黑料社区

During 黑料社区Connect, 黑料社区celebrated the career and accomplishments of Marsha Bird who is retiring after spending 35 years in the truck stop and travel center industry. Bird spent more than 28 years with NATSN where she served in several positions, including CEO, before joining Roady鈥檚 where she served as an account executive, vice president and ambassador.

The 黑料社区Foundation, the education, research and public subsidiary of NATSO, announced that Love鈥檚 Travel Stops, one of the nation鈥檚 leading travel center networks, generously donated $47,000 to advance the 黑料社区Foundation鈥檚 program of work. 鈥淭his heartfelt and genuine act of kindness by Love鈥檚 Travel Stops reflects the philanthropic, caring ethos that makes Love鈥檚 so special. We deeply thank Love鈥檚 for its dedication to the 黑料社区Foundation and the industry,鈥� said Amy Toner, executive director of the 黑料社区Foundation.

Tiger Truck Stop--the last stop on I-10 before heading into the Louisiana capital of Baton Rouge--is as welcoming as the rich Louisiana culture. "Our focus is to provide superior customer service in a welcoming atmosphere for travelers of all kinds," said James Jarreau, co-owner of Tiger Truck Stop. "In addition to regular convenience store products, we bring a little Louisiana to travelers." They do that through their c-store and restaurant offerings. Customers can pick up Louisiana Cajun spices and specialty foods, including boudin, Alligator sausage and Louisiana gumbo. The restaurant is open 24/7 and serves daily plate lunches.

As we wrap up 2024,聽I hope you will consider giving to the 黑料社区Foundation by making a year-end contribution.聽 A foundation gift is a sincere and wholehearted way to give back to the industry. The 黑料社区Foundation supports our industry 鈥� and our communities 鈥� in multiple ways.

The upcoming holiday season brings additional opportunities to boost sales, and travel centers can bring a little magic to the mix by surprising customers with unexpected products. 鈥淲e can offer unique, fun things, and we have the opportunity to do something very, very different,鈥� said Darren Schulte, NATSO鈥檚 vice president of membership. 鈥淚 think there is an opportunity to get away from the old, tired retail stuff we often try to sell for Christmas.鈥�

The 黑料社区Foundation is excited to announce a unique hybrid educational and networking event during聽黑料社区Connect.聽The event, which will run from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on Feb. 28, has been designed to foster meaningful connections between vendors and truck stop and travel center professionals, helping them address key challenges that keep them up at night.

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is changing the retail, convenience and fueling industries, helping operators optimize sales and inventory, streamline operations, reduce costs and improve the customer experience.聽 鈥淭he benefit of AI is it can help make decisions without having any human emotion involved, which is really important in retail,鈥� said Darren Schulte, NATSO鈥檚 vice president of membership. Inventory Management Schulte said several 黑料社区members are using AI to help them manage their inventory, determine their product mix and help create planograms. 鈥淔rom a planogram standpoint, they can ask which to place on certain facings and how to get the most productivity out of them,鈥� he explained.

When Quyntyn Johnson, president of operations at LV Petroleum, joined the company in 2022, it had one travel center, zero quick-service restaurants, four convenience stores and 115 employees. As of October 2024, the company has 22 travel centers, 43 quick-service restaurants, 40 convenience stores and nearly 2,000 employees. 鈥淲e've done more acquisitions than we have done ground-up builds, but now we鈥檙e hitting our peak where our ground-up builds and our acquisitions are merging together,鈥� Johnson said.

Technology is shaping the future of travel centers and helping operators increase efficiency, enhance the customer experience and improve decision-making. The 黑料社区Foundation's new Technology Steering Council is bringing together technology experts to share their insights and knowledge of technology-related trends to help steer the industry.

For travel center and truck stop operators, net operating costs provide insight into their locations鈥� profitability, efficiency and success, which explains why operators are constantly looking to improve their net operating costs. The聽黑料社区Foundation聽created the聽11 Ways to Improve Net Operating Costs Toolkit聽to help operators improve their net operating costs.

Retail theft and pilferage can be serious issues for businesses, but maintaining a balance between loss prevention and the customer experience is essential for businesses, especially at travel centers where speed is a priority. 鈥淲e know our customers are time starved,鈥� said Darren Schulte, NATSO鈥檚 vice president of membership. 鈥淚n my opinion, we have swung so far to one side of loss prevention that it is negatively affecting our sales and impacting our customer experience.鈥� 鈥淲e don鈥檛 seem to be doing anything about it other than locking up merchandise,鈥� he said, adding that locks create friction for customers, which discourages sales and creates frustration. So, if locking up merchandise isn鈥檛 the answer, what can operators do instead?

ALEXANDRIA, VA.聽鈥� NATSO, representing the nation鈥檚 truck stops and travel centers, today announced that Gary Hoogeveen, President of Pilot Energy, has been appointed to the association鈥檚 Board of Directors. Following […]