General Car Rental Pricing Question
Oct 13th, 2011, 01:02 PM
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General Car Rental Pricing Question
Can anyone explain this? On major car rental web sites when entering the rental dates - the default time of rental is always "noon" for both pick-up and return. As an example, let's say the rental rate comes up at $18 per day. However, if I tell the system that I'm arriving at 10AM and returning the car at 10AM, the price is $28 per day. If I want the car at 10AM and want to return it at 1PM - again, the price goes up PER DAY. Not just an extra few hours charge or even an entire extra day's charge at the lower rate.
I suppose I could just ignore the system, booking the noon time period regardless. However, DH changed his flight once and arrived an hour early at a rental desk. They were in a complete tailspin, had to "void" the original contract and write a new one at a higher rate and then put through a "refund request" for the difference between high and low rental rate. What a waste of time.
Very frustrating. Any insight?
I suppose I could just ignore the system, booking the noon time period regardless. However, DH changed his flight once and arrived an hour early at a rental desk. They were in a complete tailspin, had to "void" the original contract and write a new one at a higher rate and then put through a "refund request" for the difference between high and low rental rate. What a waste of time.
Very frustrating. Any insight?
Oct 13th, 2011, 01:38 PM
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I've booked several car rentals in the past couple of months and never had this happen. I also don't find that the default is noon, by the way. More typically it's been 9am.
I have checked rates for different times of the day on the same date because I was considering flights and the prices were always the same, It's true that once you go over multiples of 24 hours, you usually have a charge listed for an extra day. Some companies do extra hour charges, but usually after one hour or so, the daily rate is actually less.
Maybe just a computer issue for you. Try closing the browser or using a different one, maybe clearing a couple of cookies, too
I have checked rates for different times of the day on the same date because I was considering flights and the prices were always the same, It's true that once you go over multiples of 24 hours, you usually have a charge listed for an extra day. Some companies do extra hour charges, but usually after one hour or so, the daily rate is actually less.
Maybe just a computer issue for you. Try closing the browser or using a different one, maybe clearing a couple of cookies, too
Oct 14th, 2011, 06:21 AM
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The 10am glitch might be for a Thursday rental. "Weekend rates", which are lower in most cities, usually begin at noon on Thursday....so if you're trying to pick up earlier than noon you'd be getting the "weekday" rate. The same glitch can sometimes happen on a Sunday. If you pick up before noon on Sunday and return the car on Monday you'd be on a "weekend rate" plan but if you just pick up the car a couple of hours later at 2pm you would now be on "weekday" rates.
Usually the contract says what the "extra hour" will cost if you return late, but if you go over two hours the exorbitant "extra hour" rate usually would work out higher than a full day so they charge you the full day after 2 or 3 hours.
Don't book at noon and hope to be allowed to fetch the car at 10am....on certain days of the week, yes, this will throw your rate way off. Actually this is probably what the rental company hopes you will do. They offer low rates but if you stray too far from the agreement they'll add penalties and this where they make their money...plans change, things happen. Weekend rates can be $18 a day at some airports but $68 a day on weekdays. If you've got a $54 three day weekend rental booked but you do something that makes it qualify as a weekday rate instead (like returning on a Tues a.m. instead of by Monday night)....you can see how a $54 weekend becomes a $204 weekend real quick.
Usually the contract says what the "extra hour" will cost if you return late, but if you go over two hours the exorbitant "extra hour" rate usually would work out higher than a full day so they charge you the full day after 2 or 3 hours.
Don't book at noon and hope to be allowed to fetch the car at 10am....on certain days of the week, yes, this will throw your rate way off. Actually this is probably what the rental company hopes you will do. They offer low rates but if you stray too far from the agreement they'll add penalties and this where they make their money...plans change, things happen. Weekend rates can be $18 a day at some airports but $68 a day on weekdays. If you've got a $54 three day weekend rental booked but you do something that makes it qualify as a weekday rate instead (like returning on a Tues a.m. instead of by Monday night)....you can see how a $54 weekend becomes a $204 weekend real quick.
Oct 14th, 2011, 08:50 AM
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Insight: when a web page asks you for specific information like this it is usually required to complete some part of the transaction. As tracy notes, with rental cars the applicable rate can be affected by time of pickup, time of return, length of rental, etc.
Oct 14th, 2011, 07:27 PM
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I can validate most of what the OP describes but I can't quite understand the question involved.
Car rental 'days' are 24-hours long, with a grace period of 29-59 minutes, typically.
So if you pick-up your car at "10am" and return it at "noon" the next day, you are charged a second day's charge because more than one hour of overage tallies up to something so near to a full day, that a full day's charge is reasonable.
Indeed my National rental site has a "noon" "default" time, but you are surely free to pick your own arrival time, and any "24-hour segment" after that will amount to one single day's charge.
As stated by someone else, IF this is a reference to "weekend rates"... at National those are in effect from "noon" on Thursday to midnight on Monday (or some such thing).
SO IF you tried for "10am" instead of that "noon", you would not be eligible for the lowest rate, based on the too-early start. IF your rental went past the cutoff time for the low rate, on the end, then that, too, would negate your weekend rate.
Car rental 'days' are 24-hours long, with a grace period of 29-59 minutes, typically.
So if you pick-up your car at "10am" and return it at "noon" the next day, you are charged a second day's charge because more than one hour of overage tallies up to something so near to a full day, that a full day's charge is reasonable.
Indeed my National rental site has a "noon" "default" time, but you are surely free to pick your own arrival time, and any "24-hour segment" after that will amount to one single day's charge.
As stated by someone else, IF this is a reference to "weekend rates"... at National those are in effect from "noon" on Thursday to midnight on Monday (or some such thing).
SO IF you tried for "10am" instead of that "noon", you would not be eligible for the lowest rate, based on the too-early start. IF your rental went past the cutoff time for the low rate, on the end, then that, too, would negate your weekend rate.
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