Aspect Car Rental BlogNews and views about car hire and rental world wide.

With all the doom and gloom forecasts for the UK tourist industry this year, will the car hire companies lose out? Probably not, because they have also downsized their fleets due to the economic downturn.

But what exactly does this mean for those of us wanting to hire a car in the UK this summer? The ‘book your car hire early’ advice still stands because with smaller fleets, a reduced demand won’t necessarily mean that cars will be available to hire if you wait to book.

This is particularly true of high profile locations like the major UK airports – Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham to name just a few.

Although many of the travel companies like Thomson are reporting a huge boost in sales for overseas trips from the UK, it doesn’t mean that demand for car hire in the UK will see a related drop.

For those who are staying in the UK, hiring a car is often the way they travel to their destination, especially if they have a small car but want to take a lot of luggage.

People also choose to book a hire car if they want something a little more powerful, if for example they want to tour the mountains of Scotland or Wales where an 1100cc engine carrying a full load would strain to get up the hills!

So check car hire prices as early as you can and get the car you want not the one that’s left!

Ash cloud continues to cause problems

It seems  that whilst Iceland’s problematic volcano continues to throw out ash and smoke, airlines are feeling the pinch whilst car hire companies are picking up extra bookings. Euromonitor a market research company has warned that some low cost airlines and even some flag carriers are likely to be hit badly, some failing altogether. As a consequence other forms of travel are picking up extra business and car hire is one of them.

What with people being stranded and unable to get home they’re looking at alternatives, trains and coaches as well as ferries are also seeing an upsurge in business.

What does this mean for the car renting public? It means more than ever you’ll need to book early, car hire companies are not expanding their fleets so cars will be in short supply and if more people decide to rent a car to avoid using an airline, then shortages will occur and prices will rise.

If you are going to Europe from the UK you can hire a car to drive but, it will cost a lot in surcharges and extra insurances, so the best way is to go by train or ferry (as a foot passenger) and pick up your hire car at your destination. If you’re in Europe of course there’s no problem as most car rental companies allow you to cross borders as long as you return the car to the original pick up location.

So don’t get caught out by this boost to the car rental industry and remember to book early!

Sounds quite dramatic doesn’t it? It’s not really as draconic as it sounds, more and more airports are aggregating the car rental companies in an off airport center to save space at the airports. Car hire desks will still be in the arrivals hall at many airports, but the cars themselves will be held off airport and shuttle buses will be provided. San Antonio airport is the latest to announce ‘greener’ policies, in this insatnace the car rental companies themselves have decided to amalgamate their shuttle buses so one bus collects all clients for all airport car hire companies.

How does this affect you the renter? In many ways it doesn’t really, the smaller airports still have their cars on site and the desks are in the arrivals hall, where you fill out the contract and then walk to the parking lot to pick up your car. The downside to this is that if when you get to your car and check it (you do check it don’t you?) if you find damage on the car that is not marked on the contract, for your own protection you must walk back to the arrivals hall and the car hire desk and get the clerk to amend their part of the contract too.

If you don’t do this, you may find yourself stuck with a credit card charge for repairs! Other than that it’s still the preferred method of getting your hire car, in the parking lot at the airport!

Still for many people arriving in major airports like Miami, JFK. Heathrow etc, life will remain unchanged as they go to the rental desk and then take a shuttle bus to the cars. Will this drop the price of airport car hire? I suspect not, it’s a captive audience after all and those who travel and need to get from the airport to hotels, friends homes, self catering accommodation or to a business meeting are still going to need a car at the airport!

So is the car hire industry in general picking up? According to Nigel Johnson of Hertz UAE it is, slowly but surely, in an interview with Zeena Zalamea on the 9th May 2010 at the Arabian Travel Show held in Dubai he confirmed that the car rental industry had been affected by the global economic meltdown.

Commenting that customers were now looking for value for money rather than just the cheapest rental car, he confirmed that Hertz were investing in new vehicles and more staff training.

What does this mean for the people who hire cars? Hopefully it will mean better service at rental desks and newer cars on fleet. Will the public really look for this over cheaper car hire? It will always depend I suspect on the budget of the person in question, if you’re on a tight budget you’re going to want the best rate you can find on car rental. If on the other hand you’re not so strapped for cash, you’ll probably be more interested in knowing that the car you’ve booked is well maintained and not more than six months old.

How can you be sure of getting the best price and the best service? Try going to a broker like Aspect Car Rental, the prices offered are usually lower than you will get direct (after all a broker books thousands of cars in a year and you probably only book one or two!) That’s not the only reason though, a broker is liable to care more about your booking, so if you do experience any problems they will usually try harder to resolve it for you.

Will all this mean lower and lower rates? I suspect not, Nigel Johnson was careful to say that prices had been lowered but that clients were looking more for value for money, so it looks as though prices are as low as they’ll go. This still means that to stand the best chance of getting the vehicle of your choice (a less common vehicle like a convertible or automatic in Europe) you still need to book your hire car early rather than late, fleets are still lower in number than they have been for some years, which of course means there are fewer cars to hire!

Luxury car hire Las Vegas

Luxury and opulence are two of the qualities that come to mind when you think of the Bellagio in Las Vegas. From the moment you step into the lobby and gaze up at the 2000 hand blown glass flowers that adorn the ceiling you instinctively know that you’ve stepped into timeless class.

To go with this you of course need a luxury hire car so how about a Buick Park Avenue? This luxury hire car has all the toys, cruise control, aircon, comfort and space, it’s the sort of car that looks good pulling up to the Bellagio and can be booked for around 250GBP for a week in May.

Of course the Bellagio itself may be enough for you and you may decide you don’t need a rental car and who could blame you? But Las Vegas is so much more than just hotels and casino’s that it would seem a pity to miss the opportunity to explore.

Speaking of the Bellagio, it has much to offer, not just 2000 hand blown glass flowers but Cirque Du Soleil performs every day except Sundays and Mondays as well as art exhibitions and golf!
Want to book a show or find a special gift? Then the Concierge at the Bellagio is there to help, from shows and gifts, to golf and spa appointments and almost anything else you can think of (that’s legal) the concierge is only too happy to help.

The pools and courtyards are breathtaking, from the private cabanas to the Pool Café you’re sure to find a place to relax and recharge. Cocktails you say, the Pool Bar I answer where you can sample some of the finest and newest cocktails known to man.

The Bellagio offers food for all tastes, from fine dining to casual, from quick to hand prepared and, you can also join their world class chefs and learn some of their secrets as well as learn what wine goes best with what from their Master Sommeliers.