TULSA, Okla. -- Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. announced that franchisees in Harrisburg, Penn.; Des Moines, Iowa; and Myrtle Beach, S.C. have opened new Dollar Rent A Car locations in addition to their separate Thrifty Car Rental operations.

Bob Gardill is the owner of the Harrisburg operation. Harvey Flacks owns the Des Moines location, and Jeff Schoepfel owns the Myrtle Beach operation.

The Des Moines and Myrtle Beach Dollar and Thrifty operations are located in terminal in the respective airports. The Harrisburg operation is located off-airport.

As part of a new program, franchisees of both the Dollar and Thrifty brands may now own and operate both brands in a single market, as long as DTG has decided not to operate corporately in that market.

Similar to DTG's own corporate stores, the dual-franchise operations will have the ability to share back-office functions, maintenance and fleet between the two brands. All Thrifty and Dollar marketing and sales processes and customer "touch points" will be kept separate, and served by brand-specific Thrifty and Dollar staff.

Harvey Flacks, a veteran of the car rental business, has been a Thrifty franchisee for more than 21 years. In addition to the Des Moines location, he owns Thrifty locations in Lincoln, Omaha, Kansas City and Wichita. "We consider the dual-franchise operation to be an excellent growth opportunity," Flacks said. "In addition to achieving operating synergies, we believe this provides us with an excellent opportunity to capture market share. We are very pleased with the addition of our Dollar operation and look forward to adding additional Dollar locations in the future."

"I've been a Thrifty franchisee for over 10 years," noted Jeff Schoepfel, owner of the Myrtle Beach operation. "In my opinion, the opportunity to operate both Dollar and Thrifty locations is exceptional. There are only eight national car rental brands today and we are proud to offer both the Dollar and the Thrifty brand to our customers."