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Legislative

Hundreds rally to send message of pro travel

Dear Friends,

I know most of you thought the Business Travel Sector of the U.S. Economy did not affect you AND just maybe it still doesn't. It's not the stock market, it's not your company, and it's not your problem. Moreover, it is none of your business and besides we all have problems now and you are too old to think about these things anymore.

Sadly, the problems of the Business Travel Sector of the U.S. economy are going to affect you and here's why. The Business Travel Sector of the U.S. economy is so large. It is fifteen percent of the U.S. economy and employs one out of seven workers in the U.S. (Point of reference: Automobile business is only ten percent of the economy and Washington DC has declared "It is too big to fail".) REALLY. Newsflash: Chrysler & GM are failing.

Question: What about the Business Travel Sector?

Answer: Washington D.C. never heard of that Sector. Don't wait for your bail out. It is not coming. You are not on the Government's radar.

Question: How large is the Business Travel Sector in California?

Answer: In California, the Business Travel Sector Generates $100 Billion in revenue and Employs 1 Million people.

The economic problem in the Business Travel Sector of the economy will spill over to the rest of the economy and will affect you personally.
Here's why:

If you are employed by, own, finance, lease to or use the following listed services, you will be affected: Hotel, Resort, Restaurant, Taxi, Rental Car, Sedan Service, Shuttle, Bus, Airline, Private Jet any and all associated vendors, including airports.

If you work for the city, state, federal government OR you pay taxes to the city, state or federal government, you will be adversely affected.
If you are a vendor of any of these entities, you will be further adversely affected because you won't get paid.

The Business Travel Sector specifically refers to hotels, resorts, restaurants, airlines, ground transportation (buses, rental cars, and taxi's limousines), meeting and event planners, large and small convention cities in the U.S.

How about the negative affect on related industries such as commercial real estate for restaurants, hotels, rental car, limousine, bus, airline, private jet not being able to pay their rents not able to pay their commercial leases? How about the vendors who provide goods and services to all of these companies. The automobile industry is supported by the rental car industry. What about that? How big is this number? Does anyone really know? Does it affect you yet?

Who would have thought that the sleepy, retirement community of Palm Springs was depending on Business Travel Industry. A restaurant near you may be closing. Does that bother you? Maybe not. Answer: You are going to learn to cook.

The business of America is business. Whether you are a pharmaceutical, limousine or lingerie company, you need to sell your products and/or services by meeting with your buyers, business partners, vendors, at a show, meeting or convention. It is a very cost-effective, time-efficient way to get together and make deals, for the year. In fact, this method of doing business has been adopted and done this way all over the World. Suddenly, this time-honored, efficient method of doing business is Un-American.

The "unintended" consequences of the assault by Government and the Media on the Business Travel Sector of the U.S. Economy is putting thousands of people in unemployment lines, is directly responsible for salary reductions and placing otherwise full-time employees in "under" employed jobs, cutting hours and income with less benefits and/or no benefits. It is also keeping the stock market unstable.

Question: Are you interested in the problems of the business travel sector yet?

The Greater California Livery Association (GCLA) estimates that fully thirty percent of all of the companies in California will be "out of business" by the end of 2009. So out of six thousand businesses licensed with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), 1,800 of them will be "out of business" by the end of this year in the state of California alone.

These "unintended" consequences are also affecting the Business Travel Sector are also expanding the problems in residential real estate from the "bad loan" problem to commercial real estate, taking money out of the city, state and federal tax coffers and directly responsible for putting more people in need of "government" safety net. The American Taxpayer is the safety net.

The problems evidenced in the Business Travel Sector of the U.S. economy are not a political point of view. These problems are a factual reality of the times in which we live. These facts are not debatable. The purpose of this email is to present you with the facts and get you interested in what is really happening in your city, state and country.

Go to http://www.meetingsmeanbusiness.com for additional facts.

Palm Springs is one small sample of what is happening all over this state and country. I know each of you know people, restaurants, and hotels, someone involved in this sector of the U.S. economy. Unfortunately, our problem will be coming to a location near you soon.

Click here to read an interesting article from the Desert Sun Newspaper regarding this issue.

Carpe' Diem!
(Seize the Day!)

Jonna Sabroff
EVP & Legislative Chairman
Greater California Livery Association (GCLA)
Telephone: 310-553-4355

Liberman, LA INC.

Dear LA INC. Member,

I would like to share with you the most recent news regarding the “Meetings Mean Business” Campaign. The following message from the U.S. Travel Association is evidence that the industry’s combined efforts are beginning to change Washington, D.C.’s attitude towards business travel. LA INC. continues to work closely with the U.S. Travel Association to spread the word about this important campaign and will keep you informed of new developments.

Thank you to those who have participated in outreach regarding this issue. We encourage everyone to become involved in the “Meetings Mean Business” campaign by contacting congressional representatives and communicating to them how important this industry is to our city.

Sincerely,

Mark Liberman
President & CEO
LA INC. The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau

Dear Travel Colleague:

Our comprehensive and aggressive campaign to change attitudes about meetings, events and incentive travel continues to reap results. In addition to favorable stories this week on NBC’s Today show, CNBC and the New York Times, an exchange yesterday on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives between Congressmen Barney Frank (D-MA) and Shelley Berkley (D-NV) is a clear sign that the tone has changed in Washington toward the value of business travel. Click on image or here to play (may take a minute to buffer).

The colloquy with Congressman Frank is a major win for our industry because it clarifies on the record the importance of business travel by the chairman of the Financial Services Committee and a respected House leader. Please share this message with your colleagues and customers to spread the word about these encouraging developments.

These positive signs are important indications that our message is being heard. We continue to make our case with policymakers and the media daily, and I will keep you informed of future progress.

As always, thanks for your continued involvement and support.

Sincerely,

Roger Dow
President and CEO
U.S. Travel Association

LA INC. The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau
333 South Hope Street, 18th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90071 discoverLosAngeles.com

GCLA Open Letter to Senator John Kerry

March 13, 2009

The Honorable John Kerry
United States Senate
304 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator Kerry,

The Greater California Livery Association represents the 5000 limousine and sedan operators in California. I am writing to you on their behalf, as president of the Association.

Recently you introduced S. 463, legislation to impose limitations on certain expenditures by participants in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Your legislation is very narrow in scope and all encompassing in perception. Specifically, as I read the legislation, it would prohibit recipients of funds authorized by TARP from sponsoring, hosting, or paying for entertainment or holiday events during the calendar year, or the next occurring calendar year, in which TARP assistance was received.

The intent of your legislation is laudable. The result is having a devastating impact on our industry. As you know all to well, in politics perception is reality. You would be amazed, and I trust dismayed, to learn of the impact your legislation is having on the California economy. Like your home state of Massachusetts, California's economy is, in large measure, based on robust tourism. The dampening affect of your legislation is resulting in numerous cancellations of meetings, conferences, conventions, and trade shows. Clearly, this was not the intent of the bill, but the business and industrial leaders of our nation are fearful that their integrity may be called into question should they host or sponsor events identified in your bill.

Senator, I urge you, on behalf of my industry in particular and California's travel and tourism industries in general, to tone down the rhetoric and support American commerce. We are depending upon you.

Sincerely,

Alan Shanedling, President, Greater California Livery Association

Open Letter to Senator John Kerry

March 11, 2009

Senator John Kerry
United States Senate
304 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Kerry:

On behalf of many thousands of taxicab, limousine and airport shuttle companies and industry partners who are dependent on a healthy and vibrant meetings industry, I must respectfully ask you to consider the cooling effect your proposed legislation of Feb. 24 - S. 463 TARP Taxpayer Protection and Corporate Responsibility Act - would have on an essential cog in the U.S. economy.

The Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association (TLP A), formed in 1917, serves as the national organization that represents the owners of taxicab, limousine, sedan, airport shuttle, paratransit, and non-emergency medical fleets. TLPA has over 1,000 member companies that operate 100,000 passenger vehicles. TLP A member companies transport over 2 million passengers each day - more than 900 million passengers annually. Our full industry transports 2 billion passengers each year in America, accounting for over 10 percent of all public transportation in the U.S.

While our industry serves the residents of the local communities in which we are based, the business traveler is an essential component of our clientele and helps to keep our drivers productive and our prices down. Without the business traveler, several thousand locally based transportation companies in our industry will be forced out of business and those that remain will have to raise their prices. This happened when business travel abruptly halted after 9/11 and it can happen again.

The meetings these business travelers attend are a multi-billion dollar business and an integral piece of the related hospitality and travel industries. Communities across America fund the building of convention centers to help provide for the community's economic stability. This is true for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and all other states.

While we understand and share your regret that some firms receiving TARP funds have used those resources in ways that have breached the public trust, we urge you to consider the unintended fallout from your proposed legislation to prohibit any recipient of TARP funds from hosting, sponsoring or paying for conferences and events.

We agree that companies receiving TARP funds must end extravagant spending practices and be accountable to taxpayers. To this end, the Treasury Department has already instituted new guidelines last month to ensure that public funds issued to struggling institutions are directed only toward the public interest in strengthening our economy, and not toward inappropriate, frivolous gain.

The Treasury guidelines require the boards of directors of companies receiving TARP funds to adopt company-wide policies on any expenditure related to travel and conferences and events. These rules clamp down on excessive or urmecessary spending, while permitting reasonable expenditures for educational conferences, trade shows, and other legitimate events.

While warranted, the public furor over the reported abuses of T ARP funds comes at a time when economic pressures are already forcing many companies to reduce business travel in their budgets. The hospitality and travel industry has confirmed that the portrayal of meetings and events as lavish, urmecessary expenditures has led to cancelled bookings from organizations - including those not receiving emergency lending from the government.

The U.S. Travel Association, which represents all components of the $740 billion travel industry, notes that the Department of Labor reported a loss of nearly 200,000 travel related jobs in 2008 and the Commerce Department predicts a loss of an additional 247,000 travel-related jobs in 2009.

Now is not the time to exacerbate the decline of a vital industry in the United States. Meetings and events are crucial to small business transportation companies, and we must have policies in place that allow these legitimate meetings to take place. Given the dollars at stake, meetings and events should be a key contributor to America's economic recovery, rather than evidence of its precipitous decline.

Thank you for your consideration of this important issue. Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information on issues impacting the travel industry.

Sincerely,

Richard C. Hewatt
President
TAXICAB, LIMOUSINE & PARATRANSIT ASSOCIATION

NBTA Meetings Legislation Could Cripple Travel Industry

National Business Travel Association

New Meetings Legislation Could Cripple Industry

NBTA Members Urged to Contact Congress with Concerns

Dear NBTA Members,

Senator John Kerry (D-MA) is proposing legislation that would ban all 421 firms including the nation's largest banks that received money from the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) from hosting, sponsoring or paying for conferences, holiday parties and entertainment events.

If this legislation is passed I don't need to tell you the profound impact it would have on the business travel industry and the nation's economy. This legislation would not only impact the affected companies, it would also have a chilling, immediate impact on all companies.

This media driven witch-hunt is scaring companies that have never taken a cent of TARP funds to cancel meetings because of the negative images being portrayed. This hurts travel managers, hotels, airlines, rental cars, EVERYONE!

It is estimated that without the jobs generated by meetings and conventions unemployment would jump from 7.6% to 8.2%!

You, as the expert in business travel, must educate Congress on the importance of managed travel and the benefits it brings. NBTA has issued a set of guidelines to the U.S. Treasury for effective managed travel based on your practices. See Guidelines. You have made travel for meetings and events a cost effective tool that help businesses grow. We need to give these real world practices time to work.

We can’t afford negative news stories to drive Congress to manage travel. You have to make sure our government knows that.

TAKE ACTION NOW: Tell Congress about your concerns. Urge them NOT to ban meetings. click here

Kevin Maguire, CCTE, GLP
President & CEO
National Business Travel Association