In The News

Village Travel in Springdale Has A New Home

On March 29, 2023 several members of the Village team gathered for the groundbreaking of a new building in Springdale, Arkansas. The facility upgrade was a much-needed upgrade for this Northwest Arkansas location.

On Thursday, May 24, 2024, we held an open house to celebrate the facility’s completion! The Springdale staff are very enthusiastic about the new indoor wash bay, on-site fueling, driver lounge, training room, and other fantastic amenities at the new facility. Tommy Bagwell, our GM, has expressed how the new facility has genuinely energized our workplace culture, and we are all looking forward to experiencing the positive impact it will have on our day-to-day operations. The Grand Opening luncheon for staff and customers was well attended with many of our top customers and business partners present to celebrate with us!

Interior Photos of the New Springdale Facility

The building was thoughtfully designed to accommodate 20 coaches with room for future expansion, reflecting our commitment to growth and progress. It’s worth noting that Northwest Arkansas is ranked as the 18th fastest-growing metro area in the country. The current population of nearly 600,000 people is expected to reach 1 million by 2050, and we are excited to be a part of this thriving community.

We are truly looking forward to this facility becoming a staple in the area for the foreseeable future, and we are eager to continue providing exceptional service to our customers in this rapidly growing region!

Village Travel Acquires Mountain Home Charter Services

On January 15, we closed on the purchase of Mountain Home Charter Service. Based in Mountain Home, AR, this nine-coach company began operations in 1989, with the current owner purchasing it in 1997. At one point, this company offered retail tours in addition to its charter operation, but in recent years, it has only offered coach charters.

The company’s owner was ready to retire, so he contacted us to see if we’d be interested in the business. Since Village already has locations surrounding Mountain Home, exploring and eventually agreeing to the acquisition made sense. We will not continue to operate coaches in Mountain Home, AR, so the growth in coaches will be disbursed primarily to Little Rock and Springdale, with Little Rock adding five coaches to their fleet based on where most of the current Mountain Home customers are located. Three of the nine coaches will come to Wichita to be sold, and the rest of the fleet will be absorbed into locations that run MCI coaches – Little Rock will continue to operate only Prevost in their fleet. Scott Lumbert, the previous owner of Mountain Home Charter, shared with us, “I feel good knowing that the level of service that our customers have come to know will continue with Village at the wheel.”

Village Travel Acquires Arrow Coach Lines

Little Rock, here we come! As of November 1, 2023, Arrow Coach Lines in Little Rock, Arkansas, was acquired by Village Travel. Arrow Coach Lines has served the Little Rock area since 1944. The Lienhart family owned and operated the company from the beginning, and the second generation of this family business is now ready to retire after a lifelong career in the motorcoach industry. Arrow has left a legacy of high-quality motorcoach service, which we are eager to continue!

Arrow’s fleet consisted of nine Prevost coaches and five Ford Transit vans at the time of the acquisition and they employed approximately 20 staff/drivers. We’re happy to share that almost all Arrow’s drivers and employees have applied and been offered positions as a part of the Village team! We’ll be hard at work over the next several months, getting to know the Arrow employees and customers, implementing our processes, and making necessary fleet adjustments. We’re excited about the potential in Little Rock and believe this location fits nicely into the Village “footprint.”

Thank you to the Lienhart Family for entrusting us to step in and continue in this next phase of service for Arkansas.

Read the article from Bus & Motorcoach News about the acquisition.

Village Travel Acquires Kincaid Coach

On April 4, Village Travel agreed to purchase the assets and business of Kincaid Coach Lines. Kincaid began in the charter bus business back in 1977 in the Kansas City area. They grew to have locations in Wichita, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Amarillo, Siloam Springs, and Panama Beach, Florida. Kincaid went on a dramatic growth spree in 2015 and even acquired Red Carpet Charters (OKC, Tulsa, and Dallas locations) in 2018. Before the pandemic, they ran over 80 coaches and thousands of school buses as the country’s largest Thomas school bus dealer.

During the pandemic, Kincaid shifted from the charter coach business to focus on their school bus and other business ventures. They contracted their fleet and shuttered all locations except Oklahoma City and Tulsa. At the time of the acquisition, Kincaid operated 23 units out of these two locations. Several older coaches had been parked and out of service since 2020, and those units were all sold.
So what does this mean for Village? After consolidating their business with ours, Kincaid’s coaches were absorbed into our OKC and Tulsa fleets.

In preparation for future growth, 10 acres of land was purchased last year in Oklahoma City for a new facility. Due to this Kincaid purchase, we have accelerated plans to construct a new terminal located west of the intersection of I-35 and I-44, only about a mile from our current OKC location.
It’s an exciting time to grow! Fifteen years ago, we had seven coaches in Oklahoma City and none in Tulsa – now, we are the clear market leader in both locations, with more than 65 coaches in Oklahoma.

Brand new state-of-the-art Prevost Motorcoaches added to our fleet.

We are proud of our long-running partnership with Prevost Coaches, and some of you have already seen that we were lucky enough to be the first to take delivery of the all-new H3-45 motorcoach from Prevost (white coach featured above) in late January. This innovative and luxurious addition to our fleet will provide an unparalleled travel experience for our customers.

“We’ve owned several H3-45s since 1997. We heard the new H3-45 was coming and placed an order in advance because we’re confident when Prevost makes changes, they’re going to be positive,” said Jeff Arensdorf, owner of Village Travel.

Equipped with advanced safety features and designed for passenger comfort, the all-new H3-45 from Prevost aims to provide the ultimate in motorcoach transportation. We’re thrilled to offer our passengers the opportunity to travel in style and comfort with this state-of-the-art motorcoach.

We took delivery of another coach in March, and in the coming months, we are scheduled to receive 11 more of the next-generation H3-45s to add to our fleet.

“The Prevost coaches are well engineered, and the Volvo engine is reliable and has the torque and power we’re looking for,” said Arensdorf. “We are in the middle of the country, so our seated coaches go a long way. Because we travel almost everywhere – from Canada to New York to Las Vegas – reliability and service are extremely important to us.”

To learn more about the H3-45 and its incredible features, read the full article featured on Prevost’s website. Thanks to partners like Prevost, our customers will continue to experience the safety and comfort they’ve come to expect from traveling with Village Travel.

Click here to read the full article from Prevost.

Read More Stories from Village Travel

Village Travel Hosts 2023 Travel Expo in Wichita

On April 1st, 2023, we hosted our first-ever “Village Travel Expo” at our Wichita offices! The event was a resounding triumph, with over 2,000 enthusiastic attendees flocking through the doors.

The morning of the expo was filled with nervous excitement as we hoped to attract at least 500 visitors. To our delight, by 11 am, we had already surpassed that number, and the momentum only continued to build! Every 30 minutes, a new speaker took the stage in the departure room, captivating audiences of often more than 150 eager listeners. The expo featured 18 fantastic vendors set up in the departure bays and a “bus petting zoo” in the shop, allowing visitors to get up close and personal with some of our seated and entertainer fleets. The parking lot and the drive to the north of the building were jam-packed with cars throughout the day, a testament to the overwhelming turnout.

Feedback from the vendors was nothing short of glowing, with our Carnival Cruise Lines representative expressing astonishment at the event’s success. “I’ve been doing travel events for 33 years, and this is probably the most attended, well-organized event I’ve ever participated in,” said the representative. “I have never run out of brochures within the first two hours of a show!”

The success of the Village Travel Expo wouldn’t have been possible without the dedication of nearly 30 Village People who volunteered their time to make the event a reality. Their hard work and enthusiasm truly made all the difference.

Thanks to the resounding success of this inaugural expo, we are now exploring opportunities to expand it into the other markets where we currently operate tours as we continue to bring the world of travel to our valued customers!

Welcome Village Coachworks!

We’re thrilled to introduce the newest member of the Village family of businesses, Village Coachworks! Coachworks is, in many ways, an extension of Village Coach, which leases high-end premium entertainer coaches to recording artists, comedians, athletes, and more. The company was founded in November 2022, and Village purchased and began renovating a facility in Valley Center, Kansas. This facility, with its shop and paint booth, will serve as the business’s home.

As of March 2023, the Coachworks team began working on their first motorcoach conversion in the new shop! The establishment of Village Coachworks signifies an exciting new chapter for the Village family, reflecting their commitment to growth and innovation in the Entertainer Coach industry. Entertainer coaches differ significantly from seated charter coaches. They arrive as bare “shells” from Prevost and then undergo a detailed interior build that can take up to four months to complete. In the conversion process, we add all sorts of custom features like tile floors, TVs and electronics, bathrooms, cabinetry, and custom upholstery. Previously, Village partnered with Integrity Interiors to conduct these conversions. However, after Integrity’s owner sold the company to an entertainer coach firm, Village decided to hire some Integrity craftsmen and manage the conversions internally.

In addition to converting new Entertainer fleet vehicles for Village Coach, Coachworks is also equipped to handle body repairs for the company’s fleet. The inaugural project at Village Coachworks is the conversion of a pearly white Prevost X345 coach, aptly named “Betty,” in honor of the late Betty White.

We take immense pride in ensuring that Village’s unwavering commitment to providing the very best travel experiences for our customers will extend to every aspect of the Entertainer Coaches that will be added to our fleet in the coming years!

Click to read the article written by the Ark Valley News about Village Coachworks.

Click to read the article written by the Ark Valley News about the completion of “Betty”.

New Division: Village Transport

In November 2020, Village Travel’s new trucking division hit the road! Jeff Johnson, Tulsa & Village Transport GM, worked to enroll us with Amazon and other brokers who we hope to use to keep our trucks busy. We took delivery of our first truck the day after Thanksgiving and in December, the team took our first load for Amazon from Oklahoma City to Phoenix. Just a few days later, our drivers were back on the road with two trucks heading to Washington and Idaho with Amazon trailers.

With a strong first five weeks of business, two new trucks were leased on a month to month basis for the fleet beginning in January 2021. This gave us the flexibility to put a few more drivers to work and take advantage of a strong freight market without a long term purchase commitment.

“So far we’re seeing rates that exceed our expectations and we’ve averaged over 17,000 miles per truck for the first month of business. I’m cautiously optimistic about the first quarter, so I’m glad we’re adding a few more trucks,” said Jeff Johnson (Tulsa and Village Transport GM).

Since January, we’ve been able to recruit some more drivers and we have purchased a few more trailers and added another leased truck. This brings the fleet to a total of six trucks and four trailers. Amazon is still our primary customer, but we have been able to add additional customers which further diversifies our business. We don’t plan to operate many “team” trips with our trucks, but these loads will help our drivers get good experience so that they’re better prepared to operate solo.

With Amazon facilities in Wichita, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa – three of Village Travel’s biggest existing markets, this has been a natural addition to our fleet!

You can learn more about our services offered at www.govillagetransport.com

Transportation for Medical Workers in Texas

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Village Travel has been providing transportation for medical first responders in high-risk areas. First, in New York City for more than 3 months as they battled rising COVID numbers. Now, our business has moved to southern Texas. KAKE News, in Wichita, did a feature story on our work in Texas.

“This job has certainly helped the Village drivers and the company as well. It has come at a great time and at a time that we needed it,” said Rusty Handy, General Manager of the Village Travel OKC Office.

There are currently 52 coaches throughout Texas, providing transportation for medical first responders. Our fleet consists of more than 125 seated coaches. We have drivers from all of our locations (in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas) who have volunteered to be part of this important mission.

“Village was fortunate enough to be able to answer the call to move large numbers of medical personnel,” said Handy.

Our country has typically relied on the charter bus industry to move large numbers of people. Normally, the crisis is a hurricane or flooding, but this time it is a pandemic.

Providing paying jobs for employees to support their families and helping in the fight against COVID makes all the difference.

“There’s no better feeling than knowing that every day your efforts are helping those that are in need, down in Texas,” said Handy.

KAKE News aired a video story on our Texas charter efforts, which you can watch here.

We are so proud of all our drivers who have sacrificed time away from home and their families to help out with this important cause. Want to learn more about our heros on the frontlines transporting medical workers? Several of our drivers have been featured by local news outlets!

  • Read about our Arkansas Driver, Gregg O’Bryan here.
  • Read about our Wichita Driver, Renee Moraine here.
  • Read about our Salina Driver, Richard Holmgren here.

Richard Holmgren “Giving Miles of Smiles” During NYC COVID-19 Charter

FROM SALINA JOURNAL IN SALINA, KS

Read the full article here.

Richard Holmgren, well known for his Flying Debris comedy and juggling shows, took his act to Broadway every morning and night for nearly 3 months, as a bus driver for nurses during the height of the COVID-19 crisis.

“They poured their heart and soul into it under stressful conditions,” said Holmgren, who is back home in Salina, where he completed a 14-day quarantine. “They worked 84 hours a week. They were exhausted when they got back on the bus and there was no hiding it.”

Holmgren was in Baltimore driving a bus of Fort Hays State students when the pandemic brought the country to a halt. He drove them back to Kansas and his employer at Village Travel called to say he had a possible job for Richard. That was good news, because during the pandemic his juggling shows and bus tours would be shut down.

The job was in New York transporting medical staff from around the country from hotels to hospitals and back. It was supposed to last three weeks to 45 days. Holmgren started April 1 and came home June 17. They must have liked his humor. Did they know he was a performer?

“They did,” admitted Holmgren, who juggles bowling balls and machetes, as part of his act. “I joke a lot. I brought my basketball and did some spinning, did some juggling, did all the tricks my mom said I would never need.”

On the Flying Debris Facebook page, there is a thank-you card from one of the Coney Island crew.

“Richard, you were so much more than our driver. You made us laugh when we had reasons to cry. Thank you for being a friend and a fantastic human being. You are an unforgettable part of our Coney crew and we love you. We were lucky to have you! Thank you!”

“I really had a good time with them all. They were fun to joke with,” said Holmgren, who has been performing since 1994.

Holmgren never felt he was part of history while he was in the pandemic epicenter that the world was watching on the news each day. And, he was a floater, so he went to all of the boroughs and many different hospitals. And, he experienced a different New York.

’I drove through a well-lit, but empty, Times Square four times a day,” Richard remembered. “Every evening at 7 p.m., there were the sounds of appreciation, people banging pots and pans, applause, singing, police and fire sirens.”

 

Continue reading on the Salina Journal website.