Posts Tagged ‘car rentals’

Benefits of business car hire over purchasing

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

As most organisations spend a huge amount on their travelling needs, purchasing transportation could put a considerable strain on many businesses, especially considering today’s current economic climate.   That is why hiring commercial vehicles, especially larger vans, is one of the most economical and convenient options available in today’s market.

According to recent reports, the demand for car rentals by business organisations is on the rise, which has resulted in thousands of rental companies to offer van leasing deals at highly competitive rates.

Such reasons are the fact that leasing is a cost efficient alternative, as choosing a vhecile through a suitable van leasing service can save a vast sum of money which would have been otherwise spent on purchasing a fleet.

One of the other benefits of hiring a car through a rental company is that payment schemes are generally easy, as they range from periodic to monthly instalments, as well as the option of small down payments. In addition to the easy payment options, hiring a vehicle is generally a lot more flexible, for instance, if the company’s requirements were to change, there would be the flexibility to switch from one model to another.

Another reason why hiring a vehicle is that once you have finished with the vehicle, you can return it back to the supplier free of any liabilities that are usually associated with owning a commercial vehicle.

New Australian car rental comparison website launched

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

The Australian car hire market has a new player in the competition as comparison website Carrentals.co.uk reacts to growth in the region by launching a country-specific site Comparecarrentals.com.au

The website, operated by Carrentals.co.uk has continued to enjoy rapid growth in the car hire market since its launch in 2003, and was awarded the title of Best Car Hire website in 2008 at the Travolution Travel Industry awards.

The comparison site has proved to be popular with Australian customers, so Carrentals.co.uk has decided to launch the sister site offering Australians the opportunity to compare and select from a variety of car hire companies, including Avis, Budget, Europcar, Easycar, Argus, Hertz, Holiday Autos, 121Carhire, Sixt and Ecarz.   All brands can be hired from capital cities and regional centres such as Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth as well as Cairns and the Gold Coast.

Spokesman for Carrentals.co.uk, Gareth Robinson has spoken of the successes of the website, saying that the company has gone from strength to strength.  He also pointed out that the company had won awards for their comparison service and had seen an optimistic response from Australian customers – so much so that Carrentals.co.uk has opened an Australian service.

The new launch of the website comes at a time of economic difficulty as many people are looking to make savings holidays more than ever before.

The website offers prices for a week’s rental for as low as $196 (£165) in Melbourne, $258 (£144) per week in Canberra for $245 (£137).

Europcar tells of strange items left behind

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

A recent survey by Europcar has revealed that customers leave behind some pretty strange things, including furry handcuffs, a wheelchair, half a pint of lager, a false leg and a CD guide to speed seduction.

But it is expected that the occasional item would be left behind, given the size of Europcar which leases thousands of cars each day.

The survey revealed that the most common items found in returned rental vehicles were usually keys and mobile phones, but some of the rarer finds include a bagpiper’s black ostrich feather hat, a mannequin and even 4 dozen light bulbs.

Along with the bizarre missing items are the strange excuses customers come up with when faced with the prospect of paying for the damage on a hired car.   Some of the excuses are legitimate but downright unlucky, others border on absurdity.

One man had claimed that a horse leaned on the back of the car causing damage, whilst another said that a lion had attacked and damaged his bumper whilst visiting the Longleat Safari Park.  Another case includes a man who drove into the back of a woman’s rental car in Derbyshire, who said that he dropped his ice-cream, which led to the accident.

A spokesperson for Europcar says that there is never a dull day in the world of car rentals, and have gone to great lengths to return lost and missing items left behind in rental cars.

Staff shortages lead to car hire £208 damage bill

Monday, September 7th, 2009

It has been revealed that some Europcar customers have had their credit cards charged for damage after returning  their hire car in perfect conditions due to what is said to be staff shortages.

One case included Kate Colledge, who rented a car from Manchester Airport and returned the car 40 minutes early, being told that there were no available staff to inspect the car for damages.  She was instructed to leave the keys in an envelope at the outlet and wait for an invoice to be sent by post.

Later when Ms Colledge checked her credit card statement, she discovered that £208 had been taken without notification by Europcar.

After much investigation it was found out that the car wasn’t checked until 17 hours following her return of the vehicle.  Europcar informed the customer that it is company policy that customers are liable for rental cars until they have been checked by staff regardless of when.

Ms Colledge said that if she had wanted the car to be checked by someone, she would have had to have stayed with the car for a further 17 hours ahead of the agreed time of return.

As the issue was probed, Europcar conceded that staff shortages were a common issue as staff are often forced to spread themselves thinly due to the busy nature of the airport, but have withdrawn the £208 due to the time lag between the return of the car and the inspection.

The British Vehicle Leasing and Rental Association have recommend that customers should try to return the car within office hours to ensure vehicle inspections are done completely and correctly to prevent such incidents arising.

Sixt car rental optimistic over increase in revenue

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

Major UK Car company Sixt, has reported a high level of demand for both business rentals and vehicle hire for the second quarter of 2009, recording an increase of revenue, up 7.8% in comparison to the first quarter.

Sixt says the increase in revenue is due to cost cutting measures implemented at the end of last year, including a reduction in rental fleet.

The chairman of the managing board, Erich Sixt, said: “Sixt has successfully adapted to the change in the market environment. The second quarter has shown that our cost-cutting and efficiency-enhancing measures are starting to take effect. A cautious fleet policy, price increases, customer-focused product innovations and cost awareness are the key factors for continued success in this environment.”

Sixt’s managing director says that he’s pleased with the results considering the current difficulties in the market.

He went on to say that the 7.8 increase would keep the company feeling upbeat about the remainder of the financial year.

Readers of Travel + Leisure magazine name the rated the company as the World’s Best Car Hire Agency in a survey earlier this year.

Zipcar doing well despite recession

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Car rental/sharing company Zipcar has performed well this year in spite of the worldwide recession.

Zipcar has forecasted a windfall this year, predicting revenue of around $130 million across its 13 worldwide locations.

The company is planning to open up two more outlets in London next year, as well as in Vancouver, and predicts to be the ‘future of car rentals’.

Zipcar says that the business could become a ‘$12.5 billion car rental by the hour’ industry and predict a rise of between 15 and 25 percent business in the next five years as consumer trends lean towards better value car hire.

The company boasts more than 300,000 members, and is not the only company to have introduced car sharing and rental by the hour, with many other companies begin to see the benefits and the demand for cheaper and more environmentally friendly options.

Car sharing initiatives are easy to use, by initially becoming a member at a cost of $50 per year.  Once a member, a swipe card is issued that can be used to open the car or start the engine, and an hourly charge of $5 to $20 is charged depending on the car and company used.  Insurance is included, but there is a limit on mileage.

Thanks to www.forbes.com for the above information, for more details on this article please visit their website.