20 Jan
Vancouver Video Tours

$58,000,0000 Vancouver Mansion – INSIDE & TOUR



Few homes contain a legacy of such accomplishment, stature, family, tradition, place and time. On a highly private acreage, Belmont Estate is poised amidst Vancouver’s most prestigious neighbourhood and its legacy is woven through the very fabric of its conception.

The Estate, which spans 21,977 square feet is the result of the collaboration between the Owners and the acclaimed firm, Ernest Collins Architect Ltd., which was commissioned to undertake the project. The design process and realization of the Estate was more than five years in the making. As evidenced by the final result every material, every placement, and each appointment throughout the home was carefully chosen and selected to create the grandeur of the home. From the very arrival, the porte-cochère entrance and stone waterfall are part of the detailing that create the exceptional experience that one has from being here. Dramatic, solid oak cathedral doors flank the home’s entrance, you find yourself standing still in the grand hallway where light, glass, art, and soaring ceilings prevail over any expectations. You understand the display that this room offers, which among many things contains a striking French Ormolu chandelier, a grand piano and grand hall which has been played in by world class musicians.

source

28 Aug
Vancouver Tours Blog

The Best of Bargain Day Trips With Brisbane Car Rentals

By choosing to get yourself Brisbane car rentals, you have made the first good choice, because this is by far one of the easiest ways to get around town. Not only do you save a lot of money, which you would otherwise spend on cabs or buses; you also get to discover the city at your own pace. There are no tour guides to rush you or tell you that you have only ten minutes at a place, where you would love to have thirty.

If you have done any research prior to coming to Australia, you will realize that there are several trips to be taken in and around the city. Fortunately, quite a few of these are the kinds, which will not sway your budget too much. Get yourself a car hire in Brisbane and you will be able to drive yourself and your family up to Bribie Island. Just the ride itself it so excellent, that you might never want to reach the destination! However, once you do reach there, you will have plenty of activities to keep you busy, including surfing, kayaking or just lying around, getting your suntan.

Car rentals in Brisbane also let you drive up to nearby beaches like Caloundra, where you can spend a fun day in the sun with the ones you love. You could catch a few surfs, play on the beach and then get yourself a delicious lunch of fish and chips. The kids in your family will be very happy, when they see that all their favorite flavors of ice cream are available.

However, if you have already gotten to that particular shade of tan that you wanted, you might want a place where you can protect it. The hills of Maleny are a great destination for you to head to, because here you can experience the charm and pristine beauty of the hinterlands. Your kids will love watching the birds and animals, while you prepare a barbecue lunch for them.

Mount Tamborine also offers you an inexpensive destination to head to, because entry into the national park will not cost you much. After that, you simply pick a trail of our liking and become adventurers! You could choose to see the glowworm caves or take a trip to one of the markets in town. Even if you do not purchase anything at the market, it is a great way to spend the day and soak in the local atmosphere.

Source by Michael Ed Jones

23 Sep
Vancouver Tours Blog

Auto Dealerships – The Sales Dept Sells the First Car, Service the Rest

In the automotive and automobile industry it’s a well-known fact that sales, the salespeople and sales department sells the product – the car, truck or sports utility crossover vehicle. Yet its the service and the service department that sell not only the rest, but every other additional car and product which that buyer – as well as their friends and family – buy at that dealership.

All said and done, good service as well as professionalism from the staff at any auto dealer or set of dealerships will ensure that a buyer or auto buyers will come back yet again and return for more purchases of said vehicles. This can be for their service needs or at that point in time when that vehicle, which they initially purchased, needs to be replaced or upgraded. Remember as well that sometimes this is a gradual and planned process. Yet in other cases and situations said replacement may be the result of a mechanical failure necessitating the costs of large repairs or perhaps an automotive collision, which is of course unplanned. Regardless in those two above cases that previous auto buyer is back again yet again in the market for a reliable replacement vehicle. You want your dealership to be top of mind – foremost in that customer or their family’s mindset. It’s a matter of having of done your work along the way with good and consistent service support levels. It’s not a case of simply running a newspaper ad, or even creating a Facebook page. Real customer loyalty is earned over time and consistent effort. Sure there are those that will tell you that most customers have little loyalty in 2012 and that its all a matter of that for most customers the dollar is their only friend and vital consideration. Two points here. First of all for those fickle customers who grind you down? You should not base your business and its foundations on those customers.

They are fickle and will leave you in a moment. You can view them as bonuses add on not the foundation of your dealership’s cash flow and profit. Secondly real customer loyalty is earned over time and effort. There are no short cuts. It as simple as that.

Your staffs have to be taught that they are providing a real service not a come-on. If a customer has their car serviced – that vehicle should be inspected. Tires are bald – advise the customer. Wiper blades are worn – have them point this out to customer honestly as a service. Otherwise your dealership and staff are not doing their job – neither for the customer who comes for proper service and maintenance in order to have a reliable and safe form of transportation. Next in line is that by not providing these extra services level your service techs are robbing your dealership of not only sales and resultant profits but also the creation and maintenance of the fine reputation of your auto dealership and its service department.

After the entire first car is sold by the sales department of a dealership. The rest are sold by interactions with your organization first and foremost your service department. Loyalty is earned honestly with hard work, honesty and virtue over time.

There are no shortcuts to success or dealerships auto sales figures as well as bottom line profits.

Source by Rymond E. Coast

02 Sep
Vancouver Video Tours

U2 rehearsals in Vancouver, Canada for Joshua Tree 2017 TOUR



U2 rehearsals in Vancouver, Canada for Joshua Tree 2017 TOUR. The band arrived over the weekend into Vancouver, British Columbia ahead of their world tour which starts in Vancouver, Canada. The band arrived for their first sound check and rehearsal at BC Place in Vancouver, Canada and were seen leaving the stadium in an SUV!

Wow That Just Happened videos are copyrighted and owned by © Atlantic Images Ltd. You may not use them for commercial purposes. If you would like to license any of our content, please contact hello@atlanticimages.uk and we’d be happy to work with your publication, company or team 🙂

source

14 Aug
Vancouver Tours Blog

Car Rental Gas Service Option – Is it Wise?

That statement in one form or another has been part of car rentals since the beginning. In the early days, it was a straight out principle issue. You used it, you replace it. At some point between then, and now, someone realized that “there’s a lot of money to be made with the gas tank on rentals.

For those who don’t know, lets explain your refuelling options in car rentals. When you rent a car, the car usually comes with a full tank of gas. In some circumstances, it comes with a partially full tank. In either case, the rental company will give you three options. Bring it back at the same level you got it at, (full) prepay for a full tank of gas (GSO) and bring it back empty, or bring it back empty and pay a refuelling charge (FSO) of a more expensive per gallon rate.

Fuel Service Option (FSO) is almost always the costliest option. Up and down the California Coast, most cities have FSO charges around $5.99 a gallon (and with recent prices, even higher). Around the country, its not much better. While your mileage may vary on the actual price per gallon, the FSO charges are almost always a good Dollar per gallon more expensive than the prevailing GSO (prepaid) rate or the rate of the local gas stations. It may seem that there is no really good reason to use the FSO, but there is. While most FSO users are people with more money than time or people who forgot to fill up the gas tank, there is one segment where it is cheaper to use this service than any other.

If you have a discount code, it may be because of your employer. Some employers, such as Microsoft and Government Contracts like Lockheed Martin have negotiated rates where the same dollar amount for fuel refueling is charged nationwide. Depending on the market, it may not be that bad. In one circumstance, a friend of mine who worked for one of the above mentioned companies went on a trip to Kona, Hawaii. On that trip, the fuel service option refueling price was less than the per gallon prices of all the local gas stations within 5 miles of the airport. In that case, its always best to just bring the car back as it is.

On the other end of the spectrum, the GSO option is a prepaid full tank of gas at a specific rate. In most car rental agencies, the GSO price is the average of the three closest gas stations. With this average, the multiply the tank capacity by that number and offer it as a flat rate to fill up the tank. But let the buyer beware. If the tank is not totally empty when you return it, you do not get a refund on the gas you use. You have effectively paid for a full tank of gas and if your not “empty” on return, you’ve just given the car rental agency free gas to use.

So to recap, when should you use FSO (fuel service option)?

  • Only when you have no other choice
  • Only when your company discount provides you a special rate for the gas refuel
  • For those who have more money than time

And when should you Fuel up with the GSO option?

  • Trips where you know you will have the car for over a week
  • Trips where you know you will be driving more than 400 miles
  • When you know your going to be strapped for time at return

A few final tips. When your leaving the rental area, take note of the closest gas station. If you have time, its often good to drive right in and gas up the car to ensure it was totally full when you got the car. Many of today’s tanks allow for as much as 50-100 miles before the needle drops below full. If the agency stated the tank is full, the nozzle should click practically immediately (3/10 of a gallon). But to be fare, you really need not worry if its less than 3/4 of a gallon unless 85 cents is enough for you to argue and waste 20 minutes. If you put more than that in, take the receipt to the counter when you return the car and get the amount of the gas deducted from the bill.

If you have a GPS unit, lock in the location of the car rental area and the closest gas station to save you time on return. Some of the best made plans are ruined by getting lost trying to get back to the airport. If traveling in a group, assign one person to look for the car rental return signs, the exit off ramp, nearest restaurant among other things that you may need on your way back to the airport.

Under no circumstances are you to buy the most expensive grade of gasoline! Let me repeat that in clearer terms. by the cheap gas. The car rental agencies all buy the cheapest gas the law will allow. Do not feel guilty topping of that car with a more expensive grade of gas. The car will break down and be sold from abuse long before the gas causes issues for the car.

Source by Justin Parker

01 Aug
Vancouver Tours Blog

Getting a Ticket in a Rental Car – Are There Additional Fees Or Fines?

When driving a rental car, there is a question that looms in the mind of the renter. One of those questions is, “What happens if I get a ticket?” That is a very good question because the car is not in the renter’s name. The car is in the name of the rental car company. This means things can get a bit complicated, depending on the company that you’re using. Sure, it is simple to say that you just shouldn’t do anything to get a ticket. However, it isn’t always that easy.

Getting the ticket

So let’s say you get a parking ticket. You didn’t mean to. You just simply didn’t see a sign or parked at a parking meter and forgot to pay it. So you go home, write a check, and mail the payment for your ticket to the city. However, you find a couple weeks later that you receive a letter from the rental car company telling you the ticket has not been paid. You know you paid it, so you call the city and they tell you that they received the payment. You then call the rental car company and you find out that they will charge a fee to you for you having to pass their contact information to the city that has issued you the ticket. This is because it is then on their record that one of their cars received a parking ticket. The catch to this is the fact that the officer issuing the ticket has to take down the VIN and license plate numbers on the car, which are registered under the rental car company.

Sometimes, the only way a fee is assessed is if the car rental company pays the fee and then they pass on the cost to the customer. However, in an instance where you pay the ticket and the car rental company contacts you, chances are they have not checked to see if the ticket was paid. These companies receive thousands of tickets per day and do not have the manpower to check if each and every ticket was paid. When the municipality that issued the ticket contacts the rental car company about a citation, they automatically assume that the ticket was not paid. Sometimes you can fax a receipt from the original payment to the car rental company to have your money refunded. However, the car rental company will charge a fee.

If you receive a speeding ticket, then the penalty is against you and not the car you are driving. Your personal driver’s license is involved. The police do check the plates to ensure everything is in check, but it is you who has to pay the penalty and not the car rental company. In fact, the car rental company may not be notified that such a citation occurred in one of their cars. The only way is if something happens you do not pay your fine. If the car rental company has to get involved in that case, then you can expect some kind of additional cost.

Exceptions

There are no exceptions to parking tickets, but the one exception regarding a speeding ticket being against you and not the car is in the case you are caught speeding on camera. If the camera catches you speeding, the authorities use the license plate number to find out where to send the ticket. The rental car company gets the ticket. They may pay it, but will pass the cost and a fee on to you for taking care of it. Yes, it is good to be careful, but it is also good to know how you can be ticketed in a rental car just in case it happens to you.

Source by Amy Nutt

27 Jul
Vancouver Tours Blog

Does a Driving Record Affect a Person’s Ability to Rent a Car?

People who do not rent cars often from rental car companies are not always aware of how their driving record will affect their ability to rent a car, or if it will matter at all. When renting a car, it is a good idea to check with the rental car company to inquire about any disclosures or specific rules they may have about your ability to rent a car and your driving record. Some rental car companies will check with the Motor Vehicle Department to ask for a copy of your driving record. In order for them to do this, you often must submit a written form of permission for them to gain access to this information.

Rental car companies each have their own regulations and requirements that must be met in order for a person to rent a car. Some rental car companies will check a person’s driving record the first time a person rents a car from them. After the first time, if the car is returned in good condition and there were no collisions or fender benders in which the car renter was responsible, the driving record is generally not checked again by the same company unless a significant amount of time has passed before the next time the person rents a car from the company.

If you have a less than stable and perfect driving record, it is possible that you may be charged a higher fee for renting a car. Some car rental companies specialize in renting cars to drivers who have had accidents and speeding tickets in the past. Drinking and driving offenses are not always overlooked by car rental companies; and depending on the offense and how long it has been since it occurred, this could prevent you from being able to rent a car, even if you do have a valid driver’s license.

You may also face the possibility of not being given the option for insurance on the rental car and will be required to pay for the rental car insurance if your record of driving has been an unstable one. Speeding tickets, drinking and driving, collisions, reckless driving tickets, and fender benders all put a negative smear on your driving record. While these tickets and offenses may not necessarily prevent you from being able to rent a car, it can make it more expensive to do so.

Taking a driving class will help to put positive marks on your driving record and this can make all future car rentals and auto insurance prices more affordable for you. Researching several different auto rental companies and making price comparisons for high risk drivers can help you to find the best deals. You may simply need to put down a larger deposit than someone who has a good driving record. These deposits are refundable if there are no accidents while you rented the vehicle and if you return the vehicle in the same condition that it was rented.

Source by William C Crenshaw

26 Jul
Vancouver Tours Blog

Advantages Of a Car Hire Service

Before acknowledging the many advantages of car hire service, one should know what services car hire company provides. A car hire company would offer both cars for rental purposes and chauffeur driven luxurious cars for pick and drop services.

So if you are travelling to a new city or country, you can select from the different models of cars available which suit your purpose and budget and explore the new places. Similarly if it is a special occasion, like your wedding day, or you just need a reliable service to pick you up from home and drop you at the airport, you can call the car hire services and they would be happy to help you out.

Now let’s take a peek at some of the advantages you get if you opt for car hire services.

  • First and foremost, hiring a car is going to keep you away from the trouble of waiting for the cab, or looking for the right bus. If you hire the services of a rental car, then you are going to witness convenience right from the time that you land at the airport. The car is going to be waiting for you at the airport so that when you arrive you have transportation ready.
  • Car hire services will not prove to be expensive if you strike a good deal with them. You might think that getting a cab or taking a bus to different places is a cheap way of travelling around the city or the country. But it will not be if you have to go to a dozen places; if you add all the cab fare together, you are going to find that it is either going to cost you the same or more. Moreover taking a cab or bus is very inconvenient and this brings us to the next advantage.
  • Convenience is one of the biggest advantages that hiring a car service has. If you are travelling with your parents or young kids, then it is more convenient to travel in a car that is either chauffer driven or driven by you. This way you can control the speed and kind of be your own boss. Many cab drivers are very rigid about turning on the air conditioner or sometimes they don’t shut off the horrible loud music that is playing in their car. Similarly, travelling in a bus is not easy especially when you trying to make it as a family vacation.
  • You get to save a lot of time when you have your own car to travel in. Waiting for a cab or waiting for the bus on the right route can waste useful hours of your time. If you really want to explore the new place, then it is best that you leave your hotel room early in the morning to visit the most number of places there; it isn’t every day that you get to travel to a new country.

Source by Jo Ramani

03 Jul
Vancouver Tours Blog

The Car Rental Industry

Market Overview

The car rental industry is a multi-billion dollar sector of the US economy. The US segment of the industry averages about $18.5 billion in revenue a year. Today, there are approximately 1.9 million rental vehicles that service the US segment of the market. In addition, there are many rental agencies besides the industry leaders that subdivide the total revenue, namely Dollar Thrifty, Budget and Vanguard. Unlike other mature service industries, the rental car industry is highly consolidated which naturally puts potential new comers at a cost-disadvantage since they face high input costs with reduced possibility of economies of scale. Moreover, most of the profit is generated by a few firms including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis. For the fiscal year of 2004, Enterprise generated $7.4 billion in total revenue. Hertz came in second position with about $5.2 billion and Avis with $2.97 in revenue.

Level of Integration

The rental car industry faces a completely different environment than it did five years ago. According to Business Travel News, vehicles are being rented until they have accumulated 20,000 to 30,000 miles until they are relegated to the used car industry whereas the turn-around mileage was 12,000 to 15,000 miles five years ago. Because of slow industry growth and narrow profit margin, there is no imminent threat to backward integration within the industry. In fact, among the industry players only Hertz is vertically integrated through Ford.

Scope of Competition

There are many factors that shape the competitive landscape of the car rental industry. Competition comes from two main sources throughout the chain. On the vacation consumer’s end of the spectrum, competition is fierce not only because the market is saturated and well guarded by industry leader Enterprise, but competitors operate at a cost disadvantage along with smaller market shares since Enterprise has established a network of dealers over 90 percent the leisure segment. On the corporate segment, on the other hand, competition is very strong at the airports since that segment is under tight supervision by Hertz. Because the industry underwent a massive economic downfall in recent years, it has upgraded the scale of competition within most of the companies that survived. Competitively speaking, the rental car industry is a war-zone as most rental agencies including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis among the major players engage in a battle of the fittest.

Growth

Over the past five years, most firms have been working towards enhancing their fleet sizes and increasing the level of profitability. Enterprise currently the company with the largest fleet in the US has added 75,000 vehicles to its fleet since 2002 which help increase its number of facilities to 170 at the airports. Hertz, on the other hand, has added 25,000 vehicles and broadened its international presence in 150 counties as opposed to 140 in 2002. In addition, Avis has increased its fleet from 210,000 in 2002 to 220,000 despite recent economic adversities. Over the years following the economic downturn, although most companies throughout the industry were struggling, Enterprise among the industry leaders had been growing steadily. For example, annual sales reached $6.3 in 2001, $6.5 in 2002, $6.9 in 2003 and $7.4 billion in 2004 which translated into a growth rate of 7.2 percent a year for the past four years. Since 2002, the industry has started to regain its footing in the sector as overall sales grew from $17.9 billion to $18.2 billion in 2003. According to industry analysts, the better days of the rental car industry have yet to come. Over the course of the next several years, the industry is expected to experience accelerated growth valued at $20.89 billion each year following 2008 “which equates to a CAGR of 2.7 % [increase] in the 2003-2008 period.”

Distribution

Over the past few years the rental car industry has made a great deal of progress to facilitate it distribution processes. Today, there are approximately 19,000 rental locations yielding about 1.9 million rental cars in the US. Because of the increasingly abundant number of car rental locations in the US, strategic and tactical approaches are taken into account in order to insure proper distribution throughout the industry. Distribution takes place within two interrelated segments. On the corporate market, the cars are distributed to airports and hotel surroundings. On the leisure segment, on the other hand, cars are distributed to agency owned facilities that are conveniently located within most major roads and metropolitan areas.

In the past, managers of rental car companies used to rely on gut-feelings or intuitive guesses to make decisions about how many cars to have in a particular fleet or the utilization level and performance standards of keeping certain cars in one fleet. With that methodology, it was very difficult to maintain a level of balance that would satisfy consumer demand and the desired level of profitability. The distribution process is fairly simple throughout the industry. To begin with, managers must determine the number of cars that must be on inventory on a daily basis. Because a very noticeable problem arises when too many or not enough cars are available, most car rental companies including Hertz, Enterprise and Avis, use a “pool” which is a group of independent rental facilities that share a fleet of vehicles. Basically, with the pools in place, rental locations operate more efficiently since they reduce the risk of low inventory if not eliminate rental car shortages.

Market Segmentation

Most companies throughout the chain make a profit based of the type of cars that are rented. The rental cars are categorized into economy, compact, intermediate, premium and luxury. Among the five categories, the economy sector yields the most profit. For instance, the economy segment by itself is responsible for 37.7 percent of the total market revenue in 2004. In addition, the compact segment accounted for 32.3 percent of overall revenue. The rest of the other categories covers the remaining 30 percent for the US segment.

Historical Levels of Profitability

The overall profitability of the car rental industry has been shrinking in recent years. Over the past five years, the industry has been struggling just like the rest of the travel industry. In fact, between the years 2001 and 2003 the US market has experienced a moderate reduction in the level of profitability. Specifically, revenue fell from $19.4 billion in 2000 to $18.2 billion in 2001. Subsequently, the overall industry revenue eroded further to $17.9 billion in 2002; an amount that is minimally higher than $17.7 billion which is the overall revenue for the year 1999. In 2003, the industry experienced a barely noticeable increase which brought profit to $18.2 billion. As a result of the economic downturn in recent years, some of the smaller players that were highly dependent on the airline industry have done a great deal of strategy realignments as a way of preparing their companies to cope with eventual economic adversities that may surround the industry. For the year 2004, on the other hand, the economic situation of most firms have gradually improved throughout the industry since most rental agencies have returned far greater profits relative to the anterior years. For instance, Enterprise realized revenues of $7.4 billion; Hertz returned revenues of $5.2 billion and Avis with $2.9 billion in revenue for the fiscal year of 2004. According to industry analysts, the rental car industry is expected to experience steady growth of 2.6 percent in revenue over the next several years which translates into an increase in profit.

Competitive Rivalry Among Sellers

There are many factors that drive competition within the car rental industry. Over the past few years, broadening fleet sizes and increasing profitability has been the focus of most companies within the car rental industry. Enterprise, Hertz and Avis among the leaders have been growing both in sales and fleet sizes. In addition, competition intensifies as firms are constantly trying to improve their current conditions and offer more to consumers. Enterprise has nearly doubled its fleet size since 1993 to approximately 600,000 cars today. Because the industry operates on such narrow profit margins, price competition is not a factor; however, most companies are actively involved in creating values and providing a range of amenities from technological gadgets to even free rental to satisfy customers. Hertz, for example, integrates its Never-Lost GPS system within its cars. Enterprise, on the other hand, uses sophisticated yield management software to manage its fleets.

Finally, Avis uses its OnStar and Skynet system to better serve the consumer base and offers free weekend rental if a customer rents a car for five consecutive days Moreover, the consumer base of the rental car industry has relatively low to no switching cost. Conversely, rental agencies face high fixed operating costs including property rental, insurance and maintenance. Consequently, rental agencies are sensitively pricing there rental cars just to recover operating costs and adequately meet their customers demands. Furthermore, because the industry experienced slow growth in recent years due to economic stagnation that resulted in a massive decline in both corporate travel and the leisure sector, most companies including the industry leaders are aggressively trying to reposition their firms by gradually lessening the dependency level on the airline industry and regaining their footing in the leisure competitive arena.

The Potential Entry of new Competitors

Entering the car rental industry puts new comers at a serious disadvantage. Over the past few years following the economic downturn of 2001, most major rental companies have started increasing their market shares in the vacation sector of the industry as a way of insuring stability and lowering the level of dependency between the airline and the car rental industry. While this trend has engendered long term success for the existing firms, it has heightened the competitive landscape for new comers. Because of the severity of competition, existing firms such as Enterprise, Hertz and Avis carefully monitor their competitive radars to anticipate Sharpe retaliatory strikes against new entrants. Another barrier to entry is created because of the saturation level of the industry.

For example, Enterprise has taken the first mover advantage with its 6000 facilities by saturating the leisure segment thereby placing not only high restrictions on the most common distribution channels, but also high resource requirements for new firms. Today, Enterprise has a rental location within 15 miles of 90 percent of the US population. Because of the network of dealers Enterprise has established around the nation, it has become relatively stable, more recession proof and most importantly, less reliant on the airline industry compared to its competitors. Hertz, on the other hand, is utilizing the full spectrum of its 7200 stores to secure its position in the marketplace. Basically, the emergence of most of the industry leaders into the leisure market not only drives rivalry, but also it varies directly with the level of complexity of entering the car rental industry.

The Threat of Substitute

There are many substitutes available for the car rental industry. From a technological standpoint, renting a car to go the distance for a meeting is a less attractive alternative as opposed to video conferencing, virtual teams and collaboration software with which a company can immediately setup a meeting with its employees from anywhere around the world at a cheaper cost. In addition, there are other alternatives including taking a cab which is a satisfactory substitute relative to quality and switching cost, but it may not be as attractively priced as a rental car for the course of a day or more. While public transportation is the most cost efficient of the alternatives, it is more costly in terms of the process and time it takes to reach one’s destination. Finally, because flying offers convenience, speed and performance, it is a very enticing substitute; however, it is an unattractive alternative in terms of price relative to renting a car. On the business segment, car rental agencies have more protection against substitutes since many companies have implemented travel policies that establish the parameters of when renting a car or using a substitute is the best course of action.

According to Tracy Esch, an Advantage director of marketing operations, her company rents cars up to a 200-mile trip before considering an alternative. Basically, the threat of substitute is reasonably low in the car rental industry since the effects the substitute products have do not pose a significant threat of profit erosion throughout the industry.

The Bargaining Power of Suppliers

Supplier power is low in the car rental industry. Because of the availability of substitutes and the level of competition, suppliers do not have a great deal of influence in the terms and conditions of supplying the rental cars. Because the rental cars are usually purchased in bulk, rental car agents have significant influence over the terms of the sale since they possess the ability to play one supplier against another to lower the sales price. Another factor that reduces supplier power is the absence of switching cost. That is, buyers are not affected from purchasing from one supplier over another and most importantly, changing to different supplier’s products is barely noticeable and does not affect consumer’s rental choices.

The Bargaining Power of Buyers

While the leisure sector has little or no power, the business segment possesses a significant amount of influence in the car rental industry. An interesting trend that is currently underway throughout the industry is forcing car rental companies to adapt to the needs of corporate travelers. This trend significantly reduces supplier power or the rental firms’ power and increases corporate buyer power since the business segment is excruciatingly price sensitive, well informed about the industry’s price structure, purchase in larger quantities and they use the internet to force lower prices. Vacation buyers, on the other hand, have less influence over the rental terms. Because vacationers are usually less price sensitive, purchase in lesser amounts or purchase more infrequently, they have weak bargaining power.

Five Forces

Today the car rental industry is facing a completely different environment than it did five years ago. Competitively speaking, the revolution of the five forces around the car rental industry exerts some strong economic pressure that has significantly tarnished the competitive attractiveness of the industry. As a result of the economic downturn in recent years, many companies went under namely Budget and the Vanguard Group because their business infrastructure succumbed to the untenability of the competitive environment. Today, very few firms including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis return a slightly above-average revenue compared to the rest of the industry. Realistically speaking, the car rental sector is not a very attractive industry because of the level of competition, the barriers to entry and the competitive pressure from the substitute firms.

Strategic Group Mapping

As a moderately concentrated sector, there is a clear hierarchy in the car rental industry. From an economic standpoint, disparities exist from a number of dimensions including revenue, fleet size and the market size each firm holds in the market place. For instance, Enterprise dominates the industry with a fleet size of approximately 600,000 vehicles along with its market size and its level of profitability. Hertz comes in second position with its number of market shares and fleet volume. In addition, Avis ranks third on the map. Avis is among one of the companies that is having issues recovering its revenue margins from prior to the economic downturn. For instance, in 2000 Avis returned revenues of approximately $4.23 billion. Over the course of the next several years following 2000, the revenue of Avis has been significantly lower than that of 2000. As a way of reducing uncertainty most companies are gradually lessening the level of dependency on the airline industry and emerging the leisure market. This trend may not be in the best interest of Hertz since its business strategy is intricately linked to the airports.

Key Success Factors

There are many key success factors that drive profitability throughout the car rental industry. Capacity utilization is one of the factors that determines success in the industry. Because rental firms experience loss of revenue when there are either too few or too many cars sitting in their lots, it is of paramount importance to efficiently manage the fleets. This success factor represents a big strength for the industry since it lowers if not completely eliminates the possibly of running short on rental cars. Efficient distribution is another factor that keeps the industry profitable. Despite the positive relationship between fleet sizes and the level of profitability, firms are constantly growing their fleet sizes because of the competitive forces that surround the industry. In addition, convenience is one of the crucial attributes by which consumers select rental firms. That is, car rental consumers are more prone to renting cars from firms that have convenient rental and drop off locations. Another key success factor that is common among competing firms is the integration of technology in their business processes. Through technology, for instance, the car rental companies create ways to meet consumer demand by making renting a car a very agreeable ordeal by adding the convenience of online rental among other alternatives. Furthermore, firms have integrated navigation systems along with roadside assistance to offer customers the piece of mind when renting cars.

Industry Attractiveness

There are many factors that impact the attractiveness of the car rental industry. Because the industry is moderately concentrated, it puts new market entrants at a disadvantage. That is, its low concentration represents a natural barrier to entering the industry as it allows existing firm to anticipate sharp retaliations against new entrants. Because of the risks associated with entering the industry among other factors, it is not a very attractive sector of the marketplace. From a competitive standpoint, the leisure market is 90 percent saturated because of the active efforts of Enterprise to dominate this sector of the market. On the other hand, the airport terminals are heavily guarded by Hertz. Realistically speaking, entry in the industry offers low profitability relative to the costs and risks associated. For most consumers, the main determining factors of choosing one company over another are price and convenience. Because of this reason, rental firms are very circumspect about setting their rates and that generally force even the industry major players in the position of offering more to the consumers for less just to remain competitive. Hertz, for example, offers wireless internet to its customers just to add more convenience to their travel plans. Avis on the other hand, offers free weekend specials if a customer rents a car for five consecutive weekdays. Based on the impact of the five forces, the car rental sector is not a very attractive industry to potential new market entrants.

Conclusion

The rental car industry is in a state of recovery. Although it may seem like the industry is performing well financially, it is nonetheless gradually regaining its footing relative to its actual economic position within the last five years. As a way of insuring profitability, besides seeking market shares and stability, most companies throughout the chain have a common goal that deals with lowering the level of dependency on the airline industry and moving toward the leisure segment. This state of motion has engendered some fierce competition among industry competitors as they attempt to defend their market shares. From a futuristic perspective, the better days of the car rental industry have yet to come. As the level of profitability increases, I believe that most of the industry leaders including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis will be bounded by the economic and competitive barriers of mobility of their strategic groups and new comers will have a better chance of infiltrating and realizing success in the car rental industry.

Sources

“Passenger Car Rental.” Encyclopedia of Global Industries. Dec. 2004. Gale group. 02 Feb 2005. http://galenet.galegroup.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu/servlet/BCRC.

“Car & Truck Rental.” Hoover’s AB&D Company. Jan. 2005 . Hoovers. 04 Feb 2005. http://premium.hoovers.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu/subscribe/ind/factsheet.xhtm. “

Rental car foes war on each other’s turf.” The Associate Press. Fall 2004. The Enquirer. 08 March 2005. http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/10/11/biz_rentalcars111.html.

“United States – Car Rental.” Data Monitor Industry Market Research. Nov. 2004. Gale. 12 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu/sessions?products=BNI.

“A synthesis of tactical fleet planning models for the car rental industry.” IIE Transactions. Sept. 2003. Gale. 12 March 2005. [http://www.fleet-central.com/arn/01stat3.cfm].

“Corporate travel plans moving to Web.” Crain’s Chicago Business. Apr. 2001. ProQuest. 12 March 2005. http://www.proquest.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.

“Tracy Esch.” “Car rental market leaders make rebound .” Business Travel News. May 2002. Gale. 12 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.

“Avis Equips Rental Car with Satcomms 1999.” Newsbytes News Network. Oct. 1999. Gale. 12 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.

“Car Rental In the United States.” Data Monitor Industry Market Research. Nov. 2004 . Gale. 13 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.

“Global – Car Rental.” Data Monitor Industry Market Research. Nov. 2004 . Gale. 13 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.

“Corporate and Travel Trends.” Travel Trade Gazette. Nov. 2003 . ProQuest. 14 March 2005. http://www.proquest.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.

“Car rental market leaders make rebound.” Business Travel News. May. 2002 . Gale. 14 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.

“Car rental market leaders make rebound.” Business Travel News. May. 2002 . Gale. 14 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.

“Ovation Travel.” Wall Street Transcript. May. 2002 . LexisNexis. 14 March 2004. http://www.lexisnexis.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu/cis.

“Avis Offers New Deal for Free Weekends.” Newswire. Feb. 2004 . LexisNexis. 15 March 2004. http://www.lexisnexis.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu/cis.

Source by Rodrigue Monestime

02 Jul
Vancouver Tours Blog

How to Get a Lifetime Ban From a Rental Car Company

Okay so, in my life I’ve done quite a bit of traveling, and I’ve probably stated more hotel rooms than 95% of the population. Indeed, I’ve traveled to more cities than 99% of the population, and I’ve also been banned from more rental car agencies that I care to remember. Why you ask? Because in my company I put far too many miles on rental cars, no, it’s not because I’m afraid to fly, I’m actually a pilot, it’s because I am a retired franchisor, and would when building my company drive from city to city, and I didn’t take airliners that much because I had too many stops along the way.

I can remember one time I rented a car in Georgia, and I put 48,000 miles on it in five weeks. In fact, I rented the car for $260 per week. You can imagine when I brought the car back how shocked they were, and angry, and how they wanted to ding my credit card for $10,000 more. However, I made them stick to the $260 per week, and I told them that was the deal, that’s what I signed up for, and it wasn’t my fault that I ran their car passed 26,000 miles, which is generally the point where they trade the car in because they have a deal with the auto auction.

You can understand that obviously putting nearly 50,000 miles on an automobile in five weeks and running out half of its useful life and only paying 1200+ dollars cost the auto rental company a ton of money. They lost, and I won, but that was the deal. Indeed they felt as if I took advantage of them, and I was banned for life from ever renting a car from that company again. Over the years similar scenarios, although not as many miles, had occurred. I am currently banned by four different auto rental car companies, for my lifetime.

You might laugh, but this is not very funny because auto rental car agencies and brand names often merge, and there aren’t as many as there were before, so there are now only a few that I can rent from. Suffice it to say I’d recommend that you try not to take advantage of the Rent-A-Car companies, but still get the best deal for yourself.

Otherwise you are liable to get yourself also banned from the Rent-A-Car companies, and that might hurt your ability to travel in the future. Indeed, I’ve been to some airports where three quarters of the Rent-A-Car companies were out of cars, and the only company that had a car left, well it was one that I’d already been banned from renting at. Perhaps you will please consider all this and think on it.

Source by Lance Winslow

12