Though travel buyers gave car rental companies mixed reviews in Business Travel News¡¯ (BSN) 2024 Car Rental Survey, National Car Rental secured another win, its ninth in a row in customer satisfaction.

According to BSN, three companies rated higher scores compared to 2023 and two showed declines. The average for the industry was 4.08 on an ascending scale of one to five, down from 4.12 last year.

On a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent), National¡¯s rating of 4.27 was a tad higher than its 2023 score of 4.26. National's sister brand Enterprise garnished second place for a third year in a row with an average score of 4.16, a decline of 0.02 points.

Avis secured another third-place finish, with an average rating of 4.02, down from 4.07, but its brand mate Budget moved up to fourth place with a 0.03 improvement to 3.97. Hertz landed in the fifth spot with its score dropping 0.13 points to 3.95.?

"National created the 'pick your car, get in your car and go' model," KesselRun VP of program management Krissy Herman said. "From a corporate traveler standpoint, there is not a better method. Some of the other vendors are attempting similar type models that allow for choice and ease, but National has been doing it forever, and I think that really resonates with true corporate road warriors."

Rental car survey categories included:

• Availability and ease of booking
• Clean, well-serviced cars
• Negotiating pricing and amenities
• Productivity of rental
• Mobile app functionality
• Upgrades and services for VIP travelers
• Pricing transparency
• Complaint resolution
• Relationship with account managers and sales reps
• Communication with buyers about changes
• Quality data and reporting
• Overall value
• Final rating

Eleven of the 12 categories with declining average scores year after year showed improvement in 2023. The sole criterium that notched a gain was negotiating pricing and amenities, up 0.03 points to 3.93¡ªbut it still came in with the lowest average score of all categories.

However, according to GoldSpring Consulting¡¯s Neil Hammond, ¡°Rental car company pricing recovered the soonest before anybody in the marketplace. People already suffered the worst of the negotiations. Whether it was because rental car companies went in asking for a lot, and in some cases, they would yield¡ªsome on city surcharges, or yield on multipliers¡ªbuyers felt they got something back in negotiations. They didn't feel great, which shows the overall bad score, but they did get something out of it."

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