Do your homework, Hertz Asia-Pacific managing director Asia & Japan, WONG SOON HWA, says.

Car rental is a critical component in many trips and an important part of a corporate travel manager’s responsibilities. When establishing a relationship with a rental agency, numerous factors must be considered and conveyed to potential suppliers, including:

• Car rental usage. Travel managers should advise suppliers about the company’s total volume of rental transactions, car classes required, length of rentals and the locations where rentals occur.
• Billing needs. What are your billing requirements? Do you need to track rentals by region, code transactions for different types of business or do you want to track miles driven?
• Service requirements. Do you have specific service requirements? Is there a need for expedited rental and return, in-car navigation systems, or roadside assistance? Hertz offers membership in its expedited rental programme, #1 Club Gold, and has available 40,000 sets of NeverLost in-car global positioning system.
• Supplier relationships. What type of relationship is appropriate for your organisation? Do you want an exclusive contract with one primary supplier, with one secondary supplier and one primary supplier or with two primary suppliers?

Once all facts are gathered, submit a request for proposal to potential car rental vendors. Items to enquire about include:

• basic rates for various car classes and a list of all applicable surcharges,
• information and rates for optional services and insurance options,
• details about services offered and service fees,
• customised rental and management reporting capabilities,
• rental facility details including airport and suburban locations,
• refuelling options, and
• fleet information.

Upon receiving each bid, it should be evaluated to ensure the items most critical to your company are addressed.

By doing your homework and determining your needs, choosing the car rental company for your organisation should be straightforward.