Thrifty Car Rental 2008 Annual Report Download - page 13

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Both Dollar and Thrifty have also developed strategic partnerships with certain hotels, credit card
companies, and with most U.S. airlines through participation in the airline’s frequent flyer programs. In
addition, Dollar and Thrifty actively participate with our partner airlines in their respective branded Web
sites.
Internet Marketing and Distribution Channels
Dollar and Thrifty focus on Internet advertising and marketing, which continues to be the most cost-
efficient means of reaching travel customers. Dollar and Thrifty promote their respective brands via
Internet banner advertising, keywords and rate guarantees to encourage travelers to book reservations
on dollar.com and thrifty.com. In addition, Dollar and Thrifty both continue to make technology
investments in their respective Web sites, dollar.com and thrifty.com, to provide enhancements to best
meet their customer’s changing travel needs.
In 2008, Thrifty launched an enhanced version of thrifty.com which updates many of the features that
individuals rely upon to rent cars online. Leading the way is a reservation process that allows customers
to see the entire fleet inventory at a given location on a given date. Because of this addition, consumers
are now able to easily select a specific class of vehicle. Additionally, an enhanced search function
simplifies the effort of finding one of our many domestic and international locations, identifying specific
fleet offerings per location, searching for specials, and/or gaining greater awareness about the city or
country being visited. In 2007, dollar.com had similar updates and enhancements.
Dollar and Thrifty are among the leading car rental companies in direct-connect technology, which
bypasses global distribution systems and reduces reservation costs. Dollar and Thrifty have entered into
direct-connect relationships with certain airline and other travel partners.
In addition, Dollar and Thrifty are featured with numerous national online booking agents where
customers frequently shop for travel services and are in regular discussions with owners of other
emerging travel channels to secure inclusion of the Dollar and Thrifty brands in those channels.
Dollar and Thrifty have made filings under the intellectual property laws of jurisdictions in which their
respective franchisees operate, including the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, to protect the names,
logos and designs identified with Dollar and Thrifty. These marks are important for customer brand
awareness and selection of Dollar and Thrifty for vehicle rental and for dollar.com and thrifty.com for
reservation services.
Customer Service
The Company’s commitment to delivering consistent customer service is a key element of our strategy. At
its headquarters and in company-owned stores, the Company has programs involving customer
satisfaction training and team-based problem solving, especially as it relates to improving customer
service. The Company’s customer service centers measure customer satisfaction, track service quality
trends, respond to customer inquiries and provide recommendations to senior management and vehicle
rental location supervisors. The Company conducts initial and ongoing training for headquarters,
company-owned store and franchisee employees, using professional trainers, performance coaches and
computer-based training programs.
Information Systems
The Company depends upon a number of core information systems to operate its business, primarily its
counter automation, Web sites, distribution network, reservations, fleet and revenue management
systems. The counter automation system in company-owned stores processes rental transactions,
facilitates the sale of additional products and services and facilitates the monitoring of its fleet and
financial assets. The Company also relies on a revenue management system which is designed to enable
the Company to better determine rental demand based on historical reservation patterns and adjust its
rental rates accordingly. The Company’s Internet Web sites and various distribution networks allow the
Company’s products to be marketed and reserved directly or through our various channel partners.
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