Rental giant Hertz is updating its 24/7 van rental service across Europe, by equipping all vehicles with a windscreen‐mounted PIN code access pad. The 24/7 van rental service locates Hertz LCVs at potential spot hire sites, provided by partner companies such as at Brico and Plan It in Belgium, Castorama in France, Praxis stores in the Netherlands and IKEA, Costco, B&Q and Homebase in the UK.

The idea is that as customers return to their cars, realising that they have bought more items than they can carry home in their cars, then can find instant access to short‐term van rental. The customer simply creates a profile on the Hertz 24/7 website, using a smartphone or tablet, uploading driving licence information and credit card details.

Until recently, the customer would then have been sent an RFID fob that provides access to more than 50,000 Hertz 24/7 cars and vans worldwide. The fob could also be picked up at a local Hertz branch or in the partner’s store. With that done, they simply contacted Hertz 24/7 online to locate and book a vehicle. On arrival at the van, at the appointed hour, the customer had to hold the RFID fob up to a sensor on the windscreen and this would unlock the van.

However, with the new PIN touchpad, Hertz has been able to cut the key fob out of the equation, so there is no waiting for this to arrive or for a branch to be open before being able to drive away. Indeed the partner store doesn’t even need to be open for the customer to find and access a van.

The customer still books the vehicle in the normal way online, but is then sent a six‐figure PIN code with a rental start time and the vehicle’s location, direct to their phone. At the agreed hour they simply type in the PIN number on the windscreen and the vehicle’s doors unlock. The van’s keys are tethered inside the cab, allowing the customer to start the vehicle and drive away.

Before they do that, the customer is required to walk around and check the van for any signs of damage from the previous user. This is marked on an inspection sheet that remains in the van and Hertz checks directly with the customer that the vehicle is good to go through a Bluetooth phone connection to the cab. This also provides instant communication with the customer in the event of an accident, or if 24‐hour breakdown cover is required.

Once the customer is satisfied that the vehicle is in good condition, he or she is free to drive away. Each van comes with a fuel card, so customers can fill up as required, with fuel and insurance included in the hourly or daily rental rate.

When they have finished with the vehicle it is simply returned to the rental location and the key fob or PIN number is entered again to lock the van. An itemised bill is sent directly to the customer’s smartphone account.

At present the 24/7 van service is being offered in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. Outside Europe, it is also available in Australia and the USA.

UK focus

“We run the 24/7 service through partners like Costco, Homebase, IKEA and B&Q in the UK,” says Hertz UK general manager Neil Cunningham.

“Further expansion means finding relevant partners with the footfall and the need for the vans. We’re pretty selective about our partners, but our ambition is to get a van within 10 miles of 90% of the population.”

Despite steady growth, the 24/7 service remains a relatively small part of the overall Hertz UK offering, with standard flexible vehicle rental taking the lions’ share. To boost this growth in the light commercial vehicle market Hertz UK has recently opened an additional two van supersites, in West Thurrock, Essex and Glasgow in Scotland. Vans can be hired through most of the firm’s regular car sites, but the van supersites provide additional services to meet the needs of business customers.

“Our van supersites are where we corral van expertise as well as our fleet of vans. We are able to offer customers mobile servicing and fitting out for instance.

They will do spot rental, but it’s essentially about longer term flexirent,” says Mr Cunningham.

“Our flexible van rental service helps customers focus on growing their businesses efficiently by removing the financial commitment of purchasing a fleet and by saving them the administrative headache of insurance, breakdown cover, maintenance, servicing and road tax.”

Cunningham is the first to admit that Hertz has some way to go in the UK van rental business, with around 6,000 LCVs on the road. However the firm is progressing well and he sees a big opportunity for further expansion in 2015.

“Last year we grew by 26% and this year we will see double digit growth,” says Mr Cunningham.

“We have a relatively small percentage of the UK hire market, so there is potential for good growth.

As the UK comes out of recession the growth we are seeing is really interesting and people are less willing to sign up to long contracts. People really like the flexibility of flexirent.

“The customer can return the vehicles at any time without penalties. Some people see rental as a supplement to a leasing fleet, there’s a trade‐off between lease and hire.”

The cars are the stars

The Hertz 24/7 rental service is not purely reserved for vans however; the company also offers a wide range of low emission and even electric cars to a diverse group of customers. In the UK for instance, Hertz has partnered with a number of universities, including Oxford Brookes University and Imperial College London.

At Brookes the deal provides 3,000 staff and 18,500 students with the opportunity to rent low emission and electric cars by the hour.

On the Imperial campus a further 3,000 staff along with 13,500 students have access to Ford Fiestas, Kia Rios, VW Golfs and electric Mitsubishi i‐MiEV cars for occasional rental.

Hertz has similar deals with Reading University and Brunel University near Heathrow Airport, while on a wider scale the company partners with more than 50 universities in the United States.