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High rental car prices in Seattle, 3-5 August 2014. Any idea why?

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High rental car prices in Seattle, 3-5 August 2014. Any idea why?

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Old Jul 21, 2014, 12:39 pm
  #1  
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High rental car prices in Seattle, 3-5 August 2014. Any idea why?

Goodness gracious!

What on earth is going on in Seattle from Aug 3rd -5th? Enterprise starts at $144 per day for an economy car and up. All the other big brand names are the same.

At least I found a midsize for a total of $189 for the two and a half days with EZ rent a car.


Am I missing something or is this just new cost of doing business in the rental car facility?
CBear is offline  
Old Jul 21, 2014, 5:29 pm
  #2  
 
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Seattle is busy in the summer. Extremely busy. That is not at all normal, and only $6 a day goes to the rental facility. Even the downtown locations are high, with some sold out.
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Old Jul 21, 2014, 7:19 pm
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I'm not sure I would want to rent from EZ Car. I see rates with Enterprise, Alamo, and Payless all for $74-76 per day.
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Old Jul 22, 2014, 3:11 pm
  #4  
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Often, such a spike in prices can be caused when a big convention / trade show is in town; however, the WSCC calendar doesn't show any events during the specified time frame.

There's a big water treatment industry conference in Portland on those dates, and also the MLS All-Star game - maybe the major companies temporarily sent part of their fleets south to service those events(?)
Non-NonRev is offline  
Old Jul 22, 2014, 5:52 pm
  #5  
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Sunday the 3rd is the last day of Seafair - big annual festival including Blue Angels, hydroplane races on Lake Washington, etc. Usually that doesn't result in a spike in tourism; it's more a local thing. But combined with typical demand in the summer, particularly cruise people, it's not surprising.
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Old Jul 24, 2014, 4:33 pm
  #6  
 
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Zipcar can be an option in Seattle....

Depending on what your needs are, don't forget Zipcar (especially if you just need a car periodically while downtown).

And Zipcar rates include gas.

About $240 all in for those dates. And it could be less if you had defined times that you needed a car for.

Take the train into downtown Seattle and pick up a Zipcar while there. There's a convenient Zipcar office in downtown too, if you need to register with them quickly.
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Old Jul 27, 2014, 9:48 pm
  #7  
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It's the air show and hydro races that weekend. The city will be very difficult to drive around. Minimize your rental car time (and Zipcar is a good idea) by using mass transit or the Airporter.
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Old Aug 1, 2014, 12:06 pm
  #8  
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Well it pays off to keep on checking everyday. Enterprise is down to $26 a day for a full size car.

Our business in the Seattle area will not take us to downtown and mass transit is going to not work well with our itinerary.
CBear is offline  


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