Avis Car Hire doubles its UK presence

Car hire giant Avis has doubled its UK presence over the course of the last two month with the opening of 37 new car rental outlets across the country.

This is just the start of the car hire company’s ambitious expansion plans as it revealed its intention to open a further 100 leisure car rental outlets across the UK over the coming year, and another 100 or more in 2012.

The new car hire centres have been situated in town and city locations across the country and will work in-conjunction with the 38 Avis car hire outlets situated in UK airports.

Avis boss Anthony Ainsworth described the new branch openings as a “significant achievement” and revealed that Avis is now a step closer to realising their goal of having a car hire branch within a few miles of every household in Britain.

The majority of the recently opened Avis car hire outlets have been launched in partnership with business centre operator, Regus, meaning customers can approach their local branch of Regus for car hire services in 21 locations. The remaining 16 Avis outlets which were opened this year have been launched in conjunction with leading hotels across the country.

Avis say the introduction of new car hire outlets across the country is in response to a very strong 12 months of trading in 2010. The car hire giant hopes to build on its success in 2010 with the introduction of new hire centres in Britain over the coming two years.

Car hire provider honoured with smoke free award

no smoking sign against the blue sky

Car hire giant Avis Budget was honoured last week with a smoke free award for their dedication in rolling out non-smoking rental cars across Canada and America.

The campaign group Americans for Non Smokers’ Rights awarded the car hire provider with the accolade to recognise the efforts the company has made in launching smoke free zones in all rental cars across its entire fleet in the US and Canada.

Avis Budget were singled out for the Smoke Free Business Award because of the dedication the company has shown over the last two years to a smoke free policy across all of its rental vehicles.

The car hire provider explained that their decision to ban smoking by employees and customer in all of their rentals cars in America and Canada was a reaction to customer demand as the company noted more and more requests for fresh smelling, smoke free cars. The company first launched their non smoking scheme in North America back in 2009.

The car rental expert is planning to build on their success in introducing a smoke free policy in their hire cars by extending the scheme so as to make all of their rental outlets in America and Canada smoke free zones as well.

The Americans for Non Smokers’ Rights described Avis Budget car hire’s smoke free policy as being a model for the rest of the industry to follow.

Car Hire firm encourages Brits to holiday at home for the Royal Wedding

avislogo

Car Hire company Avis is encouraging Brits to stay at home during the Easter break by offering travel tips for interesting breaks in the UK.

With an extra bank holiday granted for the Royal wedding planned for April 29th, which falls the week after Easter weekend, many British holiday makers are planning a staycation during the break in order to make the most of the royal nuptials and the extra bank holiday.

Avis car hire rates start at £16 a day, which makes for affordable travel for people who don’t own their own car. Plus, with the Avis Preferred Service, customers are guaranteed to have the keys for their rental car in their hand within 3 minutes of entering their Avis rental centre, or they’ll receive £20.

The car hire giant conducted some research recently into Brit’s holiday plans for this Easter and found that a third of people are planning to stay in the UK for the break. Thanks to the extra bank holiday which has been granted especially for the Royal wedding, workers can enjoy a whole seven days off by just booking 3 days holiday from work.

Avis say they have noted an increased volume of bookings for car hire for April as people plan ahead for the extended break. So if you’re planning a staycation this Easter, you’d we well advised to book your car hire in advance.

Car hire firm Avis sells off debt to help take over bid for Dollar Thrifty

Dollar

The third largest car rental company in the US, Avis, has reportedly sold off $400 million of debt in an attempt to help bolsters its position to take over the smaller budget car hire company, Dollar Thrifty.

Avis and Hertz have been locked in a bidding war for months as the two car hire firms battle it out to buy out the smaller company. Hertz had looked the favourites to win, but after Dollar Thrifty rejected the firm’s latest offer, the tide seems to be turning in favour of Avis.

The last bid put forward by Hertz stood at $1.44 billion, but this was not accepted by the Dollar Thrifty shareholders. Hertz have since withdrawn the offer. Avis is still very much in the running with their current bid standing at $1.53 billion.

It’s believed New Jersey based Avis will use the sale to help pay off existing debts which will help put the company in a better position to buy out the budget car rental firm. The practice of selling off junk rated corporate debt to pay for new acquisitions has increased by 15% this year, statistics have revealed.

The acquisition of Dollar Thrifty would be a great deal for Avis as the smaller company comes with very little debt and a healthy income.

Car hire giant launches home delivery service

New car drop-off and collection service is launched

One of the UK’s largest car rental companies, Avis UK, has launched a brand new service which allows customers to have their hire car delivered right to their front door.

Avis UK is aiming to make its car hire service more accessible and convenient for all of its customers. As well as dropping of your rental vehicle at your chosen location, the company will also send a driver to pick up your car at the end of your hire period.

The move spells good news for holidaymakers in the UK who previously, would have had to have taken valuable time out of their holiday to travel to the hire depot to pick up and drop off a hire car. The service also makes car hire more accessible for those without alternative means of transport to travel to the hire centre; before the service customers would have had to travel to the depot on public transport or by taxi which can be both time consuming and often costly.

The service is available all over the UK, except in London, between Mondays and Saturdays and costs just £10 each way, so the cost of having your car dropped off and collected works out very reasonably.

Car Hire group Avis looking to expand in China

Avis have their sights set on targetting the vehicle rental market in China

Car Hire group Avis Europe have unveiled their expansion plans for China. The car rental outfit is currently the second largest in Europe but has its sights set on targeting the Chinese market in order to capitalise on the growing car rental business in Asia.

It’s also been suggested that the economic downturn is partly responsible for Avis’s decision to concentrate their efforts on the Chinese market. With the car hire industry at a standstill in Europe, expanding into Asia will enable the company to continue growing at a healthy rate.

Avis plans to increase their number of rental outlets across the country dramatically over the coming years. They’ve set a target of increasing the number of car hire centres from their current number of 25 too 100 within the space of two years.

Car hire company Avis Europe works in conjunction with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp in China at present. Although the vehicle rental market in China is relatively small at the moment, Avis hope that by preparing their business now for expansion in the country, they’ll be perfectly placed to take advantage of the car hire market when it picks up.

Car Hire Companies in North America remove Toyotas from their fleet following a product recall request

North American vehicle rental firms remove certian Toyota models from their fleet after the manufacturers recalled the vehicles

A number of big name car hire companies in North America have had to remove certain Toyota models from their fleet after the manufacturer put out a product recall request after a fault was detected with the throttle pedal.

Avis, Budget, Hertz, and Enterprise Holdings have all announced that they will be sending back the affected Toyota vehicles from their fleets.

In an official statement, car rental organisation, Avis Budget Group, confirmed that they will be removing an estimated 20,000 vehicles in total. They added that the problem is said to “arise out of usage over time” and that subsequently, their fleets have some of the lowest mileage records of any other company, so they have reason to believe that the vehicles would not have posed a hazard to their car rental customers.

Despite shedding such as large number of rental vehicles as a result of the Toyota recall, the Avis Budget Group say they will be able to fulfil all customer bookings and reservations.

Enterprise Holdings have stressed that customer safety is a “number-one priority.” The company has promised that any customer who is currently renting a Toyota vehicle affected by the recall request, will be given an alternative car immediately.

Car hire firm introduces priority system to beat the queues

car hire firm introduces fast-track system to avoid queues

Avis-Rent-a-Car has decided to introduce a new system to help their car hire customers combat the inconvenience of queuing. Those who use the car hire service on a regular basis will be eligible to sign up for the programme which offers a range of different benefits to ensure a speedy and hassle free car hire experience.

After conducting a survey into the queuing tendencies of individuals in the UK, Avis discovered that we spend approximately 22 minutes each week in some kind of queue. Over a year this mounts up to almost a whole day being spent queuing. In light of these findings, the car hire giants decided to create a new programme to help alleviate the issues related to queuing.

The new Avis Preferred scheme offers car hire customers a fast track service and is available at 500 counters across Europe. The scheme allows customers to access a special reservations line, any paperwork will be pre-prepared, your hire car will be parked in the most convenient spot possible and Avis also extend their 3 minute promise; they guarantee that you will have the keys to your rental car in your hand within 3 minutes of reaching the counter otherwise they’ll give you £20.

The Brand and Communications Manager at Avis said this was just one of the ways in which the company hopes to make the experience of hiring a vehicle easier and more convenient for customers.

North America’s leading car hire company is named as Avis

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At the 15th annual World Travel Awards held last month, Avis was announced as North America’s leading Car Hire Company. More than 160,000 travel professionals took part in the voting with Avis eventually coming out on top and being recognised as leading the way in the world of rental vehicles. The World Travel Awards were set up in 1993 and held this year in Orlando. The ceremony aims to give recognition to those organisations which go above and beyond the call of duty to provide a service of excellence for travel and tourism customers the world over.

Avis named best for car hire in N.America

Avis named best for car hire in N.America

Bosses at Avis Car Hire dedicated the award to their hard working staff who “try harder every day for our customers.” The awards are voted for by thousand of transport professionals from a whole range of countries. The World Travel Awards are widely regarded as the highest achievement within the travel and tourism industry.

As a company Avis are continually updating their fleet, services and technology in order to provide their customers with the best standard of service. Only recently Avis introduced a brand new version of the Where2 GPS Sat Nav system to its fleet of rental cars. They’ve also launched a new service which offers customers the option of hiring a chauffer with their vehicle. It’s just another example of the ways in which Avis operate to ensure their clients receive the very best car hire experience.

Holiday Inn hotel limo and chauffeur car hire transfer service trials in Fiji

holiday_inn_logo_detailGlobal hotel brand, Holiday Inn, have announced today that they are to trial a chauffeur driven service between their hotel in Suva, Fiji and the local airport in Nausori. This association, with another global car hire brand Avis, is almost certainly an indication as to the future of overseas and domestic airport travel as guests come to demand transport far more luxurious and comfortable than the traditional coach.

The global limousine market has become increasingly popular over the past few decades. Initially an American phenomenia 30 years ago, luxury limousines have since conquered the world and continue to make inroads in diverse locations from the impressive growth in UK to as far flung places as Kabul.

This trial signals the intent of two international companies to begin using luxury vehicles as part of their services to their customers. The manager of the Holiday Inn in Suva, Michael Wilson said “Holiday Inn Suva is proud to join with Avis in providing our valued guests these new luxury vehicles for airport transfers and other trips around Suva”

Similarly, Avis chief executive had this to say “Avis is delighted with this new partnership with a renowned hotel chain and prominent Suva hotel in the Holiday Inn, to provide an outstanding transfer service to guests”

If the trial is a success it is likely that this service would expand globally which would be a significant bonus for the limo hire industry.