Political Protests Hurt Car Rental Business in Bahrain
Office closures and drop in sales hit auto rental companies in region.
Rental car companies in Bahrain have seen a dramatic drop in sales and have had trouble retrieving cars because of political protests in the region, according to the Gulf Daily News.
Many of the companies closed their offices on March 16, but expected to resume normal operations later in the week.
Many renters had to leave Bahrain quickly and were unable to return the vehicles. A spokesman for Europcar said the company had to pick some vehicles up from various hotels because of renters' worries about security.
Another company, Elite Rent-A-Car, noted that damage to one returned car appeared to have been caused by vandals, but the other cars have been returned in good condition.
Al Kobaisi Car Rental, rented out zero cars on some days. The company previously booked 10 to 15 vehicle rentals a day.
Many car rental companies have resorted to half-day opening times on at least one day during the week of March 14.
More Rental Operations
How Better Cleaning Processes Improve Rental Fleet Efficiency
A consistent approach to vehicle cleaning helps rental operators reduce turnaround delays and return vehicles to service without compromising cleanliness.
Read More →
Clean on Paper: Red Flags in Exotic Car Rental Verification
A suspicious $45,000 Lamborghini booking reveals the strengths and limitations of renter verification, from forged insurance documents to coverage gaps and unauthorized drivers. (Part 2 of 3)
Read More →
Turo and Tesla Take the Next Step Toward Autonomous Car Rentals
The partnership brings Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) technology into the rental experience, offering a glimpse of how increasingly automated vehicles could change car rental.
Read More →
How Rental Operators Can Navigate Personalized Pricing Rules
As regulators scrutinize the use of customer data in pricing, rental operators need to know whether they can explain why one renter pays more than another.
Read More →
Direct, Broker or Hybrid? How Travel Retailers Source Rental Cars
As travel retailers weigh direct supplier relationships against third-party distribution, rental operators need to understand how those decisions affect their business.
Read More →
How Did This Independent Rental Operator Grow to 170 Vehicles in 4 Years?
With 170 vehicles across three Kentucky locations, Joel Price relies on an overseas team to handle reservations, payments, and after-hours customer service. It's one part of an unconventional approach to growing an independent rental operation.
Read More →
What Does It Take to Succeed in B2B Rentals?
The fundamentals may be familiar to daily car rental operators, but project-based truck rentals put different demands on the fleet and the business.
Read More →
NPR Builds on International Partnerships to Grow Rental Bookings
With Ana Laborde supporting broker development, NPR Auto Group is tailoring distribution strategies, rate packages, and partnerships to grow international reservations across its three brands.
Read More →
Advantage, Sixt Place Among Top Five in Annual Satisfaction Study
While Enterprise and National retain the top spots in JD Power’s 2026 rankings, the latest customer satisfaction results suggest renters can find competitive service beyond the biggest car rental names.
Read More →
The $100,000 Insurance Trap in Exotic Car Rentals
Exotic rental agencies often rely on customers’ personal auto policies to protect six-figure vehicles. But policy language can dramatically change the coverage for vehicles over $100,000 MSRP.
Read More →