Archive for August, 2009
Car Rental Fees And How To Avoid Them
Every company has fees associated with doing business, and they can be quite annoying for the customer. These fees serve a purpose, mainly to allow companies to re-coup the cost they incur when a customer does something that costs the company money. Whether a company should charge a fee for this or that is a different debate, but for now, let’s focus on how to avoid fees in the car rental industry.
Be prepared for paying tolls and knowing their location
Some cities such as New York, Chicago, and Orlando have toll roads, especially near airports where tourists will be driving. Many car rental companies are charging fees for toll violations by the customer, because they are also charged a fee when they are issued a toll violation. Before you pick up a car, check Google Maps to see if your route will be taking you on any toll roads. If so, keep a healthy amount of loose change and single dollar bills in your wallet or purse to pay for the tolls. If you happen to run a toll by accident, make sure you immediately call the rental car company. They can supply you with the number you can call to pay the toll before it is sent to the rental car company as a toll violation.
Always fill the gas tank back to the level it was before you rented it
It costs rental car companies extra time and money to be filling the car up with gas, and they will often charge to fill up gas at a rate double the normal gas price. My advice is to pre-pay for filling up the gas tank. When you rent the car, you can offer to pre-pay for gas at a discount rate. Then, you don’t need to spend the time filling up the tank before you drop it off.
Avoid one-way rentals
If possible, try to pick up your discount rental car at the same location you drop it off. It is always more expensive to rent a car as a one-way rental, and you should avoid it, if possible.
Don’t Be Late!
Time is money for rental car companies, and they will sometimes charge a late fee or an extra day of rental if you don’t drop the car off within a certain time period that you said you would. Rental car companies have hundreds of customers coming to get cars at all hours of the day, so if you’re late, they’re losing money.
We understand that this article is coming from the perspective of a rental car company that does charge fees as part of a contract agreement that you agree to, but to maximize your experience as our loyal customer, we want to help you avoid extra fees as much as possible!
Tags: cheap car rental, discount car rental, rental car fees, save money on car rental, saving money on travel
3 Ways To Save Money In Orlando While On Your Vacation
We are close to rolling out our first money saving guide for Orlando, Florida. We hope to have a money saving guide for every one of our United States locations very soon. The guide will have 20 ways to save money while on your vacation in Orlando, Florida. The best part about it is that it is FREE to you, our valued customers. You’ll be able to download it or print it out as many times as you like. We’re also working on some coloring pages to go along with the guide that you children can play with while in one of our discount rental cars.
Here are a few money saving tips that will be included in our guide:
Instead of a normal hotel room, consider a vacation home rental. You will get significantly more room and it will be easier to prepare meals and relax. Plus, you often get other amenities like a pool and gaming systems for the children. Having a full kitchen while on vacation is very valuable, and it can help you save a lot of money on one of your biggest expenses, food. Buy groceries when you first check-in, and eat breakfast and lunches at the rental home.
Consider purchasing an entertainment book for the discounts. Browse the vendors first to see if you will actually get value out of the purchase because it is area specific (you can’t take it home with you after your vacation is over).
If you are planning on visiting some attractions outside the major theme parks, consider the Go Orlando Card, which gives you entrance into over 40 attractions, plus discounts for dining and shopping, for one low fixed price. Attractions such as Wet ‘n Wild, Gator Land, and Fun Works are all popular attractions outside of Universal and Disney property.
We hope that the guide adds value to your experience in Orlando, and we’re happy to make your traveling experience the best it can possibly be! Stay tuned, we will annouce the unveiling of our “20 Ways to Save” guidebook on this blog with a link to download it.
Tags: entertainment book Orlando, MCO discount car rental, Orlando Discount Car Rental, saving money in Orlando, saving money on travel
We Added A Multimedia Box To The Orlando Location Web Page
In an effort to make our website more interactive, more helpful to you, and more informative, over the next few months, we will be adding multimedia boxes to all of our location web pages. Since the Orlando is our largest discount rental car location, we started with their web page. Here is a screen shot of what the new page looks like. You’ll notice the box in the upper right corner. Click on the image to see a larger version of it.
How We’ll Use This New Feature
- We already have a set of images from inside the Orlando International Airport that should help you find our rental counter more quickly and efficiently.
- We’ll load images of local attractions and points of interest in the city you are visiting.
- At some point, we hope to include videos and possibly an interactive video that better helps you find our rental counters inside airports.
The ultimate goal of this new feature on the website is to help you, our valued customers. If you have any more suggestions about how we can use the multimedia box, please write a comment below!
Tags: MCO discount car rental, Orlando Discount Car Rental, video
Will The Chevy Volt Blow Away The Hybrid Car Competition?
Yesterday, GM announced that their Chevy Volt will get an estimated 230 mpg in the city! Because of this extraordinary claim, there are many skeptics who question whether it’s truly 230 miles per gallon. Engadget was told that the EPA has released “a new methodology for determining a draft fuel economy standard for extended-range EVs like the Volt,” and it’s that non-standard measurement system that is giving Chevy’s boy wonder a triple digit MPG.
How Could It Possibly Get 230 MPG?
CNN has an article with an example that helps us understand the calculation better. The Chevy Volt and a standard hybrid car are different in the sense that the Volt will strictly use electricity from a battery, then switch to gasoline after it has been driven 40 miles. A hybrid car like the Prius uses a mix of the battery power and gasoline to power the car, but does it more efficiently than a standard car. Keeping that in mind, here is an example from the CNN article:
So let’s say the car is driven 50 miles in a day. For the first 40 miles, no gas is used and during the last 10 miles, 0.2 gallons are used. That’s the equivalent of 250 miles per gallon. But, if the driver continues on to 80 miles, total fuel economy would drop to about 100 mpg. And if the driver goes 300 miles, the fuel economy would be just 62.5 mpg.
Knowing this information and understanding this example, it’s more clear that the less you drive in the Volt, the more MPG you get, and if you drive a long distance, the fuel economy gradually decreases. So, for short commutes back and forth to work, the Volt really will get you 200 to 250 mpg, but for a 400 mile trip, you’ll get about the same fuel economy as a Toyota Prius or Honda Insight hybrid car.
How Do You Recharge Its Battery?
The Chevy Volt runs fully on a battery for 40 miles, unlike a traditional battery that operates the electronic components in your car and is continually charged by your car’s engine and alternator. So, in order to get that 40 miles of gas-free power, you would need to charge the battery every night. GM says that the battery can be charged in a standard residential, electrical outlet. They say it would cost about .40 cents a day in utility charges to charge the battery.
When Will the Chevy Volt Be Available?
Nobody knows at this point. Chevy had originally promised a release date of November, 2010, but they recently submitted a regulatory filing with the U.S. Treasury that means they may be having troubles with funding for a full launch in November.
Will GM set the standard for the beginning of electric cars or will it be a flop and open the door for another company to learn from GM’s mistakes? Only time will answer those questions. However, being able to use a car for short commutes back and forth from work that doesn’t use a drop of gas is an intriguing thought.
Tags: chevy volt mpg, gm electric car, green rental car, hybrid rental car
Best Places To Eat In Orlando, Florida
Orlando is widely known for its great restaurants. Because of the year-round tourism, starting a restaurant is a very lucrative business to be in. Take your pick of any cuisine at any price with any atmosphere, and Orlando has it. Trip Advisor has a list of Orlando restaurants rated based on user reviews. Here are a few of our favorites:
Best Disney Restaurant
Le Cellier (casual, sit-down) It has a cozy atmosphere, great service, and some of the best steaks you will find. This is a great place to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the theme park. Don’t miss the apple cobbler for dessert. The restaurant is located in Epcot, and it is moderately priced.
Best Restaurant On/Near International Drive
Texas De Brazil (casual, sit-down): Are you a meat lover? This is a brazilian steakhouse, and the meats are served buffet, but the buffet comes to you! If you’ve never been to a Brazilian steakhouse, this will be a fun place to go, and you won’t walk away hungry!
Best Restaurant Downtown
Kres (business casual attire): This is one of my favorite restaurants in Orlando. If you love a great steak, a hot cup of lobster bisque, and fresh seafood, this is the place for you. For your first time, try the mixed grill. It’s a 4 oz. filet, quarter rack of lamb, and two jumbo shrimp with au gratin potatoes and asparagus. The atmosphere hip and trendy, yet comfortable and romantic. This restaurant is located on Church St. in downtown, and expect to pay about $100 for a meal for two.
Best Vegetarian Place
Ethos Vegan Kitchen: I have never eaten here, because I like meat on my plate, but I have heard great things from vegetarian friends of mine! This restaurant is located just north of Downtown, and it overlooks scenic Lake Ivanhoe. The prices are reasonable, and the food is delicious.
Best Sports Bar
ESPN Club: One of my favorite places to watch a game and get some great game time food is the ESPN Club. It’s similar to the ESPN zone’s around the country, but it is more a family style sports bar. Don’t forget to get the buffalo bites and their turkey and brie sandwich! Another cool thing about this restaurant is that it’s located on Disney’s Boarwalk, a fun atmosphere and great place to take kids.
Have any suggestions for your favorite restaurants in Orlando or surrounding Central Florida? We’d love to hear about them. Write a comment below!
Tags: best restaurants in orlando, MCO discount car rental, Orlando Discount Car Rental, visit epcot disney word