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Industry | Car rental |
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Founded | 1974; 51 years ago (1974) inOrlando, Florida |
Headquarters | , United States |
Key people |
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Parent | Enterprise Holdings |
Website | www |
Alamo Rent a Car is arental car agency based inClayton, Missouri, United States. The company has branches across North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia andOceania. Alamo is owned byEnterprise Holdings, along with other agencies includingEnterprise Rent-A-Car andNational Car Rental. Alamo typically caters to budget-consciousleisure travelers and is the largest car rental provider to international travelers visiting North America.[1][2][3]
Alamo was founded in Florida in 1974.[4] In 1996, Alamo was acquired by Republic Industries (later renamedAutoNation).[5] AutoNation spun off its car rental properties as ANC Rental in 2000. ANC filed for bankruptcy a year later; its properties were sold toVanguard Automotive Group (controlled byCerberus Capital Management) in 2003.[6] In 2005, Alamo introduced an online check-in system that allowed customers to submit registration information prior to arrival to bypass counter check-in.[7] In 2007, Alamo’s parent company Vanguard was acquired byEnterprise Holdings, operator of the largest rental car company in North America, which operates the Alamo Rent A Car,Enterprise Rent-A-Car, andNational Car Rental brands.[8][9]
Alamo Rent a Car has been criticized for not providing adequate access to/from terminal buildings to rental car lot for wheelchair users; according to theUnited States Department of Justice, Alamo was the subject of many such complaints; Alamo reached a settlement with the government regarding the complaints filed by the Department of Justice.[10] There was a report inThe Washington Post about problems with customers returning cars after hours; in one instance, a customer returned an undamaged car after hours, but Alamo claimed that it had been rear-ended and demanded an additional $785. Alamo dropped the claim after the renter threatened to take them to court.[11] A report inThe Denver Post described a snowbound passenger who was charged $950 per day by Alamo around Christmas time in an instance of apparentprice gouging.[12] A report inUSA Today suggested that increases in rental car rates, which averaged 4% in 2013, were leading many rental car users to switch to taking taxis instead.[13] Two automobile safety advocacy groups petitioned theFederal Trade Commission in 2010 to bar Enterprise Holdings, the parent company of Alamo, from renting out recalled vehicles that had not been fixed.[14] Alamo was criticized inThe New York Times for failing to provide information about insurance rates for its rental cars on its website.[15]
...returned his Alamo rental car after business hours....Alamo was just as insistent that he pay $785 to fix the bumper .... several Alamo executives ... company dropped its claim...
....paid the $950 ... couldn't help feeling gouged ...
... Alamo rental car ... rates at some of the top 200 airports their brands serve were up to 4% higher ... almost always cheaper to take taxis than to rent a car, unless I can get a deal on ...
...Alamo rental car companies, from renting out recalled vehicles that have not been fixed....
...stepped up to the Alamo counter in Jacksonville ... no idea what they charged for insurance. ...