Mrp Alert

Hertz at LAS is back down again through at least September 30.

Does this conversation belong buried in the Thrifty forum or there a better home for it?

ezmonee

made one phone call to a friend still in the business, I asked him about the prices and he confirmed two things from his vantage point.

1> Because of the looming gas price crisis, smaller cars are renting extremely fast. As a result, they have had to raise prices equal to that of an SUV, so that now in some airports when you rent a specific class car, they give you the SUV as a free upgrade just to get it off the lot. And even then, people are refusing them.

2> starting January, the cost of obtaining long terms (12-18 month) turnback program cars in the fleets was rising fast and nonexistent in some cases. Chevy Cobalts were coming in at 5-7 grand LESS at turnback, zero price break on purchase, and extremely strict terms for accepting cars through the turnback program (meaning rental car companies are going to be EXTREMELY strict on damage to vehicles, so make sure you have your policies up to date).

he said an internal memo went out to all managers explaining the skyrocketing costs and that the company (avis and budget) have chosen to not secure as many cars nationwide. This crush was felt most noticeably at the beginning of summer (post memorial day).

this mirrors what I have been saying about this incident. Its not a price conspiracy, but it is due to pressures of the market.

A friend of mine has taken to renting cars from dealerships. Some used car dealerships will rent cars, esp since they arent really selling right now. If you travel to a specific city often, you may be able to work something out with a particular dealership. But one word of warning, Amex defines a car rental company as a company that predominately obtains its revenue from renting of cars. So you will need to make sure your own personal rental insurance is up to date.

Another thing my friend did was cab to a u haul. rent a truck and returned it same day, it was cheaper (even with the miles charge).

creativity works.

randix

Well, it looks like the sudden hike is over. Small cars in the PDX market that were going for $384/week, as of 8/24 (and no earlier) are now going for $83/week.

SixAlpha

LOL... I've thought about that before. Especially, because in most major cities UHaul also rents vans.

randix

Effective 8/31, offered a rate of $77/week for a compact car in PDX... let's see now, a month ago they wanted $384+ for that same car. Sorta makes me feel warm and fuzzy for those nice folks at Thrifty, always thinking of their customer...

ih8complainers

I am in the car rental business and I must say most of our customers are a bunch of whiners. We are in the business to make money. I agree prices are much higher than they use to be. I have the reason. You ready? here it is: "Rental car companies raised their prices because they CAN!!!" Get over it!! Stop .....ing and moaning. If you don't like it, drive your own car!!! Go ahead and reply with a smurky response. I know that there are nothing but snot nose yuppies on here!!!!!!!!!

Sincerely,

Ih8complainers

jackal

Hi Ih8complainers and welcome to FT!

While I'm pretty much 100% with you (although I think it's more than "just because they can"--just like although it can be argued that airlines are raising fares just because they can, the root is oil prices: with car rentals, the equivalent to oil prices is fleet prices), I'm not sure I'd use so much of an adversarial attitude. Others around here might view it as trolling.

I will say this on this subject: just like airlines are folding, if fleet prices don't come down and/or rates don't stick at a moderately high level (not gouging, but an average of $35 per day is probably fair), you might see some rental car franchises fold. Probably not entire corporate systems, but some individual franchises. Chrysler is ending their "second cycle" leasing program, and I know some franchises who are looking at TREMENDOUSLY increased fleet costs or having to buy the cars outright--something that takes a LOT of capital, resulting in much smaller fleet sizes (if the franchises don't have that kind of capital). Some agencies are really getting pretty shaken. I predict it's the beginning of the end for some of them.

bhatnasx

And, apparently there are some jerkoff industry employees too...

AndDee

One wonders why someone would claim to work for Hertz and come on here with that username and also with the comments you have posted.

I feel sorry for your staff and customers that deal with you, if you do indeed work for Hertz. I do agree with your basic sentiments but not calling "most of our customers are a bunch of whiners" Have you stopped to wonder why you have made that claim ? Perhaps they are sick of dealing with your staff and older cars etc etc

Be aware that you have made it VERY public that you work for Hertz and I am sure many Managers have read your posts.

If you do work for Hertz its time you got out of the customer service business!

Colfax

Weekly compact rates have crashed in Sacramento too, not as low as $77, but less than half the $300+ everyone wanted for a compact in July and August. Budget, Dollar, Thrifty, Alamo, National, and Enterprise are all coming in between $100-$125/week for a compact in the random September and October weeks I've checked.

I was never convinced that July and August's $300+ rates in Sacramento were a function of higher demand. Not when airport arrivals and hotel occupancy were down. My take on this is that the $300+ rates were a pricing experiment and that the companies decided it wasn't paying off. Current rates are still higher than they were a year ago, but more in line with general inflation, not 100-150% higher.

Mrp Alert

Wirelessly posted (FlyerTalk.com/wap is fun : BlackBerry8830/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

Fwiw, I am paying very low rates these days for my rentals. I think the spike is over. Pricing is back to reflecting weak demand.

Mrp Alert

Wirelessly posted (FlyerTalk.com/wap is fun : BlackBerry8830/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

Nov rates are extremelu low in las. $10-$12 or so per day.some agencies hit $8 per day.

randix

I got an $83/wk rate in PDX last week, other cities no more than $130/wk it seems. Unfortunately have a need to be in SJC over the coming months, and Thrifty does not seem to be as competitive there as in other markets so looking at other vendors (if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to PM me. Neverthless, far cry from the craziness of the rates this summer that I saw, as I walked through the lots and saw aisles and aisles of available cars going unrented.

bobsgt

For someone that hates 'complainers', you sure seem to do it a lot. Just 7 weeks ago you offered up a apology for calling bhatnasx a "dumba$$" with this caveat:

"I apologize for coming off as a jerk. Just a way to vent about the customers that seem to break spirits in the rental world." from http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthrea...=#post10295024 posts #26 and #30

Maybe your "spirits" should be broken before the bottom of the bottle points up towards the sky- especially when driving the company's car.

Mrp Alert

Cheapest rates (with AX10 coupon) I have ever seen:
Wed October 29-Friday October 31 @ $7.60 per day. Available at both Thrifty & Dollar.