I am excited to announce the launch of the Avis Eco Collection, our new low emissions car group. If you choose to rent a car from the Avis Eco collection you can drive away in a brand new, stylish and fuel efficient VW Golf 1.6 TDI 90ps. The cars combined MPG is 62.8 and its CO2 emissions are sub 120, at 118g/km. Currently these cars are available at 21 Avis locations across the UK.

Also to celebrate the launch of the new Avis Eco collection, we will offset the carbon offset all of the Eco collection rentals that have pick-ups in December 2009 and January 2010.

We would love to hear what you think about this new car group and it would be great to get feedback if you have rented one of our Avis Eco cars.

Avis are pleased to announce that we now offer our customers the opportunity to offset the carbon emissions from their car rental in the UK when they collect there keys. The cost to offset the rental is £1, this has been calculated based on average vehicle emissions, length of rentals, mileage and age of vehicles. The money raised will be allocated by our partner, The CarbonNeutral Company.

To celebrate the launch for every customer who chooses to offset the carbon on their rental in December 2009 and January 2010, Avis will match the total amount collected.

We would also like our customers to choose which project they want us to invest the carbon offset fund in. We have selected three potential projects, now all we need is for you to vote in our blog poll for one of the following:

Candelaria Hydro Power Project – Guatemala
The project involves the generation of renewable energy through the installation of a run-of-river hydropower plant in Guatemala. The project generated emission reductions of approximately 14,500 CO2 equivalent in 2006, verified and certified to the Voluntary Carbon Standard.

Damao Wind Power Project – China
This project generates clean energy from 40 new wind turbines in China. The total emissions reductions are estimated to be 100,000 tCO2 equivalent, verified to the Gold Standard (GS).

Vehicles for Change
In the Vehicles for Change portfolio, the verifiable emission reductions are generated by a coalmine methane capture project in Germany, which is combined with an initiative in Bosnia and Herzegovina producing bio-diesel from waste cooking oil to be used as cleaner fuel for public buses. If successful, the Bosnian project will demonstrate the financial and practical viability of bio-diesel as a cleaner fuel source, paving the way to sustainable development in a nation adversely affected by war.

Have your vote now!

There is always lots of talk around the office about what cars we might potentially get on fleet, which cars we would like to see and what we think our customers would like to drive. Following on from Robert’s blog post on the Frankfurt Motor Show and news of our exclusivity on the Porsche Panamera in Germany, I was inspired to take a look at some of the other desirable cars available with Avis.

The focus of my attention starts in the US where they have a range of cars, similar to our own Select Series fleet – Cool Cars. Immediately, the selection of cars available in the range had me dreaming of picking up a Chevrolet Camaro (my personal favourite from the range!) at Los Angeles and cruising along the highways to the Grand Canyon to admire the awesome views.

Although, as the Cool Cars range is available throughout the States, from California, to Florida to Texas to Chicago, to name just a few, I could happily spend a few months travelling across the country taking in all the US has to offer, picking up a different car every week!

Alongside the Camaro (which is exclusive to Avis), you could also choose from the Ford Mustang or Chevy Corvette, both modern versions of the traditional ‘muscle cars’ I’ve admired and longed to drive since my youth. The Cool Cars fleet also boasts a handful of urban cruisers in the Cadillac CTS & STS, convertibles (Pontiac Solstice, Nissan 350Z convertible) for the poseurs amongst you and the inevitable ‘gas-guzzling’ SUVs such as the Hummer H3.

But fear not, there is also the Eco-Ride selection for those renters conscious about their carbon footprint. The Eco-Ride cars are either hybrids or have been SmartWay certified by the US Environment Protection Agency as being environmentally cleaner and more fuel efficient vehicles.

Whilst I try to convince my wife that taking the kids stateside to cruise the highways in a muscle car is a great idea for next years holiday, why not share what your ideal Cool Car fleet would look like!

Being an Avis car means being a busy car. On average our cars travel 14,000 miles, are rented 45 times and spend 10 days in the body shop being repaired. In order to get them into the right place they are moved by 4 times by transporters spending 2 full days on the road without the cars wheels even turning. They travel the length of the country and are used for glamorous film shoots as well as for taking the kids to school.

As well as all these miles driven our cars also spend a lot of time idle. A great proportion of this is when they are awaiting collection from our corporate or home delivery customers. However, as our primary asset, it is of vital importance that we keep our cars spick and span and in the condition that you expect. To help ensure that this happens all our cars undergo checks before every rental. This means that each car will spend 3 days of its life in the Wash and Prep bays having tyre pressures and fluids checked and being cleaned inside and out.

Even though it’s the national day of Ireland, you don’t have to be Irish to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day! It seems that everyone is having a parade or festival these days.

If you’re heading over to the Emerald Isle, you can catch the celebrations in Dublin, Cork or one of the smaller county towns like Waterford, Wexford or Kilkenny. In fact, if you visit the Avis website at the moment, Avis have a great weekend special rate available for rentals in Ireland! If you need any other suggestions of things to see and places to visit while you’re there, you can check out our previous blogs on Dublin, Cork and Northern Ireland.

If you want to stay closer to home, festivals and parades are taking place in London, Nottingham and Manchester as well as many other places in the UK. And for the really adventurous among us, you can always hop on a trans-atlantic flight and sample the delights of the parades in New York and Boston.

Why not let us know what you’re doing for St Patrick’s Day?

Have you ever wished that you could book your holiday needs together? We asked the question and over 50% of our surveyed customers said that they would be very interested in being able to shop for hotels at the same time as booking their Avis car rental.

If you’re a regular to the Avis website, you may have noticed a recent addition to the homepage. I am of course referring to our new partnership with Hotels.com. Planning your trip shouldn’t be stressful and tiring, so you can now conveniently book accommodation from our website.

Hotels.com, part of Expedia, gives travellers one of the widest selections of accommodation on the net, including both independent and major chain hotels as well as self-catering in over 80,000 properties worldwide.

Whether you’re looking for the perfect weekend break in the Mediterranean or for a business trip to Northern Europe, with a choice of over 80,000 hotels worldwide, Avis and hotels.com are your perfect travel companions. We can save you time when looking for great cars and a wide choice of fantastic hotels! And with Hotels.com Best Price Guarantee, you can also be confident that you’re getting the best possible prices.

What do you think to our new partnership? Is there anything else you’d like to see available to reserve on our website to make your travel planning easier?

As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Following on from our post on this topic last year, Avis now have close to 500 locations, spanning 10 different countries across Europe, offering the 3 Minute Promise speed of service guarantee. A list of our top European locations can now be found on our website.

The Avis 3 Minute Promise is quite simple – if you are an Avis Preferred member with an up to date profile, a reservation and renting at a participating Avis location, we guarantee to have your car keys in your hand within 3 minutes. Why not test us by taking a stopwatch or time ticket next time? This allows us to measure the time it takes to get you on your way.

And if we don’t deliver, we’ll send you a voucher to be spent on the high street! The type of voucher depends on where you live. For example all UK residents, regardless of whether you rent here or in Europe, would receive a £20 John Lewis voucher.

We know offering customers a speedy and 1st class service is important. The 3 Minute Promise doesn’t mean you’ll lose human contact with us all together. It just means we are challenging ourselves to meet your expectations. And if we don’t, you get some extra spending money!

To find out more or to sign up for free to become an Avis Preferred member, visit our website.

In his recent blog in the Daily Mirror, Richard Hammond said he’s happy that Avis have the Fiat 500 to rent and that it should be a permanent part of the Avis Fleet. We recently introduced these great little cars into our Select Series for a limited period and from the feedback we’ve received, they have gone down really well with our customers.
 
So, what do you think? Have you driven one? If so, do you agree with Richard? Why not tell us what other cars you would like to see on our Select Series fleet in 2009? And don’t forget, the Fiat 500 is still available to rent from locations across the country until mid February.

I’ve blogged before about the Republic of Ireland several times, but we’ve never talked about Northern Ireland. With cheap flights and ferry crossings available, it’s easy to get to and offers some great attractions for everyone.

Often overlooked by it’s neighbours from the South, Belfast was recently voted the third favourite city in the UK in the 2008 Guardian/Observer travel awards. My colleague Alison, who is a regular visitor to Northern Ireland, assures me that the city has undergone a massive transformation over the last few years and Belfast is now an exciting and vibrant place to visit.

Some of the personal recommendations she gave me were:

• Victoria Square – This is Belfast’s newest shopping destination, complete with a House of Fraser department store. It has panoramic views across the city and the river Lagan.
• Gaelic sports – Casement Park is one of the most popular venues.
• Waterfront Hall – Northern Ireland’s premier conference and concert centre.

If that’s not enough to keep you busy, you’ve also got the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum, Belfast Zoo, Stormont and Belfast Hills to visit.

Outside of Belfast, there are many other great things to see including the Giants Causeway, Dunluce Castle and the Walled City of Derry. If you’re driving, the Causeway Coastal Route takes in many of the major attractions, as well as providing some stunning scenery, dramatic coastline and remarkable views.

If you need to hire a car, Avis has four locations in Northern Ireland; Belfast International Airport, Belfast City Airport, Belfast Downtown and Derry Airport.

At Avis, we hear lots of stories from our customers (and our delivery drivers) about tailbacks and delays when the days grow shorter and the weather turns wintry. These can be caused by a car breaking down on the motorway, someone running out of petrol in the middle of the countryside and even snowdrifts or floods blocking the road! If it’s happened, we’ve heard it!

To try to ease the delays as traffic increases this winter, the Highways Agency have launched the “Don’t be that Guy” campaign. The campaign aims to help and educate drivers by reminding them of a few simple steps they could take to make their journeys this winter safer, easier and a little less frustrating for everyone.

Preparing as best as you can for any situation can really help you out if it all goes wrong on the roads. On the site, you can find information to help plan your trip, reminders to check and service your car regularly throughout the winter and details of what to include in your emergency kit: from jump leads and de-icer to warm drinks and blankets.

To help you during your journey, there are great tips on driving safely in every kind of unpleasant weather condition including rain, fog, snow and wind. And if something does go wrong despite all your careful preparation, the website tells you what to do and how the Highways Agency and its operatives can help you get home safely.

At Avis, we prepare all our cars especially for winter. Tyre pressures are checked, fluid levels are topped up, anti-freeze is added and an Avis ice scraper is put in every car. We also supply GPS units (dependant on availability) for an additional charge to help you get to your destination on time and without getting lost. However, the Highways Agency still recommends that you plan your route and check the traffic conditions before you leave and that you make sure you have got some warm clothes in your car, just in case you get stuck.

Always remember, a traffic free road is a happy place for everyone. Travel safe this winter and don’t be that guy.