Limo Services

2011 INTERNATIONAL LCT SHOW: The industry consultant invests in Limocart.com, which provides Internet bookings nationwide for limousine and ground transportation, flights, hotels, and tours.

LAS VEGAS — Chauffeured transportation dealmaker Tom Mazza cut an investment deal of his own recently, taking a 10% ownership stake in LIMOCART, an upstart online travel venture that he compares favorably to Expedia and Amazon.

Mazza disclosed the deal last week on the trade show floor of the 2011 International LCT Show where LIMOCART executives staffed a vendor booth during the three-day Show. Mazza holds the titles of vice president and partner of Limocart.com, and plans to devote about 10 hours per week to the venture.

Mazza’s primary focus remains TOM MAZZA CONSULTING, a Philadelphia-based industry firm that advises operators on running better operations and that facilitates sales, mergers, and financial partnerships of operators and companies in the chauffeured transportation industry.

The Limocart business model is basically a marketplace for service providers where their vehicles get booked by consumers similar to the way hotels get booked at Expedia.com.

The limousine/chauffeured portion of LIMOCART, headquartered in Teaneck, N.J., draws upon three chauffeured transportation vendors in each major city/market area affiliated with the site to provide transportation, said Mazza, who drew upon his vast industry rolodex to find companies and vet them based on quality standards. Each chauffeured transportation company pays a fee after a free 90-day introductory period to have its services available through Limocart.com.

As of Limocart’s Feb. 14 official launch, Mazza has signed up operators in 22 cities as partners in Limocart.com. In the Los Angeles region, for example, two of the chauffeured service providers are BEST CHAUFFEURED WORLDWIDE of Huntington Beach, Calif., operated by Robert Vaughan, and EXCLUSIVE SEDAN SERVICE of Los Angeles, owned by the father-son team of Ron and Brandan Stein.

The site enables customers to get pricing, book rides, and get instant confirmations all in real time. They also may book buses, taxis, hotels, flights, and/or tours. When book chauffeured rides, users choose the vehicles, locations, and rates, Mazza said.

LIMOCART was founded in 2009 and developed by Mesut Darendeli, also the president and CEO of RHXO TECHNOLOGY GROUP of Edgewater, N.J., and Emin Kahyaoglu, also the president of KISMET EXECUTIVE LIMOUSINE SERVICE in Teaneck, N.J. The founders developed their exclusive software technology in New York over the last three years, using a team of 11 engineers.

The owners and investors plan to build up Limocart during the next five years and eventually make it attractive for a possible sale to a larger online travel booking site or venture, Mazza said.