Sounds a lot like the Philly Car Share, which I loved when I was living there!

Posted By Joe on December 18, 2008, 11:26 AM

wonder if this is a program that corporations can take advantage of

Posted By Danie on December 18, 2008, 1:14 PM

It will be interesting to see competition and if Hertz's can compete.

Zip Car continues to work very hard to build membership. I'm a member based on a "free" account under Flex Car which Zip Car bought - so I get regular emails about complementary happy hours with bring a friend who signs up and get driving credit promotions. I really doubt that Hertz's would drive membership in such a fashion. Zip Car really feels like they are fighting tooth and nail for membership - even as they are/were the only hourly rental firm around. At one happy hour I heard a comment that DC was one of the few markets that was profitable.

Also in my mind Hertz is high end car rental company - I've never rented with Hertz because they have never had the cheapest car. Can they compete in a market where price is a huge justification in the membership - i.e. save $300/month on a car payment. Also Zip Car rents at about $56/day for the low end cars, can Hertz match that without undermining their walk up rates?

Their biggest advantage probably will be their exiting email list of customers, and the potential availability of more cars (for low cost from their fleet) if needed.

Posted By Iolaire McFadden on December 18, 2008, 5:12 PM

Sorry I have to comment again.

The more I think about this the more ridiculous it seems that someone like Hertz is trying this. Its just odd to me that a higher priced car company would try this, especially since it undercuts their every day pricing.

So I did some Kayak searching for rental cars for Noon to 8 PM (one day):
Jan 17th
Hertz $70 versus low price $40 (this is probably airport pricing)

Today Dec 19
Hertz $68 versus low price $38 (this is probably airport pricing)
Non airport - NYC - 327 E. 64Th St. -> is $105

If for what ever reason they do not compete on price in the Airports or City locations already, and say charge $105/day for a city rental why would they choose to compete in a market where the every day lowest price (with no advance reservations) bottoms out at $56?

I guess what I have issue with is this seems completely against the type of culture that I assume Hertz has. To me the car sharing programs are both a green (for the planet) and a green (money) driven choice. And from what I see Hertz deliberately says on the upper end of the price range.

Posted By Iolaire McFadden on December 19, 2008, 9:01 AM

Thanks to everyone who has commented so far, especially Iolaire, who added some particularly insightful analysis (as usual).

When JD went to the Hertz press conference, officials were vague on which cities Hertz plans to roll out the service. But there was a definite emphasis on *overseas* destinations, which is different from ZipCar's market. They hinted at cities in Germany, Spain, and Italy.

It's worth noting that the $50 fee does cover you for renting elsewhere, including overseas (beginning in January), but you have to agree to the terms and conditions in other countries.

JD also asked how many Priuses there will be in NYC but didn't get an answer.

Anyway, interesting move. Who would have thought that a woman starting a company out of her home (ZipCar) would have caused a major multinational corporation to start copying *her* business plan.

--Sean
Blog editor

Posted By Blog editor on December 19, 2008, 10:04 AM

I will say that I'd welcome more availability. We travel quite often without renting a car - especially in Europe where transportation is easy - but there are always short trips that might call for a partial day car rental. It would be great to get a car for a few hours on say two different days and not have to worry about parking and the associated costs.

Thanks for the follow-up information. (Sorry that I'm Hertz bashing - I don't have a vendetta against them - I'm just skeptical.)

I will note that Zip Car operates in London and two Canadian cities.
http://www.zipcar.com/cities?&return_url=/find-cars
Its not the overseas markets mentioned, but it is bringing experience to the company.

Posted By Iolaire McFadden on December 19, 2008, 10:32 AM

Seems really expensive. You would pay say $50 for 5 hours, but if you rented a "normal" rental car for a day it would be about the same price. Is anyone really going to only rent a car for an hour ? Hertz is overcharging it seems to me.

Posted By Mike on December 21, 2008, 8:08 AM

Hi -- while Zipcar and Hertz battle it out over world supremacy, quietly a little Company called Mint, Cars-On-Demand is growing very rapidly in NYC. rates are much lower due to owning their own parking lots and you actually get a live person when you call.

Posted By Dan nelson on March 17, 2009, 2:01 PM

Smart companies who see their traditional markets threatened will always enter with a quick follow to "test the waters". And we know from history that pioneers of great ideas rarely continue their market leadership unless they agressively take share leadership early on in new markets, e.g. Google. "A pioneer is someone face down with an arrow in their back"

Or Hertz could turn out like GM that started Saturn to compete in the low end market but never followed through to their demise. What ever happened to "Rent a Wreck"?

I'm rooting for Zip Car in big cities. In the burbs, consumers will just hang on to their old cars longer.

Posted By Al on May 31, 2009, 12:06 PM