Rental Cars - Who Books Two?
Written by Tim Beagen (contact - e-mail) -- January 2nd, 2008 |
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I recently needed to book a rental car, so I started the search where all my travels begin, SideStep. The usual suspects and rates were quickly displayed, but it was a deal for CarRentals.com appearing in the sponsored links that caught my attention.
Thanks to the Compete.com toolbar, I checked to make sure CarRentals.com was a trusted site with decent traffic. Sure enough, they were, and I quickly locked up Dodge Caliber (or something similar) provided by Dollar.
As seen below, CarRentals.com ranked #9 in November in terms of unique visitors for car rental reservation sites and 10% of those visitors booked a car.
I was confident in my choice for a minute, but doubt set in when I realized my SkyBus flight (great deals, no frills) was scheduled to arrive late in the evening. Not wanting to be stuck in Columbus, Ohio without a rental car if things went wrong, I reserved a back-up with Hertz for a few dollars more. After all, you don’t have to pay to reserve, so better safe than sorry.
That got me thinking, how many other people reserve multiple cars for the same trip?
The table below ranks the above sites by the % of people that reserved another car on a different site during the same internet session. Obviously, I’m not the only one who likes to have options. 11% of carrental.com bookers also book a car someplace else at the same time.
It’s a good thing I did, because when my flight arrived in Columbus a few minutes late, Dollar was closed and nobody left the keys to the Caliber. Hertz, however, was waiting for me a few feet away.
For rental car companies, double bookers become a critical segment to focus on. Follow-up messaging and customer service play a major role in the decision process. Consumers have options and it may be the email upgrade offer received the night before or it may be the number of people in line at the counter that sways their final decision.
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January 2nd, 2008 at 10:51 am
The simplest solution would have just used Hertz as the first choice after asking Dollar what time they closed (or making key arrangements), since you only arrived a ‘few minutes late’.
However, it should not matter whether CarRentals had good traffic if they were simply referring you to another resource to deal with.
January 2nd, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Hey buddy, slight error - your first link is a blank URL.
January 2nd, 2008 at 1:59 pm
I have a crazy idea… why don’t car rental companies ‘guarantee’ your reservation? I recently rented a car and was amazed that they didn’t take my payment info. I have to imagine these companies are losing a lot of business on “no shows” and infuriating many customers with lost reservations or closed desks.
This all reminds me of the Seinfeld car rental episode. “Anyone can take reservations, but you’re really missing the point if you can’t HOLD the reservation.”
January 2nd, 2008 at 2:15 pm
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June 11th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
These days where luxury is almost a part of the primary needs of a person, we can say that people can’t live without this lavishness in cars. To satisfy this craving, there are cheap car rental in Barbados that will offer fabulous services about these luxury cars.
Whatever you might do with a car, either for a service to an important company meeting, or for a fantastic wedding service. It could also be great for a prom night, and for traveling or just even strolling the city. Whenever you want a car service, with an affordable price. You can have it.
June 11th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
What’s so fantastic about this car rental in Barbados is the car service that they offer. You can experience the King and Queen of Buckingham Palace feeling the moment you enter inside. These car rentals have these professional chauffeurs that are willing to serve or even tour you around the city, drive you to your important meeting and to your once in a lifetime wedding event.
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:36 pm
when talking about car rentals, we must consider the ff. factors; good deal, service-these includes the chauffeurs and the vehicle per se, plus the good company name. when all of these are summed up, it is a perfect deal.
June 26th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
car rentals.. yup, you really need to make sure that the money you are paying is worth it.
June 26th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
comment no 7, what do you mean by good company name? well, some newbie companies do offer services that are considerably better than others.
June 26th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
i really don’t believe that a limo company must first have a “good name” in order to be the best in terms of service.
June 27th, 2008 at 11:52 am
my piece of coin.
July 18th, 2008 at 11:40 am
YES. ^ hehe
August 29th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Arriendo de Vehiculos Santiago Chile.
Arriende un vehiculo seguro!!
August 29th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Viaje a Chile para conocer la patagonia,atacama,sur y norte de nuestro pais, con nuestros vehiculos totalmente equipados.
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January 13th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Sometimes , can be more usefull to rent a car than buy one . It’s a good offert !
March 29th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
You are a very responsible client who does his homework. Tell you what, if you happen to be a visitor, you can contact me through my toll free number 1.888.332.5496. We offer first-class fleets at dirt cheap figures. Let’s talk one day. Have a pleasant day.
April 20th, 2009 at 8:03 am
Click here.
Nice site. Check out this one sometime…
May 18th, 2009 at 4:36 am
Never thought of double booking before as everything usually goes smoothly. but what if it does’nt? will really consider checking it out next time, especially if I have to be somewhere urgently. thanx
May 19th, 2009 at 3:43 am
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May 19th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
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May 27th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Avoid Hertz!
I made reservations for a Hertz rental station wagon five months in advance of a recent two week family vacation to the UK, however, Hertz did not have a car available on the day of my arrival at London Heathrow. I even paid for the car five months in advance. When I questioned them how such a thing could happen, the official answer was, “We don’t guarantee cars will always be available.” I also noticed that well over 20 or so people were upset and waiting in the Hertz rental counter area waiting for cars which they had also reserved in advance.
Another Hertz incident worth sharing is that Hertz refused to respond to a call for rental car replacement or repair when the car broke down on a country road.
My advice is:
1. Do not pay in advance.
2. Make reservations with several car rental companies since none of them seem to be able to manage their reservation systems and only offer an insincere apology when their customers are left without cars. This is especially true in the UK.
July 6th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
I probably wouldn’t book two services, however, if you have the ability to cancel one that I understand this philosophy. Another great way that may be a little more pricey would be to book a car service, this way you will be guaranteed a vehicle and you won’t have the stress of navigating you way around an unfamiliar city.
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September 23rd, 2009 at 8:53 am
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October 26th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Why not research the one thing that might have saved you more money and provided you with certain pickup at any hour? Try a limo service. It may not have been much more than renting two cars and you would have had guaranteed curbside service! All of you would have fit, and rates are usually lower when it is not around holidays or proms.