http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...9,0,5170409.story?coll=orl-business-headlines
Door-to-door luggage service takes off
Orlando-based BAGS Inc. is growing rapidly as tourism partners such as Disney World sign up for its program.
Beth Kassab | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted December 19, 2005
The way people move through airports is changing here in Central Florida and elsewhere across the country.
Curbside luggage check-in is becoming more rare. Stops at baggage claim are declining. And the lines at ticket counters are shorter than ever.
One Orlando-based company is taking a leading role in the evolution of hassle-free travel -- or at least that's its goal.
"Somehow, someway this little company got tapped to do this," said Craig Mateer, owner of BAGS Inc. "BAGS is really just a small, aggressive company that has a lot of big partners."
What started at one International Drive hotel in August 2003 has grown into a cross-country venture that now includes Hawaii and, soon, Guam -- and which expects to serve its millionth customer by the beginning of next year.
While BAGS (which stands for "baggage airline guest services") isn't the only company pushing door-to-door luggage service and remote-site check-in for airline flights, it has catapulted this year from several hundred passengers a day to thousands.
The reason is Disney's Magical Express, a free shuttle-and-baggage service between the Walt Disney World and Orlando International Airport.
An average of about 10,000 tourists use the service each day, according to Disney figures. Moving, checking and screening all of their luggage has led to the development of the first large-scale "virtual airport" in the United States -- a model others are now trying to replicate.
"It's all in customer service," said Jose Hernandez, landside-operations director at San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.
Hernandez, who was in Orlando recently to tour the Magical Express operation, has his sights set on bringing off-site check-in and baggage services to his airport in Southern California.
"Our focus is, at this point, really nationwide success," Mateer said. "We want to take the Orlando template and perfect it while we're out there starting other cities."
BAGS began at the Rosen Centre Hotel on International Drive and quickly began to move toward the cruise industry, printing airline boarding passes for passengers while they are still at sea.
Now, Mateer said, the service is in a dozen major cities and expects to continue to grow next year.
Other major players in Orlando tourism are looking at setting up their own services.
Universal Orlando spokesman Tom Schroder said his resort had "preliminary, exploratory conversations" with a company called Baggage CK but hasn't talked to the company in months.
"We're not ready to talk about future business plans or strategies," Schroder said. "Being at the forefront of guest service is important to us, but we always want to find a way to do it with a Universal touch."
BAGS has expanded so quickly because it has an agreement to use technology for a "virtual airport" from Air Inc., allowing it to print airline boarding passes from hotels, convention centers and from cruise ships at sea.
It also has developed a system for transporting luggage so that travelers don't have to haul it through the airport. Instead, more travelers are growing accustomed to the convenience of checking their luggage at their home airport and not seeing it again until they arrive in their hotel room or on their cruise ship.
The idea for the service started with a Nevada-based company called CAPS (Certified Airline Passenger Services) that ran remote check-in services from 13 hotels in Las Vegas. After the terrorist attacks of September 2001, federal security officials prohibited the practice, and CAPS went under.
In the past three years, though, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration has changed its mind, welcoming services that, in Disney's case, allow thousands of bags to be screened outside the main airport terminal.
Also, I do not have to pay for transportation, as the "mouse" provides me with FREE transportation, so yes I am saving a LOT! I think its a bit much to pay 100.00 for a "limo" to take you to your hotel and back to the airport, when you can do it for free! Sure, its nice, but I go 3-4 times a year and don't have 400.00 to throw away just on Transportation! 
