Limo companies to hire seasonal workers for 2012 Convention

TAMPA - Thousands of people will visit Tampa Bay next summer for the Republican National Convention.  Thousands of people who will need a ride.

"Typically, a client will come for 25 cars, looking for a week, round-the-clock type of service," said MarkAnthony R. Little, Skyline Limousine.

Little expects his business to blow up, because many convention visitors will choose to travel by limo or hired car.

"I think it's a huge opportunity for the bay itself," he said.

Little says an average night for Skyline Limousine includes a dozen or so cars on the road but they expect the number to more than double to as many as 25 cars each day during convention week. They plan to hire to accommodate the increase in clients.

"A lot of people who do pre-production like UPS workers, anybody who does a considerable amount of transportation, postal workers, stuff like that, or maybe looking for additional part-time work," explained Little.

If you have a commercial driving license or driving experience that may help.

Driver Eddie Mitchell Jr. tells me his company, VIP Limousine, plans to hire too.

"We actually went out and purchased more vehicles," said Mitchell, who has 20 years' experience.

VIP and Skyline says the companies plan to train drivers. The seasonal work could last anywhere from a couple of weeks to a month or longer if business picks up when the convention is over.

"We want to be prepared to take care of it, but there's always something that someone didn't think about, something new.  Our contingency on that is just to have people that are on call and vehicles standing by," said Mitchell.