Small Rental Car
Already hit by the expensive airfares and rising gas prices, travelers will now have to pay heavy rental cars costs too. In a reflection of how rising fuel prices are affecting all aspects of travel, demand for small and midsize rental cars is rising rapidly even as rental companies struggle to keep them on their lots. Bookings for compact and economy cars rose 11% and 15%, respectively, in the second quarter, compared with a year earlier, according to Sabre Holdings, which owns Travelocity.
In contrast, bookings for the category of cars that includes SUVs fell 45%. Bookings for full-size cars remained flat, while intermediate and luxury categories fell 1.7% and 26%, respectively. Getting a free upgrade used to be a treat, with many customers booking economy or compact cars in hopes of being bumped up to larger models. But “more people are now requesting economy and showing no interest in moving up,” Enterprise spokeswoman Christy Conrad says.
August 7, 2008 at 2:23 am
With gas prices the way they are I wonder how the day trip places will be affected nearby. I imagine car rental is down this year and people are relying more on local transport which is very restrictive. Some of the business that are inaccessible must be suffering.