Airports have been notoriously busy in recent weeks due to the rapid increase in travel, with passengers waiting several hours to pass through security and passport control in some U.S. and UK destinations. While business travel has not recovered as quickly as leisure travel, it is steadily on the rise. In addition, a large number of workers are continuing to work remotely, allowing them to enjoy working vacations. Travel set to return with a vengeance for this Summer.
In many cases, delays are due to airlines being understaffed after making cuts during the pandemic, leaving them unable to cope with normality once again.
With travelers enjoying their new-found freedom, how can your firm be prepared to keep up with the demand and continue to provide high levels of service?
Prepare Staff and Vehicles Early
Where the airlines and airports are struggling, you can succeed. Ensure new staff are trained as early as possible this season in order to prevent shortages.
In addition, carry out vehicle maintenance ahead of time to maximize up-time during the season and allow for more reliable scheduling. With travel advisors recommending that consumers book their rental cars well in advance, being prepared as early as possible is crucial.
Compensate for Higher Prices with Excellent Service
As the industry continues to feel the effects of the chip shortage, customer satisfaction is questionable due to increased prices. To keep them engaged, provide the best possible experience to ensure they feel like it was worth the higher cost.
One way to improve their experience is to implement contactless bookings including keyless car rental – these strategies reduce wait times and make the whole process more convenient for the customer. Small touches such as placing a bottle of water in the car ready for the customer on collection all add up and give the customer a great impression of your brand. Also, seeking customer feedback and showing that you are applying it is another way to gain loyalty – 77% of customers have a more favorable option of brands that do so.
In addition, consider how you might re-evaluate your pricing strategies for different customer segments.
Optimize Operations
Make your operations more efficient through digitization and automate time-consuming jobs. Our fleet management software allows you to manage numerous processes all within one system and provides the option of a mobile application for your customers, making keyless rental possible.
Diversify Your Offering
Finally, instead of looking to source new cars, perhaps it is time to diversify your offering by providing customers with the option of renting other types of vehicles.
The chip shortage affected various modes of transportation, but some rental companies have been purchasing used motorcycles, RVs, vans, boats, and more in order to expand their offering so that when the chip shortage has finally ended, they will have competitive advantage.
We provide fleet management for many types of vehicles – find out more about solutions for motorcycles and scooters here.
