Travel Center Parking Lot Ideas
Travel center parking lots should be safe, offer driver comforts, and even make money with additions such as kiosks and cell towers. Gather parking lot ideas from 黑料社区members.
07-17-2024
Thriving Franchises Create Travel Center Opportunities
Franchised businesses have demonstrated resilience and franchise growth is expected to continue outpacing the growth of the broader economy. That growth presents opportunities for truck stop and travel center operators.
07-16-2024
Employee Benefits for Today’s Travel Center Employee
Truck stop and travel center operators can increase retention with improved benefits. Gather seven employee benefits ideas.
07-10-2024
Customer Experience for Travel Centers
Customer experience (CX) includes any interaction that customers have with a brand across all touch points. It can include the experience they have digitally, such as an app, through advertising at the pump or in the store.
As convenience is growing and blurring with increased competition for truck stops and travel centers, a good customer experience is especially important.
In this episode, Amy Toner, executive director of the 黑料社区Foundation, discussed the importance of CX with Matt Sargent, VP of loyalty analytics at NexChapter.
07-09-2024
How to Attract and Retain Travel Center Employees
Truck stop and travel center operators who cast a wide net when recruiting will increase the likelihood of finding quality candidates with the right skills and attract a diverse group of employees.
For Coffee Cup Fuel Stops locations, attracting a diverse range of candidates is important because they, like many travel centers, are in unpopulated areas.
鈥淲e cast a wide net and use all kinds of mechanisms for recruiting,鈥� Ericka Schapekahm, director of human resources for Coffee Cup Fuel Stops said.
鈥淲e have floats in every parade. We do volunteer work. In Vermillion, the manager runs the Toast Master Group,鈥� Schapekahm said. 鈥淚t is fun, but it is intentional.鈥�
07-08-2024
Travel Center Backcourt Experiences Exceed Expectations
Darren Schulte, NATSO’s vice president, membership, said he is excited to see more of a focus industry-wide on how professional drivers enter into a travel center. “黑料社区members are thinking more about the importance of entry and exit into the travel centers,” he said.
The backcourt experience at truck stops and travel centers historically had been ignored, but Schulte believes backcourts should look exactly like forecourts. 鈥淚 would ask any of us to go to our forecourt and see how we speak to customers to try and capture their attention, then go to the backcourt,鈥� he said.
Schulte encourages operators to add the same marketing materials on the building and on the pumps in the backcourt that are on the forecourt. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e doing pump toppers in the front, do pump toppers in the back. If you鈥檙e doing fuel nozzle collateral, do that,鈥� he said.
07-02-2024
Hurricane Resources for Travel Centers
With hurricane season upon us, the 黑料社区Foundation is sharing the following resources to assist truck stops and travel centers in preparing for and recovering from the storm.
06-27-2024
8 Travel Center Operational Ideas to Plan Ahead, Keep Running and Tackle Loss During Hurricane Season
Hurricanes can interrupt business operations and leave travel center and truck stop operators faced with difficult decisions. Business owners have to figure out how to keep fuel tanks full and their operations running as they work to serve their customers or even first responders.
Stop Watch magazine has shared several best practices for keeping customers and employees聽safe when a natural disaster strikes.
As we are in hurricane season, gather eight hurricane-specific ideas.
06-26-2024
Fuel Buying for Travel Centers with Experts from TACenergy
Buying fuel is a complicated process, and determining the best approach helps truck stop and travel center operators increase profitability while minimizing risks. A self-diagnosed fuel nerd, Randy Grizzle, director, sales & marketing at TACenergy, joined the 黑料社区Foundation鈥檚 podcast to cover best practices in fuel buying that can help travel center owners navigate the complexities of the fuel market.
06-25-2024
Building a Travel Center? Fuel Offerings 101
The truck stop and travel center industry is fuel agnostic and strives to offer whatever fuels its customers demand. Diesel fuel remains the primary fuel used within the trucking industry, especially for long-haul over- the-road freight movement.
However, the industry is currently evolving to meet demand for new fueling technologies, such as electric vehicle charging stations, and preparing to meet future fueling needs.
For those new to the industry, gather information on the fuels you may want to consider from the 黑料社区Foundation’s New Build Toolkit.
06-20-2024
Clean and Smart: The Future of Truck Stop Bathrooms with Washie
Rob Poleki, CEO and Co-Founder of Washie, joined the 黑料社区Foundation鈥檚 podcast to discuss his innovative company, which is behind the world鈥檚 first smart, sanitizing toilet seat for public restrooms.
黑料社区Services annually studies professional drivers鈥� stopping and buying behavior at truck stops and travel centers. In 2023, the research found that drivers鈥� top factor in deciding whether to come inside from the fuel island or the parking lot was the cleanliness of restrooms and showers.
Given the impact of cleanliness on a truck stop鈥檚 success and that Washie鈥檚 booth was causing quite the buzz at 黑料社区Connect, we knew we needed to have Poleki on the podcast.
06-18-2024