Staycation trends look set to continue this winter as the increased burden of Christmas shopping and family together time impacts on holidaymakers. Forecasts have suggested that this holiday season most Britons are ditching the traditional European jaunts in favour of heading to the countryside or visiting the grandparents.
Tightened purse-strings have seen demand for car hire skyrocket as weekends away come ever closer to home and the low cost or renting a car means that it will be one of the most popular forms of travel this year and next.
Savvy stock market watchers are keeping a keen eye on hire firm [...]

The latest regional round of the World Travel Awards were held last week at Mexico’s palatial Hacienda Res Rios resort as the industry recognised the best of the best from the Central and North American region. The event on the Mayan Riviera is a lead up to the WTA Grand Final which will take place at London’s Grosvenor Lodge on November 8th.
This year’s award winners featured traditional powerhouses Europcar, Avis, Marriot Hotels, Cozumel, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and American Airlines and saw host to a who’s who of industry executives and major players from around the region. The event was [...]

The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association has hit back at recent revelations that customers had unwittingly purchased ex-rental cars under the guise of second vehicles claiming that the outdated or off-loaded fleets represented excellent value.
Last week it was reported that numerous purchasers of supposedly second-hand vehicles were outraged when they discovered that their new purchase had been part of rental fleets primarily owned by hire car giants Avis and Europcar. An inquiry has since been called for into the dubious marketing practice of claiming that ex-rental cars had only one previous owner.
The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association has [...]

Rental vehicles in the United States and Canada are set to become smoke-free as the Avis Budget Group announced today its new policy which will roll-out as early as next month.
The decision will provide not only a healthier environment for users, but will also save on cleaning costs and comes as a result of analysis of requests from customers.
Executive Vice President for the group Larry De Shon confirmed that Avis receives more smoke-free vehicle special requests than any other type.
The group, which also operates Budget Rent A Car, will also extend the smoking ban to its employees and sub-contractors who [...]

Each year approximately 150,000 people working in the travel industry gather to celebrate the World Travel Awards. In 2008 the awards for North America were held in Orlando Florida where Avis Rent A Car was honored for being North America’s leading car hire service.
Tom Garland, Executive VP of Sales for Avis said, “This honor is a tribute to the thousands of employees who try harder everyday for our customers.” Avis, one of the largest car hire companies operating in North America has more than 2000 locations worldwide with a majority of those operating within the United States.
Avis is well known [...]

The Avis Budget Group announced last Monday that Budget Rent A Car and Avis Rent A Car are forming an alliance with Coby Electronics in order to begin offering their customers portable DVD players to rent at locations in Puerto Rico, Canada, and the United States. This service, named Flicks-To-Go, features the TF-DVD 7050 from Coby Electronics, which is a portable DVD player which easily attaches to the back headrest on the front seat of a car.
The DVD player from Coby Electronics features an LCD screen of 7 inches and plays CDs, MP3s, DVDs, and CD-RWs, as well as [...]

In the 2nd quarter, the net income of Avis dropped by 38%, following the company warning that the car hire business has been suffering. Ronald Nelson, the Chief Executive of the car hire firm, said that the high cost of fuel and the weakening economy started affecting the volume of commercial travelers during the quarter, and with that combined with mileage rates and hiring times being lower than anticipated, their 2nd quarter became a challenging environment to operate in. Avis is cutting levels of their staff and trimming the size of their fleet, as well as looking for [...]

In a very strategic and significant move, Avis has signed a contract with Flybe that will make them an exclusive car hire partner with the airline for 3 years. The move comes as a result from the successful relationship that the firm has enjoyed for the last 5 years. Simon Lilley, the Marketing Director of Flybe, said that they are delighted having Avis on board with them for an additional 3 years. Their renewed partnership with them is just more proof that the carrier continues to be committed in investing heavily into their products on the ground, he continued, and [...]

Avis Car Rental is offering its customers a discounted rate on car hires if they are panning on hiring a car during a holiday or break in Eastern or Central Europe. Those who have made plans to visit Poland, Hungary, Croatia, or Bulgaria, which includes other countries located in these parts of Europe as well, will have the eligibility to receive a 15% off discount for their car hire costs, as long as the customer books the hired vehicle for 3 consecutive days at the least. This promotion is available until the end of this month, and if travelers miss [...]

Thousands of drivers in the United Kingdom are in car accidents while they are traveling abroad and driving on roads they are not quite familiar with. Avis is now stepping in to issue a warning as travelers are beginning their great summer holidays. Daniel McCarthy says that travel assistance and insurance is necessary to have, and travelers should not be cutting the cost of hiring a car by not including these. They are advising everyone who is traveling abroad to hire a car with Avis preferably. They are, however, offering tips to both those who choose to hire a car [...]