Because of an airport bid that Dollar Rent A Car said included “many operational constraints,” the rental car company will no longer have a counter at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport starting in January.

An airport spokesman said the car rental company did not submit a bid to renew its five-year contract at the airport.

Patrick O’Daniels, president of the Dollar Rent A Car St. Louis franchise, said the Dollar’s decision was easy because the airport no longer requires their car rental counters to be manned at the main terminal, and that no counters are allowed at the East Terminal.

Even without the counter, Dollar Rent A Car will maintain busing customers to and from Lambert terminals and have four courtesy telephones in the baggage claim areas, he said.

By eliminating its fixed counter cost, Dollar can pass this savings on to its customers, O’Daniels added.

Lambert commissioners on Wednesday approved new five-year contracts with Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent A Car, National Car Rental, Hertz Corp., Avis, Budget, and Thrifty.

Lambert received $53 million in concession fees from the car rental companies in the first four years of the current five-year contract alone.