Hotwire, the Expedia company specializing in opaque and retail sales of air, car, hotel and also media, ran across something in September and October that the company had never seen before: Car rental companies had so downsized their fleets that they were totally sold out in some U.S. markets.
Speaking during an investor conference call Dec. 10, Hotwire Group President Clem Bason said the company found that at times in September and October consumers couldn’t find rental cars on an opaque basis — where you don’t know the identity of the car rental company up-front — or on a retail basis on Hotwire.com in some markets. Bason said the company had never before seen something like this so staff phoned car rental call centers to confirm that the fleets indeed were sold out.
The airlines have cut capacity to increase yields, but the car companies have apparently taken the downsizing to new heights — or depths.
