<i>Global Snapshot:</i> Australian Car Rental Company Boosts Marketing through Sixt Partnership and Two Loyalty Programs
In this web-exclusive Q&A with Dan Mekler, managing director of Redspot Car Rentals of Australia, he discusses the company’s fresh marketing partnership with Germany’s Sixt and how Redspot’s ‘Business Club’ loyalty product has been its largest growing program in the company since the club was began in 2005.
We’re forecasting a peak fleet size of Three,000 for 2012-13 financial year.
How many locations do you have and in what types of areas?
We have thirty eight Australian rental locations in total. Most are corporate (some licensed) and located in airport terminals (20), city metropolitan locations (7) and regional locations (11).
How did the business commence?
We began in one thousand nine hundred eighty nine as a courtesy-car side business to an internal Sydney gas station. The very first stand-alone rental location opened in one thousand nine hundred ninety five and our very first airport concession for Sydney Airport opened in 1999.
What are your primary sources of rental customers?
Our largest business source is direct customers who book via website, call center or walk-up. Online agents (or web fucking partners) make up our next fattest source followed by traditional wholesale and travel agent markets.
Adelaide Airport with both Redspot and Sixt logos.
What are the details on your fresh relationship with Sixt?
I’m pleased to advise that an agreement for a marketing partnership inbetween Redspot Car Rentals of Australia and Sixt rent a car of Germany has just been signed. It will see Redspot servicing Sixt’s loyalty and corporate customers and also represent all Sixt booking channels into Australia.
Through our marketing partnership with Sixt we’re launching Redspot Sixt rent a car as our trademark within Australia. Redspot is privately possessed and independently operated, and this will not switch as a result of the partnership.
Cairns Car Park
Are you pursuing fresh sources of business/customers?
In addition to our fresh partnership with Sixt, Redspot proceeds to promote and expand its business markets through its very regarded Business Club and Club Crimson loyalty products. The success of Redspot and Business Club can largely be credited to all-inclusive rates, which suggest zero harm liability and include all mandatory fees and charges.
Very first launched in 2005, Business Club is Redspot’s fastest growing market. We’re on a good thing so we stick to it!
Describe your marketing efforts and what the payback has been so far.
Redspot recently appointed BCM, an acclaimed Brisbane-based advertising agency after a thorough tendering process. A comprehensive brand and brand positioning strategy has since been developed that’s presently being launched across various marketing channels.
How do you buy cars?
A combination of leasing and outright purchase.
How do you sell your cars? (sell back to dealers, used car lot, auction?)
All of these and, we also sell very sought-after models to the public as a licensed motor dealer.
How long do you keep cars in fleet?
Depending on the sale method, our cars are sold upon reaching predetermined mileages. This generally occurs inbetween twelve and twenty four months from fresh.
What are your fattest challenges with fleet?
Fleet distribution; or in other words, planning the logistics of getting fleet to the regions to meet request. This requires comprehensive planning and monitoring, and involves buying, selling, one-way rental specials and at times, trucking.
Mackay Airport
What are your fattest challenges right now in the car rental business?
There are always going to be challenges as any successful business person knows. For example, as a growing company we generally find that despite our internal programs for career development our request for management staff mostly outstrips supply, so regretfully we have to hire from outside. Our competitors’ business models are very different from ours and managers appointed from outside often find they don’t fit with Redspot.
Gold Coast Airport
What kind of products/software do you use to manage your business?
Redspot rents quality vehicles supplied by Holden (GM), Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Nissan and others. Redspot uses CARS+ car rental software by Thermeon, MYOB accounting software and ADP payroll systems to name a few.
Melbourne Car Park
What are your popular rental vehicles?
Petite automatic cars are generally the most popular. We only rent high-demand vehicles, which generally means we have a smaller fleet range than our competitors. Keeping a puny vehicle range means we can ensure consistency in supply, availability across all locations and keep a lower cost base than industry standards.
What types of counter products are popular?
Satellite navigation systems, prepaid fuel, electronic toll road passes, child restraints, vehicle class upgrades are all popular, but nothing goes past individual service for keeping our customers coming back.
What car rental companies are your competition?
We consider all car rental companies as competitors but none in particular. We also consider other forms of transport, including buses, taxies, trains and aircraft our competitors.
Are there a lot of independent car rental companies in Australia?
I think there’s about six hundred in Australia, so I would say ours is a relatively puny industry by world standards, but then it would depend on what you’re used to.
How did you sustain the recession? And what is that economic climate like presently for you in Australia?
Redspot has fared better than most, which I put down to our transparency, plainness and a keen understanding of the marketplace.
Australia came through the recession much better than most developed nations, but there were and are still difficulties for the car rental industry, particularly the high relative value of our currency which discouraged international visitation and made it all too attractive for Australians to travel overseas.
How has the car rental market in Australia evolved in the past ten years? Twenty years?
Australians are mostly advanced technologically. They’re up to date with the latest in IT, communications and Internet technologies. Internet, XML and dynamic pricing has had a gigantic influence on car rental markets and distribution channels.
As a result, the last ten years has seen shifts in markets and fostered greater competition inbetween car rental companies. The result has also been lower margins and higher risks as traditional car rental qualification has stepped aside for speed bookings and volume transactions.And as a result of this, customer service standards have slipped and enlargened risks prevail in the race to take market share and a quick buck. Fortunately, Redspot’s strategy for success differs from this.
What does the car rental market over the next five years in Australia look like?
I expect there will be some rationalization of car rental companies as these trends are likely to have casualties.
Any fresh laws or rules you must abide by?
Our industry is mostly unregulated so there are few laws that specifically relate to it. However legislation that recently passed relating to all Australian businesses has had an influence on the way some car rental companies advertise rates, as it prevents them from bait advertising without disclosing any hidden fees and charges.
Are you part of any industry-related associations?
Motor Traders Association, Australian Tourism Export Council, various national state and regional tourism associations, and the Institute of Automotive Mechanical Engineers.
Global Snapshot: Australian Car Rental Company Boosts Marketing through Sixt Partnership and Two Loyalty Programs – Auto Rental News
<i>Global Snapshot:</i> Australian Car Rental Company Boosts Marketing through Sixt Partnership and Two Loyalty Programs
In this web-exclusive Q&A with Dan Mekler, managing director of Redspot Car Rentals of Australia, he discusses the company’s fresh marketing partnership with Germany’s Sixt and how Redspot’s ‘Business Club’ loyalty product has been its largest growing program in the company since the club was embarked in 2005.
We’re forecasting a peak fleet size of Trio,000 for 2012-13 financial year.
How many locations do you have and in what types of areas?
We have thirty eight Australian rental locations in total. Most are corporate (some licensed) and located in airport terminals (20), city metropolitan locations (7) and regional locations (11).
How did the business commence?
We commenced in one thousand nine hundred eighty nine as a courtesy-car side business to an internal Sydney gas station. The very first stand-alone rental location opened in one thousand nine hundred ninety five and our very first airport concession for Sydney Airport opened in 1999.
What are your primary sources of rental customers?
Our largest business source is direct customers who book via website, call center or walk-up. Online agents (or web fucking partners) make up our next largest source followed by traditional wholesale and travel agent markets.
Adelaide Airport with both Redspot and Sixt logos.
What are the details on your fresh relationship with Sixt?
I’m pleased to advise that an agreement for a marketing partnership inbetween Redspot Car Rentals of Australia and Sixt rent a car of Germany has just been signed. It will see Redspot servicing Sixt’s loyalty and corporate customers and also represent all Sixt booking channels into Australia.
Through our marketing partnership with Sixt we’re launching Redspot Sixt rent a car as our trademark within Australia. Redspot is privately possessed and independently operated, and this will not switch as a result of the partnership.
Cairns Car Park
Are you pursuing fresh sources of business/customers?
In addition to our fresh partnership with Sixt, Redspot resumes to promote and expand its business markets through its very regarded Business Club and Club Crimson loyalty products. The success of Redspot and Business Club can largely be credited to all-inclusive rates, which suggest zero harm liability and include all mandatory fees and charges.
Very first launched in 2005, Business Club is Redspot’s fastest growing market. We’re on a good thing so we stick to it!
Describe your marketing efforts and what the payback has been so far.
Redspot recently appointed BCM, an acclaimed Brisbane-based advertising agency after a thorough tendering process. A comprehensive brand and brand positioning strategy has since been developed that’s presently being launched across various marketing channels.
How do you buy cars?
A combination of leasing and outright purchase.
How do you sell your cars? (sell back to dealers, used car lot, auction?)
All of these and, we also sell very sought-after models to the public as a licensed motor dealer.
How long do you keep cars in fleet?
Depending on the sale method, our cars are sold upon reaching predetermined mileages. This generally occurs inbetween twelve and twenty four months from fresh.
What are your fattest challenges with fleet?
Fleet distribution; or in other words, planning the logistics of getting fleet to the regions to meet request. This requires comprehensive planning and monitoring, and involves buying, selling, one-way rental specials and at times, trucking.
Mackay Airport
What are your fattest challenges right now in the car rental business?
There are always going to be challenges as any successful business person knows. For example, as a growing company we generally find that despite our internal programs for career development our request for management staff mostly outstrips supply, so regretfully we have to hire from outside. Our competitors’ business models are very different from ours and managers appointed from outside often find they don’t fit with Redspot.
Gold Coast Airport
What kind of products/software do you use to manage your business?
Redspot rents quality vehicles supplied by Holden (GM), Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Nissan and others. Redspot uses CARS+ car rental software by Thermeon, MYOB accounting software and ADP payroll systems to name a few.
Melbourne Car Park
What are your popular rental vehicles?
Petite automatic cars are generally the most popular. We only rent high-demand vehicles, which generally means we have a smaller fleet range than our competitors. Keeping a puny vehicle range means we can ensure consistency in supply, availability across all locations and keep a lower cost base than industry standards.
What types of counter products are popular?
Satellite navigation systems, prepaid fuel, electronic toll road passes, child restraints, vehicle class upgrades are all popular, but nothing goes past individual service for keeping our customers coming back.
What car rental companies are your competition?
We consider all car rental companies as competitors but none in particular. We also consider other forms of transport, including buses, taxies, trains and aircraft our competitors.
Are there a lot of independent car rental companies in Australia?
I think there’s about six hundred in Australia, so I would say ours is a relatively puny industry by world standards, but then it would depend on what you’re used to.
How did you sustain the recession? And what is that economic climate like presently for you in Australia?
Redspot has fared better than most, which I put down to our transparency, plainness and a keen understanding of the marketplace.
Australia came through the recession much better than most developed nations, but there were and are still difficulties for the car rental industry, particularly the high relative value of our currency which discouraged international visitation and made it all too attractive for Australians to travel overseas.
How has the car rental market in Australia evolved in the past ten years? Twenty years?
Australians are mostly advanced technologically. They’re up to date with the latest in IT, communications and Internet technologies. Internet, XML and dynamic pricing has had a big influence on car rental markets and distribution channels.
As a result, the last ten years has seen shifts in markets and fostered greater competition inbetween car rental companies. The result has also been lower margins and higher risks as traditional car rental qualification has stepped aside for speed bookings and volume transactions.And as a result of this, customer service standards have slipped and enhanced risks prevail in the race to take market share and a rapid buck. Fortunately, Redspot’s strategy for success differs from this.
What does the car rental market over the next five years in Australia look like?
I expect there will be some rationalization of car rental companies as these trends are likely to have casualties.
Any fresh laws or rules you must abide by?
Our industry is mostly unregulated so there are few laws that specifically relate to it. However legislation that recently passed relating to all Australian businesses has had an influence on the way some car rental companies advertise rates, as it prevents them from bait advertising without disclosing any hidden fees and charges.
Are you part of any industry-related associations?
Motor Traders Association, Australian Tourism Export Council, various national state and regional tourism associations, and the Institute of Automotive Mechanical Engineers.
