Demand for Car Hire High Ahead of 2012 Olympics Reports Carrentals.co.uk
Industry: Travel & Leisure
Online price comparator reports steep demand and tells travellers to plan ahead with just 100 days to go to London Games
Lightwater, Surrey (PRUnderground) April 24th, 2012
Leading online car hire specialist Carrentals.co.uk has issued a warning to tourists ahead of this year’s London 2012 Olympics – to be sure to book their rental car well in advance to avoid disappointment. The website’s latest reports have revealed a big jump in advance bookings ahead of the Games.
The statistics show that four times as many travellers and tourists have already booked rental cars for the period 20 July to 12 August this year in comparison with the same time in 2011. 40% of those who have made reservations have booked to pick their car up from either Gatwick or Heathrow airport – allowing them to get into London and the events quickly and easily.
Most cars have been reserved for the dates of July 20 and 21, as people look to join in the celebrations around the July 27th opening ceremony. The Carrentals.co.uk report shows that people are booking cars for a period of 10 to 12 days on average at this time. 50% of bookings have been made with collections from London’s Gatwick and Heathrow airports.
Carrentals.co.uk Managing Director, Gareth Robinson, said: “We’ve undoubtedly seen demand for cars rise around the time of the Olympics this year, particularly in comparison with twelve months ago. We expect to see this demand continue to increase as tens of thousands of people travel to the UK for the Games. The demand for and challenges faced by UK transport will also be a factor which impacts car hire demand this summer.”
“Travelling by train is an expensive exercise these days, and for families or big groups this is a pricey and problematic option. Renting a car lets you enjoy greater flexibility, allowing you to get out and about to other events outside of London. We do though advise advance booking to avoid disappointment.”
Carrentals.co.uk is the UK’s leading car rental comparison site, comparing deals from up to 50 rental companies including Alamo, Auto Europe, Budget, Holiday Autos and Sixt, in over 15,000 locations worldwide.
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About ASAP Ventures Ltd
Carrentals.co.uk was launched in February 2003 and grew to become one of the UK’s leading online car hire companies by 2006.
In 2007 the company re-launched its site to create the first major online price comparator in the travel industry. Using the latest technology the Carrentals.co.uk site now searches up to 50 different car hire websites, providing an impartial comparison of the best prices available in over 15,000 locations.
Websites searched include Alamo, Auto Europe, Avis, Budget, Ebookers, Hertz, Holiday Autos, Opodo, Sixt and Thrifty, with the Carrentals.co.uk site quickly comparing prices and allowing customers to refine their search by car type.
The Carrentals.co.uk site also features over 5,000 pages of travel information in a mini-guide format.
In 2008 Carrentals.co.uk was voted Best Car Hire Website in the Travolution Awards, and in 2010 it was Highly Commended in the Best Meta-search/Price Comparison category. To book or for further information visit www.carrentals.co.uk.
