Thrifty Car Rental 2008 Annual Report Download - page 12

Other Services
Parking Services – Airport parking operations are a natural complement to vehicle rental operations. The
Company encourages its franchisees that have near-airport locations to add this ancillary business and
the Company operates 17 corporate parking operations as well.
Supplies and National Account Programs – The Company makes bulk purchases of items used by its
franchisees, which it sells to franchisees at prices that are often lower than they could obtain on their own.
The Company also negotiates national account programs to allow its franchisees to take advantage of
volume discounts for many materials or services used for operations such as tires, glass replacement,
long distance telephone service and overnight mail.
Supplemental Equipment and Optional Products – Dollar and Thrifty rent global positioning system (GPS)
equipment, ski racks, infant and child seats and other supplemental equipment, offer a Rent-a-Toll
product for electronic toll payments, sell pre-paid gasoline and roadside emergency benefit programs
(Road Safe and TripSaver) and, subject to availability and applicable local law, make available loss
damage waivers and insurance products related to the vehicle rental.
Reservations
The Internet is the primary source of reservations for the Company. For the year ended December 31,
2008, approximately 76% of the Company’s total non-tour reservations came through the Internet,
increasing from approximately 74% in 2007. The Company’s Internet Web sites (dollar.com and
thrifty.com) provided approximately 44% of total non-tour reservations. During 2008, 32% of non-tour
reservations were provided from third party Internet sites with no individual third party site providing in
excess of 8% of total non-tour reservations. The remaining non-tour reservations were primarily provided
by the reservation call centers and travel agents. In early 2007, the Company outsourced a portion of its
call center operations to PRC, a global leader in the operation of outsourced call centers. The Company
still maintains some call center operations at its Tahlequah, Oklahoma facility. Dollar and Thrifty
reservation systems are linked to all major airline reservation systems and through such systems to travel
agencies in the U.S., Canada and abroad.
Marketing
Dollar and Thrifty are positioned as value car rental companies in the travel industry, providing on-airport
convenience with low rates on quality vehicles. Customers who rent from Dollar and Thrifty are cost-
conscious leisure, government and business travelers who want to save money on car rentals without
compromising fundamental car rental products or services.
Dollar and Thrifty acquire these value-oriented customers through a multi-faceted marketing approach
that involves traditional and Internet advertising, Internet search marketing, sales teams, strategic
marketing partners, and investments in traditional and emerging distribution channels. Each of these
disciplines has a specific focus on selected customer segment opportunities.
Strategic Marketing Partners
Dollar and Thrifty have aligned themselves with certain strategic marketing partners to facilitate the
growth of their business.
Dollar has strong relationships with many significant international tour operators who specialize in
inbound tour packages to the U.S., as well as domestic tour operators who generate inbound business to
Hawaii, Florida and other leisure destinations.
Major travel agents and consortia operate under preferred supplier agreements with Dollar and Thrifty.
Under these preferred agreements, Dollar and Thrifty provide these travel agency groups additional
commissions or additional benefits in return for their featuring Dollar and Thrifty in their advertising or
giving Dollar and Thrifty a priority in their reservation systems. In general, these arrangements are not
exclusive to Dollar and Thrifty.
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