Anyone who has traveled with golf clubs, skis, bikes, lots of luggage, car seats or kids knows that the airport is usually the worst part of any trip, and every extra moving part in the process adds frustration and annoyance. So, no matter how close the rental car area is to the terminal, if it involves a shuttle bus ride, that’s two more rounds of packing, unpacking and herding, on top of the flight experience itself. To make matters worse, in many large airports the rental car area is not close.
So, imagine how nice it would be to just walk out of baggage claim and have your rental waiting curbside? Then at the end of your trip, think about pulling up to the departures curb, unloading just once, and saying “goodbye rental car.”
It’s a bigger plus than you might think, and I know this because I recently experienced it myself on a golf trip to Las Vegas. More on that in a second.
Yesterday, Avis rolled out its new Curbside Delivery program, and just for starters, it is now available at airports in 35 major cities, biggies like New York, San Francisco, Dallas and Boston. It saves time and hassle for everyone, from business travelers to families, but it is even more of a bonus for those toting heavy luggage, strollers, and sports or trade show equipment.
For now, the Avis service is only at the return end of the trip. You still drive to the airport rental lot, but instead of unpacking, having your car checked in and getting on the bus, an Avis representative will accompany you and your passengers to the airport terminal curb - your rental car, with all your luggage. No more sitting on the bus, praying for the doors to close as you study your watch.
“We’ve all been in that situation where we’re running late for a flight or have a juggling act when returning a rental car with luggage, golf clubs, kids, and little time to spare. The new Avis Curbside Delivery shaves time off your trip and extends you the convenience of being dropped off right at the airport terminal by one of our staff members in the same car you rented,” said Joe Ferraro, president, Americas, Avis Budget Group (via release). “As we further digitize all aspects of our business, we’re focused on reinventing the rental experience for both leisure and business travelers - that means simplifying their journeys with the tap of the app, giving them more choice and control over how they travel.”
Avis Curbside Delivery trip is an add-on in the Avis app, and to use the app you must be an Avis Preferred frequent rental member, but enrollment is free, so as long as you join before your trip there’s no barrier to access. The service does add a fee starting at $25, but that’s small potatoes compared to the convenience on vacation. You can also select the service through an email or SMS text message alert from Avis - if you have enabled notifications, will receive a mid-rental offering to return the vehicle through the new Curbside Delivery feature.
But Avis isn’t the only one, they are just the most accessible. Hertz already has a curbside delivery system in place, but it is only for the highest tier Platinum members of their frequent parking program, who also typically get big car upgrades. That’s how I checked it out in Vegas. I’m President’s Circle Gold or something like that, it’s confusing because at Hertz everyone is Gold - unless they’re Platinum, which my golf buddy was. He uses the service and loves it. With Hertz it is at both ends, so he walked right out of baggage claim, and into our car - upgraded to a brand-new Mercedes AMG sedan.
Hertz does the same kind of return as Avis, where you go the lot, have an employee take you curbside, and then they keep the car, except my buddy was once running late in Ft. Lauderdale, called, and they happily sent someone curbside to meet him so he could get out faster. “We would have missed our flight if I had to return the car,” he told me. But he did not. On frequent traveler blog Pizza In Motion, Mr. Pizza calls Hertz Platinum his single favorite travel benefit, over the highest tier frequent flier airline and hotel programs, and recalls several incidents of being late and having Hertz tell him to just leave the car with the keys under the mat, or as he so eloquently described a trip to O’Hare gone wrong, “Chicago, a few years back. Traffic, running tragically late for my flight. I called the Platinum folks at Chicago. No problem, Mr. Pizza. We’ll have a Hertz employee standing at the departure level of O’Hare when you get there to take the car from you!” The Hertz Platinum curbside delivery page lists more than 75 airports as small as Buffalo and Kauai and tiny but luxurious spots like Aspen and Eagle, CO.
The problem is that Hertz Platinum is like United Global Services - you can’t join or qualify, you need to be invited, and the level of business you need to do to be invited is mysterious and top secret.
Bottom line is that with golf clubs in hand, the Hertz curbside both ways was awesome and made the trip easier, and if like many travelers, time is your most precious resource, it’s a big timesaver. But for the rest of us, Avis has just brought half of the wow factor - the more important half - to the masses, and hopefully will expand the program to pick-up soon.
