Why You Should Consider a Car Rental Broker
A car rental broker is an intermediary between car rental companies (ACE, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, NextCar, Thrifty, etc.) and consumers. Car rental brokers don’t own rental cars; the car rental companies do. From a consumer (renter) perspective, they can get exactly the same rental car from a broker that they would get by going directly to the car rental company, only for a much better price.
If you are a car rental operator, online brokers are a great way to expand the reach of your business and your customer base as they sell to customers worldwide. In some regions, the business from brokers accounts for 75 percent of all rentals, accessing customers from foreign markets that otherwise would likely have booked only with a global brand.
Online brokers need many suppliers to ensure sufficient supply at all times of the year. Brokers provide their customers with real-time rates and availability. Bookings are confirmed with the rental supplier immediately by working through an XML connection.
How Car Rental Brokers Operate
Car rental brokers operate online and market their sites globally. It is impossible for local operators to have that kind of reach without switching the nature of their business operations from renting cars to online marketing. Additionally, it is difficult for operators to understand what international market has the most potential business for them. Brokers understand this and will market in the countries where they know the bookings are coming from. International business can supplement a local business at times when local business just isn’t providing enough turnover. It can also help a business to grow larger than it could have otherwise done by just depending on local business.
Brokers are becoming recognized car rental brands in their own right, so a start-up or independent brand can benefit from a global brand without purchasing a franchise. Customers also like brokers because they can compare prices, prepay their rental, and have the convenience of having insurance waivers and taxes included in the price they pay.
Renting with a Broker
Renting via a broker is the united power of consumers: they turn your negotiation power into that of a big multinational company. Because car rental brokers handle large numbers of reservations (thousands a day), they are able to negotiate much lower rental prices than individual consumers or small companies could. This saves private customers a lot of money, because they get the same discount as big companies that rent many cars!
Car rental companies rent many cars to businesses. These clients usually rent a car for only one day and mainly during working days. There’s a large amount of overhead in these one-day rentals, with gas refills, cleanings and more maintenance required.
On the other hand, car rental brokers rent most cars to private consumers. The average rental period is a whole week. In this case, the car doesn’t have to be cleaned every day, the tank doesn’t have to be filled and the car doesn’t have to be rented out again. This saves money: the longer you rent a car, the cheaper it gets. And private consumers fill the gaps in the rental schedules: they mainly rent cars during weekends and holidays, when there are no business clients. This gives brokers even more room to negotiate lower prices.
Car rental brokers also arrange for all-inclusive packages: unlimited mileage/kilometers, third party insurance, CDW insurance, theft protection insurance, airport delivery charges, and local taxes are included in the quoted rental price. When customers rent a car directly from a rental company, it is not unusual that what they eventually pay is twice the quoted price. Car rental brokers offer much better rental conditions, without unpleasant surprises.
Bluebird XML Portal
The new Bluebird XML Portal takes those benefits further by offering the brokers and our customers the opportunity to connect to our hub. This means with just one connection, brokers can connect with any of our XML Portal subscribers, giving the broker more options at a lower cost. For our customers, this means access to leading online brands with exposure to massive international markets. The Broker XML Portal is a distribution tool, which means that our customers retain control of their pricing and inventory. The bottom line: you only sell what you want, when you want.
Please contact the Bluebird sales department at 800-304-5805, or email us at sales@barsnet.com if you are interested in improving/expanding your rental market.
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