Small Time Change Increases Rate by 50%
Apr 19, 2008, 11:23 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Sacramento, CA
Programs: AA Exec Plat, Hyatt,Marriott,BA,AS
Posts: 4,428
Small Time Change Increases Rate by 50%
I have a car reserved but am now arriving 2 hours earlier than my reservation states. I am also planning to return the car 2 hours earlier. I have tried online and have also called Avis and this simple change causes my rate to increase by 50%. It treats the change as a new reservation at the current rates. I have never had a problem like this before in making small changes. It's not as though I'm changing the date. Has anyone else encountered this problem?
Apr 19, 2008, 11:56 am
#2
Moderator: Avis and Rental Cars
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 8,034
"Weekend rates" start Thursday at Noon and end Monday at 11:59 PM. Is your change moving your pickup before or after these times?
If I were you, I would just leave the reservation alone and show up a bit early. I've shown up hours early when I got stand-by on an earlier flight (and late when the flight was delayed/cancelled) without issues or rate changes. However, if I'm going to be > 3 hours late or arriving very late in the evening, I always call to confirm.
OT, but once I was going to Fort Smith, AR and my NW flight was cancelled after several hours of mechanical delays. The flight they put me on didn't arrive until ~10PM and the location closed at 6 or so on Sundays. I called the location directly and they had someone come back to the airport at 10 to give me keys to my car! At the end of my rental, they got a box of cookies from Panera & a box of chocolates... I wouldn't have had any other options if they hadn't done that for me. The only taxi company in town wouldn't answer my calls and no other rental locations were open late either.
If I were you, I would just leave the reservation alone and show up a bit early. I've shown up hours early when I got stand-by on an earlier flight (and late when the flight was delayed/cancelled) without issues or rate changes. However, if I'm going to be > 3 hours late or arriving very late in the evening, I always call to confirm.
OT, but once I was going to Fort Smith, AR and my NW flight was cancelled after several hours of mechanical delays. The flight they put me on didn't arrive until ~10PM and the location closed at 6 or so on Sundays. I called the location directly and they had someone come back to the airport at 10 to give me keys to my car! At the end of my rental, they got a box of cookies from Panera & a box of chocolates... I wouldn't have had any other options if they hadn't done that for me. The only taxi company in town wouldn't answer my calls and no other rental locations were open late either.
Apr 19, 2008, 1:38 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Sacramento, CA
Programs: AA Exec Plat, Hyatt,Marriott,BA,AS
Posts: 4,428
No, the change didn't put me into or out of a weekend rate. It's just midweek. I guess I'll just show up early. I am Avis Preferred so I guess I won't be able to take advantage of that service given I'm arriving 2 hrs early. This is all very annoying.
Apr 20, 2008, 1:48 am
#4
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 1,031
as a former avis manager, it would help if I knew exactly your itinerary. A small 2 hour change could effect the price, and yes, a two hour change in itinerary could also effect the rate.
Whenever it searches prices, it searches the available prices that day, so yes to your question, a small change can effect price because it does indeed treat it as a new reservation, otherwise travel agents would book 6,000 reservations for peak season, then modify reservations for each client they have coming in.
Airlines do the same thing. If you change the flight, more often than not it changes the rate to the best available rate at the time of the change. Any frequent traveler has heard the following phrase..."Change fee of xxxx dollars plus the difference between the ticketed rate and the available rate of the changed flight."
Blech.
But there is good news....
If you look at the T and C of the rented rate, look for anything that speaks to "rate valid from xxxx to xxxx" much like the weekend rate that IAH traveler spoke of. If there is no restrictions, picking up the car 2 hours early will only be an inconveinence and perhaps a little bigger hold on your credit card.
The computer system will calculate the hold based on the reservation +10 dollars, usually that 10 is the average cost of gas for individuals around the nation who do not fill up on the way back. so if you do NOT change your reservation and arrive early, it will think you are renting the car 2 hours longer than previous, and hold an extra amount on your credit card, but upon return, the system will calculate all billable information, compare against the terms and conditions of the rental rate you booked, and charge you accordingly for the amount of time you had the car out. Most rates are minimum one day, minimum 72 hours, maximum 72 hours, minimum 24 max 48, or minimum 96 hours, no max, or weekendrates. So as long as you do not violate the Min/max terms of that rental rate, you will get the same reserved rate for your scenario which is 2 hours early, return 2 hours early, without changing your reservation.
Of course, your car will probably not be ready in the preferred stall waiting for you, but you will get the rate and in all likelyhood the ability to select your car from available cars if you walk to the counter cause your car isnt ready.
Whenever it searches prices, it searches the available prices that day, so yes to your question, a small change can effect price because it does indeed treat it as a new reservation, otherwise travel agents would book 6,000 reservations for peak season, then modify reservations for each client they have coming in.
Airlines do the same thing. If you change the flight, more often than not it changes the rate to the best available rate at the time of the change. Any frequent traveler has heard the following phrase..."Change fee of xxxx dollars plus the difference between the ticketed rate and the available rate of the changed flight."
Blech.
But there is good news....
If you look at the T and C of the rented rate, look for anything that speaks to "rate valid from xxxx to xxxx" much like the weekend rate that IAH traveler spoke of. If there is no restrictions, picking up the car 2 hours early will only be an inconveinence and perhaps a little bigger hold on your credit card.
The computer system will calculate the hold based on the reservation +10 dollars, usually that 10 is the average cost of gas for individuals around the nation who do not fill up on the way back. so if you do NOT change your reservation and arrive early, it will think you are renting the car 2 hours longer than previous, and hold an extra amount on your credit card, but upon return, the system will calculate all billable information, compare against the terms and conditions of the rental rate you booked, and charge you accordingly for the amount of time you had the car out. Most rates are minimum one day, minimum 72 hours, maximum 72 hours, minimum 24 max 48, or minimum 96 hours, no max, or weekendrates. So as long as you do not violate the Min/max terms of that rental rate, you will get the same reserved rate for your scenario which is 2 hours early, return 2 hours early, without changing your reservation.
Of course, your car will probably not be ready in the preferred stall waiting for you, but you will get the rate and in all likelyhood the ability to select your car from available cars if you walk to the counter cause your car isnt ready.
Apr 20, 2008, 9:29 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Sacramento, CA
Programs: AA Exec Plat, Hyatt,Marriott,BA,AS
Posts: 4,428
ezmonee- Thanks for your response. I checked and there are no restrictions. Even if I try to make a new reservation with the exact dates and times, it comes up with a rate more than 50% higher than what I originally reserved. It just makes no sense that small changes to pickup times can't be made without in effect making a new reservation at a whole different rate. The comparison to an airline isn't really a good one, since an airline has a specified number of seats available for departure at a specific time. A car rental doesn't have the same constraints. I guess I will just have to forgo my Preferred pickup on this rental and just show up early.
Apr 21, 2008, 1:35 am
#6
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 1,031
And rental cars have a specific number cars available at a specific time as well. its absolutely an appropriate comparison. Air transport runs the same yield management tools that Car rentals do. There is a finite number of cars (or seats, or hotels) available and as the cars are reserved, the prices go up. Prices are raised in an effort to always have at least one car available.
The whole principle of yield management is that the last car (or seat or room) will be sold at the absolute max price, theoretically 1 million dollars so that they never have the ability to tell a customer "sorry were completely sold out."
The only difference between air and car is that with air your prepaying for that seat and car in most cases your paying upon arrival. Seats for airlines are allocated based on price structure (so many seats at this rate, so many seats at that rate, so many seats at that rate) and so is car rentals. So many cars at that car class, so many cars at that car class, so many cars at that car class..... Car rental companies have fare codes too. When you pick up your Avis car, look at the contract, you will see a code that is something like this
x1-c/d
x1 is the rate code which determines which price structure is available. There are as many codes as there are number/letter combinations for 2 spots. Each one has a different rate formula applied to a "base rate" set by the regional manager. That base rate is usually the "priceline" bare minimum rate. Pure costs of running business. Each AWD discount code references a list of rate codes that they are eligible for. Each code has its own set of restrictions, date, time, vehicle, location, mileage costs, gas tank free, etc etc. When the reservation system looks for best price, it scans each rate code that your AWD allows you eligibility for the best rate that meets all conditions.
For example (not real, just demonstration)
X1 may actually say "valid all 50 states, zero time restrictions, price=(base*1.112345)
x2 may say "valid all 50 states, zero time restrictions, price=(base*1.43341)
XQ may say "valid state of Hawaii, zero time restricions, price=(base*1.1) weekly rate Restrict- Hawaii renters only, local rate, must call in from 808 phone number rate not available in Yield level 3 scenarios or greater, not valid from Jan 28-Feb 20
When a car rental company, avis in particular since I know this system like the back of my hand, wants to slow down reservations, they "yield up".X1 in this case, becomes X2, which often is 10-20 percent higher. Depending on the market and the run up demand (projected need at current reservation build rates) it could be as high as x9 which is often thanksgiving weekend or Christmas holiday.
To pull it together, If you are a hawaii renter, your eligible for the xQ rate (determined by AWD code and callers to res center with 808 area code). The rate is always available, year round, unless two conditions exist, the dates (pro bowl) or the system is taxed to where the yield manager has yielded up that particular location you are trying to rent from to level 3 (x3 in this example) or greater. Since the Base rate for most cars in the Avis fleet is around 16 dollars a day, and assuming that is the base rate for Hawaii as well, the daily rental rate for the XQ rate will be 16*1.1, or 17.60 per day for the compact class. So on a 7 day rental, the rate would be 123.20 plus taxes and fees, as long as you used AWD code A963000, rented from a hawaii location, and didnt rent during the dates mentioned.