<B>Under The Hood</B>
<B>Payless Expands Passport Club</B>
Payless Car Rental, based in St. Petersburg, Fla., is expanding overseas its Passport Club, which was introduced in the United States last June. Its franchisees at 52 locations in Europe and the Middle East are devising a standard corporate rate that will be available next year. In the United States, the Passport Club offers a set rate of $35 for an economy car, $36 for a compact, $39 for an intermediate, $41 for a standard and $43 for a full-size vehicle.
All 80 U.S. Payless franchisees, 10 located on-airport, participate in the program, which also includes a dedicated checkin counter, reduced surcharges for drivers under age 25, a waiver of the charge for additional drivers and 24-hour travel assistance. Payless spokesperson Terry Johnson said the car rental firm plans to introduce contractual rates for companies next year.<A NAME="2">
<B>Wireless Car Rental Booking Makes Debut</B>
Thrifty Car Rental has introduced online booking with the Palm V11, Sony CLEI and other Web-enabled wireless devices. By downloading a program from www.Thrifty.com, customers can book a car using their device from any North American location in about three minutes. They can shop for all rates and also enter a corporate or Blue Chip Express Rental account number, as well as review or cancel a reservation. Car rental customers can book a car from any car rental company over their Web-enabled wireless device by visiting www.easyreservations.com and establishing a personal profile on their desktop. Once completed, the profile is recognized automatically by the Easy Reservations wireless application on the customer's wireless device.
Utilizing the Galileo global distribution system, Easy Reservations enables travelers to compare rates and availability at more than 100 airports worldwide, as well as make reservations and view, change or cancel an existing reservation. The system provides an immediate electronic confirmation to the user's wireless device and desktop. The service works on all wireless devices and networks, said Easy Reservations spokesman Eric Clark. The company has a strategic alliance with Advantage Rent-A-Car, offering renters who book through the service a two-day rental for the price of one. Clark said the company planned to follow up with wireless reservations for hotels, airlines and entertainment venues.<A NAME="3">
<B>Hertz Goes Local</B>
Hertz is expanding Hertz Local Edition, its network of suburban locations, to 640 in the United States by the end of the year, and it isn't just renters who've wrecked their personal auto who are showing interest.
A surprising number of corporate accounts also are finding the service handy, which includes pick up and delivery of vehicles, according to executive vice president of sales John Johnson. "Some of the accounts are renting cars to go to the airport, rather than using a limo service," he said. <A NAME="4">
<B>Sixt On Worldspan</B>
Sixt, the fast-growing German-based car rental firm, now is participating in Worldspan's Car Source, the GDS's highest level of car rental connectivity. Other participants are Avis, Budget, Sears and Ace.
Car Source enables agents booking cars to access the car rental company's inventory directly, allowing for up-to-the-minute availability of rates and cars. Sixt, which has an alliance with Dollar Rent-A-Car, acquired United Kenning Rental Group earlier this year, giving it a strong foothold in the United Kingdom. <A NAME="5">
<B>Odds and Ends</B>
National Car Rental is joining E-Travel Inc., which provides corporate clients with direct links to suppliers. The link will enable National to target customized offerings and special deals to a base of corporate travelers. National is the second car rental company to sign on with E-Travel, after Hertz.
Budget Rent a Car's relaunch of its Web site, www.budget.com, includes the rewarding of double points for members of Perfect Drive who make online reservations. The upgrade also includes a 60 percent reduction in the number of clicks required of visitors navigating the site. Also, special rates with discounts up to 30 percent are listed for the United States, South and Central America, and the Caribbean. Budget is expanding to Terminal 2 at Singapore's Changi International Airport in December. The car rental company now has locations in both terminals.
Hertz's NeverLost satellite in-car navigation system is available in Montreal, following its deployment in Toronto and Vancouver earlier this year. The system now is available in more than 70 U.S. cities.