Why does Hertz discriminate against US Citizens???
 

I've been comparing rates for an auto rental in Florence, Italy from the various auto rental companies. We need a large automatic car for four people and lots of luggage, which is very expensive. We're all in our late 60s, so don't remember how to drive a stick shift - and don't want to relearn in Italy!!!

During my research, I came across a discount Rate Code for Hertz - WOW (World on Wheels) which I tried using on the Hertz US site along with our AAA discount code. The Rate Code WOW was rejected on the US site. When I tried the Hertz UK site, the Rate Code WOW was accepted, along with the AAA code - but only if you identified yourself as a UK citizen!

The two week quote for a BMW 320D Touring Auto for UK citizens using the RQ: WOW was 612.24 GBP ($1,242.08). The two week rate quote for US citizens was 1335.84 EUR ($1,841.07) Therefore, US citizens pay more than 48% more than British citizens for the same car in the same Italian city.

I sent an email to Hertz asking if there was a similar code that US citizens could use, and of course received no reply.

This is blatant discrimination!

No, it's selective marketing. They are offering coupons in markets where they want to develop business.

Do you call it discrimination when a retailer targets you for a special discount based on your zip code (they are all mapped out according to things like income, etc.)?

This behaviour is quite common in the car rental business and you can work around it - with effort. They never check the citizenship against the rental application.

sandys; I am almost certain that you cannot drive the Mercedes that you are looking at in Italy through Hertz. Anyway, Hertz does not guarantee the car you are reserving online, it is that OR something similiar. I have had a problem finding any Hertz or Avis Premium car that would even be allowed in Italy. I went with Bob the Navigators advice to use Auto Europe and got a nice audi for my next trip in sept.

<< We're all in our late 60s, so don't remember how to drive a stick shift - and don't want to relearn in Italy!!! >>

Okay, here is the reality. No matter what car rental company you choose (or which company is chosen for you by AutoEurope), cars with automatic transmissions are far, far less common in their inventory. Some days they might have one, or a few in inventory; some days they might have none. Whatever you reserve, an automatic transmission will almost always be "on request"... if the customer fails to return on time with the automatic they had in mind for you, you may be faced with the choice of a standard transmission car, or none at all.

I recommend that _someone_ in your party &quot;re-learn&quot; if that's what you need to do. Better here, than in the parking lot - - oh, I forgot... you said Florence... you can be certain they <b><u><i>won't have</i></u></b> a parking lot! The car will be brought up to the curb outside the tiny little office on Via Borgo Ognissanti. You'll be &quot;re-learning&quot; to shift on city streets.

I'm not saying that this happens all the time - - but if there is a 5% chance of your not getting an autoamtic that you thought you had reserved - - wouldn't you feel better if someone had re-acquainted themselves with a clutch?

Best wishes,

Rex

Hi Sandys. I think it may be as Aramis explains. This is selective marketing much the same way as certain airline prices are less expensive for different markets.

That said, you have to be more creative in your searches. We have rented cars in Europe at least ten times. We always rent an automatic. They have always provided us with a car. That is not to say that you will not have difficulty a little more with an automatic request.

I would think outside the box of the normal car rental companies. Try these and see what you come up with. All of these I have checked at various times for Italy.

Good luck.

www.affordablecarental-italy.com
www.carjet.com
www.economycarrentals.com
www.arguscarhire.com
www.italyautorental.com

These are car brokers and will place you with a company.

Shel and Sandy:

Your troubles would just begin after you solve the pricing. Driving a full-size car (Mercedes or van or whatever), through the pencil narrow streets of many Italian towns and villages will drive you bonkers. Parking will be exceptionally difficult if not impossible.

Not trying to rain on your parade, just trying to make you aware of the real problem...especially if you're stuck with a stick shift, which compounds the problem if you're not used to it.

I do sincerely hope things will work out for you. Good luck and happy travels.

We normally use AutoEurope wherever we travel, and have never been disapointed with them. Call their USA number (Portland, Maine), 800-223-5555 (they are associated with Kemwel, also)

Stu T.

You may not want to hear this, but another way of addressing the size of your rental car would be to take less luggage. Why do you need &quot;lots of luggage&quot;? Restrict each traveler to a 21- or 22-inch bag and a carry-on. Lest you say it's impossible, that's exactly what I carried to Australia for a four-week trip covering several climates last year.

There are zillions of posts in the archives with info on how to pack lightly. You may want to bring those up and pack accordingly. Then you won't need a ginormous (a word now in the dictionary) car.

Big cars are a pain in Europe anyway. Parking spots are scarce, parking lots are small, and the streets amd roads are often very narrow.

I think you would be happier with a different strategy.

1) autoEurope is your friend
2) &quot;Lots of luggage&quot; will be a problem whichever car you rent
3) Huge cars are a <b>huge</b> PITA in most parts of Europe.

Cut back on the amount of luggage, rent a reasonable sized car through Autoeurope, and save hundreds of $$$

Shel and Sandy:

I fully agree with Betsy's comments. My wife and I limit ourselves to 1 22&quot; each and one small carry on duffel each...and we've been traveling that way since the rollers came into vogue.
And many tinmes we're away for a month or more...doesn't matter...it gets easier as you get older, believe me...the lighter the load the happier I get..wife has come around to this way of thinking and wouldn't change now for anything....although for years she moaned about it. Don't tell her I said so. Several times we've trraveles wit another couple, and insisted they do the same...so we could rent a compact.
Think it over..
Stu T.

Obviously, you have not booked an airline ticket and other things in India-if you are not a resident you are offered a way higher price! I was appalled when recently purchasing an airline ticket for my son who is over doing an internship-every site for India and purchasing appears to offer an &quot;in resident of India deal&quot;.

I have never come across a site that asks you to specify citizenship. Country of residence, yes, but citizenship no. Big difference.

First...truck traffic operates with little difficulty in Europe. Hence, any size car can do the same. One driver could take an hour driving lesson...Hire a mini-bus and driver! Enjoy your trip.

If you are a non US resident renting a car in the US, the rates are much more expensive than for US residents.

It's not unusual for air fares to be available for &quot;residents&quot; of a country especially India.

Visit USA (probably does not exist anymore) air fares were only available to non US residents arriving internationally into the US.

There are other air fares only available in the country of commencement of travel.

It can happen with hotels too.

I know everyone touts AutoEurope , but I've found much better deals with Novacarhire all inclusive rates. You don't have to pre-pay, just a small deposit, and you pay the company directly when you return the car.

&lt;&lt;&lt; ...truck traffic operates with little difficulty in Europe. Hence, any size car can do the same &gt;&gt;&gt;

Except that the people driving the trucks have learnt to drive in Europe and have been driving in Europe for several years and that trucks DON'T go down every narrow street - in some cases they off load somewhere else for the delivery

i don't believe that hertz has different prices based on citizenship status. this would be illegal in the EU.

It could also be based on the fact that Americans are more likely to have accidents than natives as they aren't used to driving cars with gear sticks, or driving in narrow streets, parrallel parking in tight spaces etc.

Thanks for all the advice. We still plan to get an automatic car, but plan to take the advice of others and take less luggage so that we can get a smaller automatic car.

We plan to avoid Hertz, since I don't appreciate their &quot;selective marketing&quot;. I don't believe that US drivers are more of a menace than UK drivers in Italy, since the British drive on the left. And we plan to rent an automatic car only, since that is what we are all used to. (If we drove a stick shift, we would be a menace.)

I fully understand countries giving discounts to their own citizens. We've run into this in many locations. But this requested rental is in a third country - so that isn't pertinent to this discrepancy in rates. Perhaps Hertz is trying to build up their business in England, but the 48% difference in rates also doesn't sit well with me.

We will either rent from AutoEurope or Economy Car Rentals.

There are lots of recommendations for AutoEurope on this board, so we would feel confident renting from them.

Has anyone had experience with Economy Car Rentals - renting an automatic car from them?

You won't be renting from autoeurope. They are a broker that fits you to the best rental company for your plans/type of car/country - and you could very well end up in w/ Hertz . . . .

(BTW - have you considered that Hertz US has a different discount code that works the same as this mysterious WOW? )

I don't know if the discount applies to them but if it doesn't..would the italians (or the spaniards or any other nationality but UK) think they are being discriminated ? :) The fares are the same for everybody...but they can do a discount for a promotion where they want to. As airlines also do :)

I know most people on here like AutoEurope, but don't totally discount Avis,either. I've rented from them for the past 5 years, once or twice a year, and have been quite happy. I had an accident in one of their cars in France in May. I had travelers insurance through Access America, and was putting the claim though them (around $3000.00 in damages). Of course, my Visa was charged the $3000.00 right away. However, about a month later, Avis called me and said they were crediting my Visa for the amount! I was really astounded and happy, as it was a hassle getting the documention etc. to Access America that they required. Now I am a lifetime Avis fan!

As I stated before, we have always rented an automatic.

We haven't rented from AutoEurope for quite some time. Their rates for an automatic are just not competitve and no they would not match the other price.

The last time I contacted them, they did not have an compact car available and they wanted twice as much for the next class up that they did have available, which I believe was an economy.

The time before that, they would not provide a basic rental, one with no insurance. I could use my credit card and did not want any insurance.

Make sure you compare the exact same rental terms with the different companies.

Honestly, check out nova car hire's rates (they are a broker that operates out of northern Ireland). We have rented with then TONS of times because of their great rates. Once I had AutoEurope match their rate, but one time even the manger at AutoEurope said he couldn't match their rate even though AutoEurope says they'll match rates.

But, we always rent manual transmission, so I don't know how that figures in here. Really though, I bet all of you would remember how to drive a stick if you gave it 20 minutes here at home to try it. I think it is one of those things that is just programmed in your brain and you don't forget.

Thanks for the excellent advice Julie. It looks like Nova offers a choice of three good size automatic cars at excellent rates - much better than AutoEurope.

Glad you checked out Nova! We have rented with them the last 3 trips and have been delighted with the service. The last 2 trips we were upgraded at no extra charge,,,returned one car a day and a half early and the refund showed up on our CC the day we returned. We always have ordered an automatic and have never been disappointed.

&quot;If you are a non US resident renting a car in the US, the rates are much more expensive than for US residents.&quot;

As an Australian that hasn't been my experience. I think US rental companies do discriminate between residents of various countries, though.

I prefer to rent an automatic in countries where I have to drive on the right, because it's one less distraction in city traffic. But I'm also puzzled that one could forget how to drive a manual, unless the original experience had been extremely brief.

Another vote for packing light - but even so, squeezing four people's luggage into the boot (trunk) of any conventional sedan seems a big ask. We once managed it in New Zealand, but our daughters had backpacks, which are easier to squeeze into odd spaces. Maybe a van/people-mover would be the best idea?

sandy,

have you looked at kemwel.com ? we rented from them in 2004 in Madrid. their rates are competitive and if you have done enough shopping around, they match the lowest quote you have received for a similar vehicle. you have to tell them who quoted you the rate (maybe so they can verify?) happy planning for your trip.

We rented our car in Croatia through Economy Car Rentals because their price was significantly lower (hundreds of dollars) than any competitor, including Auto Europe which is who we usually use. We were a little nervous using them but everything went without a hitch. They actually drove the car to us at our hotel, which was an added bonus. The only negative was that they left us with about a fourth a tank of gas and we couldn't find a gas station until we were almost on empty.

Tracy

US residents do not have to pay all the car rental insurances (EG CDW) when renting in their own country - that in itself can half the price of car rental.

Both Hertz &amp; AVIS in Europe do have prefered rates for non US residents. Up to the mid 90's they used to give cheaper preferred rates to US residents, but now it's the opposite.

I've called AVIS in Europe about it and they told me that I can still qualify for another country rate if I have proof (hotel/restaurant/rental bill) that I was in that other country on the day of my online reservation. Since then I've tried to make my car online reservation while I was abroad and I saved a hotel bill as proof. They usually don't ask but once I did have to show proof because there was another American on the next counter renting the same identical Benz for over 1600 euro a week while my weekly rate was less than 800 euro in Linate/Milan. Fortunately I had carried my hotel bill from Germany for the date of my online reservation to show as proof.

The AVIS site recognizes you as an American resident if you've entered USA before and will not let you pick a different country. Hertz lets you choose your residency if you arrive on the webpage a certain way. The easiest thing is to use a new &quot;User&quot; on your computer which the companies haven't identified as a US resident user.

Calling the US 1-800 number guarantees you the american rate, the agents can't give any other country rate even if you are a non american resident. BTW Canadians get the same higher rates. I've never tried the Mexican rate.

Airlines do the same preferential treatment based on where you start your journey (US or the other country). Many of their websites recognize you in the future once you enter your residency.

bm

I finally received a reply to my email to Hertz:

&quot;Thanks for your recent email. The WOW rate is only available on bookings made from the UK site. For bookings made from the US site, there are prepaid programs available. You will need to ask for the rate under step 1, you have 2 rates to choose from. The first option is &quot;AOT&quot; this rate includes all taxes, fees, surcharges and mandatory theft protection. The second option is &quot;AOF&quot;, this includes the same as the &quot;AOT&quot;, but also includes the collision damage waiver.&quot;

I tried the code AOF since CDW is mandatory in Italy, and the price is $2440.17!!!!

I will book with Nova as soon as they start accepting reservations for 2008.

Another interesting reply when I emailed back to Hertz mentioning that the prepaid rate was higher than their non-prepaid rate, and asking again why WOW can't be used by US residents. It sounds like Italy wants more visitors from the UK!!!! Also Hertz's CDW deductible sounds terrible.

&quot;It is a part of Italy's marketing strategy. If Italy feels they are not getting a good market share of people travelling from the UK, then they will reduce the cost of the rental to UK residents. It sometimes goes the other way, where US rates may be lower than UK rates.

As for the prepaid rate being higher, when we run promotional rates on the internet they are always non-prepaid rates. So if you were to compare the promotional rates vs. prepaid, it probably will be better with the promotional rate and add in the extra coverages. One benefit the AOF rate will have in Italy over any other rate is the amount of responsibility in the event of an accident or theft will be EUR 300.00. For any other rates the responsibility would be between EUR 900.00 - 1500.00 for an accident and EUR 1500.00 - 2800.00 for theft.&quot;

Just to put the shoe on the other foot, if you, Sandy, and your travel companions, are in your late 60s, you no doubt take advantage of many discounts offered to members of AARP or to anyone over a given age. I don't get those yet - though my day will come - but it's not illegal for the hotels, car rental companies and attractions to charge you less than they charge me. It's done to promote business among the retiree demographic (and not, as mistakenly thought by some, as a reward for getting older!)

Keep up with your research and go for the best deal you can get.

If you plan to use the car after leaving Florence, you could also compare rates at other towns: Siena for instance.

All the rate variations are part of the puzzle of car rental: for instance, if you arrive at a US airport suddenly in need of a car, it can be cheaper to pick up the phone and call the 800 # for the car co., and book with them, than to walk up to the desk. Walkups generally aren't offered a discount - after all, you're standing right there, in need.

Have a great time - I love driving in Italy and I hope you folks do, too.

Sandy, one tip on luggage to add to the others you've received:

Four people with four large bags will be hard pressed to fit them all in a trunk - but 4 small bags plus 4 smaller ones can be fitted around each other and into corners. A friend and I barely squeezed two 26&quot; bags into the trunk of a 4-door Alfa Romeo, though there was lots of extra room - just not suited to larger format bags.

I get the same picture as Sandy. In the good old days Americans always got the best deals due to preferential treatment. Nowadays many companies in the world are rethinking and rebalancing their tourist visitors. It doesn't feel as good to be less desirable but it is the companies' prerogatives.

Sandy - I know this was mentioned...just because you reserve an automatic doesn't guarantee you one. I reserved (and paid for) an automatic for our trip and guess what...no automatic! Thankfully we managed since my DH drives stick...I'd forgotten but am relearning for our next trip!! Have a wonderful time!

We are four ladies 63 to 69 who travel Europe by car. We take 18 -22 inch suitcases and a tote. These are the best sizes to pack into a medium size car(and this takes a little practice to get them all in). Even in the larger size cars, that is about all the luggage you can get into the trunk.

At least the situation will be different than renting in the US, where in my admittedly limited experience, whatever you order, you get a Ford Taurus.