we strive to create a memorable travel experience each time, no matter how brief the trip. Learn more at www.empirecls.com.
Photo credit: Roderik Elme
Recently, we shared a few interesting statistics from this year’s Deloitte report on the changing landscape of luxury retail. One of the most salient points of the report was that luxury marketers must keep up with the shifting nature of luxury marketing channels, as well-informed buyers increasingly make purchases through flexible, technologically-rich channels.
According to a recent Luxury Daily article, luxury brands and retailers are particularly seeing the need to meet this challenge during the holiday shopping season. The article focuses on the results of research by Shullman Research Center and Kantar Media on what shoppers plan to buy during the 2015 holiday season. The research also examined data on where shoppers plan to buy from and what advertisements they remembered to help inform their decisions, as well as data collected from luxury brand and retailer budgets.
The data shows a significant discrepancy between where brands and retailers invest their advertising money and the channels through which buyers make their purchasing decisions. Out of 52 million luxury buyers included in the Shullman and Kantar research, the majority recalled advertisements from television and web spots, with recall of ads in magazines and newspapers lagging behind significantly. This was proportionate to rates of advertisement recall for all holiday shoppers.
However, both luxury retailers and brands continue to spend most of their holiday advertising on magazine and newspaper ads—nearly three-quarters of it, and the total expenditure on holiday season advertising makes up over one-quarter of marketing budgets on average. This trend is probably due both to the fact that print media is the traditional channel for holiday luxury advertising as well as the fact that print ads are less expensive than television spots.
While Luxury Daily assures that there is “no need for alarm” on the behalf of luxury goods marketers, the numbers show a distinct trend of consumers recalling ads from non-print sources and suggests that luxury marketers adjust their budgets accordingly. If anything, luxury brands and retailers must catch up on digital advertising. As Luxury Daily points out, luxury shoppers don’t necessarily buy online more than they do in stores, but they do a significant amount of research online, whether reading style blogs or browsing brand and retailers’ websites. They are also shopping earlier in the holiday season, which means that luxury brands need to think fast to stay relevant.
Set your sights on an Outback adventure this year: the growing luxury travel industry in Australia is going to get a boost thanks to luxury travel network Virtuoso and Tourism Australia, the continent’s official agency for attracting global visitors.
Virtuoso, a luxury travel network with 370 agencies and 9,800 advisors across the world, announced its partnership with Tourism Australia this past August, at Virtuoso Travel Week, a high-end travel products expo that took place at the Bellagio Resort & Casino. The partnership, through 2016, will include a marketing campaign and focus on both trade engagement and travel agent training.
Over the past few years, luxury travel to Australia has been growing steadily, especially in the US market. This year, Americans spent AU $2.95 billion on travel to Australia, up 14 percent from the previous year. The American market, which boasts more high net worth individuals than any other in the world, has yet-untapped potential for Tourism Australia.
To grow the connection between Australia and the US luxury market, Tourism Australia will enlist the help of Virtuoso, which generates sales of more than US $14 billion per year. Virtuoso’s travel advisors are experts in what makes Australia an incredibly beautiful and exciting destination, from its exotic wildlife to its no-worries attitude. In conjunction with the partnership, Virtuoso is re-launching its Aussie Specialist Program. This in-depth educational program will equip Virtuoso’s advisors with the expertise that they need to help clients create the perfect Australian luxury travel itinerary.
It’s no surprise to us that Australia is quickly becoming a hotspot for global luxury travel. The reasons for visiting Australia are many, and as varied as the landscape of the continent itself, as it offers the best of both luxurious sophistication and breathtaking, untamed wilderness.
Explore the booming restaurant scene in Sydney, which doesn’t shy away from gastronomic experimentation in some of the country’s finest dining establishments, relax in one of the coastline’s many luxury hotels, like the InterContinental Melbourne the Rialto, and get away from it all in the lap of luxury at one of Queensland’s island resorts. For rugged adventures, there’s no place better than Australia, from the wild mountainous region of Kimberley to sacred desert sites like the red sandstone monolith of Ulura.
If you plan to travel through Australia in the near future, don’t forget to book luxury chauffeur service with EmpireCLS.
This past September, consumers and auto dealers were disturbed to learn that Volkswagen intentionally lied about emissions and mileage in vehicles sold since 2009. On September 19th, a notice of violation was issued by the EPA, revealing that Volkswagen had deliberately outfitted 11 million diesel engine vehicles with a “defeat device,” a software code designed to trick laboratory testing into reading vehicle emissions as much lower than they actually are. In fact, it was found that the vehicles in question emit up to 40x more nitrogen oxide than the law permits.
The effects of the scandal have been far-reaching. Since “Dieselgate” broke, Volkswagen stock prices have plunged, the company’s CEO has resigned and 8.5 million vehicles have been recalled in Europe. The company faces potential class-action lawsuits accusing it of fraud and breached contracts.
In addition, the company has been lambasted by a public that feels justifiably insulted by the deception. Vehicle emissions are an increasing concern due to their significant contribution to air pollution and resulting problems. The revelation that Volkswagen knowingly manipulated their emissions testing results feels especially insidious when we consider that the Volkswagen Jetta won the Green Car of the Year award in 2009 (the award has since been rescinded) and Volkswagen deliberately advertised its cars as having low emissions. Not only that, but Volkswagen’s false laboratory results also garnered them Green Car subsidies and tax exemptions.
Even China, a country notorious for its decidedly lax air pollution policy, has expressed concern over Volkswagen’s dishonesty about its vehicle emissions, which is certainly saying something.
As Volkswagen struggles to regain consumer trust—a task that seems Sisyphean at this point—vehicle buyers will undoubtedly turn to auto manufacturers with better reputations. We are interested to see how other manufacturers might benefit from the scandal, as well as how consumers might approach them with higher levels of trepidation.
At EmpireCLS, we prioritize customer trust, and we take vehicle reputation into consideration when selecting our fleet, alongside luxury appointments, performance and safety ratings. Thankfully, all of the vehicles in our fleet have upheld an excellent reputation in everything from safety to emissions—no scandals here. And should that change, we’ll take action immediately to ensure that our fleet remains top-performing and forward-thinking.
Photo Credit: Automobile Italia
The pressure on the ground transportation industry to compete with transportation network companies (or TNCs), at least technologically, has been on for some time. Lately, solutions have been appearing on the landscape.
We recently covered one such solution, Deem, which EmpireCLS also partnered with, along with other high-profile National Limousine Association members. Deem was designed to provide the same kind of real-time ride hailing and advanced reservations that TNC technology makes possible, with the added advantage of using only operators that meet the NLA’s rigorous standards for safety and service.
Deem, while unique in several other ways, is not the only platform set to compete with TNC apps at a high level. iCars, a San Francisco-based application, has already seen success in its hometown (with 300-400 runs per day), and major cities across the nation can now look forward to its widespread launch this year.
iCars was found by Gary Bauer, owners of Bauer’s Intelligent Transportation, as a response to the kinds of security and service gaps that cause problems for many TNC clients and the indsutry at large. iCars, like Deem, offers high-quality ground transportation both on-demand and in advance.
Unlike the TNC model, which uses contractors who don’t undergo extensive background checks or require insurance, iCars enlists only operators that meet limousine industry regulations like minimum driver and vehicle insurance, driver background checks and screening, vehicle maintenance standards and safety codes.
One of the most important differences between TNC apps and apps like iCars is an adherence to the Duty of Care outlined by the National Limousine Association. Whereas TNCs have only vague guidelines and minimal standards for customer care, the National Limousine Association requires that ground transportation operators invest significant time, energy and capital into ensuring the safety of their passengers.
This includes stringent standards for hiring chauffeurs, including a preliminary background check, substance abuse testing, driver training, a medical examination, consistent supervision and appropriate discipline. The Duty of Care also requires that operators secure commercial insurance and proper licensing, as well as adhere to regular inspections and vehicle maintenance.
In addition to the provisions of the Duty of Care, iCars offers conveniences like on-demand and advance reservations, third-party bookings for concierge and business travel managers, group bookings, private networks for existing clients of each operator, route optimization and automated dispatch.
For more information on the latest advancements in the ground transportation industry, follow EmpireCLS on Facebook and Twitter.
In the past several years, groundbreaking vehicle maker, Tesla, has made a name for itself as a company to watch for the future of vehicle technology. From fully electric engines to innovative on-board interfaces, Tesla continues to generate some of the most exciting headlines in the automotive industry.
Recently, Tesla made another one that astonished quite a few of us—not just those in the ground transportation industry, but automobile consumers in general.
Consumer Reports, the historically trusted publication acting as a neutral authority on product quality, turned heads this summer when it announced that Tesla’s latest, the 2015 Tesla Model S P85D, not only got a perfect score during the review process, but actually broke the ratings system, scoring an unprecedented 103 out of a 100-point rating scale—a first in Consumer Reports history. The publication has since adjusted its rating scale to accommodate the groundbreaking score.
Obviously, Consumer Reports had little but praise for the Model S P85D. Reviewers raved about the car’s impressive stats, which include an acceleration rate of zero to sixty in 3.5 seconds and an efficiency rate equivalent to 87 miles per gallon. Reviewers confirmed that the Model S P85D is the fastest car they have ever tested, and praised the smooth, powerful driving experience, delivered by 686 pound-feet of thrust and two motors—one front, one rear—with a combined horsepower of 691. The vehicle’s streamlined, aerodynamic design contributes to powerful performance as well as sleek, stylish travel.
There are several other reasons to love the Model S P85D. The vehicle’s fully electric engine is just one of a suite of attributes that makes the Model S P85D a perfect fusion of efficiency and luxury. The car holds a five-star safety rating from the NHTSA , and boasts steel-reinforced aluminum pillars for extra structural integrity, plus eight strategically placed airbags.
In addition to impeccable safety features, the Model S P85D is equipped with driver-friendly features, like a 17-inch touchscreen that puts all the conveniences of a tablet computer at the driver’s fingertips, including navigation, entertainment and Bluetooth phone calls. Drivers can also enjoy autopilot lane changing and parking, automated climate control, and remote start, which we think are likely to raise the bar for driver experiences across the board.
As always, we welcome your thoughts on the Model S P85D. Do you think it delivers a luxury experience? Is it something you’d like to see in EmpireCLS’s luxury fleet? Drop us a line at sales@empirecls.com.
According to Deloitte Touch Tohmatsu Limited’s second annual “Global Powers of Luxury Goods” report, luxury goods are an increasingly powerful sector in the global economy. Based on data from 2013, the report identifies the 100 largest luxury goods companies in the world. It also pinpoints current market trends and issues, such as the need to engage luxury consumers according to technology’s influence on a range of channels.
Facts and Figures
The luxury goods market is growing tremendously. Luxury sales growth for 2013 was an astounding 8.2%, the compound annual growth rate in luxury goods sales from 2011-2013, according to Deloitte, was 9.8%. All told, the aggregate net luxury goods sales of the top 100 luxury goods companies was $214.2 billion the year data from the report was compiled.
Major Players
Italy has the greatest number of luxury goods companies, with the US, France and Switzerland close behind. The picture of who the biggest players are in the global luxury market is similar when we look at countries with the most shares in luxury goods: France has the most with 23.2%, the United States is just behind France with 20.5% and Italy has 16.5% of the global shares.
Interestingly, the top three fastest-growing luxury goods companies are all clothing and accessories retailers: Michael Kors, Tory Burch and Kate Spade, the latter two of which are based in the US (Michael Kors is based in China).
Consumers and Challenges
Today’s luxury consumers, according to the Deloitte report, can be described as sophisticated, digitally-savvy, time-sensitive and socially aware. Luxury goods companies must learn how to reach this contemporary consumer base through a few key marketing practices.
Foremost, they must be innovative with technology. Luxury goods producers must capitalize on the wearable tech trend, and meet this challenge by fusing functional design with artistry that suits each user’s sophisticated taste. Luxury goods companies are also staying relevant by focusing their energies on developing more refined products.
Consumers also expect a greater deal of personalization and attention from luxury brands, who can stay ahead with heavily-involved customer relationship management systems and customer experience enhancing touch points.
Deloitte also noted that luxury goods companies must adapt to shifting consumer channels (as various as retail stores, magazines, eCommerce sites and airports) and give back to their communities in order to stay relevant with luxury goods consumers.
To download the full Deloitte report, visit their website here and view the infographic.
Remember our blog post about Internet technology integrating with new vehicles for smarter, more effective driving experiences? We were pretty excited about it, too. In our enthusiasm, we forgot to mention one tiny flaw in the prevalence of smart tech in new vehicles: many of them are wide, wide open to cyberattacks. And there’s proof.
With great tech comes great responsibility, and the increasing interconnectedness of wireless tech with vehicles on the road is no exception. Within the past five years, at least three groups of researchers have conducted experiments that definitively prove the vulnerability of smart-tech cars to malicious attacks.
The first experiment, in 2010, was conducted on a General Motors car. The university-funded hackers took control of the car’s cellular and Bluetooth connections, and were the first to shed light on the void where cybersecurity measures should have been.
More recently, Fiat Chrysler was obligated to recall 1.4 million Jeep Cherokees after a group of researchers hijacked a Jeep in St. Louis—all while comfortably sitting in a Pittsburgh living room. The video of the event is especially eye-opening. Although the driver of the car was fully aware that his colleagues were about to hack his vehicle, he still becomes visibly shaken up as the hackers put his dashboard, climate control system, windshield wipers and speakers into overdrive. Moreover, the hackers found that they could stop the vehicle, control the locks, disrupt the speedometer and disable the brakes. They reported being surprised by the amount of control that they had over the vehicle.
Even Tesla, one of the most technologically savvy car manufacturers in the world, recently learned that they are not immune to cyberattacks. From within a Tesla S vehicle, cybersecurity researchers were able to kill the engine at low speed, and eventually exposed six cybersecurity vulnerabilities in all. In response, Tesla released a software patch to fix the vulnerabilities.
But the industry will have to think in broader terms if they want to shield drivers from future malicious attacks that could lead to driver injuries or deaths. Experts say that car manufacturers should incorporate automatic Internet updates, much like a PC, to stay ahead of malware developments that could, potentially, compromise driver safety. At the moment, large-scale attacks remain an unlikely scenario, but the fact that exploitable security issues exist should be enough to give manufacturers pause. We love tech in luxury vehicles, but we hope leading manufacturers will incorporate cybersecurity into their vehicle designs as much as they incorporate physical safety measures.
Private jet travel is an ultra-luxury experience, and is, accordingly, usually accompanied by an ultra-luxury price tag. Short of owning a private aircraft, private jet travel has been a limited option for most commercial flyers. However, Delta Airlines recently announced a new initiative that aims to bring private jet travel to a wider audience.
With the new program from Delta airlines, you don’t have to own or even charter a private jet to travel in one and experience all of the attendant perks. Recently, Delta announced that it will start issuing exclusive jet travel invitations to select customers. Delta, which runs its own private jet fleet, began the program to fills seats on empty-leg flights that would travel sans passengers for at least one leg of their journey. Now, Delta will no longer have to waste space on flights that need to happen anyway, and their most frequent flyers will get a luxury reward for their loyalty, at a fraction of the cost of typical private jet travel: tickets on these flights range from $300 to $800, whereas the starting cost for booking private jets is usually somewhere around $3,000.
If you’re a Delta SkyMiles member at the Medallion level (flying 25,000 miles or spending $3,000 per year), you can officially start getting excited. The advantages of private jet travel are many: leather seats, lots of leg room, pet transportation, complimentary catering, less time spent traveling and zero TSA headaches. Plus, Delta has been rated the Best Private Jet Service by Executive Travel magazine, and travels to nearly every airport worldwide.
The caveat, however is that private jet travel at commercial prices is currently only available to elite level flyers. Furthermore, no other commercial airlines are offering a similar program at the moment, as most don’t even have their own fleet of private jets to begin with. Depending on how Delta’s private jet program pans out, however, we speculate that there might be more commercial private jet opportunities available in the future.
In the meantime, there are other options to explore that have the advantages of private jet travel but don’t require you to purchase one. One of our luxury brand partners, NetJets, offers the advantages of owning a jet as an asset, but without the expense. NetJets members can purchase a share in or lease on a private aircraft, and the company also offers prepaid jet cards that members can exchange for travel when they need it. Other private jet companies offer the opportunity to fly on empty-leg flights for a heavily discounted price, but these reservations usually open up last-minute.
In the meantime—Delta Medallion members, we can’t say we aren’t a little jealous.
For more news on luxury travel trends, follow EmpireCLS on Facebook and Twitter.
Photo Credit: Mr.TinDC via flickr
