European car hire giant EuropCar reckons it can reinvigorate the online car hire experience by throwing its efforts into developing highly interactive tools using Microsoft Silverlight and Surface.

Tnooz has exclusive access under the hood of an ongoing web development project between EuropCar and web agency Fortune Cookie to see some early-stage, conceptual designs.

The pair are working on a number of initiatives which will, they say, revolutionise the way consumers select, book and experience what is probably one of the dullest components in travel – booking a car.

Using Silverlight as a base for the website experience, Fortune Cookie has developed a system where users can “Create the perfect drive” by selecting routes and attractions on a highly-interactive map tool.

Users are able to pull in different elements of a trip into a single page, view ratings of each activity, select the type of car, create an itinerary and reserve accommodation.

Plans can also be shared through existing online social networks such as Twitter and Facebook.

Rob Define, ecommerce manager at EuropCar International, admits car hire is a book-and-go type of product which doesn’t lend itself to some of the trip planning and review-type initiatives found elsewhere on the web.

The new approach, he says, will hopefully trigger a new wave of interaction between car hire firm and customer that goes beyond the moment when a customer picks up a vehicle at the airport desk and inevitably doesn’t communicate with the supplier again.

Define reckons another element will be the use of Surface tables at airports.

Much of the Silverlight functionality will be added to a Surface platform for those waiting in the EuropCar areas at key airports, primarily so customers can browse recommended routes or plot their own journey, including using their own GPS systems.

Not forgetting that car hire desks can be torrid places to wait, especially after a long flight with children, Define says they are working on a tool for the Surface table which allows kids to use the hardware to play with model cars (supplied by Mercedes) which have a Surface tag installed.

The inclusion of Surface as a retail-led initiative follows similar projects by a number of travel firms including TravelTainment (for travel agents) and Sheraton (for hotel foyers).

Some of the Silverlight conceptual designs are featured below.

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