Companies gear up to promote new leisure and business deals

Car rental by Jane Archer

Companies gear up to promote new leisure and business deals

Rental firms eye new trade

Alamo

Alamo is promoting new developments for leisure travellers at World Travel Market including Direct Road, which allows customers to pre-register rental details so they spend less time filling in forms when they pick up their car.

Agents will be able to see video footage of new travel centres, retail centres, customer changing areas and family areas at some of its USlocations. The company is also launching its 2001 leisure retail programme including rates in North America, Europe and Latin America.

Connect

The broker is looking to raise its trade profile by sharing London Luton Airport’s stand.

The airport is the base for EasyJet and European Air Express, two of Connect’s airline partners and a major source of business.

Connect will be announcing plans to add a dedwicated agent section to its Internet site, enabling retailers to get quotes and book on-line.

Agent Alert

&#42 VOUCHERS UP FOR GRABS: Thrifty UK will be updating agents on how to earn free HMV vouchers for international reservations by using the company’s new phone or Internet reservation systems.

Get in gear: driving home the World on Wheels message are national account manager Nikki Lovell and key account manager leisure, Hugh Howden.

Hertz

The main focus at the Hertz stand will be on the company’s new pre-paid World on Wheels leisure programme and there will also be news of commission opportunities and forthcoming agent incentives. Hertz is supporting the Just a Drop charity by inviting visitors to the stand to pay £1 to enter a competition.

Holiday Autos

To celebrate the first birthday of its agents’ Web site, Holiday Autos will be hosting e-commerce workshops aimed at giving retailers who are keen to develop their own Internet sites the chance to discuss their car-rental needs.

It will be demonstrating some of its established partnerships, for instance with Go and lastminute.com, at the workshops. Holiday Autos will be showing visitors how car rental can be booked via Telewest’s interactive Digital TV.

Avis

The stand will be busy this year, with 75 Avis personnel including international leisure sales director Tom Knopek and head of UK travel sales Julia Kemp. Avis is supporting WTM’s Just a Drop charity by having a collection box on the stand and adding £1 to every donation.

Those making a donation will be entered in one of three prize draws offering a Porsche Boxster for aweekend.

Time Out

&#42 FORMULA1: Agents are invited to Suncars’ stand to try their hand at Formula 1 racing in a simulator designed to look like a 9ft long 1994 Lotus Formula 1 racing car. All the controls are identical to those in a racing car. The agent who records the fastest lap time will win a trip to next year’s Monaco Grand Prix.

National

The benefits of one currency across Europe will be crystal clear on the National stand where the company is promoting its 39 Euros rental rate for a Vauxhall Corsa or similar car.

The rate is available in all the European Union member states. The company is also promoting its fast-track Sign and Go service.

Europcar

The new fast-track service for business and leisure travellers, Ready, will be the main talking point at the show.

The service enables renters to collect their car in just three minutes. Agents can also visit Europcar’s Internet café to see how easy it is to make an on-line booking.

Transhire

Car-rental broker Transhire will be exhibiting at WTM for the first time this year in the global village, where it will be promoting its new interactive bookable Web site aimed at the trade.

Budget

Go!Budget will be the central theme on Budget’s double-decker stand this year, as the company aims to show agents how easy it is to book from this all-inclusive leisure programme and promote the competitive rates. Budget is also keen to highlight the rewards available on its global loyalty programme, Perfect Drive, the new Fastbreak express service and the short-break rental leisure programme, International Traveller.