Washington D.C. (including Baltimore) - Car rental at BWI

Which rental car companies have counters at BWI that are manned 24 hrs? I had a terrible experience there a year or so ago with a late night arrival when the computer didn't recognize my reservation and it took me over an hour to find a human being and straighten it out. I'm going to be arriving late again - this time with an infant so I definitely want to be able to get in my car and go. Thanks.

Which rental car companies have counters at BWI that are manned 24 hrs? I had a terrible experience there a year or so ago with a late night arrival when the computer didn't recognize my reservation and it took me over an hour to find a human being and straighten it out. I'm going to be arriving late again - this time with an infant so I definitely want to be able to get in my car and go. Thanks.
Your best bet is to set up a profile and attach it to your reservation before your trip, that will make the check in quicker and give them another way to locate the reservation. Autoslash.com is good to see pricing and companies, then check the website for each company for hours at the airport location. G'Luck.

What time is your flight? You can go to the car rental company Web sites and see which are open 24 hours a day (e.g., Avis). Budget says it's open 5 a.m.-1 a.m. Don't know about the others. But even if the counter is technically open when you arrive, I'm not sure how you guarantee that someone will be at the counter, and not elsewhere on the premises (e.g., back office, out at the cars). You don't say what was the situation last time. I gather the counter was techncially open but the person on duty somewhere else. You could phone in advance to see what kind of feedback you get.

I think the idea of opening a profile (and maybe join the company's frequent renter club, such as the Hetz #1 Club-- they all have them) is a good one. When you get on the shuttle bus at the terminal that goes to the rental facility, ask if the driver can phone the counter to alert them a customer is on their way. Or, better yet, you phone (get the counter's number in advance so you don't end up calling the national number), since the shuttle bus is one for all of the rental companies. The last time I was at the BWI rental facility about 11 p.m., I think only one counter (Budget) had more than one person on duty and that may well have been a coincidence. We endedup using Avis since the others had such a poor selection of cars (luck of the draw that night). Good luck.