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 firms link up with airline to deliver deals for customers

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Alamo Rent a Car and National Car Rental have made a deal with Korean Air which will deliver great benefits to customers of both the airline and the car hire firms.

The partnership between the three companies will offer members of Korean Air’s frequent flyer program, Korean Air Skypass, the chance to earn extra air miles by hiring a car with Alamo or National Car Rental.

The two car rental companies are owned and operated by Enterprise Holdings, which is the largest car hire provide in the world, boasting a workforce of 68,000, and annual revenue of $12.6 billion, and a fleet of cars and trucks totalling over 1 million.

Korean Air frequent flyers will be able to collect 500 air miles per car rental when they hire a car with either operator. Up until the end of March, frequent flyers with the airline will earn an extra 500 air miles when they hire a car with either Alamo or National Car Rental as part of a special introductory offer to celebrate the start of the new partnership.

The air miles can be collected by frequent flyers hiring a car from any participating Alamo or National Car Rental centre in the world, so regardless of where you’re travelling to or from, you’ll be able to take advantage of this exclusive deal between Korean Air and the car hire giant.

Top ranking car hire websites revealed

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The two companies leading the way in terms of high ranking on search engine results lists for car hire have been revealed as Travelsupermarket.com and carrentals.co.uk.

The research, which was conducted by Search Engine Optimisation experts and online marketing company Greenlight, found that these two websites came out on top on search engine results list for search terms related to car hire. The two firms combined secured 94% in the organic search results list, and 64% visibility in the paid for search results and through social media.

Travelsupermarket.com achieved their success through a combination of both paid for visibility, which accounted for 63% of their ranking, and natural search results which was accountable for 41%.

Carrentals.co.uk were found to be leading the way in terms of rankings in the organic results list with 53% of their visibility online achieved as a result of good SEO on their sites. The use of keywords in their content, and also frequently updated new stories which is highly relevant to keyword search terms was one of the main factors in their success.

The website was also found to benefit from a practice known as Link Equity. The ranking of a website is boosted according to the number of links it has from outside websites, which is something Carrentals.co.uk is succeeding in doing.

Both sites have used social media effectively, helping to build a loyal client base, and developing the tools to retain their members.

Car hire firm launches iPhone app and new express service

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Car hire company Hertz has revealed plans to launch its iPhone app in Europe, plus a new express self-service facility to help speed up the process of collecting your hire car.

The car rental giant will provide a number of self-service kiosks at selected European airports which allows customers to collect their hire car through a touch-screen self-service desk. The facility will be available to all car hire customer who have prepaid for their hire.

Customers will have the option of adding on extras to their hire policy at this point as the touch-screen kiosk will offer consumers the chance to upgrade to a better vehicle, add waiver or other insurance products, plus a range of fuel and accessory options such as the hire of a satellite navigation system or child seat.

Hertz’s successful iPhone app will also be making its way over to Europe in the coming months. The application has been very well received over in the US, and so Hertz have decided to extend its use over to Europe.

The app allows members to make bookings easily and quickly as member numbers and favourite locations can be saved to your settings. Plus with the iPhone app, you’ll also be the first to hear about any special discount promotions being offered by Hertz.

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

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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 committed to electric car usage

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Car hire giant Hertz has announced its intention to support the development of electric car usage through both its car sharing and car rental facilities. As the world’s largest general use car rental brand, their promise to commit to the development of electric vehicles is especially important.

Hertz made the announcement at the annual meeting of Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) where global leaders meet to discuss the biggest problems affecting the modern world.

The car rental firm has the ability to reach out to a wide range of consumers including students, professional and business people and families so their support will have a far reaching affect in introducing the latest green travel technology to a wide consumer base.

The car rental company has announced plans to launch its electric car hire scheme this autumn, with the service planned to reach parts of Europe by the beginning of 2011.

Earlier this year Hertz revealed its plans to introduce the Nissan Leaf, a 100% electric powered vehicle, to selected car rental fleets in the US and Europe. Hertz aims to lead the way in introducing the public to the next generation of electric powered vehicles, which will in turn help to support and stimulate the development of eco-friendly travel all over the world.

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.

New car hire website launched where vehicle owners rent out their ride

New rental scheme is launched which allows vehicle owners to hire their cars out

A brand new website has been launched earlier this month where car owners have the opportunity to rent their car out to others in their area.

Whipcar is the brainchild of Vinay Gupta who says the idea behind the service is to “enable owners to put their cars to work.” A recent report revealed that a high percentage of cars on UK roads are used by their owners for less than an hour each day. The new site will allow car owners to earn money on their otherwise idle motors.

Registration for the site is free however Whipcar do require the vehicle to have a valid MOT, be less than 8 years of age, and will inspect the car to ensure it is clean and tidy and is not a stolen vehicle.

Those wishing to register to rent cars in their local area will also be subjected to checks to ensure they have a valid license, and do not hold more than 6 point or their license or any drink-drive convictions in the last 5 years. Whipcar aims to protect both the car owners and prospective hirers through their routine checks.

The scheme has initially been rolled out in London only, however the bosses at Whipcar aim to have the service up and running throughout the country with the coming weeks.

Tourists warned to book car hire early this Easter

Vehicle rentals on the rise this Easter

Car hire experts are warning tourists travelling this Easter to book in advance as early signs show that there is an increased demand for rental vehicles across Europe. Some of the most popular destinations where car hire is already heavily booked include Tenerife, Faro, Rome, and Alicante.

It is believed that Easter will be a very busy holiday period as many people chose to stay at home over the festive period due to toll the holiday season had taken on their finances. With the country struggling out of recession, money was still tight for many. As we seem to be turning the corner, more holidaymakers are expected to come out over Easter than before.

Bookings for car hire in Europe are already on the rise, and with that, so are the prices. It has been estimated that vehicle rental rates are 13% higher this Easter break when compared to the same period last year.

The economic climate has also had a marked effect on the car hire industry and is partly responsible for the rise we are now witnessing in hire prices. As the banks are less willing to lend to businesses following the credit crunch, car hire owners have been unable to secure finance to invest in new vehicles for their fleet. This has resulted in a reduction in the number of vehicles available, yet there has been no let up in the demand for hire vehicles.

So if you are planning a getaway this Easter, make sure you think ahead and book your car hire early in order to make the most of any special offers, and to ensure you secure yourself a vehicle.

Car Hire firm in Bath braces itself for redundancies

Job likely to face the axe at vehicle rental call centre in Bath

Call centre staff at the Bath-based car hire firm Helphire Group plc, are likely to face job cuts in the near future. The news comes less than year after the company as forced to make 180 redundancies at the centre last April.

Helphire offers rental vehicles to those who have suffered a no-fault accident. The firm currently employs a 600 strong work force in Bath, the vast majority of these roles are in administration, whilst the rest are IT based. Helphire currently has 2,000 employees across the UK at its 30 different bases in the country.

In a bid to cut costs, Helphire is looking to consolidate its workforce in its bases in Cheshire and County Durham.

It is not yet known how many people will lose their jobs at the car hire company in Bath. Some employees may be offered redundancy packages, whilst others could be offered work elsewhere at another centre. The management and Head Quarters offices in Bath however, will remain unaffected.

A Helphire spokeswoman said the decision had been made to lose the jobs in Bath in order to help reduce the firm’s costs, and make the company more competitive within the industry.

Last year the company also cut its fleet of hire cars dramatically after being hit badly by the recession.