Dude, where's my rental car?
— -- Question: In September 2008, I reserved a car from Hertz for one week, picking up on Dec. 27 in Salt Lake City. When I arrived at the airport rental location at 9:00 p.m., the entire rental staff had gone home because they had run out of cars. This was peak holiday time in Salt Lake City, and after much begging, and waiting over two hours, I managed to get one of the last cars at another car-rental agency.
I have contacted Hertz numerous times and all I have received is a form letter apologizing. I am a Gold Club member and my opinion is that they should have offered me something else. Can you help?
-- David Palay, Atlanta
Answer: Unlike most other travel suppliers, including airlines and hotels, car rental companies usually don't exact penalties for no-shows. If you fail to pick up your car as scheduled, they simply cancel your reservation.
But such no-obligation bookings create serious fleet-management problems. Since car companies want to maximize their rentals, they compensate for expected no-shows by overbooking. Their calculations can get out of whack during peak travel times, special events like the Super Bowl or even if foul weather forces a lot of flight cancellations.
"While Hertz typically has enough cars in its fleet to meet demand, there are times, especially during holiday periods, when we are unable to honor a reservation," says Hertz representative Paula Rivera.
Just as airlines and hotels follow certain protocols in case of overbooking, the major rental agencies including Hertz, Avis, Budget, Dollar and Thrifty, should help their customers who get stuck without cars. However, since apparently everyone at the Hertz Salt Lake City airport location went home early that evening, Palay was left to fend for himself.
It's unusual for a location to run out of vehicles entirely; a far more common gripe is that the car class you book isn't available when you arrive at the counter. When the car class you booked is sold out, you should receive a free upgrade, or a discounted rate on a smaller car, plus the option to exchange the replacement car for the one you reserved when it becomes available, if you prefer.
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