Chris Brown, executive editor of Business Fleet, Auto Rental News, and Fleet Forward, offers his perspective on fleets, auto rental, and the new mobility ecosystem. Along with related publications and online newsletters, Chris produces the International Car Rental Show and the Fleet Forward Conference. Chris is relied on as an industry resource in matters by major media outlets such as the Washington Post, New York Times, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, and National Public Radio.
The coming year will begin with upside down fleet patterns, a constricted lending environment, a looming tax liability, and a changed rental customer. Yet by the second half, business could be gangbusters. Will you be ready?
The final day examined whether the car rental industry has turned the corner to meet next year’s challenges. The answer is not about the current travel outlook, which still isn’t pretty. It’s about how car rental companies are reacting to meet those conditions.
This day’s seminars offered advice on how to deal with lenders in a crisis, which COVID-19 claims to look out for, new business to source arising after the pandemic, and how to prepare for the increasing number of weather events in the U.S.
We learned that rental fleet allocation will be tight in the next few quarters, so operators will have to work harder to source vehicles. In this massive disruption, renter types are changing too. Third-party platforms are designed to find them.
Today was about industry prognostications, from the future of Hertz post-bankruptcy and next year’s used car market to the acceleration of car rental’s digital transformation.
Speakers from J.D. Power outlined surprising findings related to COVID-19 while ACRA outlined a member offer and 2021 priorities. We learned how car rental rates are shaping up and to not let our guard down on Graves protections.
In a few weeks, the world seemed to teeter on its axis and then spin out of control. Today, businesses willing to evolve will be able to meet the needs of tomorrow’s travelers, while those choosing to stay put won’t survive.
When normal incentive structures go out the window, how do you keep key talent in times of severe financial distress?
This could be car rental’s time for subscriptions — or another noble experiment.
Lyft gets a ready supply of vehicles while Sixt gets an alternative outlet for its fleet — yet this partnership’s potential long-term evolution could be the true art in this deal.
An imbalance of cars and the high cost to move them to where they’re needed, rentals booked for low rates in April, and higher incidences of fraud and damage plague the shift to local rentals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Advantage has suffered three bankruptcies and ping-ponged from five ownership groups with wildly divergent goals. Yet a slimmed down Advantage under entrepreneurial ownership just might have a chance.
Bankruptcy proceedings can impact franchise contracts, fleet payments, and corporate accounts. When the dust settles, Hertz 2.0 will have ripples beyond the franchisees.
The outcome may not be as negative as feared, but there’s a greater issue for car rental companies in all this.
With talk of a Hertz bankruptcy and federal bailouts still pending, where are the green shoots of a recovery for car rental, and who is best poised to take advantage?
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