Originally Posted by
bkafrick
I rent a car every week from somewhere in America. Been doing this for 3 years now (about 140 rentals in 3 years). Always with AVIS. Never once, ever, had a "we dont have any cars". Maybe I'm just lucky, or someone else on this board is very unlucky (3 out of 7 at FLL is a bad average).
Avis ALWAYS having a car for you and never encountering "we don't have any cars" might have something to do with you being Avis President's Club, as opposed to "just" being AvisFirst or lower, don't you think?
Originally Posted by
bkafrick
I'm all for the charges for no-shows. It happens at hotels, and no one bats an eye-lash, but you start mentioning it about rental cars, and people go ape-sh$$.
Spoiled behavior is right. Ultimately, I believe, it leads to higher prices as well. I have never done it, and as mentioned above, never had an issue.
I agree with you and all who have said that Avis (and all rental car companies) should charge for no shows on GUARANTEED reservations (meaning where a credit card is required). It is no different than a no show on a hotel reservation, or a no show on an airline reservation (slightly different, since airlines charge you in advance, and they give away your seat to another paying pax if you are not at the gate within 10-15 mins before departure).
Rental car companies are businesses, and they exist to serve reasonable customers and charge/make money reasonably. They are not there to encourage customer's cavalier whims and fancies. People who treat the car rental companies as their own private car fleets, and make multiple reservations, and other misbehavior, cause higher rates and inventory problems for all the people who interact with the car rental companies in a responsible way.
Originally Posted by
nacho
I don't become a Avis preferred because I don't want them to have my CC info. Also I'm not sure whether you can get upgrade as a preferred member (last time we rented from DFW we booked a full size and got a SUV because we showed up with 3 kids!)
Just because Avis and other car rental companies offer customer profiles does not mean that you are required to supply your credit card information. I have been a customer of Avis for between 15 and 20 years, at all levels of their system, for a long time Avis Preferred and SelectPreferred, then AvisFirst, and now Chairman's Club. At various times I have had no credit card in my profile, and most recently, I did not provide new credit card information after my bank changed the card number for my business card, and other than being asked to visit the counter when I arrive to pick up my car, Avis has not said a thing.