NEW ZEALAND. Online Republic, the Auckland-based e-commerce company which has applied niche online marketing to car and motor home rental and cruise bookings, has set its sights on the airport car rental industry.
The company’s AirportRentals.com website offers one-stop access to car rental requirements under the umbrella and branding of an airport site, aiming to offer improved and simplified user experience. Instead of a customer clicking on an airport website and seeing a directory listing for numerous car rental firms, the airportrentals.com business model delivers what they are looking for on the airport landing page.
Online Republic said the site has met with success in New Zealand and Australia and it is confident the concept will take flight globally. The company is ready to approach all major airports in the US and Canada; discussions with UK and Ireland airports will follow and it is preparing translations before approaching Germany, France and China.
Underlining the site’s simplicity, Online Republic Partnership Channel Manager John Webster believes that this new area of business “is the way forward internationally”.
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AirportRentals.com aims to offer one-stop access to car rental requirements under the umbrella and branding of an airport site |
“In the last 10 to 15 years, airports have zoned in on duty free and improving the shopping and retail experience. Then car parking rental was the focus. Now, in today’s furiously competitive airport market, we see airports around the world looking to their online space for ways to improve passenger experience and create further revenue,” Webster noted.
He put the model’s current success down to two key aspects: trust and branding. “Historically, passengers have strong relationships with airports – there is a certain trust in place. What we’re offering the customer is an easy, one-stop access to their car rental requirements. No longer will they be moved onto another page, confused about which step to take. Everything remains under the umbrella and branding of the airport site.”
This more personal approach has, Webster added, already attracted business with Wellington and Sydney airports. Word-of-mouth has been “very positive” and airports have reported benefits that are not just financial.
“Car rental tenants are valuable clients, often paying huge sums to have a relationship with airports. Statistics say that 45% to 52% of customers who visit a website looking for car rentals move to off-site suppliers, which is a huge number. Our solution keeps them on-site, helping the airport maintain support for in-terminal tenants. However, the site can still sell all car rental suppliers for outbound passengers at their destination,” he explained.
“With the exception of a small amount of IT technical implementation, it’s free to the airport. We are paid through our existing global agreements with suppliers, and in turn pass on a revenue share to the airport for bookings made – the process is a simple one. It’s a win-win situation,” Webster concluded.
