You’ve flown in and landed at your destination, and you’re ready to rock and roll on your road trip. There’s only one problem – there’s no rental cars available! You tell your friends, and they comment on how astronomical the prices of available rental cars are and you start to wonder what’s going on. While this is an unfortunate scenario, it’s not an uncommon one in 2021. Welcome to the rental car apocalypse.
During the pandemic in 2020, many car rental companies cut down their inventory because of the drop in demand. No one was renting a car during quarantine. In fact, a major car rental service, Hertz, even filed for bankruptcy. When relief from the pandemic happened in 2021, a new peak in travel spiked. The demand for rental cars started to come back into motion, up 60% as compared to a year ago, according to AAA. But unfortunately, the supply still hasn’t come back. Coupled with the loss of inventory during the pandemic, the lack of rental cars is also due to a slow response in car manufacturing, a result of shortages in the car factories and semiconductor industries.
Now, don’t cancel your road trip just yet. Here are a few ways you can survive the rental car apocalypse:
As you navigate the challenges of the rental car apocalypse, remember there are ways to road trip without rental cars, and that lodging is never a worry with Best Western® Hotels & Resorts.