Blizzard Ties Up Car Rental Customers
Storm in New York causes shortage of cars for Hertz.
After a blizzard that hit the New York area on Dec. 19 and 20, Hertz Global Holdings Inc. experienced a shortage of cars in the area, meaning Hertz customers were unable to get the vehicles they had already reserved, according to Bloomberg News.
The storm caused a rush of one-way rentals out of the area. About 10 inches of snow fell in New York City, and more than 1,600 flights were canceled.
Travelers, who were grounded at local airports because of the storm, drove several hundred cars out of the New York area. Hertz could not return many of the vehicles to New York in time for holiday reservations.
Hertz is working with limousine companies and other transportation services companies to aid customers.
Hertz, which reduced the size of its car-rental fleet during the past two years, began increasing its fleet size by about 18 percent this quarter.
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