Dollar Rent A Car, Inc., formerly known as Dollar A Day Rent A Car, is a global rental car company with headquarters in Estero, Florida. Operating as a subsidiary of The Hertz Corporation, Dollar Rent A Car shares 840 company-owned locations in the United States and Canada and over 1,500 franchise locations in 70 countries with Thrifty Car Rental as of February 2017.
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Company history
Dollar Rent A Car was founded in Los Angeles, California in 1965 by Henry J. Caruso. It was purchased by The Chrysler Corporation for an undisclosed amount on August 15, 1990 and joined Chrysler's Pentastar Transportation Group in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This acquisition merged Dollar Rent A Car with Thrifty Car Rental - forming Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group in 1997. Dollar's focus remained on company-owned rental locations at major airports to service both tourists and leisure rental markets.
Both Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rental formed an agreement with The SABRE Group, Inc. - a leader in electronic distribution systems within the travel industry, in 1997 to managed the subsidiaries' routine information processing, system engineering, and reservation management functions in a secure underground facility.
Operating under Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Dollar earned $617.53 million USD in 1997, with company-owned stores generating 91 percent of revenue, compared to $499.17 million USD in 1996. By this time, the car rental provider employed a staff of 5,400 as of September 1997. Dollar maintained an average fleet of 61,336 vehicles in 872 locations in 1997, compared to 1995's fleet of 52,571.
In the coming years, the combined fleets and US locations of both Dollar and Thrifty grew in the following numbers:
- 2001 - 78,600 cars, 268 US locations
- 2004 - A fleet of 78,900 cars, 245 US locations
- 2006 - 85,000 cars and 407 US corporate locations
- 2009 - 106,245 cars and 600 US locations
- 2012 - A fleet of 122,000 cars in 470 US locations
- 2016 - Combined with parent company Hertz, Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group had 489,800 cars with 4,435 US locations
In addition to increasing fleet sizes and locations, Dollar booked nearly 10.5 million automobile reservations in 2006. A total revenue of $1.76 billion USD with a gross profit of $873.6 million USD was seen in 2007. By 2010, the car rental brand earned $1.54 billion USD in revenue, $792 million USD in gross profit, and $2.82 million USD in operating income that fiscal year.
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International growth
Dollar connected with Paris-based Europcar International in 1997 to integrate reservations systems in the United States and Europe. This allowed Europcar and Dollar customers in the United States, Canada, and Latin America to reserve cars belonging to each brand beginning February 1, 1998. The collaboration resulted in 2,800 locations in 134 countries with a shared fleet of approximately 175,000 vehicles.
With increased concentration on foreign-tour operators, especially those in the United Kingdom, Dollar expanded their car rental services through corporate-owned locations in Europe in 2013. Initial focus grew towards Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, resulting in 114 corporate location openings by summer 2013. An additional 22 locations opened in Spain shortly after. By 2014, Dollar and Thrifty Automotive signed a partnership agreement with Ryan's Investments in Ireland in February 2014. This gave the car rental brand locations in all major Irish airports and downtown locations in Cork, Dublin, Kerry, Knock, and Shannon. Dollar and Thrifty reported 29 new locations in Italy, including Rome, Milan, Venice and Naples in February 2015.
As a joint decision, Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rental agreed to using Novatel Wireless' Ctrack fleet management system for their South African rental locations in August 2016. Novatel protects Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group's fleet from damage and theft.
Dollar's Poland operations began in 2008, and later merged with NFM Group, an independent rental company providing long- and short-terms rentals in Poland, in March 2017. It was later announced in May that Dollar would operate in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, after a multi-brand partnership agreement with franchise partner Andrew The Car Rental Co. Ltd. This provided modern fleets and chauffeur services amongst Hertz, Dollar, and Thrifty locations in the area.
Acquisition by The Hertz Corporation
Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. former Chairman and CEO Mark P. Frissora announced the Fortune 500 company would purchase Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group for $2.3 billion USD in 2012. This resulted in Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rentals operating as subsidiaries of The Hertz Corporation, each managing their own franchise locations, car sales and rentals, and marketing efforts at Hertz's headquarters in Estero, Florida.
Dollar is overseen by Kathryn V. Marinello - President and CEO of The Hertz Corporation - including Hertz Car Rentals, Thrifty Car Rental, Dollar Rent A Car, and other subsidiaries.
Fleet and rental locations
By 1997, Dollar Rent A Car was known to serve value-oriented travelers, including travel for leisure, small business, and tourism. In the late 1990s, rental locations in Florida, California, Hawaii, and Nevada were held responsible for 80% of Dollar's 1996 fiscal revenue, and 76% in 1997. By 2011, international areas served include Australia, Canada, Caribbean Islands, Latin America, with a concentration on local markets and airport locations.
Along with car, truck, and crossover rental services, Dollar Rent A Car provides ski racks, child safety seats, navigation, and operational support to renters. As of February 2017, Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rental maintained 1,500 franchised branches, 840 of which are in the United States and Canada.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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