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

Strange question maybe but hey! It’s a fairly short trip, you can go from Folkestone to Dunkerque on the Norfolk line ferries very cheaply (if you travel overnight) and Lille is not that far.

So what do you do when you get there? Well you could visit the Wazemmes Market (Marche de Wazemmes) a vast and sprawling market held every Sunday. This is not a market primarily for tourists so you’ll experience Lille as the locals do.

There are many different things being sold, African artifacts and clothes, local food and fresh vegetables as well as kitchen items, shoes, belts bags and just about anything else you’d expect to find in a large local market.

If you decide to go for a weekend you’ll need somewhere to stay so you could try the Hotel Des Tours, 27 rue de Tours, 59000. Tel: 03 59 57 47 00.

This hotel is situated in the old city centre close to many restaurants and has garage parking (for a fee). It has 64 rooms which are modern and attractive with the public rooms have bright contemporary paintings, it’s handy for most tourist attractions around the Lille area.

If you don’t want to drive your car there, then you can always get there then hire a car, cost will depend on when you go and you will need to weigh the cost of taking the ferry with your car and passengers against the cost of trains/ferries/planes and car hire.

Some ferries will take foot passengers which can be a very economical way to travel, then the cost of a hire car in France is very reasonable too so you get the best of both worlds. Cheap crossing and a car built to drive on the other side of the road!

The Queen has returned to Wimbledon for the first time since 1977 and many hope that it’s a signal that Andy Murray will be the winner this year. Why do they hope that? because the last time the Queen was at Wimbledon was the year Virginia Wade stopped being the bridesmaid at Wimbledon and became the bride winning the women’s cup.

Do we think that Murray will this year beat Federer who knows he certainly seems to have the hunger to win which is always a good trait to have but only time will tell and time is on his side, every year older the reining champion gets will slow him down. True we don’t see that much slowing down but unless he’s an alien hybrid even Roger Federer will be subject to the aging process!

Does this have anything to do with car hire? Not directly no but with Wimbledon and the world cup on at the same time, those canny folk who took my advice and booked their south African or London car hire early probably got the car they wanted. On the other hand those that didn’t probably had to settle for what was left and indeed in South Africa many probably didn’t get anything at all unless they paid in gold!

So remember, if there’s a major event coming up that you want to attend, and you want to hire a car, then you do need to book early!

Did you know that many car hire companies offer special rates for car hire at weekends? Depending on the area, time of year and supplier you can some real bargains for weekend auto rental.

Imagine you are a car rental company in say – Malaga – your high season is spring, especially around Easter and summer in particular June and July. During those periods you can charge high rates and still be sure of renting out your entire fleet, even though you may keep some back to rent to ‘walk ins’ (people who walk in off the street or airport without a prior booking).

You keep some back because you know that when a potential customer turns up in high season without a booking you can charge even more than your published rate (the law of supply and demand).

There is no incentive for you as a car hire company to actually lower your rates. Now think about the low months, November, January, February and the beginning of March, how do you maximise your turnover/profits?

You offer deals and one of the deals you may offer is a cheaper weekend rate, during these times people may take advantage of cheaper airfares to visit for a weekend. they may want a weekend city break but want to organise their own instead of going with generic trips on offer.

Perhaps they have family and just want to ‘pop’ over for a quick visit, as a car hire company it makes sense for you to offer a price incentive to have the car for the weekend doesn’t it?

So check around and see what’s on offer, even in your own country if you want a weekend break and want to ‘up-grade’ your own car for example, you may find that renting a car for the weekend puts a different slant on the question “something for the weekend?”

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.

If you want to be sure that you’re not going to get caught out, watch this video so you know what ‘they’ don’t want to tell you!

Car hire secrets – what they don’t want to tell you!

Then when you’ve finished with that one, you could watch this one

Why you should be wary of drop boxes!

You will then be well on the way to becoming a ‘Professional Renter’ that’s someone who knows all the tricks and tips about car hire so they don’t get caught out!

So…you are driving the West coast of America and you end up in Phoenix!!

Phoenix is the Capital of the state of Arizona and is the fifth most populated city in the US with a population of approximately 1.5 million in Phoenix proper with about 4.3 million in the “metro area”.

Phoenix is nicknamed “The Valley of the Sun”. Located in the northeastern reaches of the Sonoran Desert, Phoenix has the hottest climate of any major city in the United States.

The average high temperatures are over 100°F (37.8°C) for three months out of the year, and have spiked over 120°F (48.9°C) on occasion. Despite these high temperatures the Phoenicians cope very well with the heat.

Most people have air conditioning in their homes, their cars, their schools, the shopping malls and just about any public place. After the shock of your monthly Electric bill……..the worst part is getting to and from your nice cool air conditioned car and if you flew in make sure your hire car is air-conditioned..!

Sometimes though,  it takes a while to cool it down if it has been sitting in an open parking area for a couple of hours in 100 degrees!! This is why covered parking garages are plentiful in Phoenix..USE THEM..you’ll thank me.

Phoenix is also a winter home to “SnowBirds”..these are the people from the colder climes (Canada, Minnesota, Colorado,Wisconsin, Idaho etc etc) trying to keep out of the snow, and whilst the Phoenicians sometimes whine and moan about the influx of “out of state” license plates on their roads, and not being able to get a seat in their favorite restaurants, the Snowbirds do generate a fair amount of extra income for the State.

As you would expect in a major city, phoenix has no shortage of “culture”. Museums, Performing arts, Parks and Recreation, Fine arts and Cuisine (LOTS of cuisine!!) Just about anywhere you turn in Phoenix, you can find a restaurant of some sort..from Sushi to Indian Fry Bread and anything in between. There is quite a large Hispanic population so Mexican cuisine is plentiful and good if somewhat “tailored” to the American palette.

(More on specific restaurants that I frequent in part 2 !!)

Driving past Velez Rubio, the land becomes more ochre in colour , yellows and beiges predominate and the mountains have receeded so you drive through flat land bounded by mountains in the distance.

The autovia is I have to say pretty boring to drive through, with only occasional small farms and ruins to break the monotony. One thing about Spanish motorways though is the frequency of their Via de Servicio’s (Service areas) where you can get food and drink and for you and the family as well as fuel for the car.

You will often find small hotels attached which have full restaurants and unlike our motorway services in the UK, these restaurants are well patronised by the locals, especially on Sunday lunchtimes.

As you head towards Lorca you begin to descend and the air heats up, even in the winter months.  At Easter time, if you visit Lorca you will be able to witness the procession, two brotherhoods, white and blue compete with each other. The procession includes elaborate floats, horses brought in from all over, musicians and amazing costumes, capes and standards created by local craftsmen and sometimes taking years to finish.

Past Lorca and it doesn’t take long for the traffic to build up on the approach to Murcia. this is an old city which is still very Spanish and doesn’t have the large ex-pat communities which mean shops and restaurants catering to British tastes.

That’s not to say there are no ex-pats, just that they are in smaller numbers and more integrated into local life.

Now you can drive from Malaga to Murcia in a day but if you do, you will miss so much. Take a few days and stay overnight in Granada because really, you must visit the Alhambra, it is a magical place but beware the gypsies who crowd the car park offering to tell your fortune. They are very persistent!

Then take a day or so to get to know the ‘troglodyte’ village and surrounding area. Staying in Velez Blanco will give you breathtaking views of the countryside as it’s almost at the top of the world.

So there you have it, take your hire car and explore the hidden interior of Spain, I promise you won’t be disappointed – well unless you want beaches of course