ST. LOUIS, MO--(Marketwire - March 30, 2011) - Enterprise Holdings, which owns and operates the largest fleet of rental cars in the world under the Alamo Rent A Car, National Car Rental, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car brands, today announced it will end its relationship with Orbitz.com and its sister site CheapTickets.com after months of difficult discussions.
"We are ending our negotiations with Orbitz following their decision to de-list National and Alamo, and insist on unacceptably high commission rates from our Enterprise brand," said Pam Nicholson, President and Chief Operating Officer of Enterprise Holdings. "Their position greatly limits consumer choice and makes renting a car less affordable. It is also punitive towards rental car brands that have contributed to Orbitz's success for many years."
The Alamo and National brands have been listed on Orbitz since 2001. Enterprise Holdings -- which acquired Alamo and National in 2007 -- had been in negotiations to add its flagship brand to the Orbitz site when it was informed of Orbitz's decision to remove both National and Alamo, and accept only Enterprise.
"Through our many decades of serving customers in this industry, we have learned it is difficult to fully meet the changing transportation needs of consumers with only one brand," said Nicholson. "As a result, following our purchase of Alamo and National almost four years ago, we consciously decided to maintain three separate rental car brands, each with a unique service offering."
Alamo is a leisure brand known for offering discounts to deal-shopping customers. National is a brand preferred by business travelers and other frequent renters. Enterprise -- the largest car rental brand in North America -- is available both on and off airport and has the largest network of locations in the industry. Across all three brands, Enterprise Holdings and its regional subsidiaries own and operate nearly one million vehicles, which constitute the world's largest fleet of passenger vehicles.
"We realize our role as the industry leader comes with a responsibility to keep our product affordable and to aggressively advocate for the rights of consumers," Nicholson said. "For example, we lead our industry in the fight to curtail excise taxes that unfairly single out rental car customers. Today, rental car taxes account for as much as 20 percent of the cost in many markets, placing our industry's customers among the highest taxed in the United States."
"These escalating taxes, combined with unacceptable commission costs imposed by third parties such as Orbitz, mean more and more consumers no longer will be able to afford to rent a vehicle," Nicholson said. "We believe the stance being taken by Orbitz violates the best interests of consumers, our company and our industry. While we would have preferred a different outcome, effective April 1, none of Enterprise Holdings' three brands will be listed on Orbitz.com or CheapTickets.com."
Enterprise Holdings' three car rental brands may still be booked directly at www.alamo.com, www.enterprise.com, or www.nationalcar.com, or through various other third parties such as travel agencies or online sites including Travelocity and Kayak. In addition, consumers can read more about how Enterprise Holdings is responding to Orbitz's efforts by going to http://www.drivingfutures.com/blog.
About Enterprise Holdings
Founded in 1957, Enterprise Holdings is the most comprehensive service provider and only investment-grade company in the car rental industry, operating Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental, as well as its flagship Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand. Its worldwide network includes 7,700 neighborhood and airport locations, with 6,000 offices located within 15 miles of 90 percent of the U.S. population. The Alamo, Enterprise and National brands collectively lead the car rental industry with more than one-third of all airport business in the United States and Canada. Further, Enterprise has ranked "Highest in Rental Car Customer Satisfaction" among North American airport rentals for the last seven years in a row, according to the 2004-2010 J.D. Power and Associates Rental Car Satisfaction Studies.
With annual revenues of $12.6 billion and more than 68,000 employees, Enterprise Holdings is the largest car rental company in the world measured by revenue, employees and fleet. Ranked No. 17 on the Forbes "Top 500 Private Companies in America" list, Enterprise Holdings is owned by the Taylor family and headquartered in St. Louis. Enterprise Holdings offers business and retail customers a total transportation solution, which includes hourly rental, car leasing, WeCar car sharing and Enterprise Rideshare vanpooling programs, as well as the Enterprise Car Sales and Enterprise Commercial Trucks business lines. In addition, Enterprise Holdings is part of a global strategic alliance with Europcar, creating the world's largest car rental network. For more information about Enterprise Holdings, visit www.enterpriseholdings.com. For more information about Enterprise Holdings' environmental stewardship and long-term commitment to the sustainability of its business, visit www.drivingfutures.com. [This news release and other announcements are available at the Enterprise Holdings press room.]
Contact Information:
For more information, contact:
Laura Bryant
Enterprise Holdings
314-512-4178