By Robert Grassano
Well, in my last President’s Message I mentioned diesel fuel at $4.00 per gallon and crude oil at $110.00 per barrel. Boy, was I falling short in my estimates. Crude is $140.00 to $150.00 per barrel and many of us have paid in excess of $5.00 per gallon for fuel. Where is it going to end? How high can we raise our prices to keep up with our increasing expenses? I don’t have the answer. Do you? The days of 29¢ to 39¢ per mile fuel cost are long gone and we are pushing $1.00 per mile fuel cost. I hope all of the operators out there realize that fuel alone is costing you almost $1.00 per mile and take that into account when pricing a charter or a shuttle. I think we all price shuttles by the hour, your miles used are an unknown to a point. BE CAREFUL not to cut your throat.
Let’s move on to better things. The Florida Motorcoach Association had its annual Appointment Show July 7-10. It was well attended by both operators and vendors. I have received many great comments from everyone about the Show. The speakers were great and very educational. The auction was a big success. We raised over $5000 to put towards our state legislative initiatives. I would like to thank everyone who donated auction items and everyone who purchased items. I would also like to thank Rene Kusiv at the Kissimmee CVB for her assistance in planning and implementing the Show. A special thanks is extended our host hotel representatives, Merry Jane Hickman and Sam Pollack at the Ramada Orlando Celebration in Kissimmee; Carolyn Powers at Arabian Knights; Kelly Story at Pirates Dinner Adventure; Michelle Peters at Boggy Creek Airboats; Bridgette Porto-Venturelli at Gatorland; and Tammy Johnston at Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores for their support in providing the tours and special events. Most of all I’d like to thank Linda Morris and her team at the association office for another successful show.
At this show we had more coach manufacturers that ever before in attendance. This support is appreciated very much by all the operators. It’s so nice to see what kind of equipment is out there for us to meet our specific needs. The coach representatives also supported Show events, which is a tremendous help to FMA. I particularly want to thank Jim Morrison (ABC Companies), John Hatch and Rob Lambert (Daimler Buses), Gene Hall (Motor Coach Industries), and Bill Leonard (Prevost).
Well that’s all for now. I’m off to see how big the fuel bill is this week! HAHAHA
Rob
Florida Motorcoach Association: Be Part of It! Be Proud of It! Make It Work for You!