Picking up a rental car a day later than reservation date?

[madalex]

I originally made a rental car reservation with National with airport pickup at 8:00 pm on Feb 12. My travel plans have now changed and we will not be flying in until the morning of Feb 13 (arriving about 9:30 am). When I went to modify my rental car reservation to reflect this new time of arrival, I discovered this change would make the cost go up by about $250, even though I wanted to shorten the period of the reservation.

So, does anyone know if my original reservation will still be honored by National even if I don't show up until the next morning to get the car?

 

[drew64]

Your original rental may have qualified for a lower multi-day rental price and with one day less, it no longer does.
No, National will nto hold your rental for 24 hours for you to pick it up. If they do have and give you a car the next day, they will charge you the higher price, and not the lower one that you would no longer qualify for.

 

[madalex]

Thanks for the reply. Any idea how long they will hold the car for? I will actually be in about 12.5 (not 24) hours after the original reservation. I assume I have some leeway, but how much exactly?

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Thanks for the reply. Any idea how long they will hold the car for? I will actually be in about 12.5 (not 24) hours after the original reservation. I assume I have some leeway, but how much exactly?

If your flight is delayed, they will hold it until your flight arrives. Otherwise, usually the limit is anywhere from 1 hour - 4 hours beyond your scheduled arrival before they release your vehicle.

Regardless of if they hold your vehicle or not, you may be charged a higher rate then your originally booked because your rental period changed (pick-up time different then originally booked). This is no different then returning a car early (people have seen nice surprises in their rates at return) or keeping longer.

 

[DebbieB]

I was told one time that they will honor your reservation up to midnight of your reservation date. You will be well past that. My suggestion is to call them and see what they can do.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

We had a similar situation in January 2002 with Hertz in Maui. After 9/11, our airline cancelled our morning flight, and we rescheduled for the evening flight the night before and we booked our rental car accordingly. Several weeks before the flight, the airline added back our original morning flight and we were able to be re-booked on that flight. Unfortunately, there would have been a substantial increase in the rental car rate if we rescheduled it, even though there was no change in the number of rental days.

We called Hertz the night before our arrival and let them know that we were not on the evening flight but expected to arrive on the morning flight. They honored our rental rate even with the very late pick-up. Of course, your mileage may vary.

On another occassion, due to airline delays, we arrived more than 12 hours late to pick up our rental car in Maui. Again, there was no change in rental days, we kept the rental company informed of our likely arrival time and our rental rate was honored. I'm not sure what rental company this was.

Our experience may be somewhat unique to Maui or Hawaii in general, where there are fewer flights from the Mainland in each day than in Orlando.

Keep checking the rates between now and Feb. You may find that you can get a better rate for your actual arrival times between now and then.

Best of luck -- Suzanne

 

[drew64]

The car rental companies can and do view flight information. If a delay is out of your control - flight delayed- they will ususally hold the same price for you. If it is you shwing up late on your own, they will charge you the higher price as you do not meet the requirements any longer for the lower price offered originally.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

The car rental companies can and do view flight information. If a delay is out of your control - flight delayed- they will ususally hold the same price for you. If it is you shwing up late on your own, they will charge you the higher price as you do not meet the requirements any longer for the lower price offered originally.

The problem is that even if you enter flight data (which is not required) and that flight arrives on time, the rental agency has no way of knowing why you were not on that flight. You may have misconnected due to a delay on a connecting flight or may have missed your flight due to any number of other legitimate reasons (freeway shut down, train accident, etc.).

As a result, rental agencies cannot possibly view your flight information as anything more than helpful information. If rental agencies refuse to honor your reservation UNLESS your scheduled flight was late, they are likely to get fewer customers volunteering flight information, making it that much more difficult to manage their fleets. -- Suzanne

 

[drew64]

12-24 hours is a big delay to explain away and even if it is justified, it is up to the rental company to decide if they want to honor the rate- they do not have to do so.

My advice, is shop around for the best rate valid for your new travel dates and not try to beat the system.

Changes to itineraries and travel plans often cost addtional monies- it is just a fact of travel.

 

[AllyBri]

Call, there is a very good chance that they will help you, if they can have them email you the new reservation and of course take it with you.

 

[Lewisc]

Thanks for the reply. Any idea how long they will hold the car for? I will actually be in about 12.5 (not 24) hours after the original reservation. I assume I have some leeway, but how much exactly?

You're asking two different questions. How long will the hold the car? How long will they guarantee your rate? You're arriving the next day, past midnight. You're renting the car for one less day, possibly losing a weekly rate.

Forget about the rate, you may not even have a car. There isn't any question your reservation will be cancelled as a now show. Try to get the best deal you can find then contact National and see if they'll do anything to help you.