The CoachMarque conference’s 70 delegates heard about luxury touring, how to help drivers make healthier choices, and how to emulate the best businesses in the world
Getting a bit bored with industry conferences about air quality, Europe, Brexit? CoachMarque’s annual get-together offers something different, but no less useful, to its 52 members.
Attended by the cream of the coach industry, the annual conference at East Midlands Airport’s Radisson Blu Hotel on Monday (8th) had a theme of 'improving the customer experience', with sessions on luxury touring, diet and nutrition, and a motivational speaker on leadership.
Thanks to the high quality of the speakers, and several small but practical break-out sessions forcing operators to think about how things are done in their own business, the whole effect was to leave operators with plenty of food for thought.
Irizar UK supported the conference for the first time, bringing along the UK’s first hybrid coach, the Irizar i4H integral; and Distinctive Systems gave a useful update on its ever-changing software products.
CoachMarque Chair Chris Owens of Alpine Travel opened the conference, by talking about the Golden Globes the previous evening and comparing recent shifts in Hollywood to the welcome shift in the coach industry as younger generations come in.
Insurance hike
He was followed by Phil White of insurance broker Arthur J Gallagher – rebranded as Gallagher – and Julian Cashen of Unicorn Underwriting, who together updated delegates on the current state of the insurance market, and on 2017's Odgen Rate change – “both the most boring topic on God's earth and the most exciting thing that's happened in the insurance industry in a long time,” as Phil put it.
Essentially, the new rules increase the amount of compensation that people left with severe injuries after road traffic accidents are eligible for, and Phil and Julian explained how this affects insurers, who must pass the extra cost to operators. All coach operators will see a rise in their premiums of at least 10-20% this year.
To combat the effects, Phil advises to start the renewal process early, to practise good risk management, and to get drivers and staff into the habit of reporting accidents on the same day.
The next speaker was Raquel Morcillo from the Global Passenger Network (GPN), a coach promotion service used in 38 countries worldwide; the UK is one of the founders. CoachMarque is the member for the UK, which makes all CoachMarque members part of it, with benefits of a global clientbase, international relationships including breakdown cover abroad, and worldwide marketing.
The real golden age
Richard Oxspring of Skills Coaches, formerly of Leger Holidays, spoke next about the future of luxury coach tours, specifically Leger’s groundbreaking Silver Service and Luxuria brands.
Six Luxuria-branded coaches are now in service – a figure Richard thinks is unlikely to increase in the near future, as the market for luxury coach tours is small.
Nonetheless, there is a market. Richard spoke about the growth of the Silver Service brand in the early ‘00s, including the specification – from a horseshoe ‘chill zone’ at the back, to microfibre seats, to the TV screens now on board Luxuria; high service on board and in the hotels, including porterage; and the high standard of drivers. “Drivers were key – they were going to make our tour programme,” says Richard, and he credits Leger with raising driver standards across the industry.
Silver Service struggled mightily in its first year partly because the vehicles weren’t ready on time, but this became a valuable lesson when the first Luxuria coach was delivered in 2014. The coach cost £360,000 and runs 280-300 days a year, and Richard says the pricing is right to make it highly profitable without turning off customers. “We’ve got it right.”
There’s lots for operators to take away from Leger’s experience: For example, provided there’s a courier or host on board, having a drinks or snacks menu for passengers to choose from can create a lot of revenue, and you can include health and safety information on the back of them.
Food for thought
Nutritional expert Michelle Chester spoke about diet and nutrition for drivers. This turned out to be a very thought-provoking session, as operators thought about the bad eating habits drivers fall into, which can have serious health consequences.
She took delegates through some blood sugar science: Sugary food and refined carbohydrates, from chocolate and fruit to white bread, rice and pasta, can be absorbed very quickly into the bloodstream, which causes a spike and then a drop in both blood sugar and insulin levels, leading to fatigue. Caffeine and alcohol have the same effect.
She also talked about dehydration: Less water in the blood means it doesn't reach the brain properly, causing more fatigue.
Michelle then left it up to operators to come up with workplace initiatives to help drivers stay alert and healthy. These ranged from including nutritional information in staff newsletters, to providing diet and wellbeing CPC training modules.
In the room? Be in the room
The headline of the day was motivational speaker Nigel Risner, whose exceptionally funny and engaging presentation promised operators they could have their best ever year by following a set of simple rules – the Impact Code, the subject of one of Nigel’s books.
The first rule is “if you’re in the room, be in the room” – all of us are guilty of letting our minds wander, in meetings, at home or driving.
He said if meetings are longer than 40 minutes long they should have a break, and pointed out that stand-up comedy gigs have an interval.
He gently mocked meetings where apologies and last meeting’s minutes are read out – he says “the past is a place of reference, not a place of residence.
“We carry stuff around with us that can never change.
“Is it going to add value to the future, or are we just dragging up the past?”
He said people can be either ‘coach’ or ‘commentator’ – commentators criticise past performance, while coaches aim to improve the game for the future.
He also encouraged operators to give ‘feed-forward’ instead of ‘feedback’, and use ‘clean language’ so staff don’t have to second-guess what you really mean.
He asked operators about which businesses they admire and why, and encouraged them to emulate them. Amazon will send customers who have just bought something an email saying “people like you also bought this” – an upselling idea it took from McDonald’s, he says.
He also spoke about Tiffany’s, which packages its jewellery in such a way that most customers keep the box, as it’s part of the experience. He asked operators to consider the ‘Tiffany’s experience’ around their own business – how it’s packaged, and how customers feel when they see one of their coaches.
