HLE Firsthand account

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Buddy, can I have some of the crack you are smoking? It must be good. Hertz is the SECOND biggest, SECOND strongest, and SECOND most reknown company in the industry. I say this with a sigh because I WISH Hertz were #1 again - mostly because the big green E blows hard.

They may be getting bigger, but ERAC is getting bigger faster. Plus, ERAC doesn't seem to need to buy other companies to do it. They just put others out of business. Just a reality at this point.

The "Big Green" does blow hard but can't blow hard enough to knock the 1# company in the world down. Hertz has alot of plans in the works and ERAC will just be a memory. Peace out chief!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Charlie Brownstain,

I understand you are a ERAC loyalist. Look around you! Hertz locations are surrounding you in the local market and ERAC is getting "clobbered" at the airports even by Vanguard(National\Alamo) that have no clue how to run a business. It's unfortunate for ERAC that Hertz finally is dropping the hammer on ERAC but Avis\Budget is also launching an all out assault on ERAC. It was fun for ERAC while it lasted. All the info I stated is all verifiable. Now go outside in you suit and wash some optionless neons with 50,000 miles on them.

Charlie Brownstain? You know nothing about me, little man. ERAC FUCKED me, HARD too. I put in 5 SOLID years there and was subsequently let go because of a few bad months. I would like nothing more than for you to be right about your Hertz predictions, but the evidence simply doesn't YET support that that will happen.

ERAC has increased their annual revenue by more than $1 BILLION each of the last 3 years - no small feat in any business. They're swimming in money, and I guarantee they will not simply roll over and let Hertz or anyone else take more than a small amount of local marketshare any more than Hertz has let anyone else become dominant at airports.

GO HERTZ! GO AVIS! GO ANYONE BUT ERAC! For now, though, they're the #1 that they claim to be.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Charlie Brownstain? You know nothing about me, little man. ERAC FUCKED me, HARD too. I put in 5 SOLID years there and was subsequently let go because of a few bad months. I would like nothing more than for you to be right about your Hertz predictions, but the evidence simply doesn't YET support that that will happen.

ERAC has increased their annual revenue by more than $1 BILLION each of the last 3 years - no small feat in any business. They're swimming in money, and I guarantee they will not simply roll over and let Hertz or anyone else take more than a small amount of local marketshare any more than Hertz has let anyone else become dominant at airports.

GO HERTZ! GO AVIS! GO ANYONE BUT ERAC! For now, though, they're the #1 that they claim to be.

I stand corected. You really got screwed and I appreciate the fact that you came to the board with numbers. I'm not that little......

[tazzy2]

Fact of the matter is that Erac might eat up the off-airport numbers. Erac has soldified this due to the fact the Hertz no longer wants to focus on the off-airport market. Hertz, which is a fact wants to reclaim its marketshare at the airport. Hertz has slipped in that marketshare they dominated in past years, but got a reality check when they were knocked to the 3rd and in some cases 4th place for marketshare at the airports. They figured this was because they lost focus and was trying to clinch the off airport markets. This of course was probably true do the fact they were spreading their fleet thin. Now think about this, Hertz is built up on fact they have had great relationships with the manufacturers on rebates with their fleet. This in turn let them boast the had newer cars everytime. Now that the manufacturers are struggling, there are not offering rebates or turnback programs that Hertz was accustomed to. They are now force to outright buy fleet, tighten up on their fleet hence run them longer like most some of the other rental companies. So don't be surprised when you rent from Hertz that the vehicle you get has a lot of mileage on it, and is actually a year old than its normal run of 6 months. This market can be anybodies game. It is true that Hertz would rather buy up the little competitors than put them out of business like Erac. Remember this Hertz and Erac are almost mirror images of one another in North America and both can proudly say the run alone instead of the likes of dual branding ie: Cindan (Avis/Budget), Vanguard (National/Alamo). These were the heavy weights of their time individually, but have to team up to take on Erac an Hertz. Marketshare is based availabilty of fleet also. So both companies (Erac and Hertz) have solid arguements.

[Grover]

Tazzy - you are a little off with your comments regarding Hertz off-airport.
They have signed a deal with State Farm as a co-primary until along with erac in 7 regions across North America ( about half the US) to the end of 2007.
My point is that they still are focusing on off-airport as a long term strategy.

[tazzy2]

I forgot this little tidbit. When I was being recruited by Erac, they had this to say about the Airport marketshare. They were not really trying to go after it, because if they failed at the airport it was no big deal. They locked up the off airport market and was making hella cash there, and didn't care if they failed at the airports. Their exact words were "...there are more markets out there, other than the airports and you can't bank your whole business on one market..." This came from a regional manager.

[tazzy2]

Originally Posted by Grover

Tazzy - you are a little off with your comments regarding Hertz off-airport.
They have signed a deal with State Farm as a co-primary until along with erac in 7 regions across North America ( about half the US) to the end of 2007.
My point is that they still are focusing on off-airport as a long term strategy.

Grover, look at how many times they have signed with State Farm, this is a every couple of years stradegy. State farm only signs for a maximum of two years and then goes with somebody else. Hertz has been signing deals like this forever. As one of the Former managers, with that company (Hertz), Hertz will blow there deal, and State Farm knows this. Hertz used to be the primary and not co-primary. The companies that deal with Hertz knows this hence co-primary. Hertz does not have the Fleet to sustain more business until it can get a hold of more Fleet.

[tazzy2]

Understand this also, off-airport is a fickel business. Businesses will go for whoever is stroking them more (better deals, kickbacks etc). Erac, I give them this will do whatever it can to get the business. Hertz wants to go on name recognition only. Unfortunatley that doesnt work like that in this day and age when bussinesses and customers are looking for better deals. I can list all the businesses that Hertz used to be number one with and isn't anymore because A. Hertz is co-primary B. they don't deal with Hertz at all. This can probably be said about Erac as well.

Originally Posted by tazzy2

Understand this also, off-airport is a fickel business. Businesses will go for whoever is stroking them more (better deals, kickbacks etc). Erac, I give them this will do whatever it can to get the business. Hertz wants to go on name recognition only. Unfortunatley that doesnt work like that in this day and age when bussinesses and customers are looking for better deals. I can list all the businesses that Hertz used to be number one with and isn't anymore because A. Hertz is co-primary B. they don't deal with Hertz at all. This can probably be said about Erac as well.

Papa Smurf

Have you been under a rock for the last 7 yrs? Hertz has been kicking the "pi.." out of ERAC. What makes you think Hertz can't go to auctions and buy alot of risk cars only to sell them at Hertz car sales locations? Hertz right now is 28% market share at the airports. Avis\Budget is 32%. I don't see that lasting at the airport for very much longer. I also don't see HLE giving up. They are getting alot of marketshare all over the country in the local market.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Papa Smurf

Have you been under a rock for the last 7 yrs? Hertz has been kicking the "pi.." out of ERAC. What makes you think Hertz can't go to auctions and buy alot of risk cars only to sell them at Hertz car sales locations? Hertz right now is 28% market share at the airports. Avis\Budget is 32%. I don't see that lasting at the airport for very much longer. I also don't see HLE giving up. They are getting alot of marketshare all over the country in the local market.

Hertz doesn't buy used cars to turn around and sell them again. That percentage has been holding steady for the past two years, besides you just re-iterated what Tazzy said. Hertz is going after one market share, Airport. The longer they hold onto fleet, the longer it costs them. Wrok for the company and find out first hand what you don't know. As for the comment that Hertz was bought to be sectioned off and sold, that was actually what has been thrown around since the take over. Some locations have been either sold privately (still running under the Hertz banner, but privately owned (licencessee.) or shut down