Other Car Rental Programs/Partners (ie. Alamo, Enterprise, Sixt) - Alamo Rates Depend on Arrival Time?

View Full Version : Alamo Rates Depend on Arrival Time?

timstravel

Jan 16, 08, 7:10 am

Paminaz

Jan 19, 08, 10:31 pm

I'm booking a reservation on alamo.com and I enter the following trip info:

Arrive: 4:00PM 1/27 (Sunday)
Return: 12:00 PM 2/8 (Friday)

and get quoted a pre-tax total of $185.75 = 1 week @ 107.70 + 5 days @ 15.61

So far, so good. Then I change the arrival time to 3:30PM and rerun the same quote. The results are astoundingly different:

1 week @ 164.00 + 5 days @ 32.00 = Total 324.00++

The higher rate persisted even if I changed the return time to earlier in the day, e.g. 11:00 AM. I could get the lower rate if I picked up at or after 4PM, even if I changed the return time to 1:00PM. So I was actually getting quoted a much higher rate for keeping the car for a shorter period of time.

Anyone seen anything like this before? Any idea why Alamo would care what time of day I was going to pick up the car?

(Of course I'm going to book the 4PM arrival and show up whenever...)

The computer is calculating the best rate based on the time perameters you are putting in the computer. If you arrive earlier than the time you reserve, it could kick in the higher rate you were getting because your rental is not within the times you said you would have the car. You already showed yourself what the rate would do. We see it all the time and have to explain to ppl daily why their rate changed at time of rental. The rate they book fits the time they book and when you stray outside those time constraints, then all bets are off.
Part of it has to do with picking up on a Sunday...which is the end of the weekend. You might be triggering a weekend special the location has going with the one particular time you are putting in or you might be tagging into some weekly special with the later time, who knows. Locations run specials do to events or slow times or whatever and that triggers special rates. But they are all time sensative. Just by changing things by a half hour you can mess the whole thing up. The location isn't necessarily obligated to your res quote if you stray outside those time specs. Before you book the res it will tell you about all this along the left hand side of your screen.

timstravel

Jan 31, 08, 7:16 am

The computer is calculating the best rate based on the time perameters you are putting in the computer. If you arrive earlier than the time you reserve, it could kick in the higher rate you were getting because your rental is not within the times you said you would have the car.
Part of it has to do with picking up on a Sunday...which is the end of the weekend. You might be triggering a weekend special the location has going with the one particular time you are putting in or you might be tagging into some weekly special with the later time, who knows. Locations run specials do to events or slow times or whatever and that triggers special rates. Just by changing things by a half hour you can mess the whole thing up.

I know the computer was messing with me... I just for the life of me can't figure out what kind of "specials" would begin at 4PM on a Sunday. I could perhaps understand 4PM on Thursday or Friday triggering a weekend rate.

Whatever the cause, it's something Alamo should address if they don't want to lose business. If I had been a less savvy shopper, I might have just tried a 3:30 pickup time, saw a rate that was uncompetitive and gone elsewhere. Just because of a lousy 30 minutes that didn't have to make a difference.