Alamo, Disney reach car-hire deal at resorts -WSJ

[Pluto4President]

NEW YORK, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co. (NYSEIS - News) is expected on Friday to name Alamo Rent-a-Car as the official rental car company of two of its U.S. theme parks and resorts, The Wall Street Journal reported online.

Alamo, a unit of ANC Rental Corp. (Other OTC:ANCQ.PK - News), will become the featured rental firm at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., and Walt Disney World in Orlando, The Journal reported.

The nation's sixth-largest rental car company will also become the official supplier of rental cars to Walt Disney Travel Co., a tour operator that specializes in Disney vacation packages, The Journal reported.

ANC, which plans to spend millions promoting the new partnership through print and television ads, said the agreement is also part of a larger push to focus Alamo on leisure travelers, The Journal reported.

Looks like it's bye bye National!

 

[FoodLover]

Unfortunately Alamo's service at Orlando airport (MCO) has been deplorable (oftentimes involving HOURS-long lines) and it is off-site, not on airport property. By contrast, National has a great reputation and short lines at MCO and is conveniently located in the parking garage.

ANC is the corporation that owns both National and Alamo. They have decided to make National the "business" brand and Alamo the "leisure" brand. Ever since the decision was made to "refocus" the brands, National's prices at MCO have shot up. So this is actually horrible news for those who are looking for a good, dependable, convenient rental car agency for a WDW trip!

Mary
MouseSavers.com

 

[sgtdisney]

I have said it before and I will say it again. Don't remember the Alamo, Rental Car that is.. I will NEVER rent from ALAMO again no matter what they do or who they are affiliated with. As someone who mistakenly waited in one of Alamo's famous 2 hour lines only to be hit with a bait and switch routine, I vowed it will never happen again. It is too bad Disney is not using National anymore. They are a lot better, at their worst, than Alamo has EVER been. MAYBE ANC will refocus Alamo's customer service and things will improve.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by sgtdisney
It is too bad Disney is not using National anymore. They are a lot better, at their worst, than Alamo has EVER been. MAYBE ANC will refocus Alamo's customer service and things will improve.

Disney is still using National, as far as I am aware. Both National and Alamo share the CarCare office.

 

[PamOKW]

Both National and Alamo share the CarCare office.

They have the same corporate owner -- Wayne Huizenga's Republic Industries. That makes it even more interesting that a switch was made with Disney. I'm concerned about Alamo's off-airport location....unless they flip National and Alamo at MCO.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by PamOKW
They have the same corporate owner -- Wayne Huizenga's Republic Industries. That makes it even more interesting that a switch was made with Disney. I'm concerned about Alamo's off-airport location....unless they flip National and Alamo at MCO.

Can someone explain to me why an off-airport car rental location is such a horrific thing?

I remember a few years ago, before I moved down here, my mother and I flew down, and rented a car from Hertz. In order to get to the rental car area, you had to take a shuttle bus to the off-airport area. It was a short ride to and from the airport... I didn't see any problem with it.

Im not sure about some of the other companies, but I know Hertz uses a Gillig Low-Floor bus with plush seats, and Thrifty uses a NABI Low-Floor mini-bus. This means that they are easy to enter and exit with your luggage.

Personally, I dont understand why it's a big deal, perhaps someone could enlighten me?

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

The answer is easy, people are in a rush to start their vacations. Perfectly understandable.
I have yet to wait in a long line at Alamo, and save one time, have had great service, great cars and no bait and switch, no pressure to buy insurance or anything else (contrary to my one experience with Budget who just about beat us into submission to buy their insurance, but, I still said no). The ONE time I had someone rude, I called the "hotline" for Quick Silver and had the problem resolved immediately. I have always received a comp. upgrade and great service. If people would avail themselves of services like "quicksilver", emerald aisle, etc. , they would save themselves a lot of time. The programs are out there, you just have to look on the website. The busses are clean and get you there rapidly and I have yet to wait for a bus, they always seem to be there.
I am sure that someone will be able to recite a bad experience anywhere and while that should be taken into account, I don't think people should dismiss any company for any complaint. Nor, do I think that people should use a company on the basis of rave reviews. I think they should gather information and make up their own minds.

 

[zulaya]

Just another not so happy person who was stupid enough to use Alamo on the first trip. We had bought the airfare and car rental through a travel agent and Alamo was the cheapest. Never again. Didn't know about Quicksilver at that time so waited for an hour for a car only to have them charge us for insurance that we declined. After 4 months, we got it refunded with no apology for the error.

Now a more savvy renter, I am on National's EA and Dollar's Fastlane and the prices for Dollar are very comparable to off site. Now that I am getting closer to my trip, I have seen National's prices for a minivan drop to more reasonable levels.

Not everyone is born knowing everything about car rental and sometimes mistakes are made. Do your research before you leave and you will be armed with the best deal you can find.

 

[cindala]

I for one would never use an offsite car rental agency. I want to pick up my car at the airport, and get on my way as quickly as possible.

Checking prices, I have noticed that National is way out of reach for the dates I need for our next trip; $403 for 8 days of a full-size car or $600 for a mini-van. Dollar is pretty high too, ($300 for a mini-van) but not as ridiculous. I certainly won't use Alamo considering it is offsite, and it's less than stellar reputation.

I really like the convenience of having our own car, but that whole way of thinking may have to change if the prices don't come down considerably.

 

[DVC-Don]

I've never rented from Alamo in Orlando. But, I have rented from Alamo at two other locations in the US in the past. The service and cars were awful. On one vacation I went through 3 cars. Two had to be towed in and the third I fixed myself. Never will I use them again. I got into an argument with a counter rep over the insurance. He told me I did not understand the concept of insurance. He only backed off when I gave him my business card that ID'd me as a Senior Claim Rep for auto claims for this countries largest auto insurer.

 

[ncligs]

Chip 'n Dale Express,

To answer your question about being bussed off-site for car rentals..........

With National Emarald Aisle, we get off the plane with our carry-on luggage, walk directly to Nationals area, pick any car we want, drive up to the check-out booth, and we are on our way to WDW within 10-15 minutes after getting off the plane.
Most times it takes 10-20 minutes to get picked up by a shuttle bus(Hertz). It just is a longer process(shuttle) for people that want to get on with their vacation.

 

[manning]

I see Alamo is still up to their old tricks. Had that happen to me 10+ years ago with them. They wanted me to take insurance. In fact, said I had to. After a 20 minute standoff, they backed down. When I got to the car, I noticed damage. So, I had them sign off on that. When I returned it, I made them sign off on the condition of the car. A real pain in the you know where.

NEVER AGAIN !!!!!!!!!

 

[seashoreCM]

It was at Orlando but it was not Alamo.

At the rental car company the agent told me that "in Florida rental cars can't go out without insurance".

I still said I didn't want their insurance and later asked them to show me the law that said that. They stopped arguing and said they could not snow me the law.

Moral of the story, keep saying no.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[BobH]

I tried Alamo in Orlando. You wait for a bus. You ride 15 minutes. Herd into a building and wait another 45 minutes to get a car. I then got a car with a very large nail in the tire that would have been very evident to anyone that works there checking vehicles.
There can be problems with any rental agency but so many people have complained about the wait in Orlando that I figure it has to be a regular occurence. I'll wait for the glowing reports to come in or a very, very low rate before I will use them in Orlando again. I have used National 4 or 5 times and I can be at WDW in the same amount of time it takes to go through Alamo's line. I can't imagine standing in line with kids at Alamo. Not my idea of how to start a vacation.

 

[peachgirl]

I've never used Alamo, but I guess I'm the dissenting voice on the quality of National's service. It's the one car rental company I will never use again. Last summer we had a reservation for a mini van made months in advance. The rate was for unlimited mileage
(we were going from Oklahoma to California..unlimited mileage was a must). I called 2 weeks before we left and confirmed the reservation along with the rate and the unlimited mileage and everything was fine. Just on a whim, I called 2 days before we were scheduled to leave just to find out if we'd be able to "choose" which car we got and was told that I didn't have unlimited mileage. The rate for 8 days was a little over $700 and I had no umlimited mileage?? I don't recall what the exact estimate was, but it was well over $1000 when you included mileage charges. This was no mistake on my part, I had checked and double checked. I even had the names of every agent I had talked to. In 24 hrs we talked to everyone we could from the local level up to the corporate offices and while they did offer to reduce the rate somewhat ( let's talk bait and switch??) the price still wound up being hundreds of dollars more than we could get elsewhere. Of course at that late date, no one had mini vans available. I wasn't about to pay those rates so we ended up driving our own car...thankfully it's a big car so it wasn't awful, but I'll never use National again and I'm thrilled that Disney is changing companies.

 

[BobH]

Just so you are aware the same parent company owns both Natonal and Alamo. I have had both good and bad experience with many different car companies. Unfornately I think they all have great poetential for dissappointing their customers. My point against Alamo is only at Orlando - the fact that you have to travel away from the airport AND also wait in long lines. My point is to pick the cheapest, closest rental car company. I wish you didn't have the negative experience with National - it is extremely aggravating. It has been my experience that any of the car rental companies is equally likely to cause you grief. Did they ever send you any written confirmation? I would recommend hounding them for it next time. I have rented with Alamo, Dollar, Budget and National and if I rent online I print my information then they send me an email confirmation also . If I rent by telephone I make sure I receive confrmation by regular mail. Good luck next time.

 

[peachgirl]

BobH ...You're absolutely right. For some reason car rental companies seem to have a very bad track record no matter which one you choose. All you can do is try one and if you have a bad experience, take them off your list of possibilities. Live and learn I guess, I made the reservation by phone and had never gotten written confirmations in the past so I never thought about it. I thought I was being diligent by getting each persons name I talked to. We've use Dollar and Enterprise before and never had a problem, but I've read plenty of reviews from people who have. I'm smarter now and would never rent again without written confirmations.

 

[Luv2Roam]

I used Almo in San Diego and was very happy with them. We use National too, for the EA convenience. (After we used someone else once, DH said no way -- EA from here on.)
Going off site is usually not that big of a deal. BUT I can see where at MCO it would be a VERY big deal to any tourist.
First, you don't have the convenience, as noted above with National -- just walk to the counter, walk outside, choose your car and drive off.
Most MCO Disney guests have kids and lots of luggage to drag around too.
Sounds like a lot of fun to me -- LONG line with frustrated parents and antsy kids -- all getting crankier by the minute.
We all wait in long enough lines for Disney as it is. It doesn't need to start at the airport, IMHO.

 

[KarenT]

I've had the opportunity to use ALAMO in many locations from Hawaii to Florida and have always been very happy with both the service and the cars. I would be happier if they were on-site at MCO, but it's not even a 5 minute ride. And you just can't beat Quicksilver. I also find their rates to be the most competetive and that is a huge consideration for me. I will use them again in February with no hesitation.




KarenT