Air Fares & Hotels Down, Car Rates Up

(Jaunted.com - Nov 8, 2009) -- Why is it that the world is on sale for airfares and hotels but car ental car rates are as a high as ever?  According to a study by Abrams Travel Data Rate Index, rental prices increased nearly 50 percent from a year ago on daily rates for mid-sized cars booked a week in advance and weekly rates on compact cars.  In an AP item, Budget Travel's editor-in-chief said that car rental companies are much more nimble at responding to the current economic crisis than airlines or hotels in that they can trim their supply of cars very easily, maintaining a tight market for rentals.  Here are some tips to give the best value in rental cars:

Do your homework. Be prepared to shop around. And stay on top of your booking - and be prepared to change it if the price goes down.

Compare apples with apples: Know the terms so that you can properly compare prices: What is included in the price? Sometimes taxes and other fees are extras hidden in the small print.

Search for car rentals on travel-booking Web sites. It is easy to compare prices on such sites, but again dig deep to make sure you understand exactly what the price includes. Priceline.com is known for offering deals. According to the article, "The general rule of thumb is bid 40 percent less than what you're seeing advertised."

Book then rebook if the price goes down. With this tip, first check the fine print to see if you can rebook if a price drops. Here's how to do it. Book a couple of months in advance. Then keep checking back every 3 or 4 weeks, give your reservation number and see if the price has gone down.  Call the day before departure to see if there are any last-minute specials.

Loyalty Programs: Joining a car rental company's loyalty program is free and not only gets the client a discount, but as a preferred cusomter lets them skip the line at the airport to get your car right away as a preferred customer. 

 ** This RSS Feed is brought to you by www.DiveTravelNewswire.com **