Car rental brand Avis has launched a new premium service that includes a concierge, luxury cars, and airport curbside pick-up and drop-off, Avis Budget Group announced Monday.
Dubbed Avis First, the service, available now, was created to "elevate" the car rental experience, ABG VP of Avis First Beth Gibson told BTN.
"Airlines talk about first and business class, hotels are expanding their suites, and it's all about service," she said. "We haven't really changed our process in the car rental industry in a very long time. Everybody still touts 'skip the counter,' but we've been skipping the counter for a very long time. So, we wanted to redefine it."
How it works: Avis First will appear as option where available when customers book through Avis direct channels—website on desktop or mobile, and the Avis app. When the reservation is complete, the user will be prompted with a QR code to download the app, which is required for this service, Gibson said. They will need to input arrival and departure flight information into the reservation. Once the customer lands, Avis will be notified and send a push notification. When the customer indicates they are ready for the vehicle, they'll see a concierge, along with a map, an estimated time of arrival and instructions on where to meet the car.
The concierge will be based locally and available via chat in the app. For example, if a customer needs the back seats down because they have a lot of luggage, they can relay that, Gibson said.
When the traveler meets the car, they'll sign for it on an iPad, receive the keys and can leave. "We want the transaction to be very fast at the curb, because it can be very congested," she added. "That's why we want to make sure the communication is really strong, and that's where the app is really important to have downloaded for this experience."
Once a customer indicates they are ready to return the car, Avis will turn on its tracker technology to see where the car is, send push notifications, and a representative will make their way to the terminal from where the customer is scheduled to depart. There will be a concierge available via the app for any questions, then they'll meet an Avis representative at a designated spot, again sign and hand over the keys, Gibson said.
Customers will not need to refill the gas tank prior to returning the car, Gibson said. Avis can monitor refuel levels and will use local fuel rates to charge only for the fuel used, "which takes away another pain point for our travelers." The service currently does not include electric vehicles.
For now, Avis First is available at airports in Denver, Honolulu, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach, Fla. It's also available in off-airport locations in Manhattan, N.Y., Hoboken and Jersey City, N.J., Chicago, San Francisco, Miami, Orlando, Washington, D.C., and Seattle. The off-airport process is similar to the airport experience, only the locations for pick-up and drop-off can be a home, hotel or business location, Gibson said.
Prices will vary by location and length of rental, and be "slightly higher than standard rates," according to Avis, which added, "it starts at around the cost of priority boarding on a flight."
Avis piloted the new product for about six weeks with select leisure customers, but the company also presented it to its top corporate partners, "keeping in mind what would be important for business travel as well," Gibson said.
The service is not yet included in any corporate contracts, Gibson added, "but we're looking forward to having those conversations with those partners."