How's the situation in Europe these days?
Jul 13, 2022, 11:42 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2022
Posts: 142
How's the situation in Europe these days?
we have car rental reservations in paris, zurich, and stockholm in september and october.
in addition to missed connections and lost baggage, i'm worried about the rental companies not having cars. i made the reservations a while back and now the prices are double. if i were a rental agency, i would rather rent a car for $1000 rather than $500.
I'm just wondering how often people are getting shafted at the rental agencies. parts of our itinerary are 100% dependent on having a car and not getting one would be a catastrophe.
in addition to missed connections and lost baggage, i'm worried about the rental companies not having cars. i made the reservations a while back and now the prices are double. if i were a rental agency, i would rather rent a car for $1000 rather than $500.
I'm just wondering how often people are getting shafted at the rental agencies. parts of our itinerary are 100% dependent on having a car and not getting one would be a catastrophe.
Jul 13, 2022, 12:56 pm
#2
Company Representative - AutoSlash and HotelSlash
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: autoslash.com | hotelslash.com
Posts: 5,666
If you rented from a major company, then you probably have nothing to worry about. While travel is a mess right now, and there is definitely a vehicle shortage, the major rental companies are not playing games by canceling cheaper reservations in favor of trying to replace them with a higher-priced ones.
Reservations are being honored at the originally reserved price, and while, in some cases, you may have to settle for the rental company not having the exact vehicle class you booked, or even having to have to wait for a vehicle to be returned and cleaned, the vast majority of renters are not experiencing any issues. The rental companies may rather rent a car for $1K vs. $500 but they also don't want to get into legal or reputational trouble by not honoring a previously confirmed reservation.
Note that our comments above apply to the well-known international brands and are based on our extensive experience working with our customers and our own experiences traveling in Europe and renting cars this summer numerous times in numerous locations. If your reservation is with a small discount company, your experience may be different.
In short, vehicle inventory is tight, but if you are with an established brand, you should be fine.
Reservations are being honored at the originally reserved price, and while, in some cases, you may have to settle for the rental company not having the exact vehicle class you booked, or even having to have to wait for a vehicle to be returned and cleaned, the vast majority of renters are not experiencing any issues. The rental companies may rather rent a car for $1K vs. $500 but they also don't want to get into legal or reputational trouble by not honoring a previously confirmed reservation.
Note that our comments above apply to the well-known international brands and are based on our extensive experience working with our customers and our own experiences traveling in Europe and renting cars this summer numerous times in numerous locations. If your reservation is with a small discount company, your experience may be different.
In short, vehicle inventory is tight, but if you are with an established brand, you should be fine.
Jul 19, 2022, 6:19 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2022
Posts: 142
If you rented from a major company, then you probably have nothing to worry about. While travel is a mess right now, and there is definitely a vehicle shortage, the major rental companies are not playing games by canceling cheaper reservations in favor of trying to replace them with a higher-priced ones.
Reservations are being honored at the originally reserved price, and while, in some cases, you may have to settle for the rental company not having the exact vehicle class you booked, or even having to have to wait for a vehicle to be returned and cleaned, the vast majority of renters are not experiencing any issues. The rental companies may rather rent a car for $1K vs. $500 but they also don't want to get into legal or reputational trouble by not honoring a previously confirmed reservation.
Note that our comments above apply to the well-known international brands and are based on our extensive experience working with our customers and our own experiences traveling in Europe and renting cars this summer numerous times in numerous locations. If your reservation is with a small discount company, your experience may be different.
In short, vehicle inventory is tight, but if you are with an established brand, you should be fine.
Reservations are being honored at the originally reserved price, and while, in some cases, you may have to settle for the rental company not having the exact vehicle class you booked, or even having to have to wait for a vehicle to be returned and cleaned, the vast majority of renters are not experiencing any issues. The rental companies may rather rent a car for $1K vs. $500 but they also don't want to get into legal or reputational trouble by not honoring a previously confirmed reservation.
Note that our comments above apply to the well-known international brands and are based on our extensive experience working with our customers and our own experiences traveling in Europe and renting cars this summer numerous times in numerous locations. If your reservation is with a small discount company, your experience may be different.
In short, vehicle inventory is tight, but if you are with an established brand, you should be fine.
thanks very much for your response. it is reassuring. i tend to stick with the big brands unless the prices are totally crazy.