Travel deals were unprecedented last year but not when it comes to car rentals. They skyrocketed.
The average weekly published rental rate (including airports) for a compact car was $335.05 in 2009, up 51 percent from 2008, according to Abrams Consulting Group, a Purchase, N.Y., rental-car consulting firm.
Rates will continue to rise in 2010, though at a slower pace, says Neil Abrams, president of the consulting company.
Why?
Rental companies significantly reduced the number of cars they own — their fleet size — giving them leverage to raise prices, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The result: car rental companies were able to raise prices.
Rental-car companies are expected to increase fleet sizes gradually as demand increases in 2010.
"What I anticipate is that they will step it up very thoughtfully and in very small increments," said Clem Bason, president of Hotwire Group, a travel Web site. Then "they can maintain that pricing power that they’ve been able to establish over the last year."
By David Wilkening
