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

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.

The cloud I refer to is not however left over ash from the volcano, rather it’s the ‘cloud’ hanging over travelers who are not being compensated properly! AA Insurance has now done an about face on it’s promise to compensate passengers who bought their travel insurance through them. Blaming their underwriters AA Insurance says that as passengers were not covered for such things as volcanic eruptions they have no obligation to pay compensation.

How about that, insured but not insured  it seems, people who trusted the AA to provide their travel insurance must feel doubly betrayed, especially if they were one of the many who found their airline less than helpful!

We always recommend that people buy good travel insurance, now it seems we have to qualify that further and say, check out the ‘Act of God’ clause and check that volcanic eruptions are also covered!!

Flybe are now offering a stand alone insurance to cover volcanic ash, available on bookings made between April 28 and May 10 for travel up to October 30. The cost of the insurance is 6.99 Sterling per return flights and will cover expenses like hotels and car hire if you have to cancel these due to volcanic ash. Perhaps customers should start to vote with their wallets and try and affect what cover is given by insurance companies?

One thing is certain, this event has shown precisely why you need GOOD Travel Insurance, check all details and take with you any telephone numbers or contact details that you may need in order to make a claim. In the UK if you can’t get any satisfaction it’s always worth reporting insurance companies to the Ombudsman and/or local Trading Standards offices.

If you still get nowhere, try organizing other customers into a pressure group, persistence is usually the best policy because in the end insurance companies don’t want the bad publicity!

I’ve just been speaking to a couple who were holidaying in Florida and due to fly back when the UK airports were closed. They were some of the lucky ones as they were staying with friends in Fort Myers so didn’t have to find a hotel room. They’re also retired and so able to afford to shop around for flights to fit their requirements, rather than take what the airlines may offer when they decide to offer it.

If you want to read how people are doing who were flying with BA then you may be interested in these posts at BoingBoing.net a cross section of opinions as well as stories from people actually starnded by this ‘Act of God’.

So is there anything you can do? Not it would seem after the fact, even though the airways are required (by EU  law) to provide food and accommodation in these circumstances. Before the fact though is a different matter, get yourself good travel insurance, check out what would happen in similar situations and make it a priority to get the best insurance you can.

People often skimp on this, believing that they only need health cover but this event shows just how wrong you can be! If you ever lose anything (I lost an 18th century gold Lorgnette on a trip and was covered for their cost) you’ll be glad to get the cost back, even if you can’t replace the items. If you get something stolen, you’ll also be glad you got good insurance and if another volcano errupts, then hopefully you won’t be one of the people losing money hand over fist!

After 6 days of airport closures the airlines are losing money hand over fist! True they are saving money on fuel costs but those savings don’t balance their losses. It also seems that the biggere carriers such as BA are losing more than the budget airlines like Ryan Air and easyJet.

This is not just because of the difference in ticket costs but also because unlike the larger airlines, the smaller ones are less generous to their passengers! They give less help in the way of hotel and food costs, so passengers stranded away from home are incurring more costs if they flew with a budget airline. Will it have any effect on passenger numbers for those budget airlines when travel is normal again? Who knows but I suspect many will think twice before booking in the immediate future.

The ash cloud has not been all bad news though, coach and rail passengers have increased with Eurostar passengers up by some 40%, it’s going to be up to them to provide such a great service that they’ll keep some of those numbers when the airlines are flying normally again.

Of course it’s not just the airlines that are suffering, experts estimate that European businesses are losing 400 million a day in lost productivity due to stranded employees. Will governments step in and help the airlines and other companies in this fragile economic climate? It could be disastrous if they don’t and equally bad if they do because they can’t help everyone and those smaller companies will probably be the ones who suffer!

They are also the ones who will probably need help the most but what is government to do? Larger companies have more employees and those are the ones they’ll probably feel must be saved.

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 who would have thought it eh? Iceland has a volcanic eruption and Heathrow airport (as well as many others are shut down!  In fact feel sorry for all those people who are booked to fly into or out of Heathrow today (Thursday April 15th 2010) because they’re going to be out of luck. If you know someone who is booked to fly through Heathrow, you may want to let them know the problem.

The volcanic eruption has thrown 1000’s of tons of ash and smoke into the sky, the winds have carried it to Europe, affecting many major (and smaller) airports. The problem seems to be twofold, one is of course visibility, the other however is far more serious, because shards of volcanic matter up to 1&1/2 inches long are also floating around and there is a danger of those shards entering and engine and in several ways causing it to fail.

It seems that mother nature can still confound us even with all our technological advances!

If you have booked a hire car from Heathrow then you may want to check with the car rental company or broker with whom you booked, to if you can either cancel or amend your booking, they may or may not be able to help you but it’s always worth a try – assuming of course that you can get through on the phone – I suspect they will be very busy!!

Many airports have been affected, including some on mainland Europe, so check your flights for details.

If you’ve travelled to Charleston and picked up your hire car from the airport, then you may want some ideas for things to do and places to see whilst you’re in the lovely town of Charleston.

Where to start is the problem though isn’t it? There is so much to see and do that you can be spoiled for choice; so maybe the best thing is to decide first what exactly you’re interested in.

For example. Are you into food, history, gardens, or shopping? Once you’ve decided you can begin to plan your excursions.

Food is very important to Southerners. Its the cornerstone of their famous hospitality and so, as you would expect, there are many places to eat and eat well!

Are you into seafood? Then try the Amen Street Fish & Raw Bar. Opened in 2009 it’s wowed the locals with it’s amazing oysters and locally caught fish. Situated at

205 East Bay Street
Charleston, SC 29401

(843) 853-8600

Try the Crab and lobster soup with tarragon cream at around $4.95 a cup or $6.95 a bowl – it’s a great lunch dish and very reasonably priced too.

Of course you may want a little more than a bowl of fabulous soup. Here you’ll find it from fried oysters to Chef Todd’s famous shrimp corndogs. If meat is more your thing you can have an Amen burger or a Petite Filet of Beef.

This restaurant has a full bar which is open ‘til 2.00am and is set in the historic district within walking distance of the market and the harbour. Remember though, you have a hire car and drinking and driving do not mix – so this is a place to walk to or get a taxi. Save driving the hire car for more distant locations.

Most importantly of all, having picked up your car at the airport enjoy your stay!

The UK does not have a really great reputation for food, which is I think a pity. We have so many local farmer’s markets now that give you the opportunity to buy great local, fresh produce that will surprise you with the diversity available.

Not only will you get great fresh produce, you’ll also get a chance to try food from small local kitchens, preserves and pickles, cheese, bread, cakes and cookies. As well as local wines, vinegars and beers, you’ll find cordials and soft drinks that will amaze you with the exotic ingredients and the sheer invention that puts together ingredients to create unique flavours.

Local car boot sales can be another source of local food, as some of the larger ones will have people selling their own home grown food stuffs, either to eat on the spot or to buy and take home. It can make a pleasant break just travelling the country visiting the best of the local farm shop/producers or farmer’s markets.

Just make sure you have plenty of room in the car for all the bargains you may pick up, don’t have a big enough car? Then get UK car hire from Aspect and explore the varied and intriguing places in the UK where you can buy great food. We have great fish all along the coast, in Scotland smoking fish is a great tradition and you can buy fantastic smoked fish that is not available anywhere else.

From Scotland to Cornwall you’ll find an amazing variety of food to buy or to try, all you have o do is get in your car and explore!

Phoenix road trip part 2….FOOD!!!

Wow where to start????

Phoenix has just about every cuisine under the sun represented (although I could never find anywhere that does a “Rice Staffel” from the Netherlands..maybe they will read this and open up a place!!)

Obviously being the US, you will find a McDonald’s, Burger King, or Jack in The Box  or Taco Bell on just about every corner!! Whilst we mock the “fast food” joints..they do certainly have their place. You are driving around, getting hungry, can’t be bothered or don’t have the time to stop and get out of your car, so you pull into the nearest “drive thru” and you can eat for less than $2 in some cases!! No it’s not gourmet and is loaded with more fat than we probably want to know about, but it DOES fill the hole!!

Mom and pop places also abound, where you can get a good home cooked meal with no frills and no fuss.

I’m a food addict so let’s go on to some of MY favourite places to eat in Phoenix…..

One of my all time favourites is Tomaso’s. Located on the SE corner of Camelback and 32nd street, Tomaso’s has been a local favourite for many years. Tomaso himself is usually at the restaurant most nights overseeing his famous Italian dishes… Once you get to know Tomaso personally, if you are VERY lucky he MIGHT just go into the kitchen and rustle you up a little “something special” himself. (He doesn’t do it often but when he does….wow Amazing!!)

Tomaso’s is NOT cheap so we usually go for a “special Occasion dinner”, but I think it is worth every penny spent..oh and don’t forget to try some of his wines..yes he also has his own vineyard in Umbria which is where he is from.

There is also a very good Spanish restaurant at the new MonteLucia Resort on Lincoln Drive…fabulous surroundings and great food.

Another interesting place is the “El Chorro Lodge”

Built in 1934, in the shadows of the majestic Camelback and Mummy mountains, on 11 desert acres in Paradise Valley, El Chorro is and has been a favourite with the locals. Friday and Saturday evenings try to get a table outside (weather permitting) as they have some quite good live music.

Going on to mid range pricing…..

Phoenix City Grille and it’s sister restaurant Sierra Bonita are two of my favoutites. PCG (as it is fondly known) is a typical American Grill/Bar. Darkish and cosy is the best way to describe it. You can either eat at the bar, on one of the tables or slide yourself into a comfy booth. It’s menu ranges from AWESOME Burgers, to pasta dishes, to a down home slow cooked beef stew. Comfort food.!! It’s sister restaurant, Sierra Bonita, has more of a mexican/texan/southwest thing going on and all the food is freshly cooked using whenever possible, the freshest LOCAL ingredients.

Another great hang out is The Rokerij (Dutch for “smoke House”). Very popular for happy House from 4-7 (at the bar only, so get there early). Cool downstairs bar with only three tables and a huge warming fireplace..so great for those chilly romantic evenings.(Actually they even have the fireplace going in the summer WITH the air conditioning as well..just for ambiance!!). Upstairs is another bar and lots more tables. Menu is again somewhat Southwestern with some other stuff thrown in. Their salads are amazing (and HUGE). I like the way they serve their mashed potatoes..stuffed inside an open chili pepper (Not too spicy). and their “chili” policy is….”If you order it you own it”!!!!! They usually have a chalk board up with the daily specials (which are many) and their fish is usually superb and very fresh. Sunday Brunch is also very popular here.

Enough of this I’m getting hungry……..