car rental reservation - penalty if you don't cancel?

[loriandmatt]

i have been renting cars for years for our WDW vacations and each year i search for months/weeks/days before our trip to get the best rates. when i see a good rate i make an online reservation. i sometimes end up with 5 or 6 of them and a day or two before we travel i go over them all, decide what the best 2 are and then cancel the rest. i keep 2 for the possibility that we get to the rental counter and they dispute some aspect of the reservation (ever see that Seinfeld episode!?!?!)- we have that other one to fall back on. once we have our car,if we have that "back up reservation" still out there i use my cell and call to cancel it.

i have never for any of these reservations needed to put any credit card info down, not even an address, just a name and either a phone number or an e-mail address.

i just noticed something i never caught before in the terms section of a few of my reservations for an upcoming trip "If your plans change and you no longer require the rental, you must cancel this reservation before the scheduled pick up time or you will be charged a $75 US fee ($50 US for a pre-paid rental). "

is this something new? how can they charge you if they don't have your address or credit card info.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

What agency?

As for your process, unfortunately your not going to find many if any people on here that will condone your actions. Double (or in your case booking a half a dozen) booking reservations only increases the rates for everyone else.

I hope and look forward to the day where all reservations require a credit hold and a penalty is charged on any reservation that is not cancelled within 24 hours.

 

[skiingfast]

i just noticed something i never caught before in the terms section of a few of my reservations for an upcoming trip "If your plans change and you no longer require the rental, you must cancel this reservation before the scheduled pick up time or you will be charged a $75 US fee ($50 US for a pre-paid rental). "

is this something new? how can they charge you if they don't have your address or credit card info.

Notice what the PP said. Then think about if this is new.

I have heard about people doing this. I'm sure if they have no way of charging you they won't But this does hurt everyone in the end.

 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

I hope and look forward to the day where all reservations require a credit hold and a penalty is charged on any reservation that is not cancelled within 24 hours.

Why would you as a consumer hope for this? Whether you condone the O/P actions or not, such a penalty does NOT serve you better. Nor does the actions of the O/P increase rates. Rates are set by competition. The rental companies know what their no show rate is and have cars available accordingly. The reason there are no such penalties currently is because of the intense competitive pressures in the car rental industry. Anyone instituting such a penalty would lose business. The airlines have successfully instituted non-refundable fares because they can; much less competition.

If you think you're going to be better off when competition gets to the point that rental car companies can institute such charges, then you're looking forward to a time when there is little competition and rates far higher than they are now. That's not something to look forward to. Fortunately, ain't going to happen anytime soon. If you're a good consumer, you'd emulate the O/P's behavior. It would serve you better.

BobK/Orlando

 

[msminniemouse]

i just noticed something i never caught before in the terms section of a few of my reservations for an upcoming trip "If your plans change and you no longer require the rental, you must cancel this reservation before the scheduled pick up time or you will be charged a $75 US fee ($50 US for a pre-paid rental). "

is this something new? how can they charge you if they don't have your address or credit card info.

Which rental agency was this?

 

[ssawka]

I really don't see how they could charge you without your credit card information. They probably put that on the reservation to scare you hoping you won't remember that you didn't give them your CC number.

Edit: I should add that I also do not condone this practice. There is no problem looking for a better deal, but when you find one cancel your other reservation.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Why would you as a consumer hope for this? Whether you condone the O/P actions or not, such a penalty does NOT serve you better. Nor does the actions of the O/P increase rates. Rates are set by competition. The rental companies know what their no show rate is and have cars available accordingly. The reason there are no such penalties currently is because of the intense competitive pressures in the car rental industry. Anyone instituting such a penalty would lose business. The airlines have successfully instituted non-refundable fares because they can; much less competition.

There is more competition in the airline market then in the rental car business, you forget that the Enterprise, National and Alamo are all the same company. Sure there are some small players on the field, but this is no different then some of the small players on the airline field (ie. Allegiant). I also think your logic of correlation between less competition and fees is flawed. Think about the hotel industry, there is tons of competition, but almost all hotels have some sort of cancellation penalty.

I agree car rental agencies do pretty good at forecasting volumes, but due to double (or we should just start saying multiple) bookings, their volume forecasts are often incorrect. We also have the problem as of more recently that due to fleet reductions that the models of the past are being stretched to fit a reduced inventory with individuals still following the same pattern of multiple bookings. This means rate bands/classes fill up quicker and prices increase for the general populus much faster.

If you think you're going to be better off when competition gets to the point that rental car companies can institute such charges, then you're looking forward to a time when there is little competition and rates far higher than they are now. That's not something to look forward to. Fortunately, ain't going to happen anytime soon. If you're a good consumer, you'd emulate the O/P's behavior. It would serve you better.

I cannot believe anyone would condone intentionally reserving multiple cars. Instituting change fees has nothing to do with competition, rather it has to do with maintaining a realistic relationship between price and capacity. Discouraging multiple bookings (I have no issues, and I don't think anyone would, making a reservation and cancelling it at the same time of making another one - leaving just one reserved vehicle) would probably help with fleet utilization and help stabilize pricing as the reservations would more accurately reflect actual bookings.

 

[goofy4tink]

I can't imagine that there would be any way to charge a credit card if no credit card info was given. So...that's not something I would worry about.

BUT...I have to agree with those who say holding that many reservations, for that long, isn't really 'kosher'. I know that there have been several times that I have been told 'no cars avaiable at this time' when trying to pick up a car at a more popular spot. I can only imagine that others are holding multiple reservations, which leads the rental system to believe there are not going to be any cars for me. And since I like to look for, and possibly reserve, my car several months before travel, it is frustrating. I don't want to have to wait until the days before travel to book a rental car.

This is how I handle my car rentals....I start looking for good deals pretty early. I book one reservation, so I have one in hand..just in case. Then, I continue searching. But, I never have more than one reservation booked. As soon as I find a better one, I go back and cancel any existing ones. I only book using codes or pins that I know I am entitled to. I never worry about whether or not my reservation is going to be honored. I know it is. I guess I may be paying a bit more in the end but I have a sense of security this way....for an addtl $50 or so, I rest assured that my reservation is going to be honored.

I just don't see the sense in holding multiple reservations right up until the pickup day...sure you cancel one, but that is still taking a reservation away from someone else who wanted to book the same type car, at the same time.

 

[loriandmatt]

since a few posters asked....the company where i noticed this statement on my reservation was Budget.

and i am not getting indignant, but truly curious for those who feel what i am doing shouldn't be done....what do you do when you get to the counter and the rental agency claims they don't have your reservation or claims that the rate you have booked isn't valid and financially gouges you? it may have not happened to any of you before, but it has happened to me. i don't want to experience that again, so i cover my bases. aren't you putting all your eggs into one basket? isn't it wise to have a back up plan for that car reservation? i don't want to be a resource hog, but i also want to be a wise consumer.

granted i would never do this (more than one reservation) with other aspects of my trip, but i feel pretty confident that if there were such a mix up with my WDW reservation or ADR or my airline tickets, that those companies customer service base wouldn't just have a "sucks to be you" stance. however, from my experiences, car rental companies do have that stance.

 

[ssawka]

since a few posters asked....the company where i noticed this statement on my reservation was Budget.

and i am not getting indignant, but truly curious for those who feel what i am doing shouldn't be done....what do you do when you get to the counter and the rental agency claims they don't have your reservation or claims that the rate you have booked isn't valid and financially gouges you? it may have not happened to any of you before, but it has happened to me. i don't want to experience that again, so i cover my bases. aren't you putting all your eggs into one basket? isn't it wise to have a back up plan for that car reservation? i don't want to be a resource hog, but i also want to be a wise consumer.

granted i would never do this (more than one reservation) with other aspects of my trip, but i feel pretty confident that if there were such a mix up with my WDW reservation or ADR or my airline tickets, that those companies customer service base wouldn't just have a "sucks to be you" stance. however, from my experiences, car rental companies do have that stance.

When this happend to you, did you bring a print out of your rate quote? Did you make the reservation through a third party such as AAA or Costco? Always bring a copy of your confirmation so you can show them the rate you were quoted. If they still will not give you that rate, check with other companies at the airport to see if they have extra cars available. If they do not or are all charging about the same, go with your original company and report it to corporate or the third party agent that you used.

 

[Lewisc]

I can sort of understand people who keep a backup reservation. Just make sure it's with a completely different company. Alamo is going to pull cars from National and Enterprise if they run out. Your primary reservation is with Alamo then make your backup reservation with Hertz or Budget.

I can't see a reason to have 5-6 reservations, even if you cancel them a day or two in advance.

The only time I've heard of a rental agency not honoring a reservation is if the renter used a promotional code they're not eligible to use.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

and i am not getting indignant, but truly curious for those who feel what i am doing shouldn't be done....what do you do when you get to the counter and the rental agency claims they don't have your reservation or claims that the rate you have booked isn't valid and financially gouges you? it may have not happened to any of you before, but it has happened to me. i don't want to experience that again, so i cover my bases. aren't you putting all your eggs into one basket? isn't it wise to have a back up plan for that car reservation? i don't want to be a resource hog, but i also want to be a wise consumer.

granted i would never do this (more than one reservation) with other aspects of my trip, but i feel pretty confident that if there were such a mix up with my WDW reservation or ADR or my airline tickets, that those companies customer service base wouldn't just have a "sucks to be you" stance. however, from my experiences, car rental companies do have that stance.

I travel a quite a bit, and I can say the only issued I've ever had was the location was out of vehicles, but so were the other agencies due to weather issues and vehicles not being returned.

Outside of that, I only use codes that I am clearly eligible for (ie. Corporate ID for the company I work for) that I can clearly prove. Using codes that are questionable or that there is "hope that they'll get through" is part of the issue. If agencies always asked for IDs for all codes that required them it would definately reduce abuse of codes.

As others have posted I also bring a copy of my travel documents with me, included with that is a copy of my reservation for my car with all rates and rate codes indicated. This should be more then sufficient (and always has been) when dealing with any of the major agencies.

I think the largest part of your post that is concerning is not just that you make a back-up reservation, but that you make 6 of them. Canceling just a few days before the "excess" beyond just two doesn't help with capacity or fleet management, it will be unlikely that those cars could be re-rented at that point.

 

[goofy4tink]

since a few posters asked....the company where i noticed this statement on my reservation was Budget.

and i am not getting indignant, but truly curious for those who feel what i am doing shouldn't be done....what do you do when you get to the counter and the rental agency claims they don't have your reservation or claims that the rate you have booked isn't valid and financially gouges you? it may have not happened to any of you before, but it has happened to me. i don't want to experience that again, so i cover my bases. aren't you putting all your eggs into one basket? isn't it wise to have a back up plan for that car reservation? i don't want to be a resource hog, but i also want to be a wise consumer.

granted i would never do this (more than one reservation) with other aspects of my trip, but i feel pretty confident that if there were such a mix up with my WDW reservation or ADR or my airline tickets, that those companies customer service base wouldn't just have a "sucks to be you" stance. however, from my experiences, car rental companies do have that stance.

I always have a copy of my reservation with me. And if I have used any type of code, I bring along whatever I need to prove my 'eligibility' to use that code.
The only time I have had a reservation not honored was when picking up a car at the Alamo counter at the Dolphin. I had booked a compact car but they didn't have any when I got there. So, they gave me a minivan..no addtl charge. Other than that, I have always gotten what I reserved.

I have to tell you...if I had a reservation confirmation, and I could prove that I was entitled to something, and that person behind the counter told me I wasn't getting my reserved car..well, there would be 'heck' to pay. They wouldn't find me just shrugging and walking away.

 

[Lewisc]

I have to tell you...if I had a reservation confirmation, and I could prove that I was entitled to something, and that person behind the counter told me I wasn't getting my reserved car..well, there would be 'heck' to pay. They wouldn't find me just shrugging and walking away.

I have no idea if this applies to the OP but it seems common on DIS to make a reservation with a code you know you're not eligible to use or to make a reservation with a code you haven't the slightest idea if you're eligible to use. At least one poster tried random numbers until he got a rate he liked.

 

[BigTigger]

It's well reported on the DIS that Alamo agents at MCO question even valid codes that are for public use. Easy fix is to use the kiosks - they never do anything but bring up your registration and have you confirm the data before printing your slip to use in the garage checkout.

Even though you may not have used a credit card in the reservation, many of the rental car companies have your credit information in your profile if you are Emerald Aisle or *********** or similar. If the fine print notes a charge, then the fine print probably notes a right of offset to use the existing credit card data.

 

[crashbb]

since a few posters asked....the company where i noticed this statement on my reservation was Budget.

and i am not getting indignant, but truly curious for those who feel what i am doing shouldn't be done....what do you do when you get to the counter and the rental agency claims they don't have your reservation or claims that the rate you have booked isn't valid and financially gouges you? it may have not happened to any of you before, but it has happened to me. i don't want to experience that again, so i cover my bases. aren't you putting all your eggs into one basket? isn't it wise to have a back up plan for that car reservation? i don't want to be a resource hog, but i also want to be a wise consumer.

granted i would never do this (more than one reservation) with other aspects of my trip, but i feel pretty confident that if there were such a mix up with my WDW reservation or ADR or my airline tickets, that those companies customer service base wouldn't just have a "sucks to be you" stance. however, from my experiences, car rental companies do have that stance.

What's your reason for the other 4 reservations? I can (sort of) see having two reservations, but you stated that you make 5-6 (and keep two). What's the point in having all the other reservations (especially since you cancel them 24 hours out).

Like the others, I always bring a print out of my reservation (and only use codes to which I am entitled - and have proof of my entitlement if needed). I have never not had my rate honoured (even if I have had to get a supervisor and/or corporate involved).

 

[Lewisc]

There are dozens, maybe hundreds, of posters who successfully used codes they don't qualify for with Alamo. I don't think there is even a handful of posters who had an issue with legitimate codes.

Sorry I don't agree "It's well reported"...

It's well reported on the DIS that Alamo agents at MCO question even valid codes that are for public use. Easy fix is to use the kiosks - they never do anything but bring up your registration and have you confirm the data before printing your slip to use in the garage checkout.

Even though you may not have used a credit card in the reservation, many of the rental car companies have your credit information in your profile if you are Emerald Aisle or *********** or similar. If the fine print notes a charge, then the fine print probably notes a right of offset to use the existing credit card data.

 

[loriandmatt]

OP back again...let's see. some points that were brought up that i wanted to address:

When this happened to you, did you bring a print out of your rate quote? Did you make the reservation through a third party such as AAA or Costco?

ya know, i was a newbie at the travel thing and no i did not bring the confirmation page. silly me. i assumed it would be on the computer system at the rental desk. live and learn. i now always print it and bring it with me. no, my reservation on that fateful trip was thru the rental agency directly, not a 3rd party.

honestly i think i got a bad apple for a rep. just sour from the word go. not that that should be an excuse for that persons handling of that situation from start to finish.

I have no idea if this applies to the OP but it seems common on DIS to make a reservation with a code you know you're not eligible to use or to make a reservation with a code you haven't the slightest idea if you're eligible to use.

again...ya know, i can see where that would be an assumption, because so many people do that, but in my case no. on the "fateful" event, i was using a discount code thru my employer. i even had my employee id with me which was what my HR dept who encouraged booking using their corp code said was all i needed to get the discount. i only ever book with either that corp code or with a code that mousesavers states is for a program i belong to. (AmEx holders, or general use walmart or Florida Vacation Guide. i don't use the ones i know i don't belong to. potential savings are not worth the worry of "will or will i not slide thru".)

It's well reported on the DIS that Alamo agents at MCO question even valid codes that are for public use. Easy fix is to use the kiosks - they never do anything but bring up your registration and have you confirm the data before printing your slip to use in the garage checkout.

Even though you may not have used a credit card in the reservation, many of the rental car companies have your credit information in your profile if you are Emerald Aisle or *********** or similar. If the fine print notes a charge, then the fine print probably notes a right of offset to use the existing credit card data.

this entire post offered lots of very interesting info, thanks! i have always wanted to try the kiosk route just to save time in lines. i will check it out. i am not sure if my code (again, thru my employer) will work there or if i will have to use the counter to prove my employment...but it is worth a try.
the point about the credit card info on file might really be the key to my original question. they may just charge whatever card they have on file under my name/phone number or e-mail combo. lesson learned from that - if i don't want to keep that reservation i will dump it ASAP.

and lastly...

What's your reason for the other 4 reservations? I can (sort of) see having two reservations, but you stated that you make 5-6 (and keep two). What's the point in having all the other reservations (especially since you cancel them 24 hours out).

the rental car is one of the last out of pocket items that we pay for. flights, tickets, dining package (if we are on it), resort...all those things are paid for before we ever arrive. we never know until a bit before we travel what our budget will truly be for the rental car. if we have more funds to blow we may splurge and get a convertible. if we decide to fly with the stroller and other luggable items, we may want/need a mid size to minivan. if we won't bring those items and/or need to keep the car budget very low, we may go with an economy. i make a reservation for each at the best rate i can find. if i find a super rate, i may make a second reservation in one of those categories. when i get closer in my planning and know what direction we are leaning towards, i start canceling ressies until i get to those 2...my main one and my "holy crap we are stuck at the airport" one.

i never saw it from the perspective that some of you have brought up, so i will thin the herd much sooner in my planning rather than later.