CAR RENTAL
airport may charge a 1 per cent fee and we might absorb it or pass it on – delivery and collection and the 24/7 car pool fleet.” This is where corporates can negotiate
very strong in its home market of Germany. Some companies might, therefore, find it beneficial to use it there for its breadth and depth while consolidating other countries under another supplier.
3 Buying ground transport Rate is the most important factor in any RFP. Car rental companies will offer corporates a grid of different day rates to reflect the length of a rental (a day rate will be higher for a one- to three-day rental than it will be for one of a week’s duration); the vehicle class (economy, compact, intermediate, etc) and rental location. Competitors’ day rates may look compara-
ble but the extra fees can vary hugely. Hertz’s Rusden says: “There are certain areas where we can be discretionary. We will negotiate on an excess reduction or insurance, the ease of one-way rental, location-specific fees, certain discretionary packages – an
savings or add traveller value. Just as with parking fees on hotel bills, corporates often find price flexibility in the extras: (i) Insurance – If a company opts to use its own corporate insurance rather than be fully insured through the car rental company, the overall cost will be lower. You can also negotiate around liability in case of an ac- cident; the level of the excess payable will affect the rate. (ii) Collection and delivery – The fee for this practice, which is common in the UK, will be negotiable. (iii) Car refuelling – This can be negotiable but do you need it? If this is a service for which there would not be much uptake, focus on negotiating in another area. (iv) Airport fees – Rates among US cities can vary hugely because of airport fees. If a rental company is keen to get the business, it might be willing to absorb some of the cost of these fees rather than pass them on. (v) Extra kit – Most rental cars in the US are equipped with an automatic toll payment system which will incur a charge. So, too, will GPS which many of us now expect
Car-sharing: Heathrow Airport
HEATHROW INITIALLY IMPLEMENTED the Hertz Go carpool powered by Hertz 24/7 with
Ford Focus diesel vehicles. However, it quickly moved to an all-electric carpool fleet in 2015. The scheme is used by employees based in the company’s head office to travel around the complex and attend meetings away from the airport. Hertz 24/7 initially replaced 12 leased vehicles with nine car-sharing technology cars and 12 months ago further reduced this number to eight. Before the carpool, the company’s
88 BBT March/April 2018
employees used their own vehicles – with consequent mileage and parking claims – or had their own leased vehicles, which were stationary during a significant part of the day. The key driver to implementation of the Hertz Go carpool was to increase efficiency in the fleet and to transition to a clean, all-electric fleet to reduce emissions in line with Heathrow 2.0, the airport’s plan for sustainable growth. The Hertz Go carpool increased the level of efficiency of the pool fleet and reduced costs by removing a larger leased fleet serving the head office. The next step is to consider a wider Hertz 24/7 pooling scheme to reduce the total number of vehicles around the airport complex from both Heathrow and other companies’ fleets.
to be standard. Hertz’s Rusden shared his thoughts on the future. “Hertz used to rent out mobile phones, but then everyone had their own,” he says. “The Hertz proposition will evolve to include GPS and internation- al wifi. The days of renting mobile phones and GPS are passing.” (vi) Traveller technology – The ability to get travellers through airports quickly can be a product differentiator. Rusden reminds us that Hertz’s app will tell you where the car is located, allow you to choose the specific car from those available in your booked class, extend the rental, add extras or arrange upgrades. He says: “We offer more functionality through the app to ease the journey. As we become more dependent on smartphones, more functionality will go into the phone itself.” Some travel managers request specific
types of cars. Diesel cars used to be popular because of their low running costs but, as the price of diesel fuel rises and they attract extra parking charges in parts of central London, demand has fallen.
THE TRAVELLER Assessing what travellers need Most travellers just need the ability to rent a car via a suitable online booking tool. Nexus’s Rose maintains that the depth of supply the broker can access means that it will always be able to provide the specific vehicle that the traveller may require. However, traveller needs are not just about whether the model is ‘green’ or an SUV, but what happens in the case of damage to the vehicle. Willis Towers Watson’s Short says her biggest challenge is “getting the user to understand the claim process in the event of an accident”.
Grey fleet Mobility solutions abound but some com- panies still reimburse their travellers on a pence-per-mile basis when they use their own cars for business. Every supplier spoken to for this article warned of the dangers of employees using their own vehicles. “Is driving to Manchester and back in a
day safe?” asked Ingram. “Travel managers may not be aware of these claims as they’re going through HR, but think of the cost if some people use their cars for personal gain. You could get £160 for driving to Manchester but what kind of car are they showing up in to meet an external client?” The employer might not know whether
the cars are insured for business use and their safety and maintenance are difficult to monitor. Car rental companies’ competitors may be not be just other suppliers and other solutions, but a client’s own travellers.
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
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