Start a car rental agency: what are the main steps?

Are you passionate about the automotive sector and would like to open your car rental agency? This market has some peculiarities that you must understand before launching your agency. The area of ​​car rental is an extremely concentrated market. Most of the market is dominated by a handful of players and initial investments are quite high. Visit https://www.drivy.co.uk/ for more information about car rental.

What training to open a car rental agency?

Generally, before setting up your own agency, it is recommended that you have previous experience as a car rental company account manager. A bac + 2 level is usually required when recruiting. To be able to set up your agency by maximizing your chances of success, it is wise to have in your pocket a BTS "Tourism" or a training of travel counselor in a school specialized in tourism. However, be aware that there is no training dedicated to this profession. A first professional experience in tourism and / or hospitality industry trades are a plus.

What regulations for car rental?

First, before you get started, be aware that opening a car rental agency puts your future business in compliance with certain rules. Before renting vehicles, you must:

• Provide information on the general conditions of the lease to your customers: information on the prices and conditions of the lease, the conditions of insurance, other ancillary services ... This information must be available in the reception area clientele or electronically if the rental offer is made online; Submit an estimate to your customers before the conclusion of the contract. This quote must include certain mandatory information;
• Check the condition of the vehicle (scratches, shocks ...) before the actual rental of the vehicle by a customer. The defects found must be described in the rental contract or on the vehicle condition sheet;
• Request a deposit to cover the costs of damage to the vehicle. Optionally, you can also request an advance on rental, which ensures the payment of the rental;
• Subscribe to third party liability insurance, covering the material and bodily injury suffered by your customers and the theft and damage caused to the rented vehicles.

Business plan and car rental

You must carry out a market study to verify that it is wise to establish yourself in the desired geographical area. For this, you must analyze: The offer: How dense are the car rental agencies already in place where you plan to locate? What price do they charge? What offers do they offer? Are the big names in the sector (franchised agencies) present in this area? If this is not the case, for what reasons (low demand or not)? Demand: is the tourist flow important? Are there many business clients in the area? Will my agency be close to train stations or airports? Does the local population have a vehicle? If the answer is negative, can it be punctually interested in car rental? What are the expectations of customers in terms of services and prices? Then, if the market has real commercial potential, it is strongly recommended to write a business plan. This document is used to determine the financial equilibrium of your future car rental agency: need for starting financing (example: purchase of rental cars), general costs (example: car maintenance, insurance, etc.) and income (example : rental rates for different types of vehicles). This document must make it possible to set a profitable model in the long term.