Advantage Rent a Car files for Chapter 11, shuts California sites

Advantage Rent a Car, one of the industry’s smaller chains, filed Monday for Chapter 11 reorganization and shut down more than 20 of its nearly 50 U.S. stations, including those at the Burbank, Los Angeles, Palm Springs and San Diego airports. In a news release, Advantage said Hertz Car Rental will honor “nearly all of the pending reservations,” as needed, at the shuttered stations, which are accepting returns only.

You may have trouble getting information, even though Advantage has set up a toll-free hotline, (888) 846-0808, and an e-mail address, questions@advantage.com, to field questions. When I called several times Dec. 9 and 10, a recording said I could only leave a message due to “high call volume.” As of this afternoon, the company’s website still listed the shut-down stations as if nothing had happened.

Jon Austin, spokesman for the San Antonio-based company, blamed a “substantial fall-off in leisure traffic,” fuel costs and tight credit for its Chapter 11 filing. Rental car companies depend on financing from car makers and others to buy vehicles, he explained. He added that Advantage is working to update its website.

As a smaller operation, Advantage is presumably more vulnerable to downturns than mega-players such as Hertz, which recently raised prices, and Avis. But most travel companies are feeling pressure from the faltering economy.

— Jane Engle, assistant Los Angles Times Travel editor

[Photo: Advantage]

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 4:30 pm by Jane Engle and is filed under Business Travel, California, Los Angeles, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.