Representatives from more than 85 countries and territories came together in St. Louis to participate in a global franchise meeting hosted by Enterprise Holdings.

“This event is specifically designed to provide a place for our franchise partners to come together and share best practices,” said Pete Smith, vice president of global franchising at Enterprise Holdings. “And since St. Louis is our hometown and world headquarters, we think it is an ideal place for business partners from all over the world to find some ‘middle ground’ and discuss a variety of issues, from operational procedures and employee recruitment strategies to urban mobility concepts and ethics and compliance policies.”

Customer service, however, remains the No. 1 priority for Enterprise’s integrated global network of regional subsidiaries and franchise locations. “As we’ve continued to expand our global footprint, we’ve learned that good customer service translates well in any language or culture,” said Smith, who was a keynote speaker at the 2016 International Car Rental Show.

For years, Enterprise’s footprint outside of North America was limited to several major markets in Western Europe — until the company’s 2007 acquisition of the National and Alamo brands, which included franchise markets in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In 2012, Enterprise Holdings acquired car rental operations in France and Spain and then made an investment in a car rental business in China. Later that same year, the company also announced it was franchising its Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand.

Enterprise then launched a globalization initiative and international franchising campaign, according to the company. Today the Enterprise, National, and Alamo brands operate in more than 85 countries and territories, including North America, Central America, South America, the Caribbean and Europe, as well as parts of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.