I have ressies with 2 different car rental companies

[pumpkinboy]

Is that unethical? Should I choose which one I am going to go with and cancel the other, or should I hold onto both in case one is out of Minivans (we have a child in a wheelchair and really need the van)?

One is with Alamo with a free second driver, while the other is with Dollar for about $10 more. I don't have a credit card down on either of them. I have noticed for next week that prices are significantly higher than when we made these ressies, which I suspect is due to the car shortage in the wake of the Hurricanes this fall.

Any opinions?

 

[safetymom]

Cancel the second one. Let someone else have a chance at a car.

 

[vasoccermom]

Pumpkinboy,
I'm struggling with the exact same dilemma myself. I never hold more than one ressie but this time I had been holding 3 ressies (Alamo, Budget and Dollar) simply to track who remained the lowest (and I'd modify them when their rate dropped).
Well I canceled Budget yesterday but with all the talk on the boards recently about not having cars available, I was hesitant to cancel the Alamo res. We're getting into MCO right around midnight with kids and the last thing I wanted is to have to scramble for a vehicle.

I did sign up for Dollar's Fast Lane program so I"m guessing they would do anything they had to in order to scare up a car...but I"m a little nervous about the whole thing!

I"m hoping more people respond to this post with their insight!

Karen

 

[leebee]

I usually make several reservations ahead of time and watch the rates, cancelling higher costing cars and narrowing it down to only one reservation before I leave. However, I too am very nervous about the availability of vehicles and am considering holding on to several of the reservations. As far as I can tell, the companies don't necessarily "hold" the car for you; if you check threads here you will see that some rental agents have stated the company took several hundred more reservations than they had cars to assign. Also, if they were actually holding a car for you, people with reservations would not be having the problems they seem to be encountering with vehicle shortages. I think, maybe, that a reservation holds a certain price or pricing deal for you, rather than an actual vehicle. Remember, this is speculation on my part, but based on lots of rental car experience and from reading these boards, I think this must be how it works. As for myself, I am making ressies at several locations and holding on to them...DH would ruin the entire vacation if we couldn't get a car.