Survey: Uber, Lyft Not a Factor in Pricing for Most Car Rental Companies
When asked what is primarily responsible for the change in pricing in their market, only 4% of respondents chose ride hailing companies such as Uber or Lyft.

Photo via Pixabay
Perfect Price, an artificial intelligence pricing company, and Auto Rental News conducted an online survey in November regarding how franchised and independent car rental companies set rates.

Photo via Pixabay
When asked the factor primarily responsible for the change in pricing in their market, only 4% of respondents chose ride hailing companies such as Uber or Lyft. More prevalent factors in setting pricing were a new pricing strategy by their own company (32% of respondents) and a new pricing strategy by a competitor (20%).
Other highlights of the survey included:
- 57% of respondents said that retail pricing was their company's highest priority, four times higher than fleet acquisition planning or remarketing as the top priority.
- Fewer than 5% of respondents said they were "extremely satisfied" with their pricing, yet only 20% reported being unsatisfied.
- That compares to utilization, where a quarter of respondents were extremely satisfied with the utilization of their fleet, and 33% reported being "very satisfied."
- Only 24% of the market reported currently using pricing software (even though only 9% responded that their counter or reservation software is "extremely effective" at letting them manage prices).
A comprehensive survey summary is available on the Perfect Price blog.
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