Thrifty Car Rental

Last updated

Thrifty Car Rental
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Car rental
Founded1958;66 years ago (1958)
Headquarters
Estero, Florida
,
United States
Number of locations
1,061 locations (2022) [1]
Parent Hertz Global Holdings
Website thrifty.com

Thrifty Car Rental is an American car rental agency, headquartered in Estero, Florida, with offices in many countries around the world. Thrifty is owned by The Hertz Corporation, along with other agencies including Hertz Rent A Car and Dollar Rent A Car. Thrifty typically caters to budget-conscious leisure travelers.

Contents

History

Thrifty Car Rental was established in 1958. [2] [3] The company completed an initial public offering (IPO) of common stock in 1987. It would grow in size by purchasing Ohio-based Snappy Car Rental for US$40,000,000(equivalent to $98,319,463 in 2023) in May 1989. [4] [5]

By the end of 1989, the company was acquired by the Chrysler Corporation for US$263,000,000(equivalent to $646,450,470 in 2023) and merged into the company's Pentastar Transportation Group. [2] A few months later, Chrysler would also purchase Dollar Rent A Car. In September 1994, Chrysler would sell Snappy Car Rental to a group of investors. [6]

On December 23, 1997, Chrysler spun off its car rental operations into the Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group with an IPO, as part of an effort to reduce operating expenses at Chrysler. [7] [8] [9] By the end of the 1997 fiscal year, Dollar Thrifty Automotive maintained 872 locations in the United States and employed a staff of 5,400. [2] [10]

Fleet sizes and locations in the United States:

The Hertz Corporation announced it would purchase the Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group for US$2,300,000,000(equivalent to $3,052,442,383 in 2023) on November 19, 2012. [15]

As a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism, on April 30, 2020, Hertz announced that it has missed lease payments on its fleet and was seeking support from its lenders in an attempt to avoid bankruptcy. [16] On May 22, 2020, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy because it did not reach an agreement with top lenders. [17] [18] The company emerged from bankruptcy in early 2021. [19]

Dollar and Thrifty locations across the United States have faced multiple class action lawsuits [20] for duplicitous actions.

Operations

The Thrifty brand typically caters to budget-conscious leisure travelers renting from airports. [2] [21]

The Blue Chip Rental Express Program

Thrifty Car Rental's free Blue Chip Express Rental Program was introduced to the U.S. and Canada in 2008. [22] It offers expedited pickup and returns processes, choosing vehicle type, insurance coverage, designated lines at the counter, and syncing airline rewards. [22] [23]

Competitors

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hertz Global Holdings</span> American car rental company

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc., known as Hertz, is an American car rental company based in Estero, Florida. The company operates its namesake Hertz brand, along with the brands Dollar Rent A Car, Firefly Car Rental and Thrifty Car Rental.

National Car Rental is a private American rental car agency based in Clayton, Missouri, United States. National is owned by Enterprise Holdings, along with other agencies including Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and Alamo Rent a Car. National typically caters to business travelers through its Emerald Club loyalty program that allows frequent customers to pick their own vehicles without stopping to fill out forms or deal with customer representatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dollar Rent A Car</span> American car rental brand

Dollar Rent A Car is an American car rental agency, headquartered in Estero, Florida, with offices in many countries around the world. Dollar is owned by The Hertz Corporation, along with other agencies including Hertz Rent A Car, Firefly Car Rental and Thrifty Car Rental. Dollar typically caters to budget-conscious leisure travelers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AutoNation</span> American automotive retailer

AutoNation is an American automotive retailer based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which provides new and pre-owned vehicles and associated services in the United States. The company was founded by Wayne Huizenga in 1996, starting with twelve AutoNation locations, and now has more than 300 retail outlets.

Damage waiver(DW) or, as it is often referred to, collision damage waiver (CDW) or loss damage waiver (LDW) is a term that can be included or purchased as an option in a car rental agreement, by which the rental company waives the right to pursue compensation from the renter if the vehicle is damaged or stolen. Although it involves a transfer of risk, a damage waiver option is not insurance but instead a modification to the basic rental contract.

A car rental, hire car or car hire agency is a company that rents automobiles for short periods of time to the public, generally ranging from a few hours to a few weeks. It is often organized with numerous local branches, and primarily located near airports or busy city areas and often complemented by a website allowing online reservations.

In the United States automotive industry, the term Big Three is used for the country's three largest motor vehicle manufacturers, especially indicating companies that sell under multiple brand names.

Advantage Rent a Car is a privately held American car rental company headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

Vanguard Automotive Group was a vehicle rental company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.

Henry "Hank" Joseph Caruso was an American businessman. He was the founder of Dollar Rent A Car.

Kathryn V. Marinello is an American businesswoman, and president and chief executive officer (CEO) of PODS, a moving and storage company.

Chrysler Chapter 11 reorganization was the petition for bankruptcy on April 30, 2009 of Chrysler car company and 24 of its affiliated subsidiaries with the federal bankruptcy court in New York. The court filing occurred upon failure of the company to come to an agreement with its creditors for an outside-of-bankruptcy restructuring plan, by the April 30 deadline mandated by the federal government.

The 2009 General Motors Chapter 11 sale of the assets of automobile manufacturer General Motors and some of its subsidiaries was implemented through Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code in the United States bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York. The United States government-endorsed sale enabled the NGMCO Inc. to purchase the continuing operational assets of the old GM. Normal operations, including employee compensation, warranties, and other customer services were uninterrupted during the bankruptcy proceedings. Operations outside of the United States were not included in the court filing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group</span> Former holding company

Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group is the former holding company of Thrifty Car Rental and Dollar Rent A Car. Dollar Thrifty Automotive began to operate as an independent car rental subsidiary of the Chrysler Corporation on November 4, 1997 while continuing to support its two brands, Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rental. It was acquired by The Hertz Corporation for US$2.3 billion on November 19, 2012.

The American Car Rental Association (ACRA) is a formal trade organization based in Long Lake, New York, composed of rental car companies, that advocates and lobbies on behalf of the car rental industry with elected officials and consumer advocates at the federal, state and local levels of government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firefly Car Rental</span> American car rental brand

Firefly Car Rental is a low cost American car rental brand owned by The Hertz Corporation. Hertz developed the new brand to replace Advantage Rent a Car which had to be sold following the acquisition of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hertz Car Sales</span> Used car dealership

Hertz Car Sales is a division of The Hertz Corporation that sells vehicles that were previously used in the Hertz car rental fleet. Hertz Car Sales is based out of The Hertz Corporation's headquarters in Estero, Florida. The largest operating market is in North America, with over 68 dealer locations in the United States, with additional locations in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Auto Europe is a large car rental wholesale company, working with approximately 24,000 car rental locations in 180 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, as well as North and South America. Auto Europe has been accredited with the Better Business Bureau since 2 April 1993, with an A+ rating. Auto Europe has been owned by Court Square Capital Partners since 2006.

Mark Paul Frissora is an American business executive. He has been the CEO and president of The Hertz Corporation, and was the CEO and president of Caesars Entertainment until 2019.

Joseph E. Cappy is an American business executive who was the final president and chief executive officer of American Motors Corporation and the first president and CEO of the Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group.

References

  1. ↑ "General information". Thrifty Car Rental. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "DOLLAR THRIFTY AUTOMOTIVE GROUP INC (DTG) IPO". Nasdaq. 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Thrifty Car Rental" . Travel Commerce Network. 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  4. ↑ "COMPANY NEWS; Thrifty Rent-A-Car To Buy Snappy Car" . The New York Times . May 24, 1989. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Thrifty to Acquire Snappy Car" . The Report Dispatch. Gannett. May 23, 1989. p. 39. Retrieved February 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "COMPANY NEWS; Chrysler Sells Snappy Car Division" . The New York Times . Reuters. September 9, 1994. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Announces Key Leadership Changes; Paxton Named President and CEO". F&I and Showroom. September 26, 2003. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  8. ↑ Christian, Nicole M.; Reitman, Valerie (November 7, 1997). "Chrysler Will Spin Off Its Dollar Thrifty Unit" . The Wall Street Journal . Auburn Hills, MI. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. History". Funding Universe. 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Chrysler to Acquire Dollar Rent A Car" . Chicago Tribune . Vol. 144, no. 178. Detroit, MI. June 27, 1990. pp. 35–6. Retrieved February 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  11. 1 2 3 "Form 10-K for DOLLAR THRIFTY AUTOMOTIVE GROUP, INC". United States Securities and Exchange Commission. 2003. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  12. ↑ "U.S. Car Rental Market: Fleet". Auto Rental news. 2001. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  13. ↑ "2006 U.S. CAR RENTAL MARKET" (PDF). Auto Rental News. 2006. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group 2006 Form 10-K" (PDF). Corporate Library. 2006. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  15. ↑ Terlep, Sharon; Dezember, Ryan (August 27, 2012). "Hertz Wins Bid to Buy Dollar Thrifty" . The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  16. ↑ Welch, David (April 30, 2020). "Hertz in push to avoid bankruptcy - Business down 80% since pandemic took hold". SFGate. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  17. ↑ Gladstone, Alexander; Lombardo, Cara (May 22, 2020). "Hertz Preparing Bankruptcy Filing as Soon as This Weekend". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  18. ↑ Spector, Mike (May 22, 2020). "Hertz files for U.S. bankruptcy protection as car rentals evaporate in pandemic". Reuters . Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  19. ↑ Lipschultz, Bailey (July 1, 2021). "Hertz Stock Rages On After Bankruptcy With Surge, Then Plunge" . Bloomberg .
  20. ↑ Mower, Lawrence (January 23, 2019). "Florida has settled with Dollar/Thrifty over misleading rental car fees. Here's how to file a claim" . Tampa Bay Times . Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  21. ↑ "DOLLAR THRIFTY AUTOMOTIVE GROUP INC". EDGAR Online. 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.[ dead link ]
  22. 1 2 "Thrifty Blue Chip Rewards Offers Free Car Rentals". Maximizing Money. March 7, 2008. Archived from the original on July 3, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  23. ↑ "The Low Down on Thrifty Blue Chip". AutoSlash. November 1, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.