Once I began overlaying the automotive rental trade and entered mid-pandemic, I wasn’t positive what to anticipate as I first settled in. I’m nonetheless studying the ins and outs of all of it however have felt so welcomed and pleasantly stunned to see how vibrant this trade is and to witness resiliency at work. Clearly, a lot of you might have confronted challenges by no means seen earlier than — from a pandemic to chip and automobile shortages, new applied sciences altering the shopper expertise and extra — it rapidly turned clear to me that rental operators and its suppliers are a hearty bunch. We’ve survived. We’ve even thrived.

Final yr’s ICRS put this on full show. I imply, the vitality within the rooms was palpable and I’m instructed we hadn’t seen registration numbers like that in a era. I used to be surrounded not solely by trade veterans wanting to share their experiences, however a shocking variety of fellow newbies brimming with questions and concepts.

Even up till final yr, I considered automotive rental as that conventional counter expertise, however I turned blown away to seek out out the breadth of operator varieties and what number of gamers match into within the area. For smaller and unbiased rental companies, I’m positive the shift causes some worry of what it means for the longer term. However, I imagine there’s magnificence in change as a result of it forces innovation.

A technique a lot of you responded not simply to the pandemic, however new buyer calls for, was with expertise. As a millennial (sorry!), I’m thrilled to see the rise in contactless service, keyless expertise, automation, and new mobility options. Sturdy knowledge platforms and telematics to raised run fleets and handle autos current larger insights than we’ve ever had earlier than. It’s thrilling to observe.

And naturally, there’s the entire EV revolution. Between governmental mandates and incentives, even these of us resisting the change will finally must concede a bit (says the Subaru driver nonetheless holding on to her 11-year-old Legacy). However adoption is barely growing, and the applied sciences are spectacular. We gained’t see Europe ranges within the U.S. quickly, however the knowledge is compelling.

Final spring, I had the chance to go to Finland, the place I caught up with an area operator. There, I used to be fascinated to witness firsthand the variations — and similarities — in rental throughout continents, from fuel costs to tax buildings, sustainability to automobile manufacturers. EVs and hybrids are far more prevalent in Europe, however schooling is usually nonetheless wanted for renters. One factor we don’t must do within the U.S. is inform guests how you can dodge reindeer!

Whereas I used to be capable of squeeze in an abroad journey, not all the public might. Watching the journey trade’s affect on automotive rental was an eye-opener for me. As we noticed the world open up once more and social media feeds crammed with #vacay pics, enterprise journey appears reluctant to swing again to regular — and financial and political situations are doing it no favors. The World Enterprise Journey Affiliation says enterprise journey spending doubtless gained’t absolutely rebound till 2026, and even domestically, journey managers say their spend is simply 63% of what it was in 2019. The excellent news for rental is that demand for highway journeys isn’t wavering.

Earlier than I got here to this trade, I labored for years at an area chamber of commerce, the place I used to be a part of an affiliation exhausting at work representing the pursuits of our members. I witnessed the ability {that a} collective voice can have on insurance policies, laws, and consciousness of important points. Figuring out that I used to be part of one thing greater crammed me with a way of that means, in addition to distinctive alternatives to community and be part of a neighborhood. That’s why it was so thrilling to see the work being achieved to advance this trade. Getting concerned actually pays dividends.

Total, regardless of its deep conventional roots, the automotive rental market is clearly a dynamic trade, stuffed with alternative and improvements to come back. I can’t wait to see what this subsequent yr brings.

Editor’s Be aware: This weblog appeared within the 2023 Auto Rental Information Truth Guide! Discover it and extra insights and stats in regards to the trade, on-line quickly.