Las Vegas - Car rental deals on a decline

I've been watching the rates for the last several weeks for the next few months and I am terribly surprised how the typical car rental rate for an economy car is now $25 and higher when last year or even the year before you could get Enterprise, Thrifty, or Dollar for around $10/day. Obviously, the car rental companies aren't hurting even though the hotels are doing what they can to get people to stay and play at their casinos. Go figure.

Rates on LAS cars, like LAS hotels, vary according to whether it's a weekday or weekend; and whether there's a big convention in town. Where are you getting these numbers? Are these successful priceline bids or retail?

Also, just like airlines cutting capacity, rental car companies are cutting back on number of available cars hence higher rates.

i actually got a full size ($18/day) booked with alamo next weekend for a total of $80 for 3 days. a ridiculous 50%+ taxes & fees is what killed the deal. but $80/3 weekend days is a lot cheaper comparing to other rental companies' discounts.

there are discount codes out there. you just have to look for them.

i usually check the fatwallet travel section for discount codes tho.

also, keep rechecking the rates. Alamo historically drops prices based on inventory 2-3 weeks out.

Alamo historically drops prices based on inventory 2-3 weeks out.
Translation please?

Translation please?

I imagine the poster meant that Alamo keeps prices relatively high until about 2-3 weeks out, and then if they have fewer reservations than they were hoping for, drops prices dramatically in the final couple of weeks.

Rental car companies can shift their inventories from one part of the country to another much more readily than hotels can. And I would think that rental companies rotate through their inventories (acquiring new cars and retiring old cars) pretty rapidly compared to individual hotels (which have fixed inventories of rooms), so they can try to adjust to the economic times by cutting back on their acquisitions and letting their average car age rise.

I checked prices today with Alamo today and the rates havent come down, maybe a $10 dollars if you rent a day or two. If you try any more than that or try to get a weeks rental today for example, it's the same rate as it in July and August. I believe this isn't just Alamo but everywhere in Vegas. This makes finding a back-up reservation very difficult and unaffordable.

LAS rental rates fluctuate wildly based on car demand. Nonetheless, deals are out there for June. July is the start of a new pricing/promotion period. Generally, LAS prices wont drop until a couple weeks into July. It's a game of chicken to see who will lower their rates first. It happens every year.

Even if prices do drop in July, like they do every year. There was an article in a paper back in January how Car Rental Agencies, especially in Vegas layed off many people, cut back on supply, and jacked up their rates. Unfortunately, I don't believe rates will be similar to what they were last year in the summer.

Even if prices do drop in July, like they do every year. There was an article in a paper back in January how Car Rental Agencies, especially in Vegas layed off many people, cut back on supply, and jacked up their rates. Unfortunately, I don't believe rates will be similar to what they were last year in the summer.

While that was the case in March & April, May & June have been amongst the cheapest for me in a long time. The players and deals have changed, but they are still out there. Hertz is a LOT more expensive than it used to be; Avis has dropped its prices dramatically. Budget is a maverick situation as a franchise location. Thrifty & Dollar are consistent in their pricing. Alamo has really dropped its shorts with 4 day weekday rentals coming in as low as $44 a/i. National just dropped their pricing for LAS too. Fox is going for $20/day most of the time. I can't comment on Enterprise as I don't rent from them frequently. My average cost is $150 / week all-in for rental cars. I go as low as $100 if extra points/miles collection is not #1 priority.

While the economy is not growing rapidly, there are signs of recovery all over the country. When people get money, they go to LAS. This weekend was extremely busy with many hotels completely sold out. Did you know that? It did not make the national news. Basing your opinions of LAS on newspapers articles published 6 months ago is simply asinine. The situation on the ground is not the same now as it was back then.

While the economy is not growing rapidly, there are signs of recovery all over the country. When people get money, they go to LAS. This weekend was extremely busy with many hotels completely sold out.

Yep, quite busy this weekend. Cheaper airfares and cheap hotel rooms will bring more people hence car rental rates not dropping significantly. Still not as many people gaming however. It's been a while since I've seen Venetian that busy during a Sunday night.

While that was the case in March & April, May & June have been amongst the cheapest for me in a long time. The players and deals have changed, but they are still out there. Hertz is a LOT more expensive than it used to be; Avis has dropped its prices dramatically. Budget is a maverick situation as a franchise location. Thrifty & Dollar are consistent in their pricing. Alamo has really dropped its shorts with 4 day weekday rentals coming in as low as $44 a/i. National just dropped their pricing for LAS too. Fox is going for $20/day most of the time. I can't comment on Enterprise as I don't rent from them frequently. My average cost is $150 / week all-in for rental cars. I go as low as $100 if extra points/miles collection is not #1 priority.

The rates we're getting use carrentals.com are showing up at $150 or more + taxes for a week in mid July for a sub compact or compact.
While the economy is not growing rapidly, there are signs of recovery all over the country. When people get money, they go to LAS. This weekend was extremely busy with many hotels completely sold out. Did you know that? It did not make the national news. Basing your opinions of LAS on newspapers articles published 6 months ago is simply asinine. The situation on the ground is not the same now as it was back then.
It don't matter what my opinion is. The reality is I'm not finding reasonable prices for rentals of one week and we go to Vegas every year around the same time. The article in the paper(s) and people's RECENT experiences support my findings. Not sure why can't accept that and resort to flaming.

FROM: Fat Wallet Car Rental Thread.

Las Vegas 7 day rental Alamo.
I've been monitoring for a while and the prices are just starting to come down for July/August rentals.
Starting at around a foolish $269.00.
After a lot of trying different codes etc, as a FF junkie I found a AA frequent flyer miles (American Airlines, not AAA)
ID 7014136, that produced triple miles and about 10% off, plus stack with the Costco One free day coupon code AF3803JDZ
Produced a 7 day compact car rate of $115.00 plus junk fees and taxes = $173.34

Sign up for the FREE Alamo.com renter program (not Quicksilver) input your details (no CC reqd) and bypass the desk directly to the self-checkin kiosk.
All legal - no worries
YMMV

I think you really have to do the research now and continually check the rates.

I was able to secure a four-day rental at the end of August from Hertz for a midsize using the Southwest Airlines discount code and got a smoking deal of $120.07 which includes all taxes and fees.

So, that is booked and I will continue to check until my trip.

The rates we're getting use carrentals.com are showing up at $150 or more + taxes for a week in mid July for a sub compact or compact.

It don't matter what my opinion is. The reality is I'm not finding reasonable prices for rentals of one week and we go to Vegas every year around the same time. The article in the paper(s) and people's RECENT experiences support my findings. Not sure why can't accept that and resort to flaming.

The Hertz AAA July weekly rate is $115++ prepaid or $132++ postpaid. Combine this weekly rate coupon 128844 for $35 off and you are under $100 per week before taxes & fees. See my prediction in post #9 (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/11943239-post9.html).

Looking at Southwest.com, similar rates are available with ALL LAS Rental Companies. FWIW, carrentals.com no longer has all the good deals out there. Please don't make a blanket statement based on just one for profit website.

I am finding GREAT deals at LAS this summer - you just need to look for them. Not to ever direct people away from FT, but FatWallet has a specific thread for people looking for car rental rate help.