Competitive Car Rental Rates, Fair Refueling Fees Make Summer Travel More Affordable

ST. LOUIS, May 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- With more than 36 million people hitting the road Memorial Day weekend, Enterprise Holdings – which owns and operates the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands – is helping to make summer travel more affordable and consumer friendly.  In fact, since 2009, average basic rental rates (covering time and mileage) for its flagship Enterprise Rent-A-Car service have only increased $1.55 per day at the airport, from $35.23 to $36.78.

In addition, airport customers renting from any of the three Enterprise Holdings brands can take advantage of fair, market-based refueling fees. They have the option of returning their vehicle with a full tank, pre-paying for a full tank at a discounted rate, or asking for the tank to be refilled after the car is returned. Those who choose the third option will have their tank refilled at a competitive and fair rate, unlike some competitors that may charge much higher refueling mark-ups. 

The maximum mark-up for this convenience is capped at $2 per gallon. A side-by-side comparison, based on May fuel prices, appears below:

Average Car Rental Refueling Fees at Major U.S. Airports* (May 2014)

Note: data collected by Enterprise, National and Alamo during May 2014

Enterprise has consistently led the car rental industry with the lowest refueling fees, with a well-established track record on this important consumer issue. As early as 2008, the Maryland Attorney General's Office announced agreements with other rental car operators to bring their refueling prices more in line with the much lower rates charged by the Enterprise, National and Alamo brands. At the time, the Baltimore Sun referred to their practices as "a model in setting refueling rates."

During his keynote address at this year's Car Rental Show, Enterprise Holdings' Chief Marketing Officer Pat Farrell stressed the long-term importance of such consumer-focused policies: "The car rental industry meets people's very real, important and urgent needs. There is a true purpose and honor in what we do. Our world will continue to change: innovation will drive growth, technology will drive growth and customer preferences will drive growth. Whether we – as individual companies or an industry – succeed or fail will come down to one simple thing – how we deal with each customer."

This press release and car rental industry news are available in the Enterprise Holdings Press Room.

* Note:  Enterprise, National and Alamo refueling charges – which depend on the average prevailing retail fuel price in the area that surrounds each airport location – are based on the local-market price of self-serve gasoline, plus a mark-up not to exceed 50 percent of the fuel cost. (This practice is in effect at all corporate-owned locations and participating franchises.)  The Enterprise, National and Alamo brands review local retail fuel prices three times per week. If those prices change by 3 cents or more in either direction, they adjust their airport refueling prices accordingly.

About Enterprise Holdings
Enterprise Holdings and its affiliate Enterprise Fleet Management together offer a total transportation solution. Combined, these businesses – which include extensive car rental and car-sharing services, commercial truck rental, corporate fleet management and retail car sales – accounted for $16.4 billion in revenue, employed 78,000 and operated 1.4 million vehicles throughout the world in fiscal year 2013. Enterprise Holdings, through its regional subsidiaries, operates the largest fleet of vehicles in the world through a global network of neighborhood and airport locations under the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands. Enterprise Fleet Management provides full-service fleet management to companies and organizations with medium-sized fleets. Other transportation services marketed under the Enterprise brand name include Enterprise CarShare, Enterprise Rideshare, Enterprise Car Sales and Enterprise Commercial Trucks. Operating through its regional subsidiaries, Enterprise Holdings is the largest car rental company in the world as measured by revenue, fleet and employees. The Enterprise Holdings Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Enterprise Holdings.

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SOURCE Enterprise Holdings