Is Something Up With Rental Cars?

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Ahhh, for some reason I'd never realized that. I thought you had to change both price and one of the other options.

Nope - I've entered many bids in which the only thing I changed was size of car. I fix the price I'm willing to pay and decide what the largest and smallest cars are that I'm willing to take. I then put in my bid for the largest car and work my way down until I either get an accepted bid or I've been rejected on the smallest car.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Ahhh, for some reason I'd never realized that. I thought you had to change both price and one of the other options.

Speaking of hotels . . . back when I useta PL a lot (100 nights a year), sometimes when I changed a zone, I would get a higher quality at the same price, or lower.

If I had gotten down to a 2 at a given price and I added another zone, I would get a three there. Sometimes I would lower the price when I added a zone and get a higher quality.

Depends on how many days I had to play with it, how many zones, how many qualities, etc.

Sweet.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Searching HW for 1/1 1PM through 1/14 Noon (saving a day), I get:

Full Size $25.95/day $464.12 total



I tried $20/day on PL and did not get it.

Anyhing bigger than full size is high with a 1/1 pickup

$21/day did not get it.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Searching HW for 1/1 1PM through 1/14 Noon (saving a day), I get:

Full Size $25.95/day $464.12 total



I tried $20/day on PL and did not get it.

Anything bigger than full size is high with a 1/1 pickup

That went up to $33.95/day, and being as New Years' Day is pickup day I figured I better bite the bullet before it goes up more.

$25/day did not get a fullsize on PL, but I got a midsize for $26/day, $457 with taxes and fees, for 13 days.

I got a Hampton Inn at the airport for the first night for $29, so we can pick the car up the next day and head to the resort.

We'll still get to eat at Shells.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

That went up to $33.95/day, and being as New Years' Day is pickup day I figured I better bite the bullet before it goes up more.

Today a fullsize on HW is $25.95 again.

[davidwillson Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close davidwillson]

The rental car companies have been very aggressive in cutting fleet capacity. So, while travel demand had dropped, there were even fewer available cars. (And, travel has started to pick up some as well.) I'm seeing the same thing with airfares.

At least in the markets I rent, this has been going on for more than a year now.

I have been seeing the same thing. For Orlando during Spring Break, I am seeing prices of $40 - 60 a day for a compact. YIKES!


___________________
watch movies online

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Sometimes there will be one or two days that are part of the rental period for which there is little or no inventory. When that happens the prices will go up.

Looking at your dates, I suspect that New Years might be influencing that.

To check that, go to HW and ask for offers from Jan 2 - 16, and see if the HW offered rates drop significantly.

Your point is still well-taken. Actually I only changed our pickup time from 6 PM 12/31 (New Year's Eve Day) to 1 PM New Years Day.

I just checked again and picking it at 6 PM 12/31 (not a full day earlier) will still cost more than $400 more.

We'll just chill at the Hilton (comp night) for New Year's Eve and go to one of our last-ever SW FL January exchanges on New Year's Day.

I hope Shells is open on New Years.

For 2012, we will be going later in January, and not, it appears, to SW FL.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

$25/day did not get a fullsize on PL, but I got a midsize for $26/day, $457 with taxes and fees, for 13 days.

Ours has gone down on HW, to 18.95/day, $349 total.

If anyone is looking for a FL car around New Years, it's soft right now.


Moving ours back one day (19 hours), to New Years Eve, still raises the daily rate to $56.95 and the total to $1032.

Which prompted me to check plane fare. I believe our base fare is $69 both ways. One of them is now $114 and the other is now $38.

Relating this to the new RCI crapshoot, through which it appears we will only be able to get our traditional annual January exchanges at the last minute, there are dates in January when plane fare is $38 both ways. See, we all knew RCI only wants the best for us.

Can't get into RCI right now. Must be fixin things.


PS: I also notice that beginning in February, Allegiant no longer serves Orlando and Clearwater on the same days. Orlando is Monday and Thursday and Clearwater is Sunday and Friday. That is smart, since for us, and many I would suppose, either will work.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

HW rates have dropped substiantially for our dates.

For New Year's Day pickup, Midsize is now $16.95. Mid Size SUV is $20.95. Minivan is $29.95. Standard SUV is $31.95.

The only thing still high is Full size SUV . . . $56.95.

Even moving pickup back to New Year's Eve, most of them are low.

But, not all. Picking up New Year's Eve minivans are $107/day!!!!

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I got the idea to call Avis and see if I could modify the reservation. I was told that since it was through Priceline, I would need to call them.

At Priceline, after a bit of jousting, acting like she might modify our reservation to move it back to 12/31 or updgrade it, she said she could not modify any Priceline reservation.

Then, she brought up the price guarantee. Actually, what they call The Big Deal Guarantee. She and I both searched Hotwire and we both saw this there (same reservation exactly):

No. silkCarRefNum2:4706390341
silkCarPrice2: $16.95 per day

$313.28 total*

silkCarTypeName2:Mid-size car Hotwire Hot Rate
Location
In Terminal Miles
Unlimited Seating
4 adults Cargo
1 large, 2 small suitcase
- - - - - -
Car rental details
Location: Saint Petersburg, FL (PIE)
Car type: Mid-size car
Pick-up: Sat, Jan 1, 1:00PM
Drop-off: Fri, Jan 14, 12:00PM

Price summary
Car daily rate: $16.95
Rental days: 13
Subtotal: $220.35
Tax recovery charges
and fees:
$92.93
Total price: $313.28

She and I both could see our Priceline reservation:

Mid-Size Car (Unlimited Mileage)
Pick-Up Location:
Avis Rent a Car
ST PETERSBURG/CLEARWATER AIRPORT
In-Terminal, Walk to car
14700 Terminal Blvd
Clearwater,FL 34622
1-800-230-4898
Drop-Off Location:
Same as above Pick-Up Date: January 1, 2011 - 1:00 PM
Drop-Off Date: January 14, 2011 - 12:00 PM
Driver: (me)
Driver's Age: (Mine)
Confirmation #: 31167419US3
Priceline Request #: 248-661-233-60
Summary of Charges
Billing Name: (me)
Credit Card: Visa xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-1180
Your Offer Price: $26.00 (per day)
Total Rental Days: 13 days(12 days and 23 hours)
Subtotal: $338.00
Taxes and Fees: $119.61
Total Charges: $457.61

But, both she and the supervisor I spoke with would not honor The Big Deal Guarantee.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

You can disregard the following BIG BOLD words on Priceline's website. They have no intention of honoring it:

No One Out-Negotiates the Negotiator
Exclusive Name Your Own Price discounts backed by our Big Deal
Guarantee Best Price Guarantee protection
No Booking Fees on published price flights, cars, packages
Package Savings of up to $500

NO PRICELINE CHANGE OR CANCEL FEES

When you book a Name Your Own Price® Hotel, Flight or Rental Car we not
only guarantee the lowest price we guarantee a BIG DEAL! We are so
confident that you won't find a bigger deal on some other site, that
the Big Deal Guarantee is available all the way up until the day before
you travel.

IF YOU FIND A LOWER PUBLISHED-PRICE FOR YOUR RESERVATION, PRICELINE WILL:

1. Match the lower price.
2. Give you $25.
3. Send you a $50 Vacation Package Coupon for your next trip.

[dcwojo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dcwojo]

Look on expedia.com as well they have occasional great deals.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I know it's sometimes easy to miss, but we already have a car rented. The last few posts are because I can now get the same thing for a lot less.

[Dori Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dori]

I booked an economy car in Orlando through SW for $284 all in for two weeks in February. It's not a great deal, but I'll check every day, cancel and rebook when or if the prices go down. I'm not seeing any code deals past January 31.

Dori

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I booked an economy car in Orlando through SW for $284 all in for two weeks in February. It's not a great deal, but I'll check every day, cancel and rebook when or if the prices go down. I'm not seeing any code deals past January 31.

Dori

Exactly the problem I am talking about, that I cannot do that with Priceline (or Hotwire).

Yesterday I received an email from Priceline hyping the lower, $16/day, price for our specific rental, saying another Priceline customer has obtained that rate.

Did you know that you can save up to 40% off published-price rental
cars in Saint Petersburg, FL from Jan 1 to Jan 14 when you Name Your
Own Price®?

Mid-Size Car - (PIE)
One of our customers just booked a Mid-Size Car in Saint Petersburg for
$16 a day. $16

& that is the lower rate they will not honor with their Big Deal Guarantee. They are saying it is available for the purpose of getting new business, but not for the purpose of honoring their guarantee.