Car Rental

Here at Anything for Hire, we are always keen to promote hire businesses that are credible, reputable and offering services that are worth investing in. However, not all hire businesses possess these qualities.

Today, we learn that consumer group, Which?, has been conducting its annual investigation into car hire companies, ascertaining which are letting their customers down and which are providing positive customer service experiences.

According to their research, GoldCar are the ones to swerve, finding them the worst car hire company from this year’s annual car hire survey. Influenced by customer feedback and reviews, Which found that GoldCar were pressure selling and employed staff that were rude to customers.

While thought to be one of the cheapest car hire providers around, it appears consumers want more than a cheap deal from suppliers nowadays.

The survey

The survey revealed that over 40% of GoldCar’s customers experienced problems, with Which? saying that “terrible customer service or spurious credit card charges” were the biggest issues.

GoldCar received a score of 39% for customer service while Cicar (Canary Islands Car) received an admirable 97%.

But, this is not the first time the Spanish firm has come under fire, having been at the bottom of this survey’s rankings in five of the last six years.

Rory Boland, the group’s travel editor, said:

“One wrong turn at airport arrivals could easily make or break your holiday. In an industry dogged by unscrupulous practices and interminable add-ons, making the right choice is paramount, so it is good that customers can rely on companies like Cicar and Enterprise to deliver a quality service.”

He added: “Our advice is: don’t fall for headline prices, vet your car hire firm and, whatever you do, avoid GoldCar – it could end up not being a bargain at all and leave you wishing you’d stayed at home.”

Let us know what you think. Have you had a bad experience with GoldCar?

Affordable Car Hire, a website that connects users with rental cars from over 15000 destinations worldwide, has this week marked its 15th birthday. Celebrating the milestone in true style, the company has decided to roll out a rebrand; one that has received mixed reviews online.  

Bringing with it a fresh new feel, the company’s new logo and colour palette very much signifies new beginnings, something they are understandably focusing on after their high-profile spat with Avis Budget. Having been involved in claims and counter claims over millions in unsettled invoices, it appears the rental firm is finally putting the bad blood behind them.  

“This is the first time in a long while we can look forward to an exciting future without the threat of a lawsuit hanging over us” they said.  

Sporting a new strapline that reads ‘‘Rentals Made Simple’, the company is evidently striving for great things in 2019, seeing the company’s Founder and Director, Angela Day, make the announcement.  

Sharing details of their rebrand at the Travel Weekly Globe Travel Awards on Thursday, the entrepreneur said how they had “enhanced” their website in order to bring it up-to-date.  

“We had reached a level with the current platform where we needed to reignite it. We’re really proud of our rebrand” she added.  

The new logo comes in the form of a star shape, with each point of the star representing each service the company offers. Having recently added motorhomes to their list of offerings, their service list now comprises of car, motorbike and motorhome hire, airport parking and lounges.  

“The current platform needed to be enhanced so that we could display more stock,” she said. “We believe we are the only car hire company to be offering a live booking engine for motorhomes, and we’re really proud of what we’ve achieved” Day continues.  

What are your thoughts on this rebrand? Can Affordable Car Hire finally put the past behind them?  

This week, popular car hire brand, Thrifty, have announced that they have expanded their sponsorship portfolio, having formed a new partnership with British Cycling.  

The deal will see Thrifty as the preferred transport supplier for the national governing body, helping them deliver various programmes and projects across the country. This will include HSBC UK Go-Ride; a programme that has seen over 350 cycling clubs launched to help teach children how to ride safely.  

Car rental discount for cyclists

Members of British Cycling will also benefit from this deal, with each and every one of the 146,000 members able to access a 10% discount on car and van rental. This will be applicable at over 116 locations, with British Cycling already promoting this discount to its staff and members.  

Chris Bagwell, FlexiFleet Manager at Thrifty, is thrilled to make this announcement. Talking today, he said: 

“With the countries’ amazing cycling achievements over the last few years we are thrilled to be working alongside British Cycling and the Great Britain Cycling Team. 

“It’s fantastic that they have recognised our brand as one of the leading suppliers of vehicle rental and are able to take advantage of our FlexiFleet product, with its unique qualities, to assist with their fleet requirements” 

British Cycling’s Commercial Director, Jonathan Rigby, is equally as happy to enter the partnership, believing it to add value to every part of the organisation.  

“Our partnership with Thrifty promises to be a positive one for our staff, members and British Cycling as a whole, thanks to their accessible and extensive fleet network across the UK. 

“We are proud to hold a shared passion for life in the saddle, and our new relationship gives us the exciting opportunity to play a part in facilitating that for diverse groups of people – for families in need of a large car to travel cross-country to explore new surroundings on their bikes, to those with disabilities making the most of Thrifty’s adapted cars programme. 

“And of course, our British Cycling and Great Britain Cycling Team staff in Manchester and regionally to deliver coaching sessions, manage events and support our elite riders. 

“A partnership like this is hugely important in helping us to extend the range of benefits available to our members.” 

Other sponsorships

But, British Cycling are not the only organisation to have landed a lucrative deal with Thrifty. In the last year, the car rental brand has signed sponsorship agreements with Professional Cricketers’ Association, Bolton Wanderers Football Club, Exeter Chiefs Rugby and many more.  

While a brand that is known for its savvy nature, enterprise appear to be taking the subject of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) seriously. According to a recent press release, the car rental firm has donated a whopping $1M to the American Red Cross.

This has come from the philanthropic arm of Enterprise Rent-A-Car; The Enterprise Foundation.

The money will be used to help those impacted by Huracan Michael; the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane on record. As an active member of the Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program, Enterprise’s donation was warmly received.

“We are extremely grateful for our ADGP and Disaster Responder members because they understand the importance of having vital resources in place before a disaster strikes,” said Gail McGovern, president and CEO at the American Red Cross.

“Their support ensures that the necessary supplies get into any affected area to immediately provide support to disaster survivors and emergency personnel. We are very thankful for their generous gifts as we work to help people impacted by disasters each and every day.”

Putting a huge amount of time and effort to offer disaster relief, the Enterprise Foundation has donated a total of $2.8m to such causes in 2018 alone. Having supported those harmed by Hurricane Florence, the California wildfires, Hawaii’s floods and Kilauea Volcano eruption, we at Anything for Hire cannot commend the brand enough.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car: More than a car hire brand

Enterprise Rent-A-Car is one of the world’s largest and most profitable car hire firms, supplying over 2 million cars to hirers annually. But, it appears that their focus is on a lot more than being the world’s first choice for car hire. According to sources, this substantial donation is not just about money. As stated in the official  press release, they will also be sending their vehicles to disaster areas, getting their hands dirty and supporting impacted communities with the clean-up process.

One of Europe’s largest car hire operators, Enterprise, has this month announced further details of their expansion. According to the firm, Enterprise is expanding its operations in Manchester Airport, tripling their fleet at the base.

This is due to an increase in the demand, with the current fleet and workforce stretched to fulfil reservations. In order to manage the new and improved fleet, Enterprise is recruiting for eight new jobs at the airport. These roles include a branch manager, five graduate management trainees and two customer service representatives. The business has also announced plans for an additional recruitment drive further down the line, wanting to recruit local people and inject money into the local economy.

The new team will manage an all-new fleet of hatchbacks, saloons, executive cars, people carriers and premium vehicles; wanting to offer something to all renters throughout the year. According to a recent research project, Manchester Airport is experiencing more and more visitors from the UK, USA and Europe, expecting further increases in passenger numbers in the coming months.

Gary Palmer, general manager at Enterprise, said the following:

“We’ve experienced major growth at Manchester Airport and needed more space to provide an ever-growing number of customers more choice and a wider range of vehicles.
“This expanded branch will help us provide a comprehensive range of vehicles both to travellers and to customers located nearby, allowing us to offer an even better service to leisure and business renters.”

And, it is not in Manchester Enterprise are experiencing growth. Over the course of the past 24 months, the company has rented cars to customers from 150 different countries. These include Nepal, Yemen and Vanuatu.

Let us know what you think, should Enterprise be placing more focus on other UK airports?

In recent years, we have seen many car manufacturers enter the world of vehicle hire, and this week is no different!

It appears that Korean automaker, Hyundai, are the latest to do so, investing a substantial £12.3M in Indian-based startup; Revv.

Wanting a slice of the on-demand mobility market, Hyundai played a huge role in the company’s Series B round, being a prominent investor that will have a huge bearing on the startup’s success. Hyundai was also joined by Japan’s Dream Incubator, Telama Investment and Sunjay Kapoor of BLW. Together, the investors will help Revv stay on track and achieve their goal. According to a recent interview, Revv wishes to enter the international market, expected to be hiring cars in more than 30 cities over the next 12-18 months. Revv also have plans to add to their ever-growing fleet, wanting a 12000-strong collection available for hire. However, this is far from the state of the business at present. Today, Revv operates in 12 Indian cities, working with a fleet of just one thousand cars.

However, with 300,000 users to date, Revv are confident that with the right investors they can meet their objectives.

Ahead of the investment, the Revv co-founders said the following:

“We are looking at innovative business models that we can take to the consumer,”

“We understand that the traditional model of car ownership will be diluted and alternative options of accessible mobility will be the norm.”

“Cabs solve point A to B in 40 minutes, but every other need is still a largely unsolved problem in this country. India is unique [and the need for] mobility solutions is far higher because 98 percent of people don’t own cars,” they added.

Let us know what you think, with competitors like Ola and Uber, is there any room for Revv?