Corporate execs: Ready to ride in style again?
Lehigh Valley limousine industry eager to make up for pandemic losses
By January 2020, Anthony Onorata knew something was wrong.
His business, Anthony Limousine in Allentown, had always done a lot of work with international clients, making plenty of trips to major airports in New York, Newark and Philadelphia. But to start 2020, the international business slowed, foreshadowing a halt in corporate travel — a luxury transportation company’s bread and butter — as COVID19 rapidly spread around the globe and led to widespread shutdowns that forced many employees to work remotely.
“We started to feel it slow down and then, of course, when March 13 hit, everything just stopped,” said Onorata, referring to the day the pandemic was declared a national emergency. “That was a very difficult time. We had several reservations that didn’t postpone — just canceled. And then we just waited and watched with the rest of the world to see what was going to happen.”
Few businesses have been hit harder by the pandemic than limousine companies. Onorata, president and CEO of Anthony Limousine, said there were no trips for weeks ... and weeks ... and weeks once the pandemic hit. Anthony Limousine, in particular, relied on corporate customers for 85% to 90% of its business before the pandemic, with the remainder coming from weddings, proms, birthday parties and nights out.
Limousine companies didn’t have much room to pivot, with corporate leaders communicating over Zoom and regular folks postponing special occasions. With no income coming in, limo companies were
forced to lay off employees and some downsized their fleets, while they hit refresh on loan portals so they could inject some liquidity into their businesses and survive the lull. But the lull just kept on going.
That meant those expensive vehicles, from the luxury sedans to the limo buses, just sat. Onorata said he would idle them for a bit and move them forward a few feet and then back, seeking to avoid damage to the tires from sitting in one place too long. There were some dead batteries along the way.
But Onorata, 56, tried to stay positive.
“I’m a glass-half-full guy and you have to be when you’re in hospitality,” he said.
The good news is the retail side of the business appears to be roaring back. With warmer weather approaching, vaccination efforts continuing and restrictions lifting, many limousine companies are seeing an uptick in demand for weddings and from cooped-up consumers looking for an escape to a restaurant or wine trail.
While that provides a boost a couple nights a week, limousine companies are still waiting to see when corporate travel — the seven-days-a-week business — will make its comeback. Until then, the recovery continues.
Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, which includes Lehigh and Northampton counties along with the southern portion of Monroe County, according to a Morning Call analysis. Those local loans retained 136 jobs.
As the pandemic wore on, Alexander said the NLA urged limousine businesses to do what they needed to do, whether that was selling a couple vehicles or using the downtime to figure out ways to run things more efficiently.
Next up was figuring out how to market the business, making sure customers knew they were there and were aware of the COVID-19 precautions in place to keep the vehicles clean and chauffeurs and customers safe.
Both Anthony Limousine and Bella Luxury Limousine, another Allentown company, have links to their COVID-19 protocols on their websites’ homepages. about 13 months into a pandemic that sent its sales down 80% last year compared to 2019. Bella Luxury, like many limousine companies, received two PPP loans — one in May and another in January.
While he credited PPP as helpful and timely, there are even more promising signs on the horizon — at least on the retail side of the business.
“I’ve had more wedding calls this season than I think I’ve ever had in the 10 years I’ve been in business,” said Ogada, president of Bella Luxury. “That business is really picking up.”
Onorata, whose Anthony Limousine received a PPP loan last April and another one in February, is seeing something similar and forecasting a busy spring for leisure. That follows a lone bright spot in 2020 at the end of September and into October, when Mother Nature was cooperative and Onorata said his business was busy with wine tours, events and a few weddings.
Once the second surge hit in November and December, business was nonexistent — again.
But now, the phones at Anthony Limousine are ringing.
“We’re a long, long way from where we were, but I feel optimistic about this spring,” Onorata said. “And the thing about our business is, if we’re beginning to see activity, that means so are the hotels, the bars, the restaurants. We’re excited about that. We’re ready, and we’re available and ready to go.”
There is some data showing the increase in activity.
For one, U.S. weekly hotel occupancy hit about 59% for the week ended March 20, which was the highest figure recorded since early March 2020, according to hospitality data provider STR. That figure fell slightly to nearly 58% for the week ended March 27, but it has still steadily climbed this year and is huge jump from the low point of 22% last April.
For limousine companies, the uptick in leisure activity is welcome, providing a boost on the weekends.
But they’re still wondering when the core part of the business will return.