Last-Minute Car Rental Rates Expected to Increase by Around 60% This Summer

SASSENHEIM, The Netherlands, April 15, 2010 - Customers who book a "last-minute" rental car this coming summer may face
a price increase of 60% or more. As such, Director of holidaycars.com Robbert
Jan Meerpoel urged the car rental branch to adjust its internal strategy,
rather than to simply point out the shortage of rental cars due to the
economic crisis. "Holidaymakers will not take this huge rate increase into
account when allocating their holiday budget. Chances are that they may then
forgo their rental car, which is of benefit to no one."

In a recent article in the British newspaper "The Daily Telegraph" a
comparison was made with car rental rates for the Easter holiday in Spain
with those from the previous year. Popular destinations, such as Malaga,
Alicante and Palma de Mallorca, showed a price increase from 85 pounds to
nearly 140 pounds for the cheapest rental car with a rental period of eight
days. Meerpoel says : "This Easter was a good indication of what is about to
happen this coming summer. Due to the large shortage of rental cars, in Spain
alone the total rental fleet has shrunk by 35% prices for last-minute
bookings during high season will go 'sky high'. The business sector, travel
agents, as well as consumers who book directly themselves, are aiming for the
same rental cars. Car rental companies have too few cars available to
maintain their profit line; consequently, they push up their prices in a
state of panic."

Structural solutions

Modification to a car rental company's internal management would lead to
better control of their turnover. By this statement, Meerpoel refers to the
same method used by low-cost airlines. "In an airplane, every seat has its
own price and own target group. This thinking can also be applied to rental
cars. Book early and be rewarded! Divide your fleet into segments; one part
is for self-booking consumers, one for the travel industry and one for the
business market. If you tune the prices of each segment towards the target
group, you as a car rental company will have much more control of your own
pricing. It is not necessary, Therefore, to increase drastically the prices
during peak periods, as is being done right now."

A model rental car

In addition, Meerpoel sees opportunities for car rental companies if they
offer only one car model in their fleets. "The fleet is then divided again
into segments for your various different customers. Thus a generic model,
identical in appearance and performance, can be rented at different rates. A
car rental company can manage its own costs very well and keep the prices
during shortage under control."

Impact economic crisis

Before the economic crisis, car rental companies normally kept the cars
for six to twelve months. They were then bought back by dealers or car
manufacturers for the second-hand market. Now this is not possible, as the
stocks remain high in the dealer market. Car rental companies are knocking at
the banks' doors to fill the financial gap by means of loans, yet usually
their request is denied. The car rental industry now has much less money with
which to purchase new cars. Companies that succeeded in doing so also notice
that they failed to meet the required profit numbers. Car manufacturers have
greatly reduced their production; this phenomenon has already incurred the
large shortage of rental cars in countries around the Mediterranean Sea.
Meerpoel advises consumers to make their booking before May 1. "By doing so,
you avoid the risk of the enormous price hikes or getting no car at all in a
worse scenario because they are all rented out."

www.holidaycars.com

Notes to editors: For more information please contact: Jacqueline de Groot/Rebekah MacLachlan, Marketing & Communications, T +31(0)25343670, E j.degroot at holidaycars.com /
r.maclachlan at holidaycars.com