Prices have skyrocketed 30% amid the shortage.
People are excited about getting out of town, but the shortage of rental cars is putting a squeeze on the price of getting a reservation. Because car rentals were at a standstill last spring, companies sold the vehicles in their inventory to cover operating costs.
“The car rental scene is a disaster. Last year, what happened during the pandemic? Every single car rental company was sitting with hundreds of thousands of cars going nowhere. Not performing assets. They were only depreciating in value. So what did they do? They sold off the cars. They shrunk the fleet,” CBS News senior travel advisor Peter Greenberg told Inside Edition.
But now, demand is exploding without any supply to fill it, and prices have skyrocketed 30%.
Inside Edition’s Ann Mercogliano called several car rental companies and had trouble finding anything. When she did, it cost almost $1,000 for a weekend rental.
A car-sharing app, like Turo, may be another solution. ER nurse Bobby Binissa now rents out his three cars, bringing in an extra $1,000 per month.
“You can go to Turo and rent it out for $30 a day,” Binissa said.
