How short sighted are these car rental companies? Very, it seems! They probably sold off their rental stock at giveaway prices (low demand due to covid lockdowns along with oversupply). Now they have to re-stock their fleets at full price for new cars which, in the short - medium term will significantly increase their inventory carrying cost. Obviously they had never put any thought into a disaster management plan in anticipation of a very real possibility such as a pandemic.
Last year we had our QF flights cancelled and were locked out of Qld but I still had to pay cancellation fees for Avis bookings in CNS and OOL. Now 12 months on they want 2 - 3 times the money for equivalent bookings.
Airlines and hotels know that raising prices is no way to get people back travelling but the car hire companies seem oblivious to that fact. Apart from being a disincentive to travel generally, hefty hire fees will just encourage many people to find alternate means of getting around rather than be price gouged with charges of $150 - 200 /day or more for a small hatch. We like the convenience of having a car at our disposal even if we don't use it a lot but we'll be re-thinking that now.
