A recent AP story ran that caught my attention. As one who rarely rents a car, I was unaware that bargains in the travel arena were not flowing into the car rental business. I DID have a warning earlier this year when a local car rental executive told my owner/boss that car rates were headed HIGHER and not lower because it was too expensive to hold onto unused cars when times were slow. So most car rental companies were cutting back on capacity and just like the airline industry, that usually means higher prices.
The AP article titled Tips for Getting the Best Car Deal mentions that prices are up about 50% compared to a year ago and the article confirms what the exec told my owner - car companies were quick to downsize their fleets. Of course when the economy picks back up, if it does so suddenly and rental companies don't have enough cars to meet demand, will go even higher. (Supply and demand).
So in the year ahead, you may want to bookmark these tips if you think you might need to rent a car on a trip.
Comments