Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1219206
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 MARCH 2020 21 COMMERCIAL Cool expands to more localities A strong customer experience rewards Frank Salt Real Estate with another successful year COOL, which last year revolu- tionised Malta's transport net- work with the first ride-pooling service of its kind, has expanded yet again to become even more accessible and affordable. The innovative ride-pooling service has now been extended to 17 further localities, while its pricing plan has been updated from a standard set fee to tiered rates calculated according to distance. Launched by Debono Group in July 2019, Cool's concept blends private cabs with public transport by offering shared car rides. Booking their 'rides' via a dedicated mobile app, passen- gers are collected in a shared vehicle from a nearby corner – saving time, money, as well as the environment through the reduction of their carbon foot- print via the reduction of single occupancy rides. In fact, every Cool car with three passengers, could remove the equivalent of two cars on the roads. Cool initially operated in a limited number of localities, lat- er extending to a further seven zones as appetite for the ser- vice grew. Today, Cool carries out an ever-increasing figure of around 10,000 rides per week, and, as part of the company's bid to eventually extend the ser- vice to the entirety of Malta, it has now introduced even more localities to the network. "Our aim from the launch was to make ride-pooling available to the whole of Malta, ideal- ly within a year of operations," explains Cool CEO Laura Jase- naite. "We started around the central areas of Malta and had an overwhelmingly positive response; people love the con- venience, ease of booking, and stress-free drop off that also avoids the need to find parking. Thanks to this latest expansion we are now operational in a to- tal of 54 localities." The 17 new localities in which Cool now operates are Ba- har ic-Caghaq, Birgu, Bormla, Bugibba, Bulebel, Burmarrad, Fgura, Isla, Kalkara, Maghtab, Marsascala, Qawra, Salina, Tarxien, Xemxija, Xghajra and Zabbar. With the larger net- work comes a greater variety of distances travelled by passen- gers, and so Cool has also opted to update its fixed pricing plan accordingly. While distances between 2km and 7.99km re- main at the standard rate of €4.95, passengers travelling up to 1.99km can expect to pay just €3.95 for their journey. Like- wise, any distance from 8km upwards will be €4.95, while there is a charge of €2 for every additional 3km. For more information and to download the Cool mobile phone app, visit www.cool.com. mt. AROUND 200 staff mem- bers were invited to the Palace Hotel in Sliema on Tuesday 3 March for Frank Salt Real Estate Group's Annual General Con- ference. The much-coveted yearly event kicked off with an emo- tional speech by Chairman and founder Frank Salt, who thanked the team for their un- ending hard work and dedica- tion. Over 50 years, the compa- ny grew from a one-man-show to a team of just under 200. We are today not just colleagues but a family. We will continue to not only grow but expand into new markets. The event also included a series of motivation- al video speeches by renowned international sportsman and entrepreneurs highlighting the importance of endurance and pushing oneself to the limit. In a highly charged address, Direc- tor Grahame Salt, maintained "You need to keep believing in yourselves, learn from your mistakes and never let anyone put you down. To be successful you must be the hardest work- ing person in the room." Grahame continued to high- light the marketing efforts un- dertaken by the company last year, namely local and foreign campaigns which ran through various media channels, as well as local and overseas events and seminars Frank Salt Real Estate participated in or sponsored. Frank Salt Real Estate's Letting Division registered a record year in terms of revenue, along with our Property Management and Home Interiors Divisions, who registered growth of +24%. The company also recorded a phenomenal increase in website traffic, as a result of our mar- keting efforts to boost our pres- ence on social media platforms and ongoing investments in the company's websites – aimed at improving the visitor's online experience. This year's main focus will be to ensure that we deliver on our brand promise - trust, integri- ty, service and the best possible customer experience, which clients expect to receive from a company like Frank Salt Real Estate. 200 staff members were invited to the Palace Hotel on Tuesday 3 March Every woman's GoTo WOMEN are universally amaz- ing. We seem to be able to fit 48 hours into a 24-hour-day, with most wearing multiple 'caps' simultaneously, from raising the next generation of human- ity to leading multi-national, multi-million corporations, and everything in between. We can be at once parents, family organisers, therapists, financial specialists, prob- lem-solvers, negotiators – and the list goes on. Women are the glue that holds the world together; a fact acknowledged globally every March 8 on In- ternational Women's Day. Female versatility also con- tinues to drive Malta's business world, particularly at one of the country's newest transport start-ups, GoTo. As COO, Li- ana Cremona has been a vital part of electric vehicle-sharing company's continuing success story, using a unique skillset that has been curated through- out her colourful career. Grad- uating in Hospitality Manage- ment, Liana worked in various sectors from hotels to insurance services, shipping to corporate international events. In fact, she reached her goal of becoming an Operations Manager at just 21 years of age – leaving Liana at a career crossroads. It was this bespoke business experience – that blended personal insights, a high standard of customer care and an understanding of what it takes to create a happy, efficient and motivated team – that Liana has now brought to the table at GoTo, with im- pressive results. At the electric car-sharing innovator, Liana's various teams are responsible for keeping everything – and every GoTo customer – mov- ing. Between them, they redis- tribute GoTo's three fleets of one-way and round-trip cars and moped scooters across the Maltese islands, re-charge, clean, maintain and repair the vehicles, install EV chargers, as- sist customers across social me- dia, and handle any insurance claims and contraventions.