We know you have many questions about moving your pet. Please complete the fields below to receive y

They are already vaccinated to UK standards, drury inn atlanta and will have the rabies vaccine at least 30 days before I intend to fly. I may also add they have been microchipped, and I also understand that I will need a health certificate stating that both animals are fit to fly. Is there any other documentation I need?
It sounds like you re on top of things! Here s a rundown of the pet import requirements for the United States -- as you can see, the rabies vaccine and health certificate are the key elements here, and you seem to have those covered (be sure to get the health certificate within 10 days of departure).
Other than what you ve mentioned already, we recommend booking your pets flight with a pet friendly airline (we often use United due to their PetSafe program) and make sure you have the correct travel crates .
If you have any other questions or would like to find out about our door-to-door services, please fill out our free quote form . Again, it sounds like you re doing a great job with your preparations so far and you re well on your way to a smooth trip. Good luck with everything, and thanks for checking drury inn atlanta in with us!
We know you have many questions about moving your pet. Please complete the fields below to receive your complimentary consultation with one of our PetRelocation specialists, as well as to obtain an estimate drury inn atlanta for your pet(s) relocation.

All good tips, thanks! I see the CDW (never heard of the SCDW), Personal Accident Insurance and Thef

Used Hertz through "Journey Through Ireland" for an all inclusive quote including CDW (but not SCDW). Turned out good, fair price, great car and no surprises on our credit card statement when we got home this time! rvflyer
Granted that it was in 2003, but we had a horrible experience with Hertz Shannon. No car anything similar to what we had booked, so they very cavalierly stuffed five jetlagged zaftig women and all their luggage into a Land Rover and sent us on our way. Fortunately Hertz in Killarney went beyond the call of duty and found us our Ford Torneo. After complaints to headquarters, we received a $100 certificate discount kansas city hotels to use next time we booked with Hertz. Hah!
Whichever you choose, get the all-inclusive insurance. discount kansas city hotels Yeah, it can be pricey, but Irish roads are skinny, discount kansas city hotels curvy (My Irish friend explained it -- They made Irish roads for horses originally -- and horses hate straight lines!)and dangerous. I had a Bundoran hotel wall run out in front of me (or so it seemed) and dented the car pretty badly. With the all-inclusive insurance -- no problem. It is better discount kansas city hotels to be thankful that you spend 10 or 20 euros a day on insurance and not need it than wonder why you didn't -- with 2000 euros on your credit card! Enjoy that great country!
Like you, we have discounts discount kansas city hotels with Hertz and Avis. We used Hertz in Dublin in 2009 for a rental car and last month we used Hertz in Shannon for our rental car. No problems, no surprises with Hertz on either rental.
All I can add is that we have used Dan Dooley with great success in Ireland for 2 trips(Sept.2010 May 2011) and we will use them again. Very professional and hassle free both times. Call their East Coast, USA office.
All good tips, thanks! I see the CDW (never heard of the SCDW), Personal Accident discount kansas city hotels Insurance and Theft as options...I was going to just check them all. We're with USAA and yes, have a WORLD credit card. Do I search Fodors to find a thread discount kansas city hotels on insurance?
But the best thing to do is just call 1-800-MCASSIST and they will go through all of the provisions for you and email you a copy of the agreement to show to the car rental people discount kansas city hotels when you pick up the car (although Hertz has never asked to see it.)
We were recently in Ireland and were rear ended entering a gas station in Dublin. Fortunately no one was hurt, but Hertz took no action discount kansas city hotels to put a claim in with the other driver's insurance company, or advise us the damages and cost of repair and just charged us 1600 euro for damages. When we picked up the car in Shannon I refused additional insurance coverage knowing that my Visa would cover damages. Unfortunately, my refusal discount kansas city hotels of additional coverage did not include CDW as that was "included" in the car rental rate! Be careful, take it all or take none!

Winner of Sustainable Practice (Hertz Green Traveler Collection), Travel P ersonalization(Hertz Gol

If you feel the need for speed, try renting hotels on beach in dubai the Porsche Panamera from Hertz. This car was recently added to the Hertz Prestige Collection at select locations. But if looking for a clean getaway you could rent a Volkswagen Jetta TDI clean diesel which was recently added to Hertz Green Traveler Collection hotels on beach in dubai at select off-airport locations.
Once again Hertz was ranked the best rental hotels on beach in dubai car agency by Travel + Leisure Magazine. This may be because Hertz is committed to offering technologically innovative products and services available that results in a fast, easy and valued rental experience. Hertz has offered this promotion to Points, Miles Martinis hotels on beach in dubai readers to celebrate their recent awards the company has earned, including:
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Using Hertz NeverLost , which according to Peter Greenberg is one of the "tried and true GPS navigators" that has "evolved into an information hub—you can also use it for flight status and weather information, and it's even got a trip-planning tool."
*  Worth 2 free weekend rental days for a specialty hotels on beach in dubai vehicle (if used as an AnyDay reward (no black-out dates*) or 4 free weekend rental days (if used as a Standard reward).The new Hertz Gold Plus Rewards program has AnyDay Rewards with no black-out dates. Standard Rewards allow members to redeem for free rental days at a lower point value amount during all but  the most busy travel periods hotels on beach in dubai . Unless otherwise specified, AnyDay Rewards, Standard hotels on beach in dubai Rewards, hotels on beach in dubai and upgrades are available on Compact, Mid-Size and Full-Size cars only and are applicable for rentals within the U.S. and Canada. Maximum upgrade is from a Standard to a Premium (Ford Crown Victioria or similar) car. Rewards noted as Specialty Vehicle Rentals include  Luxury  (Lincoln Towncar or similar),  4WD/AWD SUV  (Ford Explorer or similar),  Minivans  (Ford Freestar or similar), or  Convertible  (Ford Mustang Convertible or similar).
I would love to visit Washington D.C. over labor day. The crowds have died a bit and it would allow for additional time at the monuments. The weather would be slightly cooler and it would be so nice to relax and reflect on our countries achievements
My darling niece is turning hotels on beach in dubai 1 on labor day weekend and I want to take my parents with me to NY to see her and celebrate her. This offer from Hertz would be extremely helpful and we d bring back her b day pictures to share with you all
Id take that Panamera, the Ruby Red Metallic hotels on beach in dubai one, to Times Square for the weekend. I d go to 30 Rockefeller and catch an SNL show. Then i d drive it, coast to coast, to Hollywood Blvd. I drive onto the set of the Jimmy Kimmel Live television show where we (The Porsche and I) would appear on a promotional spot for Hertz and Porsche sponsoring The Jimmy Kimmel Live Concert Series. Of course my co-pilot/driving coach would ideally be The Stig ! Hey, someone s gotta chip in on gas and speeding hotels on beach in dubai tickets!
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DISCLAIMER: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.

These cost scenarios are nonetheless playing out within some positive metrics. Volume, especially le

Earlier alaska cruise princess in February, Punxsutawney Phil poked out of his hole and didn t see his shadow, signifying an early spring this year. Later in the month, the public car rental companies announced the spring alaska cruise princess shoots of improving car rental rates, after years under the permafrost.
In its conference call, Avis Budget Group reported four price increases in the fourth alaska cruise princess quarter and then four more in January and February, with more planned. Avis said its pricing in North America declined less than 1% in the fourth quarter, a significant improvement over the prior three quarters, and Avis reported that the existing reservations build could end up positive year-over-year for the first quarter of 2013.
As a privately held company, we won t get any insight into rates from the largest player, Enterprise alaska cruise princess Holdings and its Enterprise, National and Alamo brands. But on Avis s conference call, Avis chief Ron Nelson said he believed that Enterprise was a fast follower in response to his company s rate hikes.
On the corporate pricing side, Hertz expects alaska cruise princess a slight improvement this year over 2012, but still slightly down overall. Like Hertz, Avis contracted commercial pricing continues to track 2% lower year over year.
Pressure on contracted business rentals has been an ongoing saga for a few years. This pressure is driven by the large corporate accounts, particularly those north of $10 million, according to Avis. Apparently, the quest for that level of volume continues to be as cutthroat as ever.
However, Avis sees upside in pricing on its mid-market accounts and spot market (non-contracted) commercial business. Avis says it s concentrating on growing small business volume, a fast growing segment, which is more closely tied to leisure pricing and is more profitable. As well, Avis has changed its incentive program for its sales force to help drive higher pricing.
Hertz s response is to minimize participation with less profitable commercial accounts. Perhaps that means business for other RACs out there willing to take a smaller margin. I m sure Hertz is busy leveraging Dollar Thrifty on the corporate side, whereas alaska cruise princess before it would have to manage discounting rates on its premium brand name or lose the account.
Hertz says it is staying conservative on its pricing outlook for 2013, projecting that rates will remain essentially flat over 2012. On the Hertz call, CEO Mark Frissora attributed some of the positive leisure alaska cruise princess rate trend to a strong holiday season this year, which inflated the numbers. Nonetheless, you might as well take flat as an improvement.
The pricing outlook is backed up by our monthly rate pull performed by Rate Highway, as rates have been trending positive for the last four months in the six cities surveyed. Anecdotally, a large independent operator reports a solid pricing environment, better than last year going forward.
While the pricing environment looks positive, Hertz and Avis present different outlooks on costs. Avis expects per-unit fleet costs in North America to increase 15% to 20% this year compared to 2012.
Hertz, on the other hand, estimates that its U.S. monthly depreciation per unit will be down 4% to 5% this year. Most of the gains for both Hertz and Avis will be realized in the first quarter, alaska cruise princess as both companies subsequently adjusted depreciation in 2012 to reduce the gains.
On the face of it, it s a shocking divergence. Why the difference? Avis may have taken larger gains in the used car market than Hertz last year. On the Avis call, CFO David Wyshner estimated that if you backed out the company s $125 million reported gain, that fleet costs would only increase 2% to 7% per unit this year.
While both companies are mitigating expense by diversifying their remarketing sales channels (away from brick-and-mortar auctions), this could be where Hertz s acquisition of Dollar Thrifty is really starting to pay off. Incorporating Dollar Thrifty s fleet, the company is now running a 95% risk fleet, and Dollar Thrifty s fleet has always run lower priced cars in terms of cap costs and thus depreciation. Hertz s capitalized costs are down more than 1% for this year s fleet buy no doubt on mix, but perhaps on buying power as well.
These cost scenarios are nonetheless playing out within some positive metrics. Volume, especially leisure, is looking strong. alaska cruise princess Europe isn t pretty, but overall revenue is at record highs; margins are solid and bottom-line profits are being realized.
Apparently, that groundhog is doing a lousy prediction job this year. Punxsutawney, Penn. and the rest of the northeast is forecasted for a cold and snowy start to March. Hopefully this cautious optimism on car rental pricing is true, and if it is, it will be a very good year for car rental.
Chris Brown is the executive editor of Business Fleet Magazine and Auto Rental News for Bobit Business Media. Through these publications, online newsletters, trade events and associations, Chris covers all aspects of the fleet world, alaska cruise princess including fleet management, manufacturer fleet activities, the fleet leasing industry, vehicle remarketing, rental industry news, car rental taxation and legislation as well as automotive environmental initiatives and trends.

We once had a customer with a brand new car burn out a clutch in 800 miles. It can easily be done, i

Question : My husband rented a car from Hertz in Madrid last summer. The car broke while he was on his way back to the airport, and he had to abandon it by the side of the road in order to make his flight back to the States.
He informed the Hertz people at the airport what had happened and they told him it was fine and the car would be retrieved. Three weeks later, we received a letter that there was 850 euro charge for a burnt clutch on our credit card. We tried to contact Hertz Spain, both before and after the bill, to ensure the car had been collected and everything was fine but they didn't answer the phone or respond to emails.
Hertz sent us an email saying our insurance coverage did not cover "negligence" and that it was our fault and that we owed it 850 euro. It didn't answer any other emails, so we disputed the charge. The investigation by the credit card company came out in our favor, but now Hertz has sent the matter to a collections agency. Do you have any suggestions? Hadley Roeltgen , Philadelphia
Answer : Don't take it personally; credit card disputes that go in your favor are automatically sent to a collection agency. Some car rental companies also add you to a "do not rent" list, which means you're blacklisted from ever renting from it again.
The key to fixing this problem would have been to get it addressed before this became an 850 euro charge on your credit card bill. Calling Hertz and mentioning the breakdown before hailing a cab for the airport new orleans hotels might have given the company a chance to offer you a ride back to the airport, where you could fill out the paperwork.
Getting assurances by phone is pointless. You need something in writing before you leave the country. Even if your flight home is imminent, at least stop by the Hertz counter to talk about next steps and get documentation that everything is "fine." But don't take a representative's word for it. It's not enough.
I can't blame you for disputing the credit card bill: Hertz seems to have been less than responsive when you contacted it, asking for an explanation. But what you might not know is that burned clutches are common problems with American renters in Europe. We don't have as much experience driving standard-transmission, and are presumed guilty for every ruined clutch.
If burned clutches are commonplace when Americans rent standard transmission vehicles, perhaps rental new orleans hotels companies new orleans hotels in Europe should new orleans hotels suggest that all Americans rent only vehicles with automatic transmissions. If the customer insists on renting a standard shift, the rental company should require that he/she sign a waiver saying that the renter is responsible should the clutch fail. I m sure that many renters will decide to pay a little new orleans hotels more money for a car with automatic transmission rather than take a chance on a clutch failure. Doing this will save both the rental companies and their customers new orleans hotels from much frustration.
They re charging Europeans too. The problem with clutch failure is its hard to determine exactly who caused the damage because its not visible like a dent would be. Was it 3 renters ago, last renter, or current renter?
My issue with the clutch claim, is that it s not a question of if a clutch will fail, or burn out but when . This is normal wear and tear as a result of use. While many factors contribute new orleans hotels to a mechanical failure, its not any one person but th collective wear for all previous users of the vehicle. Expecting a clutch to last forever is as nonsensical as expecting the whole car to last forever. The rental rate for a vehicle should include some portion new orleans hotels of repair recovery or capture. Spead the wear across new orleans hotels all users and renters who incrementally contributed to the eventual mechanical failure.
agreed. You can t burn a clutch over a few days even if you are riding it. Its a cost of having new orleans hotels a manual and occurs over time. Even my dad, a notorious clutch rider couldnt burn his out until the car had 25k miles on it
We once had a customer with a brand new car burn out a clutch in 800 miles. It can easily be done, if you don t know what you re doing. In that case, even though it was obvious to me that it was the act of a novice driver, the clutch was repaired under warranty.
new orleans hotels But that sort of abuse was rare, and there is no doubt that the vast majority of clutch wear is cumulative over the many different drivers of a rental car. Bad luck to be the one driving when it fails. There are some simple tests to see what shape the clutch is in before you drive off, You can try to start from a standing stop in fourth gear. If it stalls immediately, OK, If it slips and whines, get another car.
Burned clutches are common problems with American renters in Europe. Really? Probably only because the rental companies see you coming and purposely give you, an American, a car they know has clutch problems hoping the clutch fails and they can charge you to fix it since you will be too far away to fight the charge successfully.
The old excuse that Europeans prefer cars with manual transmissions is why the rental companies have mainly those is no longer true. I work with many Europeans who have never driven a manual transmission auto of any kind and wouldn t know how if they had to. I think the rental companies in Europe have the manual cars simply new orleans hotels because the purchase price is less and it is mainly tourists new orleans hotels from outside of Europe that rent them.
I have driven cars with clutches off and on my entire new orleans hotels driving life. I have never burned a clutch or had any other transmission problems. I prefer automatics now simply because it is one less thing to think about while driving, even though the manual shifting becomes so automatic after a while I don t really have to think about it. And an automatic keeps my hand free so I can drink my Starbucks I paid too much for and text everyone! (Just kidding about this last part.)
But most of these rentals you get in Europe are much older with many more miles on them than the typical car you get at a US rental company. So it is not uncommon to get a car with 50K miles on it. 50K with people driving it that are not normally manual drivers and I understand why the clutch fails, but as mentioned it is a cumulative thing, not necessarily a single renter causing the failure.
Another Clio, this time in Germany, refused to start. I had to turn the car in the next day, I called Hertz. They said, Come to the the local agent and we ll give you a different new orleans hotels car to get to the airport. The new car was a 6 speed turbo diesel Passat, and I had the opportunity to drive that on a wide open Autobahn (Kaiserslautern to Trier). So that was an unexpected new orleans hotels thrill from a dead car.
Our 2nd Volvo 240 wagon came with a bad clutch, which finally new orleans hotels failed at 65k miles. Volvo refused to replace it, the dealer told my wife she wasn t welcome at their dealersheip any more. But it was really new orleans hotels hard to argue it was her driving, when she got 110k miles on the same car with no clutch problems.
It could well be that an inexperienced stick driver can burn out a clutch in a day or two (this was discussed on Car Talk a couple months ago), but given that clutches are by their nature parts that wear out, it s difficult to establish cause for a failed clutch to one specific driver.
I mean, I can see having a problem driving a stick in a country that drives on the left side of the road, but why in the world would anyone who doesn t know how to drive a stick accept a rental vehicle with a manual transmission?
I agree with the Fishplate person you can tell if a clutch if failing pretty quickly when you re driving one. If you don t know enough about a manual transmission to be able to tell whether a clutch if failing, you shouldn t be trying to drive a stick!
happened to me in wales about 30 years ago. we had arranged for the rental by phone from london and the agency was to deliver our car to the train station to meet us on arrival. they showed up with a manual. new orleans hotels fortunately, both of us knew how to drive a manual, tho my mother was better at it than i, so she got us to the B B where we were staying that night. when we got there (with more than a couple brushes of the curb), she flatly told me that if i wanted to drive around wales, i was going to do the driving.
50,000 miles on a car rented in the US isn t unusual these days. It used to be that they got great deals from fleet sales and then turned over the car while it still had decent residual value. Now they keep them rather long and try to get as much as possible before selling a vehicle.
Neither of them could drive a manual. They informed the agency that since neither of them possessed the skill, they would like the refund of their deposit as the agency had not been able to fulfill their part of the contract. There was, apparently, some trouble with that from the agency, based on the desk clerk s opinion that they reserved a car, and they should take a car, even though they couldn t drive the car. This resulted in my mother calling AmEx s travel bureau (who they used for the reservation) and getting them to deal with the agency (no, I don t remember which one).
(the next time they went, both of them forgot their driver s licenses and called me at 2AM East Coast time, to get them to go to UPS first thing in the morning and overnight said licenses to them, but that s a totally different story.)
new orleans hotels The key data point in this story is that as anyone who s been driving stick for 30-40k new orleans hotels miles would know, you get warned well in advance when your clutch is about to conk out. If the clutch in that car was going bad, the original submitter would ve mentioned it in his story.
A long, long time ago I had a brief, very brief, long distance relationship. When I visited her, and got in her car, it took me five minutes before I turned to her and said: I ve got some bad news, you ll be paying for a new clutch soon, very soon.
The fact that the original submitter didn t mention having any clutch problems, new orleans hotels until the car broke down, tells me that he really did not ha

[...] Readers could enter by learning about Hertz s new Carfirmation service and mobile alerts in th

To help you get mobile, Hertz is launching Carfirmations Upgrades, which allows Gold Members cheap tickets train usa to upgrade their reserved rental directly from their mobile devices in three simple clicks. To celebrate this news, Hertz is offering one lucky Points, Miles Martinins reader the opportunity to win 2,500 Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Points. These points may be used for a free weekly rental, as a Standard Reward redemption*.
Hertz Carfirmations or Mobile Gold Alerts, are an email and mobile SMS text service that notifies Hertz Gold Plus Rewards members, prior to arrival, about their rental. These notifications can include specific vehicle information and car location.
Hertz recently cheap tickets train usa announced that Hertz Gold Plus Rewards members may select an upgrade or different rental vehicle through their smartphone via Carfirmations Upgrades. I like that Hertz Gold Plus Rewards members can select a range of cars from their smartphones which can instantly rent instead of the reserved vehicle. It only takes three simple clicks to complete a vehicle change through the Carfirmations service. You don't even have to talk to a rental agent thereby saving time and getting customers on the road faster.
To launch the new upgrades, Hertz piloted the service in Los Angeles and Washington D.C. and has since introduced the service to the top 50 airport locations in the U.S. Hertz let us know that thousands of customers participated in the pilot program and provided an overwhelmingly positive cheap tickets train usa response. Some of the responses included comments cheap tickets train usa like:
* This Hertz Gold Plus Rewards represents cheap tickets train usa Standard Reward redemptions, which may not be available on all days. Available cheap tickets train usa on Compact to Premium cars only. 5-day minimum rental required, maximum 7 days .
Hertz already has text alerts cheap tickets train usa figured out very well so I m looking forward to this enhancement I feel it is a good addition for their customers. As for my next road-trip, escaping the cold east-coast winter and driving up (and down) the hills of San Francisco or Los Angeles sounds quite amazing right about now!
We used this a couple of weeks ago and it is an easy way to have a little larger selection without cheap tickets train usa having to go to the kiosk and asking to change cars. We ended up keeping the car we were assigned but it is nice to have options.
I think as long as it doesn t create any issues cheap tickets train usa with additional fees tacked on to your reservation, it s a great thing. The convenience is great, but only if it doesn t create a problem with transparency.
This is another example of Hertz being innovative, which is why I stay loyal to them. (Well, that and Gold Service no need to wait at the counter!) For my next road trip, I m hoping it s either Aruba or Seattle (depending on the season).
I love the idea of options! I m looking forward to being able to use this in the near future! I have a road-trip planned for May, starting in Pheonix and ending in Las Vegas. We re taking a very circuitous route east to New Mexico, north to Utah, back south again to the Grand Canyon, and finally over the Hoover Dam and to Las Vegas. Can t wait!
This looks like a great tool no matter how often you may need to rent a car. Having instant access to control those details mean everything to ensure a pleasant stress free trip. I look forward to using the tool for my business trips or personal trips to Florida.
Assuming that the notification is sent in a timely fashion, like a day prior to rental, sure would assist me. I hvr, for some time already been getting notification of car type/license etc.., but unfortunately the email notification I am getting isusually 1/2 hour prior to my arrival (while I am on the plane with my smartphone tured off).
This sounds like a great idea, until you read the fine print and see it only applies to 5 day minimum rentals. There is always a catch. cheap tickets train usa But next time I travel for leisure instead of business, I ll be headed to Los Angeles and can t wait to check it out!
I. Love the idea of the new alerts etc. Its another edition cheap tickets train usa of good service ontop of the excellent service of hertz till now, my next trip would be to the poconos in pa. Hertz, where love is returned
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Seeing an opportunity to expand during the dip, Hertz decided to move in on its smaller rival, Dolla

FORTUNE -- The markets fervently applauded the $2.3 billion merger hotel dallas announcement between car rental giants Hertz and Dollar Thrifty on Monday, giving both companies a healthy bump in shareholder value. But while the merger looks promising on many levels, it is hardly a done deal. Hertz still needs the approval of government regulators as well as Dollar shareholders to make it happen, two things the market shouldn't take for granted. And even if the deal goes through, it is still unclear how Hertz plans to achieve the revenue synergies needed to justify the hefty premium it will have paid.
In order to understand this deal we need to take a look back in time. The car rental hotel dallas business in the US has changed dramatically in the last decade. What used to be a diverse set of small companies fighting it out for market share and counter space at the local airport has become very concentrated. In the last few years National bought Alamo, Avis merged with Budget, Thrifty hooked up with Dollar hotel dallas ( DTG ) and Hertz acquired Advantage. Then in 2007, Enterprise Rent-A-Car acquired hotel dallas the combined National/Alamo fleet, making it the largest car rental company in the US.
By the end of the last decade the number of major car rental companies in the US had gone from about nine to just four: Hertz, Avis/Budget, Enterprise and Dollar/Thrifty. Together, the four car companies controlled 87% of the US car rental market. But the public remained mostly oblivious of the car rental oligopoly as the companies retained their old brand names, giving the illusion of choice when in fact there was very little. But despite their strong market power, rental hotel dallas car pricing still came under pressure during the 2008 recession. While none of the companies faced bankruptcy, profits were severely curtailed across the board as both the business and leisure traveler stayed off the road.
Seeing an opportunity to expand during the dip, Hertz decided to move in on its smaller rival, Dollar Thrifty. The rationale behind the deal was to ostensibly diversify Hertz's client hotel dallas base beyond its core customer: the business traveler. The story was that a combination with Dollar, whose customers were mainly leisure travelers, would allow the company hotel dallas to utilize its extensive fleet in a more efficient way as it could rent cars on the weekends when business travelers go home and leisure travelers take to the roads.
After a few months of negotiations, Dollar agreed to be acquired by Hertz (for the first time) in April 2010 for $41 a share or $1.2 billion. Fearing a lost opportunity, rival Avis Budget decided to make a higher, unsolicited hotel dallas offer for Dollar for around $1.3 billion. A bidding war between Hertz and Avis commenced, but Dollar's board seemed set on doing a deal with Hertz, even though hotel dallas Avis consistently outbid its rival. Dollar justified its position saying that while Avis's bid may be higher, it feared that any deal with Avis would be blocked on anti-trust grounds.
Dollar Thrifty shareholders felt they were being short-changed and that anti-trust concerns was just as much, if not more, of an issue with Hertz as it was with Avis. Shareholders ended up voting down Hertz's first offer, sending the whole process back to the drawing board. hotel dallas The move showed that Dollar's shareholders were a force to be reckoned with and that their support shouldn't be taken for granted. There is talk that major Dollar shareholders hotel dallas were consulted on the price before the latest offer was announced, but it is unclear if they were happy with the numbers. If not, they could end up derailing the merger yet again.
But even if the price is right, the deal still has to get past government regulators. Given that anti-trust was a major issue to shareholders the first time around, it was widely believed that a new deal wouldn't be announced until after the government issued its opinion. But the tedious government review process, which began all the way back in 2010, is still ongoing, raising questions as to Hertz's motives.
It is hard to see how all could be fine on the regulatory front given how big the company's footprint would be after the deal is consummated. Hertz has tried to downplay the market share argument, saying that the combined company would make up just 23% of the U.S. car rental market, while its next biggest competitor, Enterprise, would have around 51%. While that is true, it distorts the picture somewhat as it counts car rentals both on- and off-airport. It is at the airport where the big firms make most of their money as they can charge customers double the going rate off-airport. So if one strips out off-airport locations, Enterprise hotel dallas falls to 36% while the Hertz and Dollar deal would command around 38% of the of the rental market, which is sure to raise alarm bells in Washington.
Regulators will usually approve mergers if it leaves three or four competitors in a local market, but they start to show grave concern when it gets down to two. Given the limited competition already hotel dallas in the car rental market, there are several local markets where a Hertz and Dollar/Thrifty merger would lead to just such a scenario.
Nevertheless, Hertz tried to instill hotel dallas confidence in the deal yesterday by announcing the sale of its leisure-focused Advantage subsidiary. At the same time, the company said it is prepared to make other concessions to get the deal past regulators, but stopped short of saying what those concessions could be and how much revenue it could cost the combined company. But it should be noted that while jettisoning Advantage seems like a big concession, it really hotel dallas isn't. Advantage on its own makes up less that 1% of the domestic car rental market, so its loss doesn't move the needle much. Hertz apparently sold the business for a piddling $16 million, according to Bloomberg News , which means that the business wasn't worth that much anyway.
But even if the government approves hotel dallas the merger, Hertz may be asked to divest some of its operations or make accommodations to level the playing field for regional car rental companies. This could get very expensive on many levels. If the government plays hardball, hotel dallas Hertz could be asked to make concessions that in the long run could far outweigh the $160 million in annual cost synergies that the company claims it can squeeze out of a tie-up. It would also decrease any revenue synergies that both Hertz and the market believe hotel dallas could be in the cards.
The question still remains as to whether or not the company could achieve meaningful revenue synergies to account for the premium Hertz just paid to absorb Dollar Thrifty. Part of that rests on the future of the car rental business. The last few years have been great, with double-digit percentage increases in revenue, but that could be coming to a swift end as the economy stalls. Dollar Thrifty reported flat revenue growth for the second quarter of this year compared with the same time last year after posting several strong quarters of growth. It actually made its numbers by slashing costs to the bone.
Also impacting future revenues is the recent dip in used car prices. Last month was the first month in three years that used car prices reported a decrease in value from the same time last year. That's important because rental car companies are a slave to the used car market as they constantly turnover cars. In fact a 1% move in used prices impacts the pretax profit of rental car companies hotel dallas by 10%, according to Morgan Stanley. The decline in used car values is expected to continue through the year, which will make it that much harder for Hertz to justify this deal that's, of course, if it ever actually gets done.
With so many unknowns it is no wonder that the deal has an extremely liberal merger agreement. Dollar reportedly has 30 days to freely entertain other bids and could walk away from the deal at any time without paying a breakup fee if it receives a higher offer. This means that Hertz and Dollar Thrifty are either hotel dallas super confident that the deal will get done or are so unsure that they built an escape hatch. Either way, Hertz will have a lot of explaining to do in the next few months if it intends on keeping the recent pop in its stock.
Update: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Enterprise held 35% of the U.S. car rental market. It holds around 51% in total, and 36% in the off-airport market. The story also said Dollar hotel dallas could walk away from the deal at any time without paying a breakup fee. According to Hertz, Dollar can only walk away without paying a fee if it receives a higher offer. The story has been updated to reflect these changes.