Updates

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 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.

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”.

Village Implements IMG’s Clean Care Guidelines

In December 2019, Village was accepted as a member of the International Motorcoach Group (IMG). As such, Village has adopted the association’s Clean Care initiative outlined below, in addition to our own cleaning procedures. 

May 22, 2020 – Published by International Motorcoach Group

Building on our continued commitment of our client’s well being when travelling aboard our motorcoaches, IMG today introduced “Clean Care”.

Providing a clean environment for both employees and guest is our commitment. Our “Clean Care” guidelines have been developed to meet or exceed the guidelines set forth by the CDC, as well as recommendations of the travel industry and medical community.

Each individual IMG company welcomes the conversation with our guests, as you plan future travel and look to motorcoach transportation. Motorcoaches have always been a clean, safe, and green mode of travel. These luxury vehicles offer the opportunity to have plenty of space for comfort and peace of mind.

As you consider your next trip, we will be your partner to travel the roads and highways of North America.

VEHICLE PREPARATION
Prior to every trip, we will clean and disinfect each vehicle utilizing a documented check list to ensure a consistently clean, sanitized, and safe vehicle.

WHILE TRAVELING
Our professional drivers will maintain a clean and sanitized environment for our passengers while traveling. Throughout the day, during stops, and at the end of each day, the driver will clean and sanitize high touch areas exposed to potential contamination. This includes:

  • All handrails used for entering and exiting vehicle
  • The driver area
  • Overhead compartments
  • Audio / Video equipment
  • Seat armrests and seatbelts
  • Restroom door handles and exposed surfaces
  • Regular trash disposal
  • Replenish passenger comfort supplies

DEEP CLEANING
At regular planned intervals, vehicles will undergo enhanced deep cleaning and disinfecting procedures to supplement daily cleaning. Enhanced cleaning procedures include the use of specialty misting or fogging equipment to ensure the interior of the vehicle is sanitized.

SOCIAL DISTANCING
We encourage responsible dialogue to attain the correct level of comfort for your clients within the vehicle. Topics that should be discussed:

  • Wearing of face mask by passengers,
  • Seating arrangements and vehicle capacity.

At times CDC, Federal or local guidelines may already be established for specific types of transportation and geographic regions.

Looking for up-to-date info on COVID-19 policies, cancellations, and information at Village Travel? Visit our COVID-19 Resource Page.

New Coaches Join the Fleet

The last month has been busy with equipment changes! In order to maintain a high-quality, modern fleet of motorcoaches, we often buy, sell, and trade coaches. This allows us to keep up with growing demand in the various markets throughout Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas that we serve. Our fleet of buses features some of the newest, nicest coaches around. As deluxe coaches get older and are replaced with newer models, they often become standard coaches or are sold to other bus companies in the midwest. Deluxe coaches are used on many of our bus trips for seniors and are preferred by many of our charter bus customers as well.

In August, we took delivery of 1 brand new entertainer coach, 2 new Prevost seated coaches, 3 new MCI coaches and 3 used Prevost seated coaches. Several other units were recently sold or traded. Village’s fleet consists of both Prevost and MCI motorcoaches, two of the most popular, well-known motorcoach brands. Pictured: Village drivers Steve Cutler (Wichita), Donovan Gilden (Wichita) and Ray Rich (Tulsa) flew to Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada) to take delivery of the new MCI coaches. While there, they received a tour of the MCI factory before heading home.

Entertainer coaches traditionally receive names rather than unit numbers. Our new coach was christened as “Shocker,” a nod to our roots in Wichita (home of the Wichita State University Shockers). The coach departed from Nashville, Tennessee on September 12 with a band for a 3-month nationwide tour. The Prevost shell was converted by Integrity Coach Interiors, located near Nashville.

The various new and used seated coaches have been spread among our seven locations (Wichita, KS; Oklahoma City, OK; Tulsa, OK; Salina, KS; Springfield, MO; Fort Smith, AR; and Springdale, AR)  based on demand and fleet average age. After all of the fleet changes, Village currently operates a total of 139 seated and entertainer coaches.