FIVE MINUTES WITH... Photo © Ly nn Hoogerhyde
Lynn Hoogerhyde
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Edited by Sarah Suydam Lynn Hoogerhyde, Team Lead Sales and Agency Management, Flix North America, Inc., got their start in travel by managing bus terminal operations under an independent contractor and loved the environment and challenge. From there, they took an area manager role with Greyhound before migrating to a Flix team after they acquired the company in 2021. Groups Today caught up with Hoogerhyde to get their perspective on where the industry is headed and more.
What are the most interesting industry changes you’ve experienced? T he i ndu st r y bega n to de velop on l i ne low-cost operators i n t he e a rl y 2 0 0 0 s w it h bu s i ne s s e s l i ke Spi r it A i rl i nes a nd Megabu s becoming ver y popular. This created compet it iveness and drive to r un a lea n bu si ness model t hat had u s on ou r toes. Customers had ma ny options to travel on a budget across the nation, and even into Canada and Mex ico. A lot of t his came crashing dow n w ith COV ID-19 halting crossborder travel and caused people to be leer y of public transportation—even a f ter rest r ic t ions had been l i f ted. Many jobs were lost, and some travel companies went out of business, but there were positive outcomes, too. T he r ise of on l i ne ser v ices was accelerated, allow ing for e-ticketing, check-in and real time travel updates a ll to your phone. It took years for ridership to return to pre-pandemic levels, but t he ripple effects of t his time can still be felt. Flix is another ex tension of t he rise in technolog y centered travel, allow ing customers the f lex ibilit y to change their ticket dates or check the status of their bus right in the app. What opportunities do you see for the industry? Bus travel has come a long way, now offering things like on-board Wi-Fi and management of your own travel in the app. Services have become more
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reliable, and the network continues to expand. I believe the opportunity for bus travel is both in the consumer’s image of what bus travel looks like and in local governments embracing connectivit y for their constituency. The problem with transit advocacy is it tends to be left to the 20% of the population that actually utilizes the services, even though it helps everyone. Utilizing mass transit keeps the roads less congested with single vehicles and saves parking spaces. Mass transit has a lower carbon footprint and helps keep city air cleaner for everyone. The industry has so much room to grow, if the American population will embrace its benefit for all. What are some of your proudest moments in your career thus far? My proudest moments in my career a l l come f rom t raveler sent i ment. W hen people hear what I do, t hey tend to tell me their story of traveling on the bus. So many people have had amazing experiences or deep-rooted connections to Greyhound. I’ve talked with friends about their experiences as you ng people t ravel i ng to a nd from college; I’ve met ticket agents who are second and third generation work i ng i n t he bus i ndust r y; I’ve interviewed a reseller whose late dad was a bus driver and she still carried a picture of him in his uniform. The bus has touched so many people’s lives, and it always touches my heart to hear these stories.