American Express Business Travel Advisory Services is developing a technological tool, slated for release in the fall, that will help companies ensure travelers follow corporate car rental policies, said senior practice leader for car rental David Balfour. "Once a company has gone through an extensive request-for-proposals process, this will help them make sure they receive all that value and to make sure travelers conform," Balfour said. "This is an area that has been long overlooked." Amex also plans to roll out a rate-tracking program for car rental, he said.
Avis Budget Expands GPS To CanadaAvis Budget Group in February made its Where2 portable global positioning system available at rental locations in Canada. Now available at 386 Avis Budget locations in North America, the tool, built by GPS provider Garmin International, gives street-specific, turn-by-turn voice directions to any destination in the preloaded maps of the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico
(BTN, July 17, 2006). The maps have about 6 million points of interest—including hotels, restaurants and gas stations—and can monitor traffic, construction and weather delays. Available from both Avis and Budget locations in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec City and Winnipeg and Avis locations in Calgary, Edmonton, St. John's and Vancouver, the navigation units cost US$9.95 per day or $49.95 per week.
Airports Levy Car Rental SurchargesAirports in Los Angeles and Memphis have added surcharges to car rentals in order to consolidate car rental companies into one terminal. Commissioners at Los Angeles International Airport in early March voted to add a $10 surcharge to rentals at the airport to pay for a new building for all the major car rental companies at LAX, in an effort to reduce traffic and air pollution. In addition, car renters at the Memphis-Shelby Airport now must pay a $4 transaction fee after the airport's authority approved a measure to fund a new terminal that will put all the car rental companies under the same roof. The proliferation of such taxes and surcharges, long a point of ire for corporate travel buyers and car rental companies, exploded in recent years, making it more difficult for companies to budget the car rental aspect of their travel program
(BTN, July 17, 2006).Advantage Stretches Global ReachA pair of partnerships has expanded the global network for the San Antonio, Texas-based Advantage Rent A Car brand to 36 countries, the company announced in March. Most recently, the company announced a partnership with RentalQ S.A. to service the three major airports in Argentina: Ezeiza Airport, Buenos Aires Donato Airport and Buenos Aires Rosario Airport. Prior to that, Advantage formed an alliance with Jumeira Rent A Car to offer in-terminal service at Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates. Jumeira, which rents economy cars and passenger vans, also has a downtown location.
Park 'N Fly Allies, ExpandsCorporate travel usage of Park 'N Fly, a BCD Holdings operation, is growing due to strategic partnerships with Rearden Commerce and Concur Technologies' Cliqbook self-booking tool, according to David Grocer, senior vice president marketing and sales at Park 'N Fly. Rearden and Cliqbook both direct travelers who use the online booking tools to select or decline a parking option before proceeding in the online booking process. Park 'N Fly, which wholly owns 20 of its 67 facilities at 50 airports in the United States, plans to add Austin, Texas, and 10 sites in the near future and 20 additional facilities over the next year. Grocer said business travel is 60 percent to 70 percent of the company's business, which is made up of "hundreds" of corporate accounts, although Grocer conceded they provide a small volume of overall spending.