Originally Posted by
docbert
Exactly. But the thing to remember is that you need to ask.
If your contract is pre-printed, then it'll likely have a time on it either matching the pickup time you reserved, or some fixed time after that depending on the location (I've seen 30 mins, 45 mins, or 60 mins later). If you simply accept that and drive away, that time is the one that applies.
However a quick trip to the booth will get the time updated to the current time.
...
Common at smaller airports where there isn't an exit booth. Normally you'll pickup the contract and keys at the booth, and it's not uncommon for it to be pre-printed.
I also was at one airport last year (no idea where) that had a common exit booth for all companies, so the contract/keys were in the car, and at the exit they checked that the contract matched the license.
This. You are fully entitled to request the "time out" on the contract be adjusted to your actual time out, and if you do that, you have until that time+29 minutes on the day of your return to return without any additional fee.
It's always wise to take a look at your rental paperwork before leaving the lot, and this is one of the things to take note of when you do.
The return time shown on your reservation (or printed on your outgoing rental contract) does not matter at all. The only thing that matters is your
actual time out as printed on the contract as compared to your
actual time in when you do return the car.