Byline: David Kesmodel News Staff Writer
Lugging an 8-foot ski bag or a set of golf clubs to the airport has always been a hassle. After the Sept. 11 hijackings, which prompted tougher security, it got even worse.
Hoping to take advantage of the increase in travel delays is Durango-based startup Sports Express LLC, which operates a sports equipment and luggage delivery service for travelers in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The company teams with shippers such as UPS and FedEx to pick up skis, golf clubs, bikes and other gear at travelers' homes or businesses and deliver it to their destination in time for their arrival.
Sports Express typically charges about $45 one-way per item for the service, which it launched in February after about two years of testing.
``This turns around the airport experience because you get to make a call and forget about your gear until you get to your hotel and have it waiting for you,'' said David Welz, Sports Express' director of sales and marketing.
The company originally planned to ship sports equipment exclusively. But when customers showed interest in having basic luggage delivered, too, it expanded its offering. That move puts Sports Express in competition with companies such as Virtual Bellhop and SkyCap International. Sports Express partners FedEx and UPS also offer such services on their own.
Companies are seeing more demand for gear delivery, thanks to airport check-in lines that sometimes snake 80-people deep and increased federal bans on carry-ons, including golf clubs.
Sports Express' customers schedule shipments on its Web site or by calling a toll-free number. The company built a Web-based tool to monitor the progress of deliveries and issue e-mail and fax updates to travelers.
To enhance its revenue stream, Sports Express teams with airlines, ski and golf resorts and travel reservation centers to market its service.
The company's ski-resort partners include Durango Mountain Resort, Steamboat Ski Resort and Crested Butte Mountain Resort.
``A good portion of our skiers and (snowboarders) fly in from Denver, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico, and it seems to be a lot easier when someone else takes care of the gear end for them,'' said Matt Skinner, spokesman for Durango Mountain Resort. During the ski season, about 15 flights land daily at Durango / La Plata County Airport.
Sports Express' airline partners include America West Airlines and Great Plains Airlines.
The company's pitch to carriers is that it can help speed their operations by handling much of their customers' baggage. Airlines must check every piece of luggage by Dec. 31 under tougher government rules imposed after Sept. 11.
Sports Express, which is backed by Houston venture-capital firm Odyssey Capital LLC, estimates that the total domestic market for sports gear and luggage delivery for air travelers is about $500 million.
The company declined to give projections for annual revenues in its first operating year, but Chief Executive Jay Marqua said: ``We have plans that are exceeding our grasp right now. We are moving very, very quickly.''
Sports Express has 21 employees today and expects to have as many as 40 by the end of the year.
``We've invested substantially in technology to keep that number as low as possible,'' Marqua said.
INFOBOX
AT A GLANCE
Company: Sports Express LLC
Founded: 1999
Headquarters: Durango
Business: Operates a sports equipment and gear delivery service for skiers, golfers, cyclists and other travelers to resorts nationwide and in the UK.
CEO: Jay Marqua
Number of employees: 21 total, 19 in Durango
CAPTION(S):
Photo, Logo
Jay Marqua, chief executive of Sports Express, says his company has ``plans that are exceeding our grasp right now. We are moving very, very quickly.'' The company has 21 employees and expects to have as many as 40 by the end of the year. Rocky Mountain News
CAPTION: Sports Express / Sports Equipment Delivery Service. See Infobox for additional information.
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