3 ms·

> One of the biggest frustrations people have is that it seems impossible to actually get the car you reserved. There is one way to avoid this, at least in my

by pdonis 5y ago

> One of the biggest frustrations people have is that it seems impossible to actually get the car you reserved. There is one way to avoid this, at least in my experience: be a business traveler. I've noticed a big difference in speed of service when traveling for business vs. traveling for personal reasons. I suspect that rental car companies know that business reservations are (a) much more reliable in terms of the person actually showing up for the car, and (b) much less likely to be able to change from the specific car type that's been reserved, since that's being determined by some corporation's booking rules rather than an individual's preferences.

toast0 5y ago
You do get better service (very little upselling), but I haven't seen much better in terms of getting the car selected. When travelling for business, I usually book the smallest car available (or the least expensive if it's not the smallest), because it's just me. I've been given three row SUVs and minivans. OTOH, it takes nothing to sign up for the rental company's 'frequent renter' programs and that usually gets you access to a priority counter or line, which can save a lot of time when the regular counter is busy. Usually a car will be waiting for you when you get there, but depends on the facility and the busyness factor.
- pdonis 5y ago
  > it takes nothing to sign up for the rental company's 'frequent renter' programs and that usually gets you access to a priority counter or line Yes, I've done that with most of the major rental companies, and I agree it does cut down on wait time considerably. My experience has been that the service itself still varies considerably by location (although I've still found it to be better when traveling on business). The vast majority of my rentals have been at airports and it's very hard to predict which ones will have better service; I've had very bad experiences at large airports where you would think they would have the process down pat, and good experiences at smaller airports.
  - com2kid 5y ago
    I've had good luck explicitly not renting at airports. Airport rentals often cost more, some airports charge an additional fee to rental car agencies who then pass that on to the customer, and I'll often have an easier time getting the car I want at a medium sized lot.

by pdonis 5y ago

toast0 5y ago

You do get better service (very little upselling), but I haven't seen much better in terms of getting the car selected. When travelling for business, I usually book the smallest car available (or the least expensive if it's not the smallest), because it's just me. I've been given three row SUVs and minivans. OTOH, it takes nothing to sign up for the rental company's 'frequent renter' programs and that usually gets you access to a priority counter or line, which can save a lot of time when the regular counter is busy. Usually a car will be waiting for you when you get there, but depends on the facility and the busyness factor.

pdonis 5y ago
> it takes nothing to sign up for the rental company's 'frequent renter' programs and that usually gets you access to a priority counter or line Yes, I've done that with most of the major rental companies, and I agree it does cut down on wait time considerably. My experience has been that the service itself still varies considerably by location (although I've still found it to be better when traveling on business). The vast majority of my rentals have been at airports and it's very hard to predict which ones will have better service; I've had very bad experiences at large airports where you would think they would have the process down pat, and good experiences at smaller airports.
- com2kid 5y ago
  I've had good luck explicitly not renting at airports. Airport rentals often cost more, some airports charge an additional fee to rental car agencies who then pass that on to the customer, and I'll often have an easier time getting the car I want at a medium sized lot.