Depending on where you are traveling to the first thing you or your travel agent should do is find out if there are cars available.
Places like Hawaii and Las Vegas, New York have extreme shortages. Florida is not as desperate.
Even before you book your flight or hotel check to see if cars are available and in your price range. I have seen prices in Maui as high as $400 a day and $100 may become the norm in Hawaii for a while.
Why is renting a car such a problem? Early in the Pandemic, the Rental companies sold off their inventories (fire sale) to raise funds. It was a good idea until travel came roaring back. Now that rentals have returned to pre-pandemic levels there are no new fleet cars for the agencies to purchase.
The car companies are in a bind due to breakdowns in the supply chain. They are not producing enough cars for the general population and the Fleet market. Used cars are selling at a premium as well.
The prognosis for more rent a cars is a year or more.
Do You have any other options?
Well yes glad you asked. Did you know Lyft has a rental area on its app? I have had luck finding cars for folks that way. In most area’s you will be renting from SIXT through Lyft, in some cities, you will actually be renting Lyft-owned vehicles.
Another place to check is New Car Dealerships. I have not tried this yet but I have heard ok things about it. The dealers that rent their own vehicles (not going through a rent a car business) will rent to travelers who need a car. It seems most Dealerships do go through a local rent a car company so you will still be at the mercy of local inventory.
You may also have some luck with Enterprise local or other local rent a car service that usually services the community and not travelers. They were less likely to sell off their inventories at the start of the pandemic.
With the troubles with Rent A Cars, there is a mutual problem with Ride Share companies. Both Lyft and Uber are having trouble retaining drivers. This has led to much higher rates and long wait times. In Las Vegas, surge rates were banned till recently so there were few Ride Share drives when you really needed one. Couple that with fewer rental cars and you really need a vacation from your vacation.
So what to do, go back to the top and check to see if where you are going has cars, if the price is good rent first (you can always cancel) then find air and hotels. Once your trip is booked start making restaurant reservations as those are getting harder and harder to get at the best (or your favorite) restaurant.
Here comes my ad. I do this for fun and a living. I will help you have the best vacation possible at no cost to you. If you like to plan that’s great, let me book for you, If you do you may find a bottle of wine or some goodies in your room when you get there.
