“A Car Rental Apocalypse”
May 19, 2021, 11:44 am
#76
Join Date: Apr 2011
Programs: Marriott Ambassador, AA ExecPlat, Amtrak Select Exec, former WN apologist
Posts: 1,428
The latest trend I have been seeing is no availability for car types that are covered by our corporate rate - only "specialty" vehicles at sky high rates. Not sure if that is reality or by design to decrease the number of reduced bookings
May 19, 2021, 5:53 pm
#77
Join Date: Dec 2018
Programs: $9 Fare Club
Posts: 1,482
Where are you guys renting out of? I haven't noticed any impact on regular car availability/price in the DC area for my corporate rate (albeit, you need to be booking a couple of weeks out as is standard these days).
May 25, 2021, 4:31 am
#79
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 3,705
Highest proportion of people working from home + fences around the Capitol + increased crime + Congress not doing much in person are probably all depressing out-of-town traveler demand for both tourism and business.
May 25, 2021, 10:04 am
#81
Company Representative - AutoSlash and HotelSlash
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: autoslash.com | hotelslash.com
Posts: 5,666
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- Rental companies canceled orders for new vehicles when demand dropped up to 90% during COVID
- Auto manufacturers halted production during COVID due to safety and supply chain issues and an expected drop in demand
- Demand came back much quicker than anyone anticipated
- Once the auto manufacturers restarted their production lines they were hampered by the global semiconductor shortage which meant that they couldn't get the computer chips needed to produce the cars
- The rental companies tried to place new vehicle orders but with many auto production lines halted due to the chip shortage, and the previous cancellation of orders, they were stuck behind everyone else, including auto dealers to try to acquire new vehicle inventory
May 25, 2021, 3:50 pm
#84
Company Representative - AutoSlash and HotelSlash
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: autoslash.com | hotelslash.com
Posts: 5,666
You can second-guess them all you want, but de-fleeting and canceling orders to conserve cash was a matter of survival last year. Two companies ended up in bankruptcy (Hertz and Advantage), another went through a major financial restructuring that significantly diluted existing shareholders (Europcar), and Avis-Budget had to hunker down to ride out the drop in demand and the complete collapse of business travel.
May 25, 2021, 3:53 pm
#85
Company Representative - AutoSlash and HotelSlash
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: autoslash.com | hotelslash.com
Posts: 5,666
Technically, a confirmed reservation is a legal contract to provide a rental at the aforementioned price. If you are forced to rent elsewhere at a higher rate because the rental company runs out of cars, you can claim compensation from them. If they refuse , you could take them to small claims court. It doesn't happen often, but it's theoretically possible.
May 25, 2021, 4:00 pm
#86
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,032
Technically, a confirmed reservation is a legal contract to provide a rental at the aforementioned price. If you are forced to rent elsewhere at a higher rate because the rental company runs out of cars, you can claim compensation from them. If they refuse , you could take them to small claims court. It doesn't happen often, but it's theoretically possible.
May 25, 2021, 6:44 pm
#87
Company Representative - AutoSlash and HotelSlash
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: autoslash.com | hotelslash.com
Posts: 5,666
If the car rental company isn't able to provide you with a vehicle, then you'd need to work through them for any sort of compensation/reimbursement.
May 26, 2021, 6:56 pm
#88
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: DTW
Programs: TK E+, WY, Radisson R
Posts: 2,360
As crazy as it sounds, I just booked my weekly car rental in Hawaii for $250 after tax, exactly a year from today, no discount code needed, IMHO this is the best strategy now (even booking speculatively), along with hotel points, book them now before major devaluation comes.
May 27, 2021, 1:58 am
#89
Join Date: Jan 2014
Programs: Amtrak Guest Rewards (SE), Virgin America Elevate, Hyatt Gold Passport (Platinum), VIA Preference
Posts: 3,134
I mean, the only option the rental car companies would have at this stage to get some "surge" availability to get through 2021 would be to start buying used cars...and in general, there's been a bump in prices there, too.
I know brand standards are a thing, but I suspect there are a lot of folks who would be willing to rent a car that's 5-6 years old and higher in mileage to save a couple hundred bucks for a week even if it's a bit short on the newer gizmos.
In the rental companies' defense, this is far from the only area where a supply/demand misalignment has happened. There are some issues on the hotel front, and even in housing in general.
I know brand standards are a thing, but I suspect there are a lot of folks who would be willing to rent a car that's 5-6 years old and higher in mileage to save a couple hundred bucks for a week even if it's a bit short on the newer gizmos.
In the rental companies' defense, this is far from the only area where a supply/demand misalignment has happened. There are some issues on the hotel front, and even in housing in general.
May 27, 2021, 4:22 am
#90
Company Representative - AutoSlash and HotelSlash
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: autoslash.com | hotelslash.com
Posts: 5,666
I mean, the only option the rental car companies would have at this stage to get some "surge" availability to get through 2021 would be to start buying used cars...and in general, there's been a bump in prices there, too.
I know brand standards are a thing, but I suspect there are a lot of folks who would be willing to rent a car that's 5-6 years old and higher in mileage to save a couple hundred bucks for a week even if it's a bit short on the newer gizmos.
In the rental companies' defense, this is far from the only area where a supply/demand misalignment has happened. There are some issues on the hotel front, and even in housing in general.
I know brand standards are a thing, but I suspect there are a lot of folks who would be willing to rent a car that's 5-6 years old and higher in mileage to save a couple hundred bucks for a week even if it's a bit short on the newer gizmos.
In the rental companies' defense, this is far from the only area where a supply/demand misalignment has happened. There are some issues on the hotel front, and even in housing in general.
Last edited by AutoSlash; May 27, 2021 at 7:23 am