National Car Rental in Downtown Los Angeles
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: SJC/BUR
Programs: Hyatt Diamond, IHG Platinum, Hilton Gold, Club Carlson Gold, Starwood Gold
Posts: 1,089
National Car Rental in Downtown Los Angeles
Why is there no National in DTLA? Seems like a glaring omission. There are plenty of Enterprise locations there. I can't think of another alpha city that has no city center location from National.
#2
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: BOS
Programs: National Exec, Marriott Gold, HHonors Gold, AAdvantage Gold
Posts: 171
Just at a glance, National does not appear to have any local (read: non-airport/FBO) locations in the LA area, it's not just DTLA neglect. From a corporate holdings perspective, it's probably just considered needlessly duplicative considering Enterprise's fairly extensive coverage across the Southland (and Emerald Club members can still earn free days renting from Enterprise, so what do we care?)
#3
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York suburbs
Posts: 4,210
We care for 4 reasons:
1) It's a different (worse) customer experience with Enterprise.
2) One-ways, both long distance as well as from airport to home and vice versa, instead of a taxi.
3) If you live far away from the airport, especially if the area has a lot of very heavy traffic or poor mass transit, picking up and/or returning can be a real pain.
4) Corporate rates and conditions that may only cover one brand but not the other.
1) It's a different (worse) customer experience with Enterprise.
2) One-ways, both long distance as well as from airport to home and vice versa, instead of a taxi.
3) If you live far away from the airport, especially if the area has a lot of very heavy traffic or poor mass transit, picking up and/or returning can be a real pain.
4) Corporate rates and conditions that may only cover one brand but not the other.
#5
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: BOS
Programs: National Exec, Marriott Gold, HHonors Gold, AAdvantage Gold
Posts: 171
If it isn't clear, I'm being a bit flippant (National is my primary, and I'm based in Los Angeles). I get why we care, but at the same time their LA strategy is pretty well established - cover the airports, and leave the rest to a subsidiary better positioned to handle the rest. The issue with LA is that adding a DTLA location is a drop in the bucket given all of the sprawl (DTLA is just as useless as LAX from Beverly Hills, for example) - Enterprise's extensive neighborhood model just works better than National's typical 1-2 city center location model here. If they are planning to do anything, I'd imagine they might dual-list a few Enterprise locations as "also servicing National Car Rental". Yes, this is a different approach than Avis and Hertz (who, for lack of a comparable local brand in their stable, uses their corporate brand for their local locations), but from the company's perspective... I've a lot of trouble seeing why making the investment in a downtown location makes sense barring a market change (such as the local downtown booming).
As far as corporate rates, Enterprise and National are getting quite a bit more integrated on that front - while there are still corporate rates that only cover one and not the other, newer agreements (at least, that I've seen in the past year) cover both by default. That argument may be a moot point soon enough.
Thanks for making me post a real answer :P
@s0ssos: National has three SF City locations, though I'm not sure if those are Drive Alliance-serviced by either Enterprise or Alamo, as I don't drive in SF if at all avoidable.
As far as corporate rates, Enterprise and National are getting quite a bit more integrated on that front - while there are still corporate rates that only cover one and not the other, newer agreements (at least, that I've seen in the past year) cover both by default. That argument may be a moot point soon enough.
Thanks for making me post a real answer :P
@s0ssos: National has three SF City locations, though I'm not sure if those are Drive Alliance-serviced by either Enterprise or Alamo, as I don't drive in SF if at all avoidable.
#6
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York suburbs
Posts: 4,210
They are actual National-branded neighborhood stores, with the same issues as their counterparts in Manhattan. Minimal storage, overwhelming weekend demand and heavy usage from people who don't own cars, and really targeting those who can't or won't go to the airport. The threads about Manhattan, Brooklyn, Jersey City, Chicago, Seattle, and SF National all sound alike.
#7
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: LAX/TPE
Programs: United 1K, JAL Sapphire, SPG Lifetime Platinum, National Executive Elite, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 42,205
Just at a glance, National does not appear to have any local (read: non-airport/FBO) locations in the LA area, it's not just DTLA neglect. From a corporate holdings perspective, it's probably just considered needlessly duplicative considering Enterprise's fairly extensive coverage across the Southland (and Emerald Club members can still earn free days renting from Enterprise, so what do we care?)
#8
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 880
They are actual National-branded neighborhood stores, with the same issues as their counterparts in Manhattan. Minimal storage, overwhelming weekend demand and heavy usage from people who don't own cars, and really targeting those who can't or won't go to the airport. The threads about Manhattan, Brooklyn, Jersey City, Chicago, Seattle, and SF National all sound alike.
The one in Brooklyn isn't as bad. Actually the rates are pretty good there sometimes. Found rates for a full size for under $60 a day for shorter rentals
#9
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: SFO/DTW
Programs: DL PM 0.5MM, Hyatt Globalist, HHonors Gold, SPG Plat, Marriott Gold, Avis PC, National EE, Hertz PC
Posts: 1,988
#10
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: BOS
Programs: National Exec, Marriott Gold, HHonors Gold, AAdvantage Gold
Posts: 171
That's not even LA County! It's also still there (at least in part, if not entirely) due to Alamo's status as the official Car Rental Partner of Disney Parks and Resorts - the value proposition is totally different from a stand-alone downtown location.
I'd actually really kill to see the revenue split between National and Alamo at that shared location, if anyone wants to slide in my PMs with that info :P
I'd actually really kill to see the revenue split between National and Alamo at that shared location, if anyone wants to slide in my PMs with that info :P
#11
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 880
That's not even LA County! It's also still there (at least in part, if not entirely) due to Alamo's status as the official Car Rental Partner of Disney Parks and Resorts - the value proposition is totally different from a stand-alone downtown location.
I'd actually really kill to see the revenue split between National and Alamo at that shared location, if anyone wants to slide in my PMs with that info :P
I'd actually really kill to see the revenue split between National and Alamo at that shared location, if anyone wants to slide in my PMs with that info :P
Eh it doesn't cost much more to just add national signage and have some employees there. You still are paying the lease and the cars can just be shared between both. All of the local locations that I have seen with the exception of few enterprise locations are all Enterprise/National or Alamo/National
#12
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: BOS
Programs: National Exec, Marriott Gold, HHonors Gold, AAdvantage Gold
Posts: 171
Eh it doesn't cost much more to just add national signage and have some employees there. You still are paying the lease and the cars can just be shared between both. All of the local locations that I have seen with the exception of few enterprise locations are all Enterprise/National or Alamo/National
Agreed that the marginal cost of making it a shared location is negligible. I'm just being a nerd now.
#13
Join Date: Jul 1999
Programs: QF WP, AA EXP
Posts: 3,520
I use an Enterprise location in DTLA fairly often. As a corporate National customer there tends to be less "Enterprise BS" from the employees there. You still sometimes have to wait behind kettles in line and you never get a car with a full tank of gas...
#14
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 375
Eh it doesn't cost much more to just add national signage and have some employees there. You still are paying the lease and the cars can just be shared between both. All of the local locations that I have seen with the exception of few enterprise locations are all Enterprise/National or Alamo/National
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: SJC/BUR
Programs: Hyatt Diamond, IHG Platinum, Hilton Gold, Club Carlson Gold, Starwood Gold
Posts: 1,089
Okay, I would settle for a Century City/Culver City/Santa Monica/Beverly Hills/Glendale/Pasadena National location, as well.