car rental

Stronger Demand, Tighter Supply Mean Profits And Service Issues In Car Rental

Some companies’ biggest travel management headaches these days are coming from one of the smaller-spend categories — ground transportation, particularly car rental. Renters face tight availability, poor vehicle condition and rising rates. Avis Budget Group and Hertz reported record earnings for the quarter ended Sept. 30. They cited strengthening demand, cost reductions realized during the…

Avis Budget Cracks Down On Illicit Use Of Discount Codes

Travelers taking advantage of rates negotiated by companies they don’t work for is one of the oldest tricks in the book. With car rental rates rising amid recovering demand and limited inventory, Avis Budget is telling customers they must prove they are entitled to discounted rates by producing verification of their employer. Small businesses must…

Feds Bust Avis Budget For Overcharges, A Cautionary Tale For Corporate Travel Buyers

A settlement between Avis Budget Group and the U.S. government regarding allegations that the car rental company overcharged the world’s largest business travel spender holds some lessons for corporate buyers and program managers. The biggest is to remain vigilant, but that’s often easier said than done. On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice said Avis…

Adding Air, Tripbam Begins Evolution To Corporate Travel Spend Management Platform

Known as a corporate hotel program aide, Tripbam is spreading its wings into the air category. It plans to mimic its lodging capabilities and capture data on airline bookings, look for better airfares and automatically rebook them. It will develop benchmarks and analytics, and ultimately delve into air sourcing. The roadmap contemplates similar functionality for…

Biden Administration Could Bolster Ground Transport Hygiene Regulations (Audio)

A non-profit group of transportation agency commissioners and managers is close to finalizing model regulations and best practices for ground transport operators. CDC and OSHA issued some official guidance covering parts of the sector, but no mandates. That could change under a Joe Biden administration. He indicated plans for a mask mandate for interstate transportation….

Feeling The Burn, Travel Suppliers Focus On Cash And Cost Cuts

Lodging and transportation companies lost money in the first quarter and they’re losing more during the second. What matters now is shoring up liquidity and improving cash burn for the second half of the year and into 2021. To bolster reserves, suppliers are taking out loans, tapping into credit facilities, cutting spending and reducing workforces….

Op Ed: Igor Marchal On The Future Of Car Rental Distribution

Car rental companies can’t sufficiently differentiate their products or provide a modern shopping experience within the current distribution framework. That’s according to travel industry veteran Igor Marchal of Klomat Consulting. Drawing on his experiences at CWT, Expedia and Europcar, Marchal explains the constraints currently hindering the car rental industry and suggests a course of action….

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