Car Rental Cancellations

[Giantfan13]

We have rented a car in every post except Kona, with Thrifty, thru the Blue Chip program. In Kona we rented with Dollar. I am not a big time car rental person, so my question is, if you don't show up to claim your car, are you charged, or do they just give it to some one else??. Do you verbally have to call and cancel the reservation, in order, NOT to be charged??. We do not plan on cancelling any of the rentals, but you don't know what can suddenly come up.

 

 

Also, we gave a pick up time of 9:00AM for most of the rentals. If you are not there by 9:00, would they give the car away, or is there, say, a 1/2 hour grace??.

[spleen93]

You do not normally get charged for missing a car rental. That's of course assuming you haven't prepaid using a system like Priceline or some other fashion. There may be something in the car rental agreement that says that they can charge you some penalty for not showing up - historically, however, never seen anybody get dinged for it.

 

And yes, they can give your car away if you miss your rental agreement time. This is why I think it's better to rent for a later time than an early time. They can't give your car away if you come 1 hour earlier than your reserved time but they can certainly give your car away if you come 1 hour later than your reserved time.

 

Spleen

[akeka]

Spleen, thanks for that last bit of advice about the reservation time. I had booked all my pickups for 9 am. I might make them a little later to allow for delays in getting off the ship.