Archive for September, 2009
Great Summer Photos Posted By E-Z Facebook Fans
Our “End of Summer” $100 AMEX gift card giveaway on our Facebook page has already been a great success. We’ve had hundreds of entries, and many of our fans have shared great photos of their vacations over the summer. There are dozens of great photos posted, but here are five that we really enjoyed!
Chicago, IL
Amy posted this cool photo watching the fireworks at the Navy Pier, overlooking the Chicago skyline on the Fourth of July.
Orlando, Florida
Kayla posted this photo at the Magic Kingdom in Disney World of the fireworks at Cinderella’s Castle.
Augusta, Georgia
This photo was added by Gina on Facebook. It’s a photo of the Riverwalk in Augusta, Georgia. Didn’t think Georgia could look so pretty, did you?
San Francisco, California
A funny photo from Kathryn of monkey statues in Chinatown.
King’s Canyon National Park, California
Beautiful photo from Elaine of the Sequoia trees in King’s Canyon National Park.
Thank you to everyone who have contributed to our Facebook page so far. The success of it is all because of you! We still have two more giveaways for a $100 AMEX gift card tomorrow, September 30th and October 7th. Become a fan of our Facebook page and post something fun that you did over the summer to enter our giveaway!
Tags: end of summer giveaway, Facebook fan page
Photo Stream Of Our United States Locations
Everyone loves pictures, and pictures say a thousand words. Here are photos of our main United States locations, not including affiliate locations.
Orlando, Florida
The appeal of Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, warm weather, and world-class hotel resorts make Orlando one of the top vacation destinations in the world!
Rent a hybrid rental car at MCO
Miami, Florida
Whether you’re having a night out on South Beach or visiting the many ecological attractions of Biscayne Bay, Miami, Florida has so much to offer. Don’t forget to get a Cuban sandwich or black beans and rice while you are there!
Rent a discount rental car from MIA
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Just up the coast from Miami is beautiful Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. If you are looking for an alternative airport to fly into other than MIA, Ft. Lauderdale is a great choice. Plus, the beaches are nicer and less populated.
Rent a cheap rental car from FLL
West Palm Beach, Florida
Historic Palm Beach, Florida is a great place to vacation. The Breakers is a world-class hotel and resort, and the Flagler museum is a great piece of South Florida history. Downtown West Palm Beach has all the shopping and night life that you can handle.
Rent a discount rental car from PBI
Tampa, Florida
If you’ve ever been to Tampa, you know they love their sports. No matter what time of year you are there, you’ll be able to catch either a football, hockey, or baseball game. Plus, Clearwater, Florida which is only about 20 miles west of Tampa, has some of the best beaches in Florida.
Rent a discount rental car from TPA
Atlanta, Georgia
Stroll along Peach Tree street in Downtown, visit the night life of Buck Head, or visit Stone Mountain just outside of Atlanta. Atlanta is the hub of the southeast for a reason. It’s a vibrant city with a lot of young professionals, and there’s always something going on to keep you busy.
Rent a cheap rental car at ATL
Denver, Colorado
Denver is a beautiful city, and if you love winter sports, Denver is the place to be! Denver is also a huge sports town if you’re thinking about catching a game.
Dallas, Texas
Eat a juicy steak or visit the new $1 billion dollar Dallas Cowboys stadium! You could also travel down to Austin to hear great live music or tour the University of Texas.
Reserve a discount rental car at DFW
Ketchikan, Alaska
Alaska is like one big postcard. If you are a nature buff, then Alaska is the place for you. Go for a hike, camping, dog sledding, or kayaking to take in the beautiful sites and wildlife of Alaska.
Reserves a discount rental car from KTN
Los Angeles, California
The City of Angels is a great destination for vacationing or business. Drive down Sunset Blvd. and maybe you’ll spot a celebrity! The Getty museum is a great place to bring the family. It’s free to the public!
Reserve a discount rental car from LAX
Tags: atlanta airport car rental, cheap car rental, denver airport rental car, discount car rental, florida cheap rental car, Ft. Lauderdale airport car rental, LAX discount car rental, MCO discount car rental, Miami airport car rental, Orlando Discount Car Rental, PBI car rental, TPA airport car rental
Update On Current E-Z Promotions
Facebook Promotion
Our “End of Summer” Facebook promotion has really taken off thanks to you all who became fans of our page and posted great stories and photos about your summer. We have had a great time connecting with you and being a part of what’s going on in your lives!
Our first winner was Amanda Bile from Maryland. She won the first $100 AMEX gift card, and we will be giving away three more gift cards over the next three weeks! If you haven’t already, make sure you become a fan of the E-Z Rent-A-Car Facebook page and post a story/photo/video about your summer.
Travelocity Promotion
Today, Travelocity ran a promotion for an 8% off promotion code for their Twitter followers and Facebook fans when making a reservation for an E-Z rental car through their website. We are big fans of Travelocity, and they do a great job with their Facebook page and Twitter profile. They are constantly offering exclusive Facebook and Twitter deals, and they also alert you of last-minute deals that are time sensitive.
Become a fan of the Travelocity Facebook page and a follower of their Twitter profile to take advantage of their exclusive E-Z Rent-A-Car promotion and other travel promotions.
Tags: exclusive twitter promotion, facebook amex promotion, travelocity discount promotion
How 10 Travel Websites Looked When They First Launched
Back in the days when installing Netscape was an essential part of your internet experience, 56k dial-up modems were the latest technology, and Prodigy was booming dot com company, you had ugly websites with not much to them! Here are some great examples of travel sites when they first launched. Enjoy!
- Travelocity
- Orbitz
- Avis Rental Car
- Enterprise
- Southwest Airlines
- E-Z Rent-A-Car
- Jet Blue Airlines
- Wall Street Journal
This one is my favorite! We love Travelocity and their commitment to their travel partners, but we couldn’t help but poke some fun at them for their old website!
Not bad for their first shot, of course, their first launch wasn’t until after 2001.
Wow, Avis has come a long way!
First attempt was a good one. They haven’t deviated much from the original.
Below the image is a bunch of text that wasn’t formatted very well.
We couldn’t do a post like this without including ourselves! Now THAT is ugly! But we were still offering discount car rentals even then!
This was only about 6 years ago.
And now for a few non-travel websites:
Even Google has come a long way since 1998!
This screenshot is from 2005!
Make sure you share this fun list with your friends!
Tags: travel websites, website screenshots at launch
Enter Our “End of Summer” $100 AMEX Gift Card Giveaway!
The end of Summer is quickly approaching, but E-Z Rent-A-Car wants to extend it a little further by sharing all of your summer experiences! We are giving away (4) $100 AMEX gift cards over the next month to any Facebook fan that uploads a story, photo, or video to our Facebook page wall of somewhere you visited or something fun that you did this past Summer!
Here are the official giveaway rules:
ELIGIBILITY
This sweepstakes is open to legal residents of the United States, 18 or older. This sweepstakes is not open to employees and their immediate families/households of E-Z Rent-A-Car, Inc, or anyone involved with the production of this sweepstakes. Void where prohibited and subject to all federal, state and local laws.
HOW TO ENTER
No purchase is necessary to enter the sweepstakes. To enter, become a fan of the official Facebook fan page. Once you have become a fan, share with us your favorite memory of this past summer. To share with us, post on of the following on the Facebook page wall: a story, picture, or video describing a place you visited or something fun that you did over the summer. Fans that do not share something on the Facebook wall, will not be entered for the weekly drawing. Only one entry will be permitted per household. If a participant enters the giveaway and does not win the weekly drawing, he or she will be automatically entered into the subsequent weekly drawing.
AMEX GIFT CARD
The winner of each weekly drawing will receive one (1) AMEX gift card in the amount of $100.00. The value of this prize is explicit dependent on the face value of the gift cards. All rules and regulations of the AMEX gift card can be found here. The gift card and AMEX name are the property of American Express. The odds depend on the number of entries received. This prize cannot be transferred or otherwise substituted.
CONDITIONS
Upon entering the giveaway, you are agreeing to the posted official rules found herein and the decisions made by the judges. Submissions will be considered void if incompleted or erroneous. E-Z Rent-A-Car holds no responsibility for lost, late, stolen or untransmitted submissions, or any damage to any computer resulting from participating in this giveaway. The person whose Facebook profile is used to signup for E-Z Money will be deemed the official entrant for this giveaway. If E-Z Rent-A-Car determines or suspects that any tampering to the integrity of the data received has occurred, E-Z Rent-A-Car reserves the right to terminate the giveaway and hold a random drawing of received entrants to that point. Taxes on the prize are the responsibility of the winner. If the giveaway is modified, terminated or otherwise changed, a notice will be placed on the official Facebook fan page. Winners may be required to respond to the notificiation email within seven (7) days and failure to do so could result in disqualification and selection of a new winner.
SELECTION OF WINNER
One winner will be selected on September 16th, 2009, September 23rd, 2009, September 30th, 2009, and October 7th, 2009 at 12:00pm. The giveaway will begin at 12:00pm on September 9th, 2009, and entries will for the first weekly drawing will be accepted up until 11:30am on September 16th, 2009. Subsequent weekly drawings will follow the same timeframe guidelines as the first weekly giveaway. Any entries received after 11:30am on the day of the giveaway will be placed into the subsequent week’s drawing or they will not count if submitted after 11:30am on October 7th, 2009. Winner will be notified via a Facebook message on the day of the drawing.
LIST OF WINNER(s)
Visit the official Facebook fan page of E-Z Rent-A-Car for a list of winners at approximately 12:00pm on September 16th, September 23rd, September 30th, and October 7th.
Tags: $100 AMEX gift card, end of summer giveaway, Facebook giveaway
20 Ways To Save Money On Your Orlando Vacation
We have now finished our guidebook to 20 ways to save money on an Orlando vacation. This guide is filled with ideas for saving money while you are in Orlando on vacation. Before you travel to the MCO airport and rent one of our discount rentals, print out this guide to reference while on your trip!
Download Link To The .PDF Version
Here is the link to download and print out the guidebook. Inside, you’ll get all 20 tips along with two coloring book pages to keep your kids occupied while in your cheap rental car.
Download Now
Text Version of 20 Ways To Save In Orlando
For those of you who don’t want to download and print out the 20 ways to save, here is the full text version of the guidebook.
1. Bring snacks and water with you to the theme parks so you are not spending your money on little items that can be bought ahead of time for much cheaper. You could easily spend $100 on snacks and food inside the theme parks, so pack snacks like juice boxes, small bottles of water, granola bars, cheese and crackers, and fruit.
2. Visit Restaurant.com and look for places that you may want to dine. In addition to getting things like a $25 gift certificate for $10, you can find coupons for the gift certificates, making them even cheaper (We have seen them as low as $2 for a $25 gift certificate). Check websites like couponcabin.com and dealcatcher.com, for 60%, 70%, and even 80% off of the price of the gift certificate!
3. 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. Buy groceries when you first check-in, and eat breakfast and lunches at the rental home.
4. When you arrive, ask people around you like the hotel staff and the companies that you are planning to visit if they have any specials or discounts currently going on.
5. Set budget limits ahead of time on souvenir spending with the children and yourself. Your children will be overwhelmed with the amount of goodies and souvenirs that they will come across while in the theme parks, so make sure that you stick to your guns and only spend what you budgeted for.
6. Consider other activities for arrival and departure days. Spending a few hours in the park might not be worth the price of full admission when you could be visiting free places like International Drive, CityWalk, Disney’s Boardwalk and Downtown Disney. Relax on your arrival and departure days, because you will be walking a lot in warm weather for the rest of your stay.
7. Look for I Love Orlando magazine, which contains many coupons and discounts. You can often find them in tourist area, restaurants and shopping malls. Visit their website here.
8. Bring your film, batteries and sunscreen with you. It can be very expensive to buy convenience items at the theme parks. Remember to stock up on batteries, disposable cameras, and over-the-counter medications before you leave for your trip.
9. 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).
10. Register for a Buy Local Orlando card. It’s free and encourages you to visit the local businesses in the Orlando area. Originally designed for Orlando residents, but the Mayor’s Office was excited when they heard it would be promoted on this list for visitors as well.
11. If staying at Disney, consider the Disney dining plan. It straps you into eating within Disney property while you are visiting, but if that was what you were already planning on doing, it will save you money. Another quick tip: Reserve your dining as far ahead as you can (up to 90 days if you are staying on Disney property).
12. Book an Orlando hotel with a refrigerator to save on quick snacks and breakfast, which can add up over a week long trip. If you can’t find a hotel or vacation rental with a full kitchen, upgrade to something with a small kitchenette to store food.
13. If visiting Universal Studios, consider the Universal Meal Deal. For $20, you can eat and drink all day.
14. Remember that time is money. Plan your day at the parks accordingly, so that you can maximize your stay. For instance, most people watch the Shamu show at SeaWorld at the end of the day. To avoid large crowds, visit the show in the morning. Get an early start when visiting the theme parks. If you are staying on Disney property, take advantage of the special extended hours. You are entitled to visit the parks earlier and later than guests not staying on property.
15. 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.
16. Print out your free Orlando Magic Card. You get discounts on hotels, vacation homes, attractions and dining. If it’s free, it’s for me!
17. If you are staying off-property of Disney, Universal or others, see if your hotel offers free shuttle service. Parking at the resorts is expensive ($12 and up per day), so if you can get free shuttle service to the resorts, it may be a factor in choosing your hotel as well.
18. If you are doing grocery shopping while in Orlando, find a retail chain away from the tourist attractions to grocery shop. Publix is Florida’s most popular retail grocery store chain, and you can find everyday deals like “buy one, get one free” on many different items.
19. Consider free souvenirs. If you have really young kids or if you are into scrapbooking, these free souvenirs are a great alternative to expensive park souvenirs. Hotel room keys, napkins, park maps, tickets and items made at Epcot at the Kidcot centers throughout the park are great alternatives
20. Rent your vehicle with E-Z Rent-A-Car. We are the only discount car rental provider located in terminal at the Orlando International Airport, and we offer more ways to save than with any other Orlando car rental company. We provide website exclusive coupons, and you can earn additional automatic discounts just for being a member of our car rental loyalty program. It’s really the only way to the cheapest car rentals for Orlando, FL.
Tags: Orlando Discount Car Rental, save money on car rental, saving money in Orlando, saving money on travel