Advertising Age – November 17, 2008 DETROIT (AdAge.com) — The eight major car-rental brands have been hit by a perfect storm of lower demand, less airport travel, tight credit and a shift by automakers from their traditional stance of buying back most of their vehicles. Nearly all the big players, now controlled by just four […]
Financial Times : August 12, 2008 North America’s car-rental operators are being squeezed from all sides, and the pain is apparent in their financial performance, share prices and credit ratings. Downturns in the airline, hotel, financial services and vehicle manufacturing sectors have taken their toll. Hertz Global Holdings reported a 39 per cent drop in […]
Chicago Tribune July 27, 2008 Back in the good old days of getting 12 miles to the gallon without care, a free upgrade at the car-rental counter was great news. With nothing but good fortune on your side, all the compact or economy cars would be gone and—voila!—that diminutive Chevy Cobalt became a hulking Chevy […]
By Ken Bensinger | Los Angeles Times Staff Writer | July 14, 2008 David Sikorski went to a Hertz in Austin, Texas, last month to rent a car for a business trip to Dallas. He’d booked a fuel-efficient mid-size sedan, hoping to keep expenses down on the 400-mile round trip. What he got was a […]
New York Times: June 24, 2008 While a lot of attention has been paid in recent weeks to the fees that struggling airlines are adding to ticket prices, car rental companies have been quietly doing the same thing. Industry analysts say the cost of various optional, but heavily promoted, services like navigation units and fuel […]
USA Today : June 17, 2008 If it was difficult to swallow $4-a-gallon for gas, try digesting $8 — the current price you’ll pay at some car rental locations if you return your vehicle without a full tank. A USA TODAY survey of eight car rental companies found prices of $7.99, or $8, a gallon […]
Watch Your Back: Car Rental Scams Exposed PDF
Bottom Line Personal: May 15. 2007 Rental-car prices change as often as 20 times a day, with swings as great as 28%, says auto-rental consultant Michael J. Kane. Thanks to the Internet, rental firms repeatedly compare prices charged by competitors and adjust their own prices quickly. Strategy: Compare prices on Web sites such as Orbitz […]
Auto Rental News December 2006 Three years ago, we asked the question: As part of the balance a well-run rental company should have, you should be prepared to have some portion of your fleet as “risk” cars, just to offset the possibility that the manufacturers might some day do away with their buyback programs. That […]
Auto Rental News July/August 2005 My previous article talked about the importance of proper fleet planning and dedicating the appropriate resources and time to get the job done and reduce costs. In light of the response I received, that article prompted some of you to start thinking more about fleet and review where your company […]
