Cars at HOU (Houston Hobby Airport)
Mar 2, 2015, 2:59 pm
#31
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: DAL, DFW
Programs: WN A-List; Hyatt Diamond; Marriott Gold; National Executive
Posts: 164
Lot was slammed - again - cars everywhere. Reserved midsize (like usual) but needed an SUV because I have something big I needed to pick up. Lot attendant said "There's a Suburban over there I was about to move. If you take it, I won't have to move it! Hint hint, wink wink...". I took it.
2015 White Suburban LT with leather, SiriusXM, the works (no sunroof). 648 miles on it.
2015 White Suburban LT with leather, SiriusXM, the works (no sunroof). 648 miles on it.
Apr 18, 2015, 2:01 pm
#33
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: ATL
Programs: Marriott Platinum, Delta Kryptonium Medallion, National Executive
Posts: 1,889
Saturday, April 18, 2015 3:00 pm
Both ES and EA were well stocked but no abundance of standouts.
ES:
Passat (Wolfsburg Edition with 156 miles so I took it)
F150 XLT
Altimas
Malibus
Impalas
Sonatas
Pathfinder
Rogue
Optima
200s
Equinox
Ram 1500 Hemi
to name a few.
Most were low level trim. I think I got the only vehicle with leather.
ES:
Passat (Wolfsburg Edition with 156 miles so I took it)
F150 XLT
Altimas
Malibus
Impalas
Sonatas
Pathfinder
Rogue
Optima
200s
Equinox
Ram 1500 Hemi
to name a few.
Most were low level trim. I think I got the only vehicle with leather.
Apr 29, 2015, 7:54 am
#34
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: DAL, DFW
Programs: WN A-List; Hyatt Diamond; Marriott Gold; National Executive
Posts: 164
Lot was only about 25% full in EA and 40% full in ES. Nothing standing out, standard offerings. Few Suburbans, couple Sonatas, 200's, one Chevy Impala LTZ with about 3400mi and working XM.
Last edited by BeanieTX; May 1, 2015 at 7:29 am Reason: wrong milage
Apr 30, 2015, 7:11 pm
#35
Join Date: Feb 2015
Programs: RR & Emerald Club
Posts: 31
I travel to HOU weekly. Lots of new Nissan Pathfinders this week in ES What is I got for full size rate.
As for construction. .Hobby is under construction but not the National lot. It's very easy to take the shuttle on ground floor to the lot. The shuttle always stops at the ES aisle first. An attendant hands you a water and then you walk ten feet to your car. It's the easiest National lot of the seven cities I do every month..
As for construction. .Hobby is under construction but not the National lot. It's very easy to take the shuttle on ground floor to the lot. The shuttle always stops at the ES aisle first. An attendant hands you a water and then you walk ten feet to your car. It's the easiest National lot of the seven cities I do every month..
Oct 14, 2015, 12:02 am
#37
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Houston, TX/Australia
Programs: AA EXP/Exec Citi, NZ* G, Nat EE, Avis PP, HH Gold
Posts: 649
I hadn't rented from Hobby in over a year. Since then, the lot has changed from the east side of the airport to the northwest, and it seems A LOT more congested. It was also the worst ES experience I have had in several years.
I got in at 4pm on a Wednesday, rode the shuttle with 4 other EA/ES customers, and showed up to near-empty aisles with 4 cars total between both aisles. There was around 150-200 vehicles in the return and wash/fuel lines.
I asked if there was anything that would be coming out shortly, as I wasn't in any hurry. After getting the runaround from the kiosk attendant, I went looking for the manager. He said they had a lot of late returns and a huge surprise influx of customers today. I'm not sure how they had a surprise influx of EA/ES customers, as they surely had reservations. I got more of the same runaround, and then commented that I was very surprised to see the lack of staffing and their ability to turn cars around for rental. The manager also noted that they weren't differentiating ES/EA all day because they had enough trouble just getting cars out there.
I waited 45 minutes and ended up with a beat-to-hell base model Explorer, which I exchanged at IAH the next day when I was up in the area.
Old (red) vs new location (green)
ES on left of awning/EA on right. This was as I was leaving.
First line of returns.
More returns
And more... this doesn't include the fuel/wash line which is farther right. None of these are ready to rent.
I did respond to a CS email survey after I dropped off, and have since been contacted by what is apparently new mgmt, who from a quick Google seems to have come down from the Houston Enterprise Holdings parent group to get things sorted out.
I got in at 4pm on a Wednesday, rode the shuttle with 4 other EA/ES customers, and showed up to near-empty aisles with 4 cars total between both aisles. There was around 150-200 vehicles in the return and wash/fuel lines.
I asked if there was anything that would be coming out shortly, as I wasn't in any hurry. After getting the runaround from the kiosk attendant, I went looking for the manager. He said they had a lot of late returns and a huge surprise influx of customers today. I'm not sure how they had a surprise influx of EA/ES customers, as they surely had reservations. I got more of the same runaround, and then commented that I was very surprised to see the lack of staffing and their ability to turn cars around for rental. The manager also noted that they weren't differentiating ES/EA all day because they had enough trouble just getting cars out there.
I waited 45 minutes and ended up with a beat-to-hell base model Explorer, which I exchanged at IAH the next day when I was up in the area.
Old (red) vs new location (green)
ES on left of awning/EA on right. This was as I was leaving.
First line of returns.
More returns
And more... this doesn't include the fuel/wash line which is farther right. None of these are ready to rent.
I did respond to a CS email survey after I dropped off, and have since been contacted by what is apparently new mgmt, who from a quick Google seems to have come down from the Houston Enterprise Holdings parent group to get things sorted out.
Oct 27, 2015, 4:02 pm
#38
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Houston, TX/Australia
Programs: AA EXP/Exec Citi, NZ* G, Nat EE, Avis PP, HH Gold
Posts: 649
Just an update on this for anyone interested.
The new location manager reached out to me and I spoke to her on the phone today. She said she is reducing the amount of available reservations and apparently has either purchased new inventory or pulled some from other locations to increase their vehicle pool. They were obviously overcommitting on reservation numbers. According to her, things haven't turned around all the way yet, but are well on their way there and they are continuing to tweak numbers. She admitted this sort of thing shouldn't happen 95% of the time for EA/ES, and hopefully never. I haven't been there since, so I obviously can't confirm this at all.
I believe Southwest has added flights to HOU recently, and that coupled with the rental location move probably caused some headaches. I'm anxious to see others' experiences here in the next few months.
The new location manager reached out to me and I spoke to her on the phone today. She said she is reducing the amount of available reservations and apparently has either purchased new inventory or pulled some from other locations to increase their vehicle pool. They were obviously overcommitting on reservation numbers. According to her, things haven't turned around all the way yet, but are well on their way there and they are continuing to tweak numbers. She admitted this sort of thing shouldn't happen 95% of the time for EA/ES, and hopefully never. I haven't been there since, so I obviously can't confirm this at all.
I believe Southwest has added flights to HOU recently, and that coupled with the rental location move probably caused some headaches. I'm anxious to see others' experiences here in the next few months.
Nov 17, 2015, 4:30 pm
#39
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Beaver Falls, PA
Programs: PC Platinum, HHonors Diamond, National Executive, AAdvantage Gold, Midwest Miles
Posts: 54
Just an update on this for anyone interested.
The new location manager reached out to me and I spoke to her on the phone today. She said she is reducing the amount of available reservations and apparently has either purchased new inventory or pulled some from other locations to increase their vehicle pool. They were obviously overcommitting on reservation numbers. According to her, things haven't turned around all the way yet, but are well on their way there and they are continuing to tweak numbers. She admitted this sort of thing shouldn't happen 95% of the time for EA/ES, and hopefully never. I haven't been there since, so I obviously can't confirm this at all.
I believe Southwest has added flights to HOU recently, and that coupled with the rental location move probably caused some headaches. I'm anxious to see others' experiences here in the next few months.
The new location manager reached out to me and I spoke to her on the phone today. She said she is reducing the amount of available reservations and apparently has either purchased new inventory or pulled some from other locations to increase their vehicle pool. They were obviously overcommitting on reservation numbers. According to her, things haven't turned around all the way yet, but are well on their way there and they are continuing to tweak numbers. She admitted this sort of thing shouldn't happen 95% of the time for EA/ES, and hopefully never. I haven't been there since, so I obviously can't confirm this at all.
I believe Southwest has added flights to HOU recently, and that coupled with the rental location move probably caused some headaches. I'm anxious to see others' experiences here in the next few months.
45 minutes later I had a Malibu with 3 miles on it. Sirius XM shut off 2 days later.
I also received an email asking about my experience, with 5 or so Enterprise National email addresses copied on it. Wrote back and told them about my experience. Have not heard back.
I thought it was odd that if they knew Mondays were bad, they wouldn't have staffed accordingly to have vehicles ready.
Nov 17, 2015, 5:12 pm
#40
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Houston, TX/Australia
Programs: AA EXP/Exec Citi, NZ* G, Nat EE, Avis PP, HH Gold
Posts: 649
Thanks for sharing, it seems like they still don't have it figured out. I think I'll be flying into IAH from now on, largely due to this. I can easily have a car and be at my destination just as quickly if not before i could from HOU, given these wait times. And I'll have a mighty fine aisle selection.
Jan 8, 2016, 12:17 pm
#41
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 195
Thursday night 1/7. It was a full lot and I was the only one on the shuttle over. From what I can remember the ES had:
Chevy Trax
Chevy Impala
GMC Terrain
Kia Sedona
Kia Sportage
Nissan Altima
Nissan Pathfinder
Chrysler 300
Jeep Compass
Dodge Journey
Hyundai Tucson
Hyundai Santa Fe
Low level trims on most of the cars. Only the 300 had leather.
Chevy Trax
Chevy Impala
GMC Terrain
Kia Sedona
Kia Sportage
Nissan Altima
Nissan Pathfinder
Chrysler 300
Jeep Compass
Dodge Journey
Hyundai Tucson
Hyundai Santa Fe
Low level trims on most of the cars. Only the 300 had leather.
Jan 8, 2016, 3:41 pm
#42
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Houston, TX/Australia
Programs: AA EXP/Exec Citi, NZ* G, Nat EE, Avis PP, HH Gold
Posts: 649
It sounds like they may have started to figure out their rental quota issues! They have seemed to generally have lower trim models, at least compared to some other locations (especially IAH). But at least there was an ample number of selections available.
Jan 11, 2016, 8:52 am
#43
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 195
It was a very different story when I returned on Sunday night, similar to what hartlogan posted in October. The returns area had probably well over a hundred vehicles in it.
When I rode past on the shuttle it looked like both the ES and EA were pretty thin. The ES had about a dozen vehicles, all sedans (looked like Malibus, Altimas and the like) and one minivan. EA had 5 or 6 sedans. No SUVs in either aisle.
When I rode past on the shuttle it looked like both the ES and EA were pretty thin. The ES had about a dozen vehicles, all sedans (looked like Malibus, Altimas and the like) and one minivan. EA had 5 or 6 sedans. No SUVs in either aisle.
Feb 27, 2016, 11:20 am
#44
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: IAH/HOU
Programs: Priceline Blood Diamond Elite. Peon on DL, AA, UA, US, and WN.
Posts: 7,236
Rented from this location this past Thursday afternoon (2/25). EA was almost empty! Had a couple of Jeep Compasses, a Ford Escape, Dodge Journey, and a Jeep Patriot. ES was filled - a couple of Dodge Challengers, Buick Encore (SUV), and a few other cars. As I was willing to wait, the manager offered up a 2016 Buick Lacrosse that had just pulled up from cleaning. Took it. Only had 495 miles on it when I started it up.