$300 a day for a Kia Rio. Why rental automobiles costs have gone insane
A year ago, air travel came to a near halt, leading to a glut of rental cars. Rental companies parked their cars in unused lots at ballparks around the nation, and cars were rented for a fraction of their normal price — or sold as used cars. The industry sold off more than a half a million cars, about a third of their combined fleets, just to generate cash they needed to survive the crisis.
Last weekend in Florida, 18 of the state’s 20 largest airports were totally out of cars, according to Jonathan Weinberg, the CEO of AutoSlash, a site that helps car renters find the lowest price. He said cars were also sold out at the airport in Phoenix and much of Hawaii. He expects the same to be the case this coming weekend, and most upcoming weekends into the summer for those who wait to reserve a car.
“We’re looking at rates of $500 a day in some places,” he said. “Last spring we were seeing $5 a day rentals in Hawaii. You’d never seen that. Now you’d kill for a car for $300 a day.”
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