Hidden Gems: Meet David Kaheh of Gray Line Arizona

Today we’d like to introduce you to David Kaheh.

Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, how did you get started?
I’ve been self-employed throughout my life, driven by an entrepreneurial spirit and a knack for seizing opportunities. In 2003, with just $500 to my name, I arrived in the US. I embraced hard work and understood that sustained effort and unwavering dedication could lead to achieving the American Dream. Recognizing the power of the American financial system to support personal ambitions, I adopted a determined mindset. This approach has proven effective – success is attainable with dedication, guided by wise counsel. Today, I stand as a testament to the American Dream. Starting with very little, I now oversee around 50 properties, spanning various sectors like automotive, transportation, ranching, and real estate.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I have had a lot of good years and bad years and a lot of highs and lows. Nothing came easy. I have lived all over the world. I moved from Germany to the US and had to start from zero. I, yet again, had to learn the language, culture, slang, and everything that goes with trying to be part of society to stand on my own feet. I worked hard to learn all I could so people would understand me and accept me as someone they could trust to do business with. I was going to Scottsdale Community College and would get only 4 hours of sleep because I was working a full-time job at Basha’s and 2 part-time jobs at a 99-cent store & Pizza Place while I was a full-time student with 9 to 12 credits each semester. Then, I met my roommate, who was driving a town car for hire. I started renting his car for half days to work and be able to quit my other jobs. I was looking for a job that would cover my school tuition, apartment rent, and car payments so I could focus on school.

Business was good driving the town car; shortly after, I bought my first Lincoln Town Car in 2003. I got to work with 5 diamond resorts like Royal Palm, Princess Resort and Four Seasons, Wigwam Resort, and many more in the valley. As part of those accounts, I drove Jennifer Lopez & Mark Anthony ( Phoenician Resort for Mark Anthony show downtown Phoenix ), David Spade ( Phoenician Resort ), Michael Strahan & Jay Glazer ( Jay Glazer Scottsdale home and Princess Resort ), Nikki Minaj (Wigwam Resort Litchfield Park AZ to Glendale Arena ), Rusty Wallace Senior ( Wigwam Resort ) Karl Rove ( Wigwam Resort ), Robert Reiner (Wigwam Resort ) Micheal Dunken ( Four Seasons Resort ), John Krasinski ( Wild Horse Pass SuperBowl 20008), Leslie Jones ( Hilton Scottsdale ), Stone Cold Steve Austin ( WWE Down Town Phoenix to his private Jet Cutter Aviation), Lewis Black ( Princess Scottdale ) and so many other congressmen & women, ball players and more that I drove. And yes, business was good, and I was on the mountain.

The business was doing so well that I had to quit school. Shortly after making the decision, I owned around 30 town cars & SUVs, leasing them to other drivers weekly and making a fortune for a guy who had just a few years in the US. Then I remember, in August 2008, my wife was pregnant, I bought my first house in the United States, and I had just gotten my US citizenship the same month the recession hit the US economy. I had over 30 cars, SUVs, and Vans; more than half of them were dropped by people who leased vehicles from me. They could not make lease payments to me anymore as the economy was going south, so I discussed how to keep it together. I remember I had to count every dollar that came and went out so my family and I could survive while keeping my business afloat.

Then, in 2010, I got more in the bus business. I started selling bigger ticket services in the bus charter industry. I had over 20 buses a few years later, and business again was good. Then, in 2016, a couple of more prominent companies flooded the Phoenix market with Brand New buses, driving the prices down nearly 30% – which made it hard for our locally-owned bus company to compete with their bigger pockets. But we had to match the price to stay in business.

We had a hard time finding drivers since the competitors were offering new buses, health insurance, 401K, vacation, sign-on bonuses of $5K, sick pay, or any other trick to fill out their new buses with drivers to be able to crush the Phoenix market to run all the other competitors out of the Phoenix. So again, I started having difficulty competing and eventually sold my business in 2018 to another bigger transportation company. I was a consultant for 2 years when Covid hit, and everything was, again, back to zero.

So, In 2022, when I was out of my non-compete, I bought Flagstaff Limousine, a little bus company in Flagstaff, Arizona. We had roughly $600K per year of revenue and were able to build Divine Charter Bus Rentals in our Phoenix Location. Divine Charter Bus Rentals of Phoenix has been doing phenomenal sales and went up 10X in less than 2 years thanks to a great friend of mine, Stephanie, with Project 4 Marketing, who helps us with advertising and keeping up with the health of our business.

Recently, two of our charter bus rentals drove Air Force One from the Grand Canyon Airport and took the crew and staff to the Grand Canyon to dedicate a national monument with President Biden. This meant a lot to me. This is why I worked so hard and for so many years to be the most trusted bus rental company in Phoenix, and the honor of driving Air Force One Crew Members was beyond memorable for me and my team. One day, I got a call from my friend Tom Morgan, and he asked me if I was interested in buying his bus company, Gray Line Tours, which has been in his family for more than 108 years. This meant a lot to me. That I could carry on a journey that they started 108 years ago, and now trusted me to be the one to keep it going with his family legacy and keep the doors open for Gray Line Arizona.

Since 1916, Gray Line Arizona has been showing the world Arizona and all its wonders through group tours. Gray Line has also pioneered charter bus transportation, working with companies, area schools, churches, associations, and hotel groups for bus rentals across the state. I am glad to be part of this journey and to keep Gray Line Tours and Bus Rentals going strong into the future. Yes, to be a successful person takes work. It comes with a lot of hard work, consistency, and keeping up with a lot of detail. The old saying goes, “The devil’s in the details.”

As you know, we’re big fans of Gray Line Arizona. What can you tell our readers who might need to be more familiar with the brand?
With a remarkable legacy spanning 108 years, Gray Line Arizona Tours and Bus Rentals is renowned for its modern fleet of charter buses and unparalleled customer service. Our extensive fleet of charter bus rentals in Phoenix, AZ, and Tucson, AZ, are perfect for orchestrating grand events, arranging private tours, facilitating corporate bus rentals, or managing shuttles. We cater to diverse group sizes and destinations with single-day use to multi-day trips. We can take any size group at any distance. We can move 5,000 people in a single move! Gray Line’s lineage is steeped in the traditions of charter and tour services across the southwest. Gray Line has specialized in accommodating large-scale events, employee shuttles, regional extravaganzas, scenic tours, corporate demands, and much more for over a century. Originating as the Citizen Auto Stage Company in 1916, founded by the visionary Tom Morgan, who passed down the legacy to his son and grandson—both aptly named Tom (TJ) Morgan—the roots run deep as Arizona’s trusted charter bus company. From tours to Mexico to private charter bus rentals for schools or corporate events, Gray Line Arizona has been the region’s #1 trusted bus company for over 100 years. Website: https://graylinearizona.com/

What was your favorite childhood memory?
I remember my dad was working for a Mercedes bus manufacturer and getting dropped by our home on a big yellow employee shuttle bus daily. I looked forward to greeting him every day at the drop-off point.

Pricing:

• Affordable

Contact Info:

• Website: https://graylinearizona.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/graylinetucson/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/graylinetours.tucson/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/GrayLineBusAZ
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@graylinetoursofarizona954/videos
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/gray-line-arizona-tucson
• Other: https://goo.gl/maps/AJDRD1C6NTyV2f1K9