Hertz gets bigger, will rental rates too?

I'm pretty confident the identical will occur with Hertz as well as Dollar Thrifty," Abrams said.



Consolidation could be 'mixed blessing'

Rental vehicle prices reached historic highs within 2009. vehicle rental industry -- Enterprise, Avis (which owns Budget) and also Hertz -- which can affect shoppers if this will come in order to pricing, Elliott said. In the particular event that the two companies could enhance their company processes as becoming a result of your merger, that will trickle as the outcome of client service, he said.

But 1 travel expert said consolidation is actually a mixed blessing with regard to consumers.

It's usually great for the businesses, simply because they're able to charge higher prices, stated Chris Elliott, any travel columnist and National Geographic Traveler magazi ne's reader advocate.

"It may result in some streamlined operations, several improved service, nevertheless it also has a downside: There's less competition," Elliott said.

. The Particular higher prices happen for you to be driven partly simply by tighter fleets, thus you will find fewer cars to rent, and also tighter lending, this means car rental companies can't buy as numerous cars, mentioned Chris Brown, executive editor associated with Auto Rental News.

"We're throughout an era of higher-priced auto rentals along with that era is most likely planning to stay set up to get a while," Brown said. "It will benefit consumers."

For Hertz customers who don't need the particular "bells and also whistles" involving higher-end cars, the deal opens the doorway for you to much more value-oriented rentals, Abrams said, although providing Dollar Thrifty clients usage of Hertz's worldwide system.

Hertz offers 8,200 locations within 146 countries, while Dol lar Thrifty offers 1,550 locations around the globe.

Customers additionally likely won't use whatever rental price changes once the firms merge, Abrams said.

"Enterprise, National and also Alamo is one company, nevertheless the three brands compete inside their personal individual pricing tiers. "I'm unsure that Hertz purchasing Dollar Thrifty [will be] a new driver of your rate increase."

Meanwhile, Dollar Thrifty will likely always run below its very own identify and hold the same quantity of locations, Brown said.



A Hertz worker helps the client with its rental-car pickup location from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Car rental business giant Hertz is actually planning to get Dollar ThriftyAnalysts the merger likely won't suggest that deals will be harder to findHigh rental prices are being driven through tighter fleets and also tighter lending, expert saysConsolidation can be a mixed blessing for consumers, journey expert says

(CNN) -- Renting a vehicle continues to be a expensive proposition within latest months, as well as Monday's information which market giant Hertz is actually planning to purchase Dollar Thrifty may have travelers thinking regardless of whether deals will probably be even harder to be able to find.

Not likely, say business analysts, which predict automobile rental rates will remain high regarding causes unrelated towards the deal.

Some say Hertz's acquisition created sense.

"I truly consider it's fantastic news," mentioned Neil Abrams in the Abrams Consulting Group, which follows the vehicle rental industry. "Just typically speaking, much less competition is truly a poor thing."

"So now you can't just as someone say, well, I'm heading to tak e my company to be able to Dollar Thrifty, because Hertz now owns it," he said.

Since consolidation features left just 3 big players within the U.S