TravelBizBuzz

Avis Europe knows its direct online distribution strategy will only work if the customer feels just as comfortable on its own Web site as she would on a retailer’s site.

The car hire company has been involved in some major Web site improvements as part of its plan to differentiate the customer experience, stated John Phipps, director of Web development for Avis Europe, in an announcement last December. He emphasized that “the car rental reservation process could benefit from using traditional online retailing principles.”

Initial improvements focused on making car rental reservations “both faster and more straightforward” by featuring user-friendly language, improved navigation and the ability to see vehicle availabilityby size and vehicle type “within just 3 clicks,” the company reported in December.

New partnership: Since then, Avis Europe has hooked up with InQuira to make further technological upgrades. The new Web site will feature InQuira-powered intelligent search capabilities to help visitors “find rental locations from searching on cities, airport codes and even landmarks,” according to a Jan. 31 InQuira press release.

In addition, the InQuira Self-Service module will present customers with options to purchase or rent additional items during the rental process, such as travel guidebooks, car seats and ski racks.

Will other car rental sites dig into more Web improvements as well? For now, Avis Europe believes its new site, www.avis.co.uk, “will set a new standard for online car rentals,” Phipps said, so it’s up to other car rental companies to prove him right or wrong.

--Lindsey Rushmore, Editor-In-Chief, Travel Distribution Report--

Posted by TDR at 02:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

An airline’s Web site is the last place I’d go to book a rental car, but it looks like CarTrawler will be making this option a lot more appealing for travelers -- and suppliers.

Historically, airlines have had little luck pushing ancillary products like car rentals through their sites, mostly due to poor availability. The airline usually signs a deal with one rental car company -- if that -- and when there’s a supply shortage, “the rental company will hike prices in response, making the product difficult to sell on the airline Web site,” CarTrawler CEO & founder Greg Turley told me in an interview.

However, CarTrawler believes that ancillary services like car rentals are still a “reliable and highly lucrative” untapped potential for suppliers and intends to re-address the current situation by pulling inventory from more than 450 suppliers worldwide, finding the “cheapest rates available” and offering the inventory in a direct feed to airlines.

In fact, CarTrawler has just inked a three-year deal with Star Alliance member LOT Polish Airlines to offer a car rental option for www.lot.com visitors, marking the first time an airline has used a multi-supplier real-time feed for dynamic packaging, according to a press release.

Takeaway: Watch for other airlines to jump on the bandwagon with LOT. CarTrawler has a global presence with offerings in Europe, Asia, the Americas and the Caribbean, Turley points out -- so the option is already there.

The question is, will CarTrawler take the supplier market by storm as pseudo-GDS for cars? Chime in with your thoughts.

--Lindsey Rushmore, Editor-In-Chief, Travel Distribution Report--

Posted by TDR at 02:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (534)

Car rental Web sites should turn their focus to customer support areas if they want to stay ahead of the game.

An annual competitive research study by Keynote Competitive Research that examined rental car Web sites, found that customer support areas are “the leading driver of consumer brand perceptions and one of the key drivers of rental likelihood,” according to an Oct. 4 press release.

On overall customer satisfaction and experience, examined across more than 250 metrics, Travelocity ranked number one. Travelocity specifically succeeded in overall price satisfaction and customer satisfaction with the rental car reservation search and booking processes on its site. In addition, the Budget Rent A Car site ranked number one in terms of customer support, reservation process satisfaction, and overall site design and organization.

The Keynote Customer Experience Rankings for Rental Car Web Sites examined the online experience of more than 2,000 prospective customers as they interacted with ten leading rental car sites (both suppliers and online travel agencies), including Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Expedia, Hertz, Orbitz, Thrifty and Travelocity.

Posted by TDR at 03:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (274)

Travelers in major airport locations across Canada now have access to a new collection of environmentally friendly cars, thanks to Hertz Canada.

The company announced Sept. 27 the launch of its new fuel-efficient cars, dubbed the “Green Collection,” according to a press release.

Travelers can reserve cars by make and model, with a highway fuel efficiency rating of 10.0 L/100 km or less, based on Natural Resources Canada’s annual fuel composition guide. The Green Collection features the Buick Allure, Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata and the Toyota Camry.

As of now, Hertz is “the only major car rental company to offer reservable vehicles that appeal to specific customer segments by offering a collection of fuel efficient cars for customers who want to save on gas and drive a car with environmental benefits while not sacrificing comfort or roominess,” commented John Samuelson, VP and general manager of Hertz Canada.

Posted by TDR at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)