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Car rental experts must lurk here!
Subsidiaries of the same business, usually share a desk at airports. Websites are very similar, and they offer the same A to O class of dull cars. Do they share cars, staff, processes, or are there some meaningful differences that make Avis worth the extra few quid?
I appreciate this is a boring question, but we deserve an answer. Also maybe I've unearthed a conspiracy that needs to be exposed.
Probably woulda been quicker to search it
I suspect it comes down to whether you have a corporate Avis account or not.
We had a car from Budget on holiday in the summer (albeit booked via Jet2HireCars) and it was fine.
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Probably woulda been quicker to search it
Oddly enough as far as my googling is able to tell, no-one else has asked this question anywhere on the internet.
Even though I pay to be here, asking questions on a sometimes spiky bike forum isn’t usually my first choice. But when all else fails STW usually has the answer.
Edit. Good grief, my OP states that I know they are the same company. What I mean is, is there any good reason for choosing Avis over Budget or are they literally exactly the same when it comes to collecting the car from the desk?
Ah - sorry - misread.
Alamo/National/Enterprise group definitely appear to be the same outfit at some airports - same desk etc., with online pre-booking prices only a few quid/pence difference. My sense was that you'd never get a site with separate franchises for the different brands (and for some countries they aren't franchises anyway).
For Avis, wikipedia has this to offer: "Many of the off-airport locations are franchised operations rather than company-owned and -operated, as is the case with most airport locations", suggesting that Avis/Budget is usually the same at airports, but could be different if off-site. You'd need insider knowledge of their franchise agreements I guess.
I wouldn't pay extra to have an Avis car instead of a Budget car. I just returned an Avis car to a joint airport location. The car had Avis stickers on it (at least, it did before I peeled them off) but on previous occasions I've been given a car from another brand because they were really all run by the same local franchisee.
"
As a leading global provider of mobility solutions, Avis Budget Group operates three of the most recognized brands in the industry, including Avis, Budget and Zipcar. Avis is one of the world's largest car rental providers dedicated to expanding on-demand mobility solutions and personalizing the customer experience.
Brands - Avis Budget Group<br /><br />Avis Budget Group
"
No real idea if that is all true or not: just what google found
My bad, I hadn't realised so many people would read the title and not the post.
Can I edit the title to be:
Avis and Budget are subsidiaries of one parent company. Do they also have the same operating model, staff, vehicles and processes, but different websites and different pricing?<br />
If you have a booking with Budget and you're queueing with the kids at the Avis/Budget desk at a Spanish airport and they keep on sorting out the Avis customers first and keep pushing you to the back of the queue, you'll wish you'd have used Avis and will use neither of them ever again.
I wouldn’t pay extra to have an Avis car instead of a Budget car
Actually, I take that back - they might have different T&Cs that mean add-ons (extra driver, cross border driving, booster seats) are priced differently, so that a higher up front cost with one would outweigh the other.
If you have a booking with Budget and you’re queueing with the kids at the Avis/Budget desk at a Spanish airport and they keep on sorting out the Avis customers first and keep pushing you to the back of the queue, you’ll wish you’d have used Avis and will use neither of them ever again.
🤯 @Kahurangi is that a real thing that actually happens?
Certainly our experience at Malaga airport 2018
As mentioned, really it comes down to corporate vs. personal rentals. Avis focuses on corporate, budget on personal. Budget's rack rates are therefore lower, as is the proportion of smaller, cheaper cars, but ultimately you're getting the same 'product' off the same people.
Malaga airport car hire is a absolute nightmare. They're neither Avis nor Budget but a local franchise with more in common with a Turkish Bizarre. An Avis Wizzard number / card (corporate priority discount card ) will get you absolutely nowhere. They'll also forcibly precharge you for fuel and their insurance despite having my own business car hire policy. Goldcar/Enterprise/Hetrz are no better afik.