Pub. 5 2016-2017 Issue 1

Spring 2016 29 close a rental contract on your iPhone, process the credit card, and email the customer their receipt in a matter of seconds. Vehicle Rental Software can provide you with all the data that you need to manage the business effectively. Knowing where your vehicles are, what is due back and what is overdue is all just a matter of a few keystrokes. Customer data can be utilized for marketing purposes, building your overall dealership business. All the Details Opening a rental department, either as a division within the dealership or as a separate company located on-premises, can be an involved under- taking. There are employees, inventory, office equipment, marketing, policies and insurance to consider, among other things. But a dealership is in a unique position to address many of these issues more easily than most. You have better access to inventory than any start-up rental com- pany. Most likely, you already have someone that can handle your IT and office equipment needs. Through your current business relationships you may be able to find excellent staffing. And through existing vendors and manufacturer’s contacts, other needs may easily be met. The rise of social media has made marketing and advertising much easier as well. Getting the word out to your existing customers is now a simple task that requires far less effort. There are also excellent franchise organizations that focus on dealership and local market rental operations (there is even one owned by a deal- ership group in the U.S.). These organizations can provide the training and support for a rental division.They have the experience and the know- how to help a dealership get started as well. And they can be a source for fleet, insurance, and other needs with centralized purchasing power. A franchise can also give your business a greater internet presence. They may have reservation networks that will send more customers your way, adding to the dealership’s market share by reaching new prospects. The Bottom Line Only you can determine if a rental division at your dealership is something worth pursuing. But consider the following when making your decision: every customer that uses an outside car rental company to meet their needs may be renting and driving a different brand than your own, and most rental companies make it their business to sell their rental vehicles to their customers — many even have a used car lot on-site. By letting your customers go elsewhere for a rental, you run the risk of losing future sales, service, and parts business. They may go else- where to trade-in a vehicle and use a different body shop. By providing a rental department to your customers, you encourage them to stay with you for the long haul. It gives you the ability to control the entire customer experience. You can drive more business by offering upgraded rental vehicles, showing them the latest that is available through your dealership. You can even provide rentals to those local corporate accounts that may have a need, instead of sending them elsewhere. And by maintaining a rental fleet of your own, you can supply CPO inventory to your used car department, vehicles that you maintained and managed. With the rising demand for CPO vehicles, a rental department can prove to be a very important factor in the successful dealership business model. There are countless dealerships across the U.S. that have been tremendously successful running substantial rental divisions. And dealership owners and management are a very unique group in our country. They are more willing to share information with their peers than most in a friendly and open fashion. Whether through industry conferences or 20 Groups, a great deal can be learned just by speaking with the people you know. Rob Hano is the Director of Sales and Marketing at Dover, NJ-based Bluebird Auto Rental Systems and has beenwith Bluebird for over twenty years. He also has experience in the local rentalmarket at bothdeal- ership and neighborhood rental operations. Bluebird is a leading provider of software and services to thousands of vehicle rental locations world-wide. Bluebird maintains partnerships with all the major DMS providers offering an integrated solution to dealership based rental and loaner fleets.