GentleGiant

Just wondering if anyone on a BA holiday has not collected their Avis car and delayed it until the next morning?

Just wondering what happens?

This is Faro.

corporate-wage-slave

Proceed with caution. I don't have personal experience of this but there are a few stories, mainly in the USA, where failure to collect the car the same night can lead to difficulties, such as a full cancellation or extra charges way over what could be considered reasonable. So if necessary collect the car and drive it to the next car park, but never leave it to the next day. Obviously when you do collect the car you can perhaps ask to leave it until the next day, and it may even suit the local franchise to agree to this (e.g. an inbound car is late back). But that's very different from just pitching up the next day.

mikeyfly

If you like me, want to enjoy the drinks and service on board, then use custom trip creator and book car hire for the following morning - I often do this in Las Vegas and collect the car from a strip hotel the next morning.

BOH

I agree, proceed with caution as I believe they are within their right to cancel if the car is not collected within X hours of the flight landing...."X" being variable from country to country I believe. Personally I would go to the rental desk on arriving at FAO and complete all the docs etc and after you have done that and got the key then tell them you have an unexpected meeting or something and will be back to actually take the car in the morning. Just see what they say to this.....if there is a problem they will say and you will then have to rethink.

GentleGiant

Thanks all.

I will not risk it.

e8steve

You could call the office (+351 289 810 120) or just go to the counter - it’s only a few minutes walk from the arrival area - and tell them.

HarryHolden68

I inadvertently booked a car for 24-hours before needing it. When I arrived at the desk, the booking had already been cancelled as a no-show and no refund was given.

GentleGiant

ouch - thanks.

GentleGiant

Whilst I have this topic - anyone know if I have to give the drivers licence of my wife for her to drive or is it like Hertz where it is just accepted?

Long, long time since I hired with Avis.

orbitmic

Exactly. If you prefer to take it the next day, instead of deciding for yourself whether to "try it or not", just go see them or ring them and explain, that way you'll know for sure. I suspect that there is a good chance that they will be ok with it if you ask them, whilst they may well just cancel it if they don't see you nor hear from you on the day you were supposed to pick it up.

e8steve

usually in Portugal you need to show the licences for all drivers so the details can be recorded on the rental documents which you must carry in case the police request them.

TheFlyingCyclist

At Faro, we usually arrive with 2 bike bags, one golf bag (with two sets of clubs in it!) and a large luggage bag, plus cabin bags with overnight stuff.

We always book the car for the full duration. We collect the keys from Avis when we arrive, let the staff know we will be back the next day to drive the car away, drop the large luggage inside the car and then make our way to a lovely little hotel in Faro town. €5 in a taxi and there’s a great little restaurant nearby (or at least there was). Saves a huge amount of faff with a lot of luggage.

Never had a problem but YMMV!

USA; as above, a different story as they usually leave the keys inside the cars for Preferred etc.

TFC

rcspeirs

"anyone know if I have to give the drivers licence of my wife for her to drive or is it like Hertz where it is just accepted?"
That's a north America policy. In other countries the additional driver must be recorded (even if spouse/partner) - failure to do that means they are not permitted to drive and not insured.

everGLAdes

I was supposed to pick up a car the day that the US borders were closed to the UK. Within a few hours I received notification either through the app or email (memory is hazy) along the lines of "it looks like you have not picked up your vehicle and your booking has been cancelled."

I remember thinking that it had happened very quickly, as even pre-covid a big delay would have resulted in a cancellation. As a data point, the Avis booking was via BA exec points + cash.

In short, I'd call the branch in advance and let them know you will be late picking up.

BOH

IMHO the trouble with calling them is you run the risk of a) being put through to a central call centre and b) if you do get through to the actual airport rental desk you get someone who is either busy / indifferent / CBA and may well agree to do something, they may say, "yes, yes it will be fine"....but not actually update anything on their systems. I'm speaking from personal experience of something similar at a hotel and also a rental car company whereby an agreement to change something was made on the phone but no record of it existed when I arrived. And of course the person behind the desk when you arrive in person is never the one you made the agreement with on the phone!

Much better to go to the desk at the airport, complete all the paperwork, get the key in your possession and then politely ask if you can return to actually collect in the morning. Shouldn't be a problem, the only thing I can think of is if the rental car park has an exit barrier with a timed ticket then you might have to get that re-validated in the morning.