Rental car prices on the rise as more people begin to travel again

Rental car prices skyrocketing due to shortage

LOS ANGELES - With the summer travel season about to take flight, airline price deals are abundant but one portion of your trip might have you hitting the brakes… rental cars.

Senior editor of the travel website ThePointGuys, Nick Ewen, says travelers can expect to pay a lot more for renting a car.

"We are certainly seeing in some cases prices that have gone up by 50%, even 100% to 150%," Ewen said.

So what’s driving the increase? Experts say it boils down to several factors including less international travel and more people getting vaccinated and therefore feeling more comfortable venturing out. Adding to that increase is a bankruptcy filing by rental car giant Hertz.

"A lot of rental car companies did get rid of some cars during the pandemic and they have not had a chance to build those fleets back up to match the incredible demand that we are seeing from consumers within the U.S," he added.

AutoSlash.com shows that cars are already sold out for the week in many airports across Florida, Hawaii, Phoenix, Tucson and Savannah, Georgia. And if you were planning a trip to Sin City well all bets are off.

"Las Vegas is particularly hard hit. We also saw some issues in Denver as well. We think it's going to hit the northeast within the next couple of months," stated Nathan Weinberg CEO of AutoSlash.com.

We spoke to a few inbound travelers at LAX who said their rental prices were unaffected.

"We actually got a good deal," said one traveler from Houston.

"Didn’t seem that much… seemed cheaper than normal," said another traveler fro South Carolina.

But despite what appears to be a temporary reprieve for these visitors, experts say the rental car shortage could last until at least the fall.

"Even if you’re looking at fall trips… try to lock in those rental car prices so you can at least have that reservation before you jump into planning your flight."

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