This past Sunday night, I returned my Hertz rented vehicle to MCI airport. It was about 8 pm. There were not any Hertz staff members in the return lanes nor in the cubicle which overlooks the parking lot.

The sign stated to leave the keys in the vehicle and proceed inside the consolidated rental center. Nothing about checking the vehicle in with anyone. For that matter, there were only Hertz group staff on duty behind the desk (one of whom was working on Dollar rentals).

I felt that it was unwise to just "walk away" from the rental and presume Hertz would check it in later. So I waited in line with my rental agreement for 30 minutes to show the agreement to the clerk with a photo of my dash with a full tank indication.

If you were in a similar situation and had time to spare, would you just walk away from the vehicle without it being checked in first?