Increasing awareness of car emissions and their effects has led to a decline in vehicle ownership, according to a report by Mordor Intelligence. However, people still want the convenience and mobility that cars provide.
For this reason, we’ve seen increases in car rentals and car rental solutions. In fact, the aforementioned report predicts that the car rental industry will grow by 7.5% between 2019 and 2024.
Modern customers of rental car companies want to easily book a vehicle while they are out and about. They want secure payments preferably done via a phone app. That’s why mobile-friendly booking systems and widgets or native mobile apps with secure payment gateways are the key features to look for in car booking software.
In 2019, there’s no shortage of options for vehicle booking systems. Each software platform comes with varying customizations, integrations, support, and price points. The best option for your car rental company will likely depend on your preferences and the amount of cash you have to spend.
These five companies provide great bang for your buck and are our top choices for best car booking software of 2019.
Rent Centric
Self-described as a “complete solution for managing your vehicles, customers, employees, and revenue,” Rent Centric offers many enticing features. Not only does the software offer full fleet management and advanced reporting but it also provides one of the fastest booking times of the bunch. The Wordpress plugin is a great addition to any car rental website, boasting user-friendly booking in under one minute.
Rent Centric is also the only company with modern innovative features like Apple Watch integrations for self-service car rental. With just a smartwatch, customers can locate their automobile, toggle the locks, and monitor the gas gauge.
While the price for Rent Centric certainly isn’t cheap, you only pay for what you use. Besides the $995 one-time setup and training fee, charges are sent monthly based on the number of vehicles in your fleet. The good news is that the more vehicles you add, the cheaper it gets per car, making this a great solution for large companies.
Navotar
If you prefer to automate your business as much as possible before customers come into contact with a real employee, then look no further than Navotar. A mobile-friendly online booking plugin with secure payment gateways is just the icing on top of this software solution. Navotar also includes end-user mobile apps with features like no-hassle pick up and drop off, damage assessment, and even a license scanner. And that’s just the features for the customer.
Navotar loves to make your job easier, which is why they provide APIs for seamless integration with other apps as well as a chatbot. Diverting simple real-time questions to a chatbot means more time spent focusing on improving customer experience and high-level processes.
With over 1000 customers, it’s fair to say that Navotar is a popular choice. The best news is that you can try it for free! Once you’ve tried Navotar and decide it’s the right software for you, pricing starts at $50 a month.
CARS+
If you want everything for your car rental business covered by one platform, CARS+ is the right one for you. This cloud-hosted car rental software has a solution for every part of the pipeline from the front desk to accounting and even advertising.
One of the best features of CARS+ is the simple way they can connect your business to customers, brokers, and partners—providing more visibility. The system is also able to handle multiple sources of new bookings as well as multiple booking locations, making this a great solution for car rental companies with large fleets. CARS+ even offers localization and multi-region support so if you have agencies and vehicle fleets across a wide geographic range, it is a great choice.
Since CARS+ is a true enterprise system, the pricing starts at a much loftier $200+ a month. Keep in mind that this includes intensive training, detailed online instruction manuals, and a dedicated customer support team.
HQ Car Rental Software
The most versatile of the bunch, HQ Car Rental Software offers a standard base-level version to start, with the option to turn it into a fully customized enterprise suite. The software package has all of the best tools for car rental companies ranging from online reservation systems, fleet management, and customer management to advanced reports.
If you spring for the more advanced plans, there are tons of custom integrations, levels of support, and advanced training programs available. Customer reviews boast of how easy it is to automate many of their daily operations which means big savings in time and money.
HQ Car Rental Software’s website has a comprehensive pricing chart that details the cost breakdown dependent on the number of vehicles in your fleet and the customizations desired. It’s possible to pay for this software monthly or annually—the latter offers up to 16 percent savings.
The flexibility in price makes this software the best choice for small companies and startups that will add additional vehicles and features as they scale up.
PROVAB
As described on their marketing website, PROVAB car rental software is the “complete package.” They create a car rental website for your business and provide a lightning-fast booking engine. Not only that but the package includes mobile apps for consumers and a module for fleet management.
If you don’t want a custom website from PROVAB you can still get their vehicle reservation software integrated into your existing site. One of PROVAB’s best features is their ability to integrate with bus, hotel, car, and cruise aggregators, meaning your car rental offering will be visible to numerous customers.
PROVAB does not offer pricing details on the website but instead prefers to give quotes based on your company’s specific needs.
An array of options
While it can be tough to choose a car rental platform or VBS when there are so many great options available in 2019, you can’t go too wrong if you choose from one of the best. Remember, the most important thing is to keep your end-user in mind and opt for the software that will best suit their needs and habits.
As Pat Farrel, the Chief Marketing & Communications Officer for Enterprise Holdings, said at the Car Rental Show, “[Consumers] have new attitudes and preferences about accessing automobiles and mobility in general … We’re not just renting cars … we are providing mobility, and mobility keeps the world moving.”
If nothing that’s on the market is exactly what you need, a fully custom solution might be necessary. Zibtek’s custom software development services run the gamut from web development and mobile development to UX design and beyond—take a look and see if we can help out.
