Car hire prices

davidmelodic

I've noticed car hire prices going sky high in a couple of places am booked to visit (where they used to be cheap). USA for one, booking 6 months in advance is coming in at £50 per day for a small car. I was there recently and wasn't hassled to buy extra insurance etc so am now wondering if excess etc is now included and that's one of the reasons? When I booked there didn't seem the option to opt out of expensive insurance if that were the case. Also travelling to Croatia and prices there have at least doubled and that was booking about 9 months in advance. Are the car hire companies trying to claw back lost revenues from the last couple of years? However booked a 4x4 in Morocco about 6 months in advance and that price was extremely reasonable. Any enlightenment or insight super appreciated, thanks

onashoestring

You may be interested to read similar threads :
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6336651/orlando-car-hire-summer-2022

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6324383/crete-car-hire-in-july

davidmelodic

Aww cheers, typed 'car hire' into 'search the forum' and came up with 0 results - my forum search technique probably ain't up to scratch, I'll keep practising

jamesbrownontheroad

During the pandemic, two things happened. The travel industry collapsed, and car rental fleets were dramatically reduced in size to save money.

At the same time, the car manufacturers experienced (and continue to experience) shortages of many essential electrical components, caused by Covid shutdowns. As a result the supply of new cars is constrained.

With demand for travel recovering, car hire firms a) don't have as many cars as they would like b) need to recoup a lot of the losses incurred over the last two years.

Demand > Supply = higher prices.

Jumblebumble

davidmelodic said:

I've noticed car hire prices going sky high in a couple of places am booked to visit (where they used to be cheap). USA for one, booking 6 months in advance is coming in at £50 per day for a small car. I was there recently and wasn't hassled to buy extra insurance etc so am now wondering if excess etc is now included and that's one of the reasons? When I booked there didn't seem the option to opt out of expensive insurance if that were the case. Also travelling to Croatia and prices there have at least doubled and that was booking about 9 months in advance. Are the car hire companies trying to claw back lost revenues from the last couple of years? However booked a 4x4 in Morocco about 6 months in advance and that price was extremely reasonable. Any enlightenment or insight super appreciated, thanks

Some Tips for USA Car Hire
Search All Consolidators ( Sky Scanner Kayak etc )
The price varies quite a lot
Do not buy full tank of fuel    You can never use it all and filling up yourself will always be cheaper
Excess is almost always included in USA for UK residents
I have saved £160 by not getting from  Chicago Airport but downtown on a one way where the drop off is the same for an upcoming trip
Big Name Hire Company and booked on UK Website