Payless Car Rental
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Car rental |
| Founded | Spokane, Washington, U.S. (1971) |
| Founder | John Les Netterstron |
| Headquarters | St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S. |
Number of locations | 167 (as of 2015) |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Owner | Avis Budget Group |
| Website | Official website |
Payless Car Rental, Inc. is a car rental company owned by Avis Budget Group and headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. While mainly a franchise system, the company owns and operates several corporate locations. Payless Car Rental, Payless Car Sales, Payless Parking and REZlink International are sister companies under the umbrella of Avalon Global Group.[1]
The Payless brand operates in North America, South America, and Europe. The company has 167 locations worldwide.[2]
Payless was acquired by Avis Budget Group in 2013.[3][4]
History
In 1971, John Les Netterstron opened the first Payless Car Rental location in Spokane, Washington. Under the direction of Netterstron, the company grew from a local car rental store to a franchise system with over 100 car rental offices throughout the United States. By 1987 the company acquired the U.S. portion of Canadian-based Holiday Rent a Car, at which time the company built its first automated central reservation system.[5]
The first Payless image was created in 1989, which has endured to the present day with only minor changes. Payless opened its first two corporate stores in 2002, adding 4 more between 2004 - 2006. The company currently has corporate locations in Denver, Ft. Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Orlando, Phoenix and Tampa.[6] In March 2009 Payless Car Rental was added to the Expedia Preferred Vendors view. Payless also offers rates through travel portals such as Orbitz, Priceline.com, Travelocity and Rentcars.com.
Today, Payless provides car rental services in over 80 locations in 20 countries operating over 10,000 vehicles.[6]
Controversies
In July 2013, Avis Budget Group acquired Payless for reported cost of 50 million dollars.[7] Despite the acquisition, Avis has not been successful with improving Payless' reputation of sour customer experience.[8] Payless often engages in deceitful tactics and has more than 800 complaints against the company at the Better Business Bureau and has received an F rating.
Vehicles
In order to keep costs low, Payless typically shares a fleet with its auxiliary, Avis Rent a Car, in many locations. Payless uses sales techniques to maintain profitability, including offering fewer vehicle classes than other rental car companies.[9]
Rental classes available include Economy (Hyundai Accent or similar), Compact (Nissan Versa or similar), Mid Size (Hyundai Elantra or similar), Standard (Volkswagen Jetta or similar), Full Size (Hyundai Sonata or similar), Mid Size SUV (Jeep Renegade or similar), Premium (Volkswagen Passat or similar), Luxury (Chrysler 300 or similar), Convertible (Ford Mustang Convertible or similar), Premium SUV (Ford Expedition Max or similar), Passenger Van (Ford Transit 12-passenger van or similar), Standard Elite SUV (Ford Explorer or similar), Mini Van (Dodge Grand Caravan or similar), Standard SUV (Mitsubishi Outlander or similar), Full Size SUV (Chevrolet Tahoe or similar), Standard Sport (Ford Mustang Coupe or similar), Standard Elite Coupe (Dodge Charger R/T or similar), Standard Recreational Vehicle (Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 4-Door or similar), Full Size Hybrid (Toyota Prius Hybrid or similar), Luxury Special (Lincoln Continental or similar), Mid Size Pickup (Nissan Frontier or similar), Full Size Pickup (Ford F-150 Super Crew Cab or similar), and 15 Passenger Van (Ford Transit 15-passenger van or similar). All of the vehicles in the Payless fleet are equipped with an automatic transmission and air conditioning.
See also
References
- ^ "Avalon Global Group Website". Archived from the original on February 21, 2008. Retrieved January 10, 2008.
- ^ "Payless Car Rental Website". Archived from the original on December 20, 2007. Retrieved January 10, 2008.
- ^ Ring, Niamh. "Avis Budget Acquires Payless Car Rental for $50 Million". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
- ^ "Car Rental". Friday, January 4, 2019
- ^ "Payless Car Rental Media Kit" (PDF). Retrieved January 11, 2008.
- ^ a b "Payless Car Rental Website". Retrieved January 11, 2008.
- ^ "Avis Budget Acquires Payless Car Rental for $50 Million". Bloomberg.com. July 15, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
- ^ Segal, David (January 16, 2016). "What's Harder Than Renting a Car? Filing a Complaint". New York Times.
- ^ https://www.paylesscar.com/en/cars/vehicles/us
