Even as it restructures under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Hertz this year has maintained its position atop the J.D. Power North America Car Rental Satisfaction Study.
As a whole, traveler satisfaction with the car rental industry rated 841 on a 1,000-point scale in the study, based on responses from 7,364 travelers fielded between September 2019 and August 2020. That is "statistically flat" compared with the score of 843 in the 2019 survey, which was a record high among all J.D. Power's travel-related studies, according to the market research company.
"As with other travel suppliers, this has been an incredibly challenging period for the car rental industry," J.D. Power travel intelligence lead Michael Taylor said in a statement. "Despite these economic headwinds, the major rental car companies have been able to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction throughout the pandemic, largely through great customer service and enhanced cleaning protocols to build confidence with travelers."
Hertz earned a satisfaction score of 852 in the survey, four points below its 2019 score. The car rental supplier in May filed for Chapter 11 protection amid plummeting revenues and failed negotiations for long-term agreements with creditors, but Hertz has continued operations and adapted to the pandemic, introducing a 15-point cleaning and sanitization process for vehicles and adding capabilities in its mobile app to facilitate touchless rentals.
"While the rental car and overall travel industry has faced challenges during the pandemic, I'm grateful to our employees for taking great care of our customers and implementing our enhanced measures that enabled us to continue providing a safe, fast and easy rental experience," according to Hertz president and CEO Paul Stone.
Enterprise, which led the J.D. Power survey for five years prior to Hertz's victory last year, remained in second place with a score of 849, down six points year over year. Alamo and National also scored above the industry average.
Overall, competition has remained tight in the survey. The score difference between Hertz and the fourth-rated brand, National, was only seven points, and the spread between Hertz and the lowest-scoring brand, Budget, was 34 points—just three points wider than the spread last year.