Thrifty Car Rental 2010 Annual Report Download - page 13

locations are in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific regions. The Company
offers franchisees the opportunity to license the rights to operate either the Dollar or the Thrifty brand
or both brands in certain markets on a dual franchise or co-brand basis. Revenue generated by the
Company from franchised operations outside the U.S. and Canada totaled $11.6 million in 2010,
comprised primarily of system, reservation and advertising fees.
Thrifty Car Sales
Thrifty Car Sales provides an opportunity to franchised rental service providers to enhance or build
their used car operations under a well-recognized national brand name. In addition to the use of the
brand name, dealers have access to a variety of products and services offered by Thrifty Car Sales.
These products and services include participation in a full service business development center, a
nationally supported Internet strategy and Web site, operational and marketing support, vehicle
supply services and customized retail and wholesale financing programs, as well as national
accounts and supply programs. At December 31, 2010, Thrifty Car Sales had 40 franchise locations.
Other Services
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.
Parking Services – Airport parking operations are a natural complement to vehicle rental operations.
The Company operates 14 corporate parking operations.
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 products or services such as tires, glass and long distance
telephone and overnight mail services.
Reservations
The Internet is the primary source of reservations for the Company. For the year ended December
31, 2010, approximately 79% of the Company’s total non-tour reservations came through the
Internet, slightly increasing from approximately 78% in 2009. During 2010, the Company’s Internet
Web sites (dollar.com and thrifty.com) provided approximately 46% of total non-tour reservations.
Third-party Internet sites provided 33% of non-tour reservations, with two third-party sites each
providing approximately 11% of total non-tour reservations and the remainder coming from various
smaller sites. The remaining non-tour reservations were primarily provided by the reservation call
centers and travel agents. The Company outsources a significant portion of its call center operations
to PRC, LLC, a global leader in the operation of outsourced call centers. In addition, the Company
maintains limited call center operations at its Tahlequah, Oklahoma facility. Dollar and Thrifty
reservation systems are linked to all major airline reservation systems and 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 the quality of car rental products and 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,
12