Situation: ?At long last and after a so called bidding war that seemed to go on and on, Hertz finally charmed, stepped up and wedged the major stockholders at Dollar/Thrifty to sell the company for mere $ 2.6 billion, and in cash yet.
What have we ended up with? Three behemoth car rental ?stores? with 95 percent of the commercial and consumer market. The end of a magnificent era of entrepreneurial spirit, vision and growth. And three (formerly four) companies that once were a great place to work, have fun, build a great career and serve customers at the counter, one on one.
What really made the car rental industry great: ?A whole bunch of real leaders and visionaries who brought competitiveness not only between Hertz and Avis but among the hundreds of small mom and pop car rental companies that once belonged the Car and Truck Rental Association (CATRALA) and American Car Rental Association (ACRA).
Among the hundreds of people who shaped a truly great business, were Warren Avis, Bob Townsend, Walter Jacobs, Frank Olsen, Jack Taylor, Morris Mirkin, Jules Lederer and Zollie Frank.
Then there were Jack Taylor and Enterprise who brought good looking, bright young people into the business right out of college and gave them an entrepreneurial spirit and a piece of the financial action in a relatively short period of time. ?Enterprise grew and grew, bought National and Alamo and bingo ? it became the biggest car rental company in the world.
These great leaders and believers in what and how America would ?accept and use the rentals or temporary transportation on and off the airport.
What is the industry losing or has already lost? The competitive, ?We Tried Harder? from Avis, and the quiet but resolute pursuit of the Taylor?s vision of what Enterprise could and would be, for starters; ?The hope and opportunity of a small RAC becoming a big one gradually got swallowed up by a combination of Hertz?s selling itself to Ford, UAL and RCA and then buying itself back to the eager ?kids? from Enterprise including young Andy Taylor, Jack?s son, and somewhat ?invisible management of all three major companies. Avis was even owned by a series of holding companies including ITT and a canning company at one time. ?The management of these rental companies were no longer exciting even as the number one clubs and the ?take any car on the lot? services emerged. The routine nature of the business made the car rental industry ?standardized? if not outright boring. The people business was gone.
Who is smartest guy on the car rental lot: Scott Thompson, ?Chairman of Dollar/Thrifty and apparently not only an adroit negotiator of the eventual real value of DTAG but a very patient and persistent leader as time went on as he waited to see if Avis or Hertz ?would cave in first. ?He and all those RAC executives who have come to love Tulsa must of made a bundle off this sale also ? lots of cash, boats on Florida canals and Claremore horse farms north and south of Tulsa ? here they come.
What may be still hard to get? ?Why did Hertz and Avis want Thrifty to so bad? Were they just an annoyance in the local markets or did they bring new locations, revenue streams and ideas? It seemed like Hertz really had it all. ?The business press and even insider industry consultant did not seem to be able to explain or gain any explanation for the almost unbelievable. And is ?$2.6 billion not a lot of money for what is really just a ?brand and lots of ?locations? ?
So now what do these three do to keep growing and become interesting again?
- Capitalize on the gradual decline of car ownership
- Copy, expand or buy ZipCar, Cars2Go, Flexcar, City Car and Car Share
- Remove the people from the business and replace with check out and check in Kiosks
- Expand their local business with easy, ?convenient access to transportation.
- Seek to become a ?24-7 constant transportation management company?
- Establish ATM-Like vehicle ?usage? or rental locations
- Rent driveless cars, electric and NG powered vehicles
One thing for certain in the near future: Car ownership is on its way out. No one is going need to own and gas up their own cars anymore, particularly if they live in metro areas or within one mile of a what used to be just a car rental lot.
It?s all over, baby or is it? The car rental business has finally changed forever and us old timers can lament, but the fun, excitement and sheer rush from working for Bob Townsend or Jack Taylor or Frank Olson hopefully is not gone where they now are but will regain its glory, hope, and vision of a total transportation systems that is customer-oriented, low in cost , and gets all of us where we want to go at lowest possible cost and fastest time possible in environmentally responsible vehicles. ?Green will beget ?green.?
deliverance pentatonix nicki minaj barbie doll nicki minaj barbie doll black dahlia drew drew
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.