Skift Take

Avis could learn a few things from Hertz's strategy of investing in tech and operations.

Traditional car rental companies that want to survive in an age increasingly dominated by digital technology have to expand beyond their core business. This means partnering with ridehailing apps, such as Uber and Lyft, which both Hertz and Avis have done, or using their fleet to provide vans to delivery services, which again both car rental companies have down.

The problem is, all of these endeavors cost money. Investing in them is a big undertaking, especially since each venture comes along with its own risks. While both Hertz and Avis have been proactive in diversifying into new, alternative operations, they differ significantly on approach.

Hertz has put a heavy emphasis on fleet management, and has upgraded its internal operations, bringing it all onto the cloud. This helped keep its fleet tight and its costs down, pushing up prices and increasing revenue in the third quarter of 2019. Avis, meanwhile, lagged behind.

Read this story, and many more, below.

If you have any feedback about the newsletter or news tips, feel free to reach out via email at [email protected] or tweet @ikcarey.

Isaac Carey, Travel Reporter

Featured Stories

hertz rental carHertz Continues to Outshine Avis With Tech Investments for Operations: Hertz recently upgraded its internal and fleet management systems, helping it overcome the hurdles that are bogging down Avis.

Kayak Is Rolling Out a New Platform for Business Travelers: Customer service is a key aspect of business travel. Kayak doesn’t do customer service so that may not go over well. That being said, the company’s massive inventory and simple user interface may help it gain traction with small businesses.

Trainline Experiments With Hotels to Boost Revenue:Understandably, CEO Clare Gilmartin didn’t want to play up moves into other travel areas too much at such an early stage, but we’ll be keeping a close eye on how the company evolves over the next few years as it looks to diversify away from rail tickets and make more money in other areas.

SiteMinder Diversifies Away From Helping Hotels Solely on Room Sales: Airlines know passengers care about the environment, so they’re all ready with talking points to provide their sustainability bonafides. But many are changing little about their strategies.

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British Airways Owner IAG Makes Offer for Spanish Airline Air Europa: It’s easier to understand IAG CEO Willie Walsh’s sanguine tone on last week’s earnings call given he clearly had this deal in the pipeline. If it goes through — and it’s still a big if given the competition concerns — it will ease the pain of Delta’s recent Latam deal.

Corporate Group Booking Faces a Difficult Future Starting Mid-2020: Cvent Research: The decline in group bookings is already being felt by some hotels, something that may stretch throughout next year.

United Airlines, Explained: United Airlines has been around a long time and has a huge globe-spanning presence. How did it get to where it is today? We try to wrap our heads around the company’s somewhat complicated history.

Travel Reporter Isaac Carey [[email protected]] curates the Skift Corporate Travel Innovation Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Thursday.

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Tags: avis, car rental, corporate travel, ctir, hertz

Photo credit: Hertz office in Binckhorstlaan, in South Holland. Gerard Stolk / Flickr

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