Posts Tagged ‘car rental’

Sir Stelios announces new car sharing project

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

easyJet founder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, has formed a partnership with joint-founder of lastminute.com, Brent Hoberman, to launch a new car-sharing operation. At some point next year, the pair expects to launch a website on which private car owners will be able to advertise their vehicles and rent them out at times when they are not using them.

Customers will be able to use applications on their smart phones to book the vehicles, and it is claimed that the scheme will be much cheaper than traditional car hire. According to Sir Stelios, the venture could well prove to be the way that car ownership and car rental develops into the future in cities.

He explained that the scheme would make use of vehicles which are already under used, instead of having to deal with the cost of purchasing new cars and maintaining them before renting them out. He said that a car which was not being used was just dead capital which he aims to bring back to life.

easyCar currently operates in around 60 countries and has more than 3,500 rental outlets around the globe. The company made a £1 million profit over the last year. The new project will kick-off in the London area where 1,000 vehicles will be tested through the spring.

Mr Hoberman said that now was the time to initiate the operation as it is predicted that the economy in the UK is to get worse through 2012. The company said that the scheme was also greener than traditional car hire.

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Annual Road Sense campaign announced

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

The country’s number one car rental site has announced that it will be joined by road charity Brake in this year’s launch of the Road Sense campaign. An annual event organised by Carrentals.co.uk, the scheme aims to make motorists more aware of a particular area of road safety. This time it is aiming to encourage drivers to be more vigilant about checking the quality of their tyres and brakes.

Carrentals.co.uk boss, Gareth Robinson, explained: “During the winter, when UK roads are icy and dangerous, we want people to be sure to get their tyres and brakes inspected. By doing so we can all help to have a positive impact on the number of accidents on UK roads this year.”

The website is hoping that drivers will be encouraged to look after the maintenance of their vehicles at a time when families are still struggling with tight budgets. Brake is concerned about the number of accidents and deaths on the UK roads which involve younger motorists.

The charity’s director, Katie Shepherd, said: “It is an honour to partner with Carrentals.co.uk this year on the new Road Sense campaign. With Road Safety Week taking place in the UK Brake wants to encourage people to consider the safety of other road users, get their cars checked out regularly and to ‘have a heart at the wheel’.”

Mr Robinson added: “Brake and ourselves both have a common goal within the Road Sense campaign, that of lowering the number of serious accidents on UK roads.”

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Avis no longer interested in Dollar Thrifty

Thursday, September 15th, 2011

American car rental giant Avis has decided to pull out of the race to acquire budget rival Dollar Thrifty. According to the company it has withdrawn its $1.6 billion bid because the market conditions are unfavourable at the present time. Hertz Global is now the favourite to take over the firm.

Industry consultant, Neil Abrams, said Avis had also become frustrated by the process of trying to obtain antitrust approval from the authorities. Recent consolidation of the car hire business in the US means that there are only four major companies: Avis, Hertz, Dollar and Enterprise. Regulators are concerned that further consolidation will have a negative impact on the consumer.

Hertz and Avis have been keen to get their hands on the leisure market which Dollar successfully penetrates. Both of the larger firms are more geared to corporate customers. Dollar currently controls around 13 per cent of the US airport rental market relying on customers looking for a cheap deal rather than the latest model. Hertz is still to comment on the decision by Avis to withdraw its bid but has said it is continuing to seek approval from the Federal Trade Commission for a take over.

Earlier in the year Avis declared that it was to acquire its European counterpart. The company is currently seeking financing for the £636 million deal which is possibly another reason why it has pulled out of the race for Dollar.

Mr Abrams said that although the global economy remained shaky, the demand for rental vehicles was remarkably robust.

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Europcar offers free delivery service

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

Car hire firm Europcar is making it easier for customers to rent a vehicle by offering a free delivery service to those who rent for two or more days. After the car is finished with, Europcar will then come and pick it up. The new service is called freeDeliver and, as the name suggests, it comes at no extra charge to the customer.

Europcar offers the service within a radius of 15 miles of any of its car rental stations. The company’s UK managing director, Ken McCall, said the service was unique and he believes it is what busy customers will appreciate because they don’t have to waste their time travelling to and from locations to pick up and drop vehicles off.

McCall added that the no strings attached service would set a new benchmark for the car rental industry. He went on to say that it was just one of the new initiatives Europcar would be introducing to win back the trust of the leisure traveller.

McCall said the service was already appreciated by the firm’s business travellers and that he was pleased that freeDeliver would now give time back to the company’s leisure customers. Europcar currently has 200 locations around the country and freeDeliver is offered to all those living within 15 miles of one of those locations. The car will be delivered to an address of the customer’s choice within a one-hour time slot as well as collected when the booking ends.

McCall said time was a precious commodity and now Europcar customers will have more of it.

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Expedia targets Asia Pacific with AirAsia deal

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

Asia’s leading low-cost carrier, AirAsia, has announced a new deal with the world’s largest internet based travel agent, Expedia, to capitalise on the growing demand for online travel booking in the Asia-Pacific region. Although currently only around 20 per cent of travel sales are executed over the net, Tony Fernandes, AirAsia’s CEO, predicts that online bookings will explode and that there is an opportunity to develop trusted consumer brands in the booming economies of the region.

Barry Diller, Expedia’s chairman, said AirAsia offered a great network as travel focus on Asia continued to increase. Expedia Asia-Pacific has been set up to look after various businesses in India, Japan, East Asia and South East Asia. It will also operate GoRooms and AirAsiaGo.

The venture is an equal partnership, and customers wishing to purchase a ticket online for travel with the budget carrier can now do so almost exclusively through AirAsia sites or via Expedia. Expedia AirAsia’s group consists of AirAsia Indonesia, AirAsia Malaysia, AirAsia X and Thai AirAsia.

The travel business in the region is estimated to be worth around $200 billion and Expedia will be able to offer the 70 million people who visit its site each month deals on a range of services including package holidays, car rental and hotel rooms.

AirAsia currently serves 75 destinations throughout Asia, Europe and Australia operating 140 routes. The company started with just two aircraft and now has a fleet of 104. The new deal is expected to be particularly beneficial to the Thai travel market, according to Fernandes.

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Avis continues to open offices across the UK

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

Car rental giant Avis has announced that it intends to open more than 100 new branches across the UK by the end of 2011. The car hire firm also said that it had increased the number of locations supplying vehicles to leisure customers by 50 per cent. In the last two months the company has opened 37 new branches.

Customers now have access to Avis vehicles through business solutions provider Regus. The companies have entered into a partnership at 21 new locations and car hire can be booked at a Regus office.

Further partnership deals have been struck with hotels so that guests will have no difficulty in obtaining a quality vehicle with which to explore the local area.

Avis branches can now be found in cities and towns like Windsor, Huddersfield and Cheltenham. Vehicles can also be picked up from Avis rental outlets at 38 airports. Currently the company has 170 offices throughout the UK and Avis car hire is available on four continents.

Commercial boss at Avis UK, Anthony Ainsworth, said: “50% growth of Avis’ town and city branches in just two months is a significant achievement for us and puts us another step closer to reaching our ultimate goal of having an Avis branch within a few miles of every household in the UK. Next year will see the number of Avis branches increase with a further 100+ locations, demonstrating our commitment to giving customers the choice to find a car hire solution that best suits their needs.”

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Avis promotion for ICC Cricket World Cup

Thursday, February 24th, 2011

Cricket fans heading to India to watch the ICC Cricket World Cup are being offered a special 20 per cent discount on a range of economy and premium vehicles by Avis India. The car rental firm has launched the initiative to encourage self-drive throughout the country. The special rate is also available on chauffeur driven vehicles.

Mr Sunil Gupta, Avis India’s chief executive officer, described cricket as like a religion in his country. He added that in celebration of the fact the ICC was holding the World Cup in India, Avis wanted to offer its customers something special too. A wide range of well maintained vehicles are available from the smaller Suzuki Swift to the larger BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E and A Class. There are also MUVs and SUVs available including the Ford Endeavour, Tata Safari and the Toyota Innova.

The special 20 per cent off World Cup promotion will run from the 17 February to 2 April and applies top all bookings made through the Avis call-centre or on the Avis website. Self-drive vehicles can be booked for almost any period of time from just a day to a week or a month.

The tournament will run until 2 April and matches are being played in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as well as India.

Avis India customers can pick up vehicles from a fleet of 1400 spread through 18 of the country’s major cities.  Avis rental stations are conveniently located at easily accessible locations within the city.

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Avis offers Easter travel solutions

Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011

With a Royal Wedding adding an extra bank holiday to the calendar at Easter, Avis is offering car hire customers the opportunity to enjoy the beauty spots and historic sites of the UK. For those who do not own a vehicle, or who are tempted to try a different driving experience, car rental can be a convenient and economically sensible option.

By signing up for the Avis Preferred deal customers are guaranteed that the car keys will be handed over within three minutes of making their presence known at the rental station or a twenty pound note will.

The company’s head of marketing in the UK, Nick Mountfield, said: “Easter is always a very popular time of year to go away, but with the Royal Wedding happening this year, more people are choosing to holiday here instead. The extra bank holidays mean that by booking three days off work, Britons can actually have a whole week’s break and we’re already seeing more demand as people rush to firm up their travel plans. The UK has thousands of fantastic holiday destinations that are ideal for days out, weekends away and longer holidays, so we’re encouraging holidaymakers to make the most of their time off and explore the UK.”

Avis is extremely competitive with its rates, and customers can drive away with a vehicle for as little as £16 per day.

Mountfield added: “We’re definitely seeing a demand for booking early this Easter, so I’d urge customers to think ahead and book now in order to guarantee their vehicle of choice this April.”

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Enterprise pledges Sustainable Construction Protocol

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

Car hire giant Enterprise is continuing to move forward with its commitment to greener practices by pledging $150 million to improving existing locations and making sure new locations conform to its Enterprise Sustainable Construction Protocol. The green building standard is to be implemented over the coming five years and it is predicted that by the time it is complete, the company will be making savings on water and energy of some 35 per cent.

Enterprise Holdings’ director of corporate sustainability, Lee Broughton, said the company’s initiative will have a dramatic impact on thousands of existing locations as well as future projects. Currently, the car rental firm is concentrating on around 1,000 projects which include retrofitting plans and new locations.

There are seven areas Enterprise will be concentrating on as set out in its ESCP. These include using a range of sustainable materials in existing locations and new builds, improving the use of energy, undertaking better recycling practices and conserving water. Broughton said that Enterprise hoped that the investment would reap substantial returns.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car has already been awarded accolades for its green initiatives. Last summer, the firm’s new vehicle rental location at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport was given the silver certificate by LEED, an award set up by the Green Building Council. A call centre run by Enterprise, as well as the company’s fleet management headquarters, are also LEED-certified.

Enterprise is also involved in a number of other green initiatives including research into renewable fuels and a programme for offsetting the amount of carbon the firm puts into the atmosphere.

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Better customer satisfaction from car rental firms

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

A recent survey examining how happy car rental customers are with the service they are given by particular hire firms suggests that things are improving after the recent global economic troubles. All of the major names scored better in this year’s poll than they did last year. Enterprise, for the seventh year in a row, scored the highest points with 786 out of a possible 1,000.

The survey is conducted each year by JD Power and Associates and looks at six key factors which are important to the overall satisfaction of the consumer. These are: quality of the rental car, the cost and fees, the process of picking up the car, the process of returning the vehicle, the process of reserving that vehicle and the quality of the company’s shuttle or bus service.

The survey was conducted in the US and polled customers using rental facilities at airports. The survey was conducted over the year ending in September.

In second place came another firm under the umbrella of Enterprise Holdings, National Car Rental. National scored 10 points higher than a year ago with 767 points. In third place came Hertz, up 15 points on last year with 762.

Andrew Taylor, chief executive of Enterprise Holdings, said he was pleased with the results, but added that car hire firms were still operating under some extremely challenging conditions. He went on to say that Enterprise took a great deal of pride from the fact that its customers rate its customer service as highly as they do.

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