Recent studies indicate that while videoconferencing tools like Zoom have been a lifesaver for COVID-era commerce, it pales by comparison to the value of face to face meetings, where body language and other subtleties of communication can make or break a deal, or bond a corporate team for achieving goals and objectives. On a loftier, yet more fundamental level, humans are simply eager to meet and mingle, communicate and collaborate. Many teleconferencing regulars express feelings of being “Zoomed out.”
In this environment, major car rental companies have managed to keep their doors open thanks to their unique value proposition – private, safe, short-haul transportation. Renting a car allows business travelers to meet directly with existing clients and prospective customers.
But before travelers return to the skies or hit the highways and byways, there are new challenges and hurdles that must be overcome if some sense of normal is to be part of travel again.
“Local car rental offices were not set up for the same renter or rental experience as former pre-pandemic road warriors are used to,” says travel and relocation manager David Mark Smith of global software and communications provider Amdocs, headquartered in Chesterfield, MO. Smith, who is also a frequent contributor to Business Travel Executive magazine’s “Think Tank” feature, says, “These travelers have to adjust their expectations, plan early and be patient, and the rental vendor must strike a balance in service delivery to meet the new customer type they are getting now.”
At Hertz, reservations are being made for longer periods of time and more business is shifting to off-airport neighborhood locations since the pandemic, especially in the South and Southeast as well as other pockets across the US, according to Laura Smith, Hertz executive vice president of sales, marketing and customer experience. “In areas like the Northeast, such as New York City, where people typically use mass transit, we’ve also seen an increase in car rentals, as having a car allows them to have more control over their environment. In those busier regions, we advise that customers still book as early as possible for the widest availability and best rates.”
Don Moore, executive VP, business rental sales and global corporate accounts at Enterprise Holdings notes that the company’s vast neighborhood network has always been a competitive advantage and, he says, and they have seen it on “full display” during the pandemic. “We’ve seen our neighborhood Enterprise Rent-A-Car business recovering quicker as states started opening back up, and customers began to feel comfortable traveling domestically, choosing car rental as one of the first modes of ground transportation to get them back on the road,” Moore says.
“While our entire industry has a long road ahead, we are encouraged by some of the early signs of recovery we’ve seen,” he adds.
Coping with COVID
Positive anecdotal data that speaks of increased volume of car rentals at off airport locations, and longer rental periods before the pandemic is welcome news for the struggling industry, but the “new normal” of COVID-19 requires an extra measure of customer care to earn customer confidence. “Preventing transmission of the virus at the point of car rental pickup and return is a major concern,” says David Smith of Amdocs. “All we can do as travel managers is to partner with vendors who are doing their best to offer safe, touchless and fast service. Obviously this change of operations will happen faster at some places than others. But it’s also incumbent on travelers to use the same safety measures they use personally, coupled with patience and common sense,” he adds.
At Hertz, every neighborhood and airport location around the world is focused on getting customers wherever they need to go safely and confidently. “We’ve raised the bar on our high standards for safety and cleanliness with ‘Hertz Gold Standard Clean,’” says Laura Smith. “This is an enhanced 15-point cleaning and sanitization process that concludes with each vehicle being sealed before each rental” – a first of its kind practice in the rental car industry, she says, adding that the company also requires employees to wear masks and use hand sanitizer, and instructs them to stay home if they feel ill.
Smith says they’re also reinforcing social distancing “best guidelines and best practices” through signage at all locations for employee and customer safety. To minimize personal contact, the company is offering vehicle delivery and pickup, either at neighborhood locations or the customer’s preferred location for an additional fee, she says.
Beth Kinerk, senior vice president of sales at Avis Budget Group, says the paramount concern has always been the health and safety of customers and employees, but COVID-19 really heightened the call for greater action. “The ‘Avis Safety Pledge and Budget Worry-Free Promise’ represents the company’s commitment to keep every one of its customers and employees safe,” she says. At car pickup and return locations social distancing protocols are in place, customers will find Plexiglas counter shields and floor decals to encourage staying six feet apart. Disposable gloves and/or hand sanitizer are available for use too. Face masks are the customer’s personal responsibility, Kinerk says, but all rental agents and frontline employees are required to wear masks. And she adds, paperless rental agreements are available at most locations, and where shuttle buses are used the number of passengers on each bus is limited.
“Avis and Budget continue to closely follow CDC, state and local guidelines, enhancing cleaning protocols to ensure consistent usage of disinfectant products designed for cleaning vehicles and facilities that are EPA certified to be effective against the coronavirus,” Kinerk says, adding that special attention is given to the most critical interior customer touchpoints of the vehicle like the steering wheel and door handles.
The enhancements that Enterprise has implemented means there is a great focus on more than 20 “high-touch points,” according to Moore. “We know customers should have full confidence their vehicle is clean and sanitized each and every time they rent. That’s why we followed guidance from leading health authorities to institute our ‘Complete Clean Pledge’ throughout our entire global operations.” In addition, Moore says hand sanitizer and face masks are available onsite.
Furthermore, he says customers want some personal control over disinfection throughout their journey. “In fact, nearly 80 percent of those we surveyed said they would feel comfortable renting if they were to receive a disinfecting wipe to wipe down high-touch surfaces within their vehicles,” he explains. As a result, Enterprise teamed with Clorox to provide a one-count Clorox Disinfecting Wipe in every vehicle.
Touchless Experience
Enterprise has modified service its offerings too. This includes the addition of curbside rentals “to help promote social distancing” by getting customers there quickly and on their way while avoiding foot traffic at their locations. “Whether you are picking your vehicle up curbside, or if we deliver it to you at your workplace, body shop or home, we maintain proper distance throughout the process,” Moore says.
At Hertz, Smith says they are looking at what they can do to make the rental experience more beneficial for their loyalty members who rent at their US neighborhood locations. One area of interest is investigating the different types of technologies the company can leverage that will further enable customers to have a touchless experience. “We’ve launched new mobile app features this past year to facilitate a touchless rental experience, complementing existing touchless solutions offered through our Hertz Gold Plus Rewards loyalty program, which is free to join. Members can skip the counter, go straight to their vehicle and drop off their car and go when they return.”
Avis and Budget are also working to minimize personal contact. Kinerk says that at many locations, customers who use the Avis Preferred app can walk directly to their vehicle, which ensures a full contactless experience. She says the app also enables travelers to make modifications to their reservation without visiting the rental counter, and they have rolled out new technology solutions that allow for a “touchless, self-service” car rental process.
“With the new Digital Check-In feature renters simply flash their license and credit card at the counter for key pick-up,” Kinerk says. “Additionally, the new Mobile Select feature within the Avis Mobile App allows Preferred members to select a rental car of their choice upon arriving at the airport. Once selected, renters will receive a QR code to be scanned at an Express Gate exit for a contactless, self-service exit process. Eliminating touchpoints throughout the rental process further ensures the safety of renters and Avis and Budget frontline workers.”
Farther Down the Road
As business travel anticipates the end of the crisis, few expect everything to return to the pre-pandemic ‘normal.’ For the rental car industry, it may prove to be an opportunity to reimagine itself in a new light. “While Enterprises’ business – like every other business – will forever be changed by this global pandemic, we are focused on what the positive elements of that change can be. That includes using this as a time for accelerated innovation,” Moore says. “For example, early in the pandemic we pulled together a fully dedicated team completely focused on enabling our new low touch rental experience.”
Moore says the customer experience team at Enterprise had already began working on this “important” initiative before the pandemic, which allowed them to “clear a path to focus and expedite this exciting work.” The company is also looking past the pandemic, Moore adds. “We are carrying that momentum forward as we think about other longer-term efforts to enhance the rental experience – ensuring it is as frictionless and personalized as possible. That enhanced focused on delivering an exceptional customer experience is something that will live on well beyond COVID.”
Will corporate business travel ever return to pre-pandemic levels and customer experience? Will business travelers return to the airports and fly in great numbers? “I imagine all companies will cut travel budgets as a lot of the travel before may not have been necessary,” says Smith of Amdocs. “Also there are new ways to get the job done without traveling. I don’t believe this will be permanent. Face to face collaboration and the exchange of full trust cannot be fully replaced by video conference. Hybrid style meetings will help, but they are not quite there yet. We have seen travelers with essential travel needs rent local and drive rather than take the short haul flight they would have taken before. In some smaller airports, those flights may no longer exist.”
Much has transpired over the past year. Hope springs eternal as new vaccines have been rushed to market to combat the worst pandemic since the Spanish Flu of 1918. Nonetheless, the road ahead still looks bumpy making it tough to predict whether “happy days are here again.” Meanwhile as the world waits for better news, travel providers like these frontline car rental giants are working diligently to meet the health, safety and travel demands of corporate travel programs and their travelers during this global crisis – and beyond.
