Car Hire Europe Summer 09 - Book now or risk being without a car!

1000’s of cars already booked this summer!

European fleets slashed by 40%.
You can’t afford to get left behind this summer


Urgent news for agents selling car hire this summer:
Due, in part, to less cars being produced, and less money being spent on expanding fleets, there is a SIGNIFICANT SHORTAGE in car hire availability in Europe this summer. Many car hire suppliers are cutting their fleets by up to 40%, as well as increasing their prices for
car hire purchased close to the date of travel.

Affordable Car Hire Top Tip: Book car hire for your clients NOW or run risk of either paying through the nose, or not being able to locate a car.

Categories: Car_Hire_Summer_2009, car_shortage

Affordable Car Hire Service Level Agreement Questionnaire

Back in February we sent a questionnaire out to all our agents asking you to tell us what you thought were the best aspects of each of the departments at Affordable Car Hire and what changes we could make to provide a better service, along with additional comments that might be relevant.

Firstly, Affordable Car Hire would like to say a big thank you to all the agents who took the time to respond. As an extra thank you, all agents who responded were entered into a draw to win £50 in Capital Bonds. 2 weeks ago, our very own Accounts Manager, Sam Brown, picked a name from random to win the prize. We are very pleased to announce that the winner is...Gina at First For Orlando! Congratulations Gina. Let us know what you have spent the vouchers on!

At Affordable Car Hire, we take all of your comments and suggested changes very seriously, and take great pride in what you consider to be the best aspects of the company. All of the departments have been forwarded your responses and will be compiling a report about how we can improve the services we provide, based on your feedback. These reports will be communicated back to all of our agents at the beginning of May, so you can see how we plan to implement your suggested changes. A summary of these reports will, of course, be on this Blog...so make sure you keep visiting the Blog to stay up-to-date with all the latest news from Affordable Car Hire.

Categories: Agents_Feedback, Service_Level_Agreement, How_are_we_doing?

Red Nose Day at Affordable Car Hire

On Friday the 13th February 2009, the team at Affordable Car Hire well and truly entered into the spirit of Comic Relief.

The whole team wore items of red clothing and thanks to our Operations Director, James Moore, we all had little red noses to wear!

Whilst not every member of the team could be in the photo, as you can see, no one was afraid to colour co-ordinate their wardrobes for the day! Whether it be red tights, shoes, nail polish or football shirts, the whole team did a fantastic job of participating in Comic Relief.

I'm sure we are not the only ones in the UK to do their bit for Comic Relief. We would all love to see and hear what everyone else did!

For more info on the team at Affordable Car Hire, please go to http://affordablecarhireteam.blogspot.com. New team profiles are updated once a month, so keep checking back!

Categories: Red-Nose-Day, Comic-Relief, Affordable-Car-Hire

Car Rental from Affordable Car Hire : Feedback from Joanne

Hi Chris,

Really appreciate your help on this. Look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind Regards

Joanne

Categories: Feedback

Car Rental from Affordable Car Hire : Feedback from Joanne

Hi Chris,

A big thank you to you and Dean for helping us out with this booking.

I assume you are going to add a booking for this onto our next statement?

I will forward this to Lizzie to process.

Thanks

Joanne

Categories: Feedback

HOW TO AVOID CAR SICKNESS

When it comes to selling car hire, it can be a jungle out there. This is the warning from Affordable Car Hire, which wants to make the process as simple as A to B for TTA members.

Affordable points out the traps:
So called 'all-inclusive' prices offered by some companies may turn out to be not quite the bargain they first appear. How many agents have quoted a price to a client only to find at the time of booking there's a 'hidden charge', such as an excess insurance fee or booking cost that makes the rate less competitive than it first seemed?

Affordable Car Hire's mission is to wipe away any confusion by offering one rate that means just that. The price you see is the price your client will pay.

Angela Day, ACH Managing Director, says: "Our sales team on the road report time and again that this is a major bone of contention among agents who often lose the sale because, once all the 'hidden charges' are added in, clients think the price is too much.

Clients say they can book it cheaper on the Internet but they often encounter the same problem, with headline prices being bumped up as they process the booking. By then though, the client is fed up searching around and will just book it anyway. Either way, the agent looses.

The ACH product to nearly all major holiday destinations includes a 'no excess waiver' on the price displayed on our website. This all adds up to a saving of as much as £20 per week compared to other car-hire companies.

There have been press reports recently about misleading headline prices from some car-hire companies.

We believe that our pricing means that everyone is a winner and that agents can provide value for money to their customers."

And for clients new to hiring cars (or even those who book vehicles regularly) ACH recommends the following nuggets of advice to avoid hassle and to save money.

• Customers with a new plastic card licence must take the paper document along at pick-up to prove validity.
• Advise clients it's always cheaper to refill the car with fuel than opt to return it empty.
• Tell clients to ensure they, and a member of staff, thoroughly check the car before driving it away.
• On return, advise clients to leave plenty of time for a post-hire check. Don't just park up and drop the keys off.

"How to Avoid Car Sickness", TTA Newsletter Edition 32

Categories: Car Hire Advice, Car Rental Advice

Affordable Car Hire Sign New Worldwide Suppliers

Affordable Car Hire have signed partnership agreements with several new car rental suppliers which means the car-rental broker now provides product in new locations such as Israel, Romania, Morocco & Slovenia. In addition to these destinations, further suppliers have also been signed in Belgium and Malta.

The new agreements allow agents using the Affordable Car Hire Website, www.affordablecarhire.com, to access the new rates, plus offering agents the chance to increase their earning potential.

Nick Hughes, Sales & Marketing Director at Affordable Car Hire, said: “We are constantly looking to add to our product offering and by signing new supplier agreements, especially in the non-Euro zone countries, our travel agency partners have every opportunity to offer their clients every aspect of the holiday experience.”

“In the current economic climate and with holiday bookings in 2009 forecasted to be down 10-12% compared to 2008, there has never been a greater need for the UK travel agent to proactively offer car hire as an additional revenue stream.”

“In some cases the earning potential on a car hire booking with Affordable Car Hire can be more than on the holiday itself, so it is an essential element of increasing the bottom line profit for any agent.”

Categories: Affordable Car Hire, Car Rental, New Partnership, Israel, Romania, Morocco, Slovenia, Belgium, Malta

Jetset & Affordable Car Hire form New Business Partnership

Affordable Car Hire and Jetset have signed a partnership agreement which means the car-rental company provides product for the operator’s new online Booking Basket facility.

The agreement allows agents using the Jetset JETS booking system, or booking via jetsetflights.com to access the whole range of Affordable Car Hire’s product simply and easily at the touch of a button.

John Bond, chairman of Jetset, said: “We already offer hotels and other components on jetsetflights.com. The addition of car hire was the next step and enhances our proposition as a one-stop shop. Agents can now book all components in one PNR and on one confirmation invoice, with the additional benefit that it is covered under our ATOL.”

“We chose Affordable Car Hire for a number of reasons. It is very competitive in the USA, which is one of our key markets, and it has a reputation for being reliable and providing value for money. Affordable Car Hire’s XML link means it is easy for the company to feed us with content so agents can make bookings and search availability.”

Angela Day, managing director of Affordable Car Hire, said: “Travel agents are already well aware of Affordable Car Hire’s high-quality, trade-friendly service. Now they are able to book car rental with us as part of a truly tailor-made package with Jetset Flights

Categories: JetSet, New PartnershipCar Rental

Car Rental from Affordable Car Hire : Feedback from David

Dear Chris

Just a quick note to say a big thanks for your help in resolving this matter. It seems rare these days to come across people that are as helpful as yourself so again a big thanks for your help and i look forward to booking through you in the future.

Yours sincerely,

David

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Visit Affordable Car Hire for a premium car rental service with affordable prices at all times.

Categories: Feedback

Car Rental from Affordable Car Hire : Feedback from Angus

Many thanks for your speedy and informative reply.

Regards,

Angus.

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Categories: Feedback

Car Rental from Affordable Car Hire : Feedback from Phil

Many thanks Chris, that is very good to hear [...]. May I just say that I have been very pleased with the service offered by Affordable Car Hire, which has exceeded all of my expectations. I will certainly be using your service in the future.

Kind regards
Phil

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Visit www.affordablecarhire.co.uk for a premium car rental service with affordable prices at all times.

Categories: Feedback