The second 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 2014 Auto Rental Summit in Hollywood, Fla.

After receiving the highest score in the Renter Rated Program from Nov. 1, 2013 - Sept. 30, 2014, Executive Van Rentals won the award for overall performance. Located near Los Angeles International Airport, this independent car rental company offers cargo vans, minivans and passenger vans, as well as compact and full-size sedans.

“We are a family business and do our best to offer a high quality rental experience,” said Kevin Axner, manager of Executive Van Rentals. “We are very excited to receive this award. It means so much to us that the award is based on reviews that come directly from our customers and we greatly appreciate our customers taking time to post a review about our service. CRX’s Renter Rated system gives customers the ability to compare not only the pricing of each company but also the quality of each company. Thank you to CRX for giving us an avenue to connect with our customers.”

This year, honorable mentions were given to runners-up in three sub-categories: staff, vehicles and overall.

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.”

Los Angeles-based Black & White Car Rental received the best staff award. Specializing in luxury and exotic rentals, this independent car rental company has three locations in the Los Angeles area, including Beverly Hills, Hollywood and Los Angeles International Airport.

“The entire staff at Black & White Car Rental is truly ecstatic and honored to be chosen for the Car Rental Express Renter Rated Award for 2014,” said Dan Darvish, general manager. “We strive every day to make each of our customer’s rental experience a memorable one and appreciate the recognition by our loyal clients. We have always believed this is a business where your staff sets you apart, beyond simply the caliber of cars you rent.”

The best vehicles award was given to Airport Rent-A-Car, which is located near Los Angeles International Airport. Under the same owner as Executive Van Rentals, this independent car rental company offers everything from sedans to SUVs to cargo vans to convertibles to passenger vans.

Zoom Rent-A-Car received the award for best overall, or recommended most by past renters. Serving airport renters at Toronto Airport, Calgary Airport and Vancouver Airport, this independent car rental company has expanded to four locations in Canada.

Renter Rated is a CarRentalExpress.com exclusive program that allows renters to review and rate their CarRentalExpress.com rental in nine categories using 1 to 5 stars, along with an opportunity to provide written comments about the 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.

"It is with great pleasure and excitement to see the increased quality of the independent rental,” said Levy. “Having the ‘Renter Rated feedback’ allows the rental agency owner to focus on the weak areas and make sure the strong stay strong."

By Amy Winter