A Car Rental Apocalypse Is Coming: Here’s What You Need To Know

[zeferjen]

I called and had mine connected. When did the issues occur? At pick up?

I called and had my April rental connected but that trip got rescheduled to June and when I called to connect June they told me it's not possible. Not sure if I got a bad rep or something has changed?

 

[andigomeep]

I called and had my April rental connected but that trip got rescheduled to June and when I called to connect June they told me it's not possible. Not sure if I got a bad rep or something has changed?

I just did it yesterday and the reservation now shows in the app and shows $0 due. So I’m hoping it’ll go smoothly. Maybe try calling back?

 

[zeferjen]

I just did it yesterday and the reservation now shows in the app and shows $0 due. So I’m hoping it’ll go smoothly. Maybe try calling back?

Thank you!

 

[MIChessGuy]

I called and had mine connected. When did the issues occur? At pick up?

I am not certain that something will go wrong if I ask Avis to connect a third party booking. However, there is at least some evidence that the Avis system will reject a discount code (offered by UCT, in my case) on the basis that you can't have both Avis Preferred benefits and a third party discount code all at once. I only rent cars a couple of times per year tops, and am far from an expert in these matters, I just don't want to chance it. My concern is that even if it appears to work, when I get to the counter the agent will say the total rate is now some absurd figure and I'll be standing there exhausted and wondering what to do. (When I tried to connect the booking number in the Avis app, a warning popped up about a rate change and I decided not to do it there.)

 

[emilymad]

Do you think there will be an issue with Budget for a 9am pickup? I would think not but maybe cars aren't returned yet?

 

[sdoll]

It is interesting you say that. I had never rented a car at Disney until the pandemic. We were there is September and had driven down from Wisconsin. Long story short, we were in a car accident in Tennessee and had to rent a car for the rest of the trip (all of it). I loved it! We did use the skyliners one day, but drove the rest. We are renting a car in May again from the airport. For the convenience. I wonder if there are more like me.?

We rented a car when we came to WDW with a 3 year old and a 1 year old we thought the ability to move when we wanted to move, the ease of car seats, strollers etc. was worth it. We never traveled without a car again. Even with Uber making things easy we still rent. The added cost of parking, renting is still worth it to us. I love operating on our schedule.

 

[Shannon G]

Has anyone had any recent experience with the National Executive Aisle? Is is possible that having that perk will mean we are less likely to be stuck waiting for a car? I currently have Executive Aisle reservations for 2 different trips - one picking up at TPA in late July (2 weeks on Anna Maria Island) and other picking up at MCO in October for a WDW trip. Both rentals begin on a Saturday.

 

[yitbos96bb]

Hawaii looks like they are starting to get some new ones in. I had booked Sept 23-28 in Honolulu and saw it go from $46 per day for an SUV to $110 per day. Now seeing it come back to normal... I mean still on the higher side but better than it was

 

[apulk]

This is definitely a thing that I've seeing.....I have (2) vehicles reserved for our June week for our 9 people -- I booked it about 3 months ago and "locked in" a rate of about $500 for a Suburban or similar. They are now renting out at over $1000 each for the same time. My BIG concern is showing up at the Car Care Center and being told they are sold out of the car I reserved (since they could rent it to a last minute person for 2-3 x more) -- remember the Seinfeld episode when Jerry rented a car but it was sold out when they got there.....I've had it happen a few times when the market was so tight.....we'll see what happens but think it's a real change they will be telling me "sorry, there is nothing we can do."

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

This is definitely a thing that I've seeing.....I have (2) vehicles reserved for our June week for our 9 people -- I booked it about 3 months ago and "locked in" a rate of about $500 for a Suburban or similar. They are now renting out at over $1000 each for the same time. My BIG concern is showing up at the Car Care Center and being told they are sold out of the car I reserved (since they could rent it to a last minute person for 2-3 x more) -- remember the Seinfeld episode when Jerry rented a car but it was sold out when they got there.....I've had it happen a few times when the market was so tight.....we'll see what happens but think it's a real change they will be telling me "sorry, there is nothing we can do."

I'm worried about this too. Would it be wrong to go ahead and book MDE as a backup in case this happens?

 

[Ralph&Pam]

I'm worried about this too. Would it be wrong to go ahead and book MDE as a backup in case this happens?

There is no reason NOT to book DME as a backup, since no (extra) cost is involved. You just need a qualifying Disney resort reservation.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

This headline made me laugh today..
Hawaii tourists are renting U-Haul vans instead of rental cars due to a massive shortage sending prices up to $700 a day
Br

 

[MarBee]

Has anyone had any recent experience with the National Executive Aisle? Is is possible that having that perk will mean we are less likely to be stuck waiting for a car? I currently have Executive Aisle reservations for 2 different trips - one picking up at TPA in late July (2 weeks on Anna Maria Island) and other picking up at MCO in October for a WDW trip. Both rentals begin on a Saturday.

Not my experience but a friend’s. Complained bc the last few times there was an awful selection for Emerald aisle. Just small and regular cars.
However, recently he had to switch flights because TPA had no cars- none at all- for a last minute trip. MCO had cars available.

 

[Julie Amber]

Well, here's hoping the minivan I rented is there when I arrive on Saturday morning. We need the cargo area and all of the seats. No smaller vehicle would make do at all

 

[NotUrsula]

Something to consider: try any employer-related codes you might have access to.

I just used my employer's corporate trip planning app to book a car rental at MCO in late June, and it is costing about 50% of the one I had already booked via Costco. This is because my company has a contractual daily rate that is not tied to market fluctuations. (The Costco reservation was made 3 months in advance.)

In 15 years, this is very first time I've used my company code to book a car -- either for my personal use OR for work-related use. Since my business trips are never just a single day, I can normally use a leisure code and get a MUCH better rate than the one the company contract gives me, but these are -not- normal times. If you have access to an employer-contracted code and are not in the habit of using it because in the past it has seemed too expensive, now is the time to re-visit it.

 

[zeferjen]

Something to consider: try any employer-related codes you might have access to.

I just used my employer's corporate trip planning app to book a car rental at MCO in late June, and it is costing about 50% of the one I had already booked via Costco. This is because my company has a contractual daily rate that is not tied to market fluctuations. (The Costco reservation was made 3 months in advance.)

In 15 years, this is very first time I've used my company code to book a car -- either for my personal use OR for work-related use. Since my business trips are never just a single day, I can normally use a leisure code and get a MUCH better rate than the one the company contract gives me, but these are -not- normal times. If you have access to an employer-contracted code and are not in the habit of using it because in the past it has seemed too expensive, now is the time to re-visit it.

Thank you. I had just booked a car in Dallas for a weekend at Costco. It was Budget for $333. I checked Avis with my corporate code and got it for $160.

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

Something to consider: try any employer-related codes you might have access to.

I just used my employer's corporate trip planning app to book a car rental at MCO in late June, and it is costing about 50% of the one I had already booked via Costco. This is because my company has a contractual daily rate that is not tied to market fluctuations. (The Costco reservation was made 3 months in advance.)

In 15 years, this is very first time I've used my company code to book a car -- either for my personal use OR for work-related use. Since my business trips are never just a single day, I can normally use a leisure code and get a MUCH better rate than the one the company contract gives me, but these are -not- normal times. If you have access to an employer-contracted code and are not in the habit of using it because in the past it has seemed too expensive, now is the time to re-visit it.

Agreed, we used the employer discount and got our rental for less than half the lowest rate I found.

 

[Belle1962]

What if you choose to pick up from off airport.

 

[Jnjtrio]

I am hoping the Car rental companies are able to increase supply by November. Using my employer code I was able to book an 8 day rental minivan @ $405. We are suppose to land @530pm, family will go get luggage and I will head straight to the garage as I can skip the reservation desk.

 

[Leigh L]

Yes! I read about it on a FB post or in one of these threads and am thinking about tyring it. I have an AMC movie popcorn ticket in my cart, and then it lets me click on the option to add a rental car for 50% off. It makes me nervous, though, because I am assuming it is a 1 and done kind of thing and modifying it will be complicated. It definitely saves me quite a bit of money so I am probably going to try it!

Did you end up doing this? I'm wondering if it's truly cancelable like it says.

I've got one in my cart and am *this close* to pulling the trigger as DH's flight got changed which totally screwed with the already crazy price we had with Costco (now it's $400 more - unfortunately we need a 6-seat rental this trip).

Anyone succeed with this lately? I've read a lot of meh reviews on other sites but the complaints were mostly related to ticket purchases.