What the heck is going on with rental rates?

[drakethib]

Good night, I thought better deals would be had with this economy.

Help !

 

[TooBoyz4us]

I don't know.
I have a rate of $340 secured for a van with Hertz the last week of Sept. for 8 days.I did get it to drop by $23 since I booked it with a coupon code, but thats it.
I keep looking for lower rates,BUT the website says all vans are sold out for my time frame now, so I can't even tell if rates have dropped on them
AND, since we live in a more rural area, my only booking choices are Hertz and Enterprise.

 

[francie57]

The problem is that due to the economy being the way it is, and less people traveling, the rental car companies have cut back on the number of cars in their fleet so few cars mean higher rates to meet their expenses.

 

[drakethib]

The problem is that due to the economy being the way it is, and less people traveling, the rental car companies have cut back on the number of cars in their fleet so few cars mean higher rates to meet their expenses.

If they dont watch it, they are going to have even fewer renters ....

The pricing just seems high right now.

 

[Maliki2]

I didn't do so bad I didn't think. Scored a SUV for $275 for Dec 1-8th. Its offsite but no way I'm paying almost twice that at MCO.

 

[DebbieB]

I was at WDW June 13-20. The rates were high when I first booked, well over $200. They dropped in the last couple weeks before my trip, I ended up paying $150 incl tax for 8 days. That was National Emerald Aisle w/$35 off coupon. So don't give up, keep watching!

 

[dioxide45]

Rates on rental cars work differently than hotels. In a down economy rental car companies can cut back what they have, a hotel can't just lop off the top five floors. With fewer cars in their fleets, less attractive buyback offers and deals from the automotive industry, they are able to charge the rates that they can.

I am willing to bet their margins are a lot better today than they were last year at this time and even with the renters down and probably still making or losing the same amount of money.

 

[lawgs]

I was at WDW June 13-20. The rates were high when I first booked, well over $200. They dropped in the last couple weeks before my trip, I ended up paying $150 incl tax for 8 days. That was National Emerald Aisle w/$35 off coupon. So don't give up, keep watching!

sad to say ..... that was then ( your good fortune ).....this is NOW ( last minute deals hard to find .... )

we could not find a car last minute when we were there july 24 - 27......no major company had any availability....they said it was the same all over florida since "it was the busy season of the year"


the one that did have cars ....EZ rent a car.... wanted 325$ a day.....just as a base rate with NO fees added in

 

[tebookie]

We are looking for a Rental for Sept 24-October 4th. Last year I was able to get a fullsize car for around $150 for 10 days. Now I am looking at 350-400. No way no how! I might try priceline or we may just end up sticking with Disney transportation.

 

[n2mm]

Rates have been extremely high all year. I rented in Jan, May, July, and now next week and each rental has been double of previous years. We did have a couple of weeks in June when the rate dropped alot, but nothing since. Even when you get to 1 or 2 weeks before your trip, don't expect any drops. I'm 5 days away and the current prices are higher than what I booked. I booked at $260 a base week for a mid-size and the same rental is running at $300 a base week. I guess the rental companies are getting us renters to make up for the lack of renters. We have managed to rent from National this year because other companies are high too. So at least I'm getting my perks. I'm an Exec Aisle members and for my 3 rentals so far this year, I've only managed a full size car on the Exec Aisle, so not even good choices for the high rates I'm paying. Though I would rather pay high rates that deal with DME or Disney buses to get from resort to resort.

Also wanted to mention, for the last two weeks Orlando has not even been included in the last minute rental list on National. Now that is bad!

 

[mommy*RN]

I found booking early sometimes help. When DH first started talking about going to WDW, I jumped on the web and started looking at car pricing. I made a ressie with Alamo for a midsize SUV for 11 days for $355/total for late October. I made that ressie on December 30th. Now the same ressie with the same codes is well over $700. I will continue to look, but I'm not holding my breath. I try Priceline too, but the deals just aren't there. I've never had a problem booking a full-size here in Milwaukee for a few days for around $12-$13/day...but I haven't even been able to do that! It's more difficult to get good deals through Priceline in Orlando because so many people book multiple cars in case there is an issue with one they can just move on to the other...so rental companies think they will be renting more cars and don't release much to Priceline. It's such a waiting and bidding and watching game. Seems crazy to me I'm spending less $$$ on airfare for 4 people than I did on 3 people in 2006, but the car will suck up any savings on that front. Oh well...we need the car so they have us hooked.

 

[klynn]

My weekly rate for Sept. using the Entertainment code and coupon is $135. I made this reservation in March.

 

[kksmom92]

I found booking early sometimes help. When DH first started talking about going to WDW, I jumped on the web and started looking at car pricing. I made a ressie with Alamo for a midsize SUV for 11 days for $355/total for late October. I made that ressie on December 30th. Now the same ressie with the same codes is well over $700. I will continue to look, but I'm not holding my breath.

I did the same thing, but up here in MI as we will be renting a minivan to drive south. Since I knew the dates we would be needing it (in feb) I just went and reserved the van thinking if they drop I can just re-book. (That was in June) I'm glad I booked it when I did! I got a Minivan for 2 weeks & 4 days for $853.04. I just looked the other day and couldn't get a van for the same days, so had to check with one day earlier and the price was $1754.94!! Now when I looked again, no minivan was available for the day before or after my pick up date. I did check another airport (same distance, but other direction from our house) and to rent one there for the same dates would be $1299.48!! I never would of thought that the $853 would of been that great of a deal... guess it is!

Now I just hope they still honor it once Feb comes!

 

[BYC]

I booked a minivan for 11 days in January. I reserved it about 3 months ago with no coupon from National for $428 total. When I look now, I can't find the same van for under $1200! I am so glad I booked it when I did! I am afraid to even ask to apply a coupon to it, because I don't want to risk them screwing it up, and changing my rate!

 

[Donald is #1]

I booked a minivan for 11 days in January. I reserved it about 3 months ago with no coupon from National for $428 total. When I look now, I can't find the same van for under $1200! I am so glad I booked it when I did! I am afraid to even ask to apply a coupon to it, because I don't want to risk them screwing it up, and changing my rate!

Wow you definitely timed that well!


I didn't look for my December trip until this past week and I couldn't find any rates low enough to justify the expense. So I ended up booking a car at the Dolphin for the 4 days that I really want the car. If the rates come down, then I will change it to a reservation for my entire 11 day trip from MCO. Otherwise, I will be using ME to get to my resort.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

I booked a mini van for 9 days with National for $289 (and another ressie for $303 with 2nd driver incl). We are now getting in 8 hours sooner and if I edit or rebook, it is $900! I check several times a week and I can't get it any lower. We are just going to show up early and if there is any type of penalty I will walk over to a different comapany and rent the cheapest possible car (or two) for the afternoon and come back at 8pm!

 

[DisTwix]

I am also super frustrated by this... I have been looking for about a month for the last week of Sept --- I've NEVER paid more than $150 (including all taxes, fees, etc) for a week for a compact, and the absolute cheapest I've seen has been $180 - and I've been checking multiple agencies just about every day. I'm hoping that I can snag a deal as we get a little closer... if not, we'll just use the old Disney transport!

 

[traveljunkie]

Do you have a Costco card? I was able to find a car for my brother (fullsize) for a week in Sept. It was $196 incl. tax with Alamo.

 

[DisTwix]

Do you have a Costco card? I was able to find a car for my brother (fullsize) for a week in Sept. It was $196 incl. tax with Alamo.

I don't... nor Sam's Club... however, I've tried all the Mousesavers codes... tried my AAA codes... oy.

I definitely won't pay more than $150... it's just not worth it. I'll keep trying!

 

[mmmgood]

Try here:

http://www.carrentalsavers.com/florida-car-rental.html

The Avis deal comes out to about $150 after taxes and fees if you use the coupon.