Yes, its legitmate. If you rent from an "on-airport" rental company you get charged a contract fee which is charged by the MWAA. If you rent from an off-airport firm, you get charged something like a "shuttle bus access fee". Remember, airports love people who rent cars or park. You provide them with valuable revenue, that allows them to offer lower landing fees and gate rental fees to airlines.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by jms8090:
In particular, I have been charged a contract fee at DCA for a few rentals and was wondering just what this fee is? Is this just another way to wring more .</font>