Recently, we had the opportunity to have an interesting chat with one of our sponsors, Hertz. We thought we'd share some of the things we learned about their company with our blog readers. Enjoy!
What are some of the interesting new programs at Hertz?
Hertz has launched a few really cool new programs in the past year:
Connect by Hertz is a car sharing club launched in New York City, London and Paris. It provides centrally located, environmentally friendly vehicles for use for an hour or a day. The cars are pay-as-you-go and self service. Car share vehicles include the Mini Cooper, Toyota Prius and Mazda.
Simply Wheelz offers self-service car rentals at the airport. You make a reservation online, print the bar code, and then scan it at the one-stop rental machine. The machine uses the barcode to access all of your reservation information, assigns a vehicle and prints your rental agreement. You then go straight to the assigned car and drive it off the lot. It's that simple! This program is currently available in Orlando, Miami, West Palm Beach, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Rent2Buy allows you to take an extended 3 day test drive, buy online and save up to 30%. Hertz offers quality, well- maintained vehicles at a great price. You can reserve your car online, then go to your local Hertz location to pick it up. If you decide to purchase it, there is no need to return it.
What’s the coolest car in the Hertz fleet?
The Corvette ZHZ is the latest addition to the Hertz Fun Collection. It’s a limited edition model (only 500 built), created exclusively for Hertz, with a six-speed paddle shift transmission, 436 horsepower, and SIRIUS Satellite Radio.
Your loyalty program is great for business travelers. Tell us a little bit about that.
Hertz #1 Club Gold loyalty program is ideal for business travelers as it enables them to rent a car quickly, without waiting in line or filling out a lot of paperwork. Club Gold features expedited pick-up and return service at more than 40 of the world’s busiest airports at more than 1,000 locations worldwide. Club Gold members earn free rental days with the Hertz #1 Awards® program as well as award points for qualifying dollars spent. Points can be redeemed for free rentals and other travel rewards
Why did Hertz decide to become a TripIt sponsor?
There are always new travel websites springing up, but every now and then we see one that stands out as offering something new and different, TripIt is one of these sites. We are sponsoring TripIt because we think it is an exciting and intriguing concept with lots of opportunity for continual innovation. TripIt makes it easier for customers to manage reservations, which is great for Hertz, because organized customers help our business run more smoothly. Additionally, Hertz is technologically innovative and caters to a growing base of web-friendly customers, so the partnership makes a lot of sense.
We believe TripIt has the potential to grow into a significant presence on the web and provide Hertz with access to a growing source of web friendly new customers. In these difficult times we have to be very selective as to where we spend our sponsorship money, but we think that TripIt has what takes to be successful.
So I love Hertz... I'm just getting started in #1 Club but shouldn't take long :-)
Would be great to see some special features and or privs for TripIt members.
Posted by: Chris Auld | January 20, 2009 at 05:46 PM
Hertz NeverLost Online Trip Planning is a great travel tool that lets you save trips to a USB thumb-drive that you can plug into NeverLost for quick access. You can also download Favorites for popular events like the Super Bowl:
http://www.neverlost.com/Favorites_Sports.aspx#SUPERBOWL
Posted by: Big Osc | January 27, 2009 at 12:04 PM