The third Renter Rated Award from CarRentalExpress.com — a comparison and bookings site dedicated to independent car rental agencies — was presented during Tuesday’s awards presentation at the 2015 Auto Rental Summit in Hollywood, Fla.

Renter Rated is a CarRentalExpress.com program that allows renters to review and rate their CarRentalExpress.com rental in 9 categories: promptness of service, rate quote honored, staff knowledge, staff courteousness, vehicle availability, vehicle satisfaction, value, would rent again and recommend to others.

Rugged Rental won the award for highest overall rating in the Renter Rated Program from Nov. 1, 2014 to Sept. 30, 2015. 

Established in 1993, Rugged operates as an independent car rental company in Salt Lake City and Layton, Utah. It specializes in pickup truck, SUV and van rentals with an emphasis on four-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive options.

"We are honored and humbled to have earned the Rater Rated award for 2015," said Chad Knavel, Rugged Rental’s vice president and general manager. "We are a family business with a culture of integrity and excellent service, and we pride ourselves in doing things differently than the typical rental company. We feel our amazing team has elevated us to a higher level of customer service and overall renter satisfaction, and they are primarily responsible for this achievement."

“The Renter Rated system allows independent companies like Rugged Rental to continually analyze what we are doing well and where the opportunities are for improvement,” added Knavel. “It is important to us to constantly deliver products and services that make our clients rental experience exceptional, and we thank CRX for giving us this opportunity for continual growth.”

Awards were presented to companies that scored highest in three sub-categories: staff, vehicles and most recommended by renters.

Aamcar Receives Award for Best Staff

In the staff category, rentals were judged on these criteria: promptness of service, rate quote honored, staff knowledge and staff courteousness. In the vehicle category, rentals were judged on vehicle availability, vehicle satisfaction and value, while the overall category was judged on “recommend to others” and “would rent again.”

New York-based Aamcar received the award for best staff. Serving renters in the Upper West Side and through Manhattan, Aamcar provides sedans, SUVs, cargo vans, minivans and 15-passenger vans at two locations.

“We at Aamcar are very proud to receive this award,” said Amos Ben Israel, president of Aamcar, who was unable to attend the awards ceremony. “We have been partnering with Car Rental Express for many years and enjoy a cordial relationship. Thanks to everyone who voted for us. We love our customers and they love us. We will continue to strive for perfection.”

Spallco Rentals Wins Best Vehicles Award

The best vehicles award went to Spallco Rentals, which offers a variety of vehicles including sedans, minivans, SUVs, moving trucks, pickup trucks and passenger vans. This independent car rental company operates at three locations in Delaware (Wilmington, New Castle and Newark).

“Spallco Rentals is honored and proud to have received the Renter Rated Award in the Vehicle Category,” said Joseph Spall, president of Spallco. “We have always made it a top priority to offer a wide selection of vehicles for our customers to choose from. By consistently providing a rate to value ratio that makes sense for the customers, along with fulfilling their needs, Spallco has been able to maintain a loyal clientele that appreciates a competitively priced, high quality product.”

Airport Rent-A-Car Wins Most Recommended by Renters Award

Airport Rent-A-Car received the award for most recommended by past renters. Located near Los Angeles International Airport, this independent car rental company offers everything from sedans to SUVs to cargo vans to convertibles to passenger vans.

Airport Rent-A-Car won Renter Rated’s best vehicles award last year.

"The administration and the front line staff are very proud that we have won the Renter Rated Award two consecutive years in a row,” said Ali Mohageri, owner of Airport Rent-A-Car. “The rental car business as we know is a very competitive business, and our number one goal is to please the customer with the best service possible. We strive in every aspect of the rental process to make the customer happy, so they will tell their friends and family and hopefully return next time they need a car rental.”

Since 2005, Renter Rated has collected thousands of ratings of car rentals, according to Stan Levy, chair of Express Internet Technologies, the parent company of CarRentalExpress.com.

"Since Renter Rated is the Internet’s only rate and review system dedicated to independent car rental agencies, one of its values lies in that it compares the independent rental agency to its direct competitors,” said Levy. “It is very important to know how one stacks up in comparison to those in the same business."

By Amy Winter-Hercher