Budget and Avis (which are the same company, though operated as separate brands) announced that they were banning smoking in all their rental cars in North America.

Effective October 1, 2009, smoking will be off limits. If you do smoke in the car, there will be a $250 cleaning fee. The ban also applies to employees, who typically get to use a car for their personal transportation as a perk of the job.

To be honest, I haven’t noticed many smoky rental cars lately. They’ve been so rare (either because people aren’t smoking in rentals, or the cleaning process is so much better) that I’ve gotten to the point where I haven’t even thought to request a non-smoking car anymore. I can’t even remember the last time I made such a request.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see other companies follow suit. But there will almost assuredly be a company that doesn’t ban smoking, much like hotels, where some chains (e.g., Marriott, Westin) have gone smoke free, but most others have retained a mix of smoking and non-smoking offerings. (Will there be surcharges for renting a car that permits smoking, going forward?)

It’s been a tough few weeks, but U:TB is back on the beat. Not tanned, rested, or particularly ready, alas. But back.

Upgraded: Snakes in a car
A Florida woman got in her Enterprise rental car, only to find a 3 1/2 foot long red rat snake on the dashboard. Will “snake availability waivers” be the next add-on fee? And was it a Dodge Viper?

Upgraded: Convictions of liquid bombers
Prosecutors in the UK convicted three men of conspiracy to murder, as part of the 2006 liquid-explosives threat. Prosecutors want to re-try three of the men, for whom the jury could not reach a verdict. In connection with the trial, the BBC released a video ostensibly showing a liquid bomb of the type planned by the convicts.

Upgraded: Newcastle airport
UK officials are testing liquid-explosives scanners at Newcastle airport, using a device that scans liquid containers to judge whether their contents are a potential bomb ingredient or a harmless beverage, facial cream, or toothpaste. Could the 3-ounce liquid limit be up for review?… stay tuned.

Upgraded: Singapore’s A380
Global travel is in a slump. But if you’re expecting an empty seat in coach on board a Singapore Airbus A380, guess again. People still pack the plane. Full planes don’t mean a fat bottom line, though. The airline isn’t getting top dollar per ticket, even if the public seems to like the plane.

Upgraded: Hotel deals
The average rate for hotel rooms has dropped 17% in the first half of 2009 alone, making the average room the cheapest its been in five years. Bucking the trend: rates in Caribbean, down only 2% on average. (I’m sure there’s still a lot of variation between islands.)

Downgraded: Block 37
For years, “block 37″ in the center of the Chicago Loop (the block is bounded by Randolph, State, Washington, and Dearborn) stood vacant. It’s a construction site now, with plans for a central transit hub underground. And above ground, a Loews Hotel was planned, with rights sold to the company for $1. But the hotel chain can’t (or won’t) get financing for this prime downtown location, so yet another hotel project is up in the air.

Downgraded: Continental and US Airways add international luggage fees
Following in the steps of American Airlines and British Airways, Continental and US Airways have now also added a fee for a second checked bag on international flights. US Airways also bumped up the fee for domestic luggage fees by $5 per bag.

Upgraded: Japanese car rentals
Travelers renting a car in Japan can now reserve a wireless enabled netbook for about $10 per day. The company, Oryx, includes the cost of the wireless service.

Downgraded: Blaming the victim
A Stamford, Connecticut franchisee operating under the Marriott name stupidly and offensively blamed one of its customers, saying she “‘failed to exercise due care’ before she was raped at gunpoint in front of her children in a hotel parking garage.” Stay classy, Stamford Marriott! Now, the Marriott mothership is distancing itself from the words (and legal strategy) of its franchisee.

Upgraded: JetBlue-Lufthansa partnership
It took a while — I blogged about the possibility of an alliance partnership back in December 2007 — but JetBlue and Lufthansa are finally talking about codesharing. The consequences will be interesting. I’m particularly interested to see if Lufthansa will be selling JetBlue segments on tickets to destinations served as well by Star Alliance members United and US Airways.

Downgraded: SkyEurope
SkyEurope, a European (duh) discount airline, has ceased all operations. This was the airline that at one point offered to pay its customers to fly with them. R.I.P.

Downgraded: Enterprise Rent-a-Car
Rental cars typically don’t have a great reputation, and this doesn’t help: Enterprise saved money on its rental fleet by requesting that GM delete safety features — features that were otherwise standard. The savings per vehicle: $175. 66,000 Chevrolet Impalas without side curtain airbags were rented out, and then subsequently sold as used vehicles.

Renting a car with Hertz? You may soon notice them photographing your car, right before you ride off the lot, and upon return. Hertz has been testing the feature, and is rolling it out more widely.

The photo system is part of a broader plan to use technology to increase efficiency and improve customer service, [Hertz Chairman and CEO] Frissora said. The equipment produces a high-resolution, digital photograph of the rental car, and will compare before and after pictures for differences, Frissora said. Hertz employees currently walk around the vehicle and mark any damage on a form, which the customer signs.

“There will be no discussion because the document would clearly show any incremental damage,” Frissora said. “This keeps customers from being placed in a confrontational position and saves time.”

The Park Ridge, New Jersey-based company’s customers would sign a waiver acknowledging the process and be billed for any damage, Frissora said. Hertz is testing the technology at a location at an airport in the northeastern U.S., he said.

“There will be no discussion” seems a little brusque, but I get the point. Why debate the condition of the car when there’s photographic evidence?

Here’s hoping that the camera won’t lie. E-mailing a copy to the customer — both at the start and the finish of the rental — might be a low-cost way to ensure that the company is being an honest broker.

Dishonest rental locations have commonly tried to milk extra bucks out of customers by billing them for previously-existing damage to the vehicle. (For the paranoid, it’s always been a good idea to take photos of your rental car before you drive it off the lot, though I admit it’s something I’ve never done…)

But interestingly, the company suggests that it’s the one who’s going to come out ahead. Hertz says it’s been letting too many dents and dings slide, for a loss of $170 million, and that the photo system will catch these dings, leading to greater earnings.

Which worries me. Yes, the system SHOULD be win-win, by keeping both the agency and the customer honest. But $170 million is a lot of dings and scratches. Will the system start calling birdpoop dents?

Photos or no photos, don’t let your guard down.

If you’re looking for a one-way rental out of Florida in the coming days, Thrifty is renting mid-size cars for $1 a day. The company must have an overhang of inventory, and is looking to reposition some vehicles out of the Sunshine state.

Pick-up is only from airport locations in Ft Lauderdale (FLL), Ft Myers (RSW), Miami (MIA), Orlando (MCO), Tampa (TPA), West Palm Beach (PBI), or Jacksonville (JAX).

Dropoff MUST be at Chicago Midway (MDW), Chicago O’Hare (ORD), Cincinatti (CVG), Columbus (CMH), Dayton (DAY), Kansas City (MCI), Louisville (SDF), Philadelphia (PHL), or Jacksonville (JAX).

Wait, Jacksonville appears on both lists!? That’s what the rules say.

Yes, they’ll slap you with dozens of fees, such as airport concession fees, etc., but it could still be a deal if you combine a one-way rental with a one-way return flight. Or maybe you just want that one-way rental. Perhaps you’re a snowbird who’s late to leave Florida for the now-warm embrace of a northern summer.

(via WDBO; image)

Downgraded: Hertz
Oh, Hertz… you were always a class act among car rental firms. But then you go and buy the remains of my least favorite US rental chain, Advantage Rent a Car, out of bankruptcy. Sure, Hertz gets a low-rent name that can appeal to downmarket customers. But don’t they know that when you lie with dogs, you get fleas?

Upgraded: Air
A bright side of the downturn: The recession means less travel. Which means less pollution. (Duh.) 8% lower carbon emissions by the industry as a whole, in fact.

Upgraded: The Race Card
Without any additional comment… video of Steven Colbert on the Visa Black Card:

One of the oldest tricks in the money-saving book has been to rent a car in an area that’s not as heavily taxed. For example, it’s often cheaper to rent downtown, rather than at the airport, to avoid the airport “concession fees.” But the city of Chicago is fighting back and taxing renters in ways that can be called “creative,” at best. And it’s landing the city in court:

Enterprise Rent-A-Car has sued the city of Chicago for trying to tax car rentals outside city limits, including far-reaching suburbs.

The St. Louis-based car rental giant filed the suit last week in Kane County after Chicago’s Department of Revenue decided that all car rentals in the Chicago suburbs are subject to the city’s 8 percent “transaction” or leasing tax.

To be excused from the tax, Chicago is requiring rental companies to photocopy customers’ driver’s licenses and obtain a sworn affidavit that they won’t be spending more than half of their time driving in Chicago with their rented car.

Sworn affidavit? That’s just ridiculous. And, may I add, unenforceable.

The city has a history of extra-jurisdictional taxation. When I lived in Chicago, I bought a car at a suburban dealership (in Schaumburg, just west of O’Hare, for those keeping score.) And much to my dismay, I had to pay the higher Chicago sales tax rate, instead of the lower Schaumburg rate, because the tax was based on the zip code of registration, not the location of the seller.

The move to tax rental cars is most likely targeting those suburbs near O’Hare Airport. Drivers there would be nailed with both airport fees and Chicago tax rates if they rented at the airport, and the city wants that revenue. Much like the Washington Airports Authority is trying to nail hotel shuttles with fees, this is a case of the city shifting the goalposts when the rules aren’t working out in its favor.

I don’t think Chicago’s taxation policy will stand up in court. It’s not only logically questionable to have a city taxing services in another city, but it’s an undue burden on both drivers and the rental car companies who have to collect the fees. I think Enterprise will win this case.

In the mean time, watch out for Chicago taxes outside of Chicago. And if you see such a fee on your rental agreement, then your bottom line is simple: Sign the affidavit. Then drive in Chicago with impunity.

If you’re rented a car or truck from Budget, you may be receiving a check in the mail. But don’t sign it.

There are offers in the mail referencing Budget car rentals, but signing the check will activate your membership in “Everyday Values,” a shopping “club” membership that promises big discounts but costs you hefty membership fees. The program is managed by Trilegiant, a former Cendant subsidiary that specializes in separating people from their money in convenient monthly installments.

But the really sneaky part — and the reason this is relevant to travel — is that your signature on the check gives Trilegiant the right to get the credit card information you used when you rented a vehicle with Budget.

That’s unacceptable. Swiping the card for a rental transaction is intended for use in the rental transaction, and that transaction alone. It’s shameful that Budget has no qualms sharing your card number with a company that uses such fishy customer acquisition tactics.

But this is unfortunately not new. Complaints on the web date back to 2005, and may be even older, based on Trilegiant’s longstanding history of shady offers. Budget and Trilegiant were once under the same corporate umbrella (Cendant). But while they’re no longer corporate siblings, their partnership lives on.

Inquiries to Budget went unanswered.

Full scans of the letter I received after the jump…

(more…)

While drivers will still need to keep your eyes on the road, Avis and Budget are partnering with AT&T’s CruiseCast to beam television channels into rental cars.

For $8.95 a day, the passengers in the backseat will never need to part with their precious television. Sorry, no Tivo option yet…

Unsurprisingly, the channel lineup is heavily tilted toward kids’ programming. Disney Channel, Disney XD, Discovery Kids, Animal Planet, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network Mobile, USA, COMEDY CENTRAL, MSNBC, CNN Mobile Live and CNBC. Perhaps ironically, the Travel Channel is being added soon.

Cars will be outfitted with a roof antenna (pictured), and the streaming video will be cached for three minutes, to prevent signal drop when you lose a direct line of sight to the satellite.

Budget and Avis are pitching it to both vacationing families and business travelers. The family angle, I get. The business traveler, not so much. Keep CNN or the Colbert Report running in the background while you drive?

Is this something you’d opt for in a rental car? Hit the comments!

Hat tip Budget Travel

Upgraded: Political mayhem that leads to free travel
The recent political turmoil in Thailand has left travelers wary of visiting, so Air Asia is offering 100,000 free tickets to Thailand from other Asian destinations. Air Asia seems to offer free tickets rather frequently. The drop in Thai tourism isn’t just because of the financial crisis. It’s largely a function of the political struggle between the existing government and the monarchists. (Some decent background on the crisis, which led to airport shutdowns, is here.)

Upgraded: Bugatti rentals
I never knew this: The cars at many ultra-luxury car rental operations (the places that rent out Lamborghinis and Bugattis, not the stuff Hertz has on offer) are loaners from cash-strapped owners. Jalopnik has the primer on renting an uber-luxury car.

Downgraded: Canadian pet mobility
Upgraded: JetBlue pet mobility and frequent flyer miles
Canada’s top airlines — Air Canada and Westjet — aren’t transporting pets during the holiday season. They stopped accepting animals for travel on December 15. The ban runs through January 6 on Westjet, and January 7 on Air Canada. Why? They’re blaming fuller planes and fuller cargo holds. In contrast: JetBlue isn’t just transporting animals, they’re giving their owner bonus miles.

Downgraded: Being a flying bartender
Angling for a lawsuit, anyone? “A husband and wife are suing United Airlines for “negligently” overserving alcohol during a flight from Osaka, Japan, to San Francisco, saying the carrier’s drinks fueled the domestic violence involving the two shortly after their plane landed.” The couple contends they got served wine every twenty minutes. Whom do I have to threaten to sue to get that kind of service on UA?

Upgraded: Car sharing
The car-sharing phenomenon in major cities was launched by small operators. Now that the model has proven itself viable, the big firms are stepping in. Enterprise and Hertz are both entering the space, with Hertz launching in Paris, London, and New York this week. “Connect by Hertz” will be a membership program much like Zipcar, but with far fewer locations (Hertz starts in NYC with 10 sites, vs. Zipcar’s 300). But Parisian entrepreneurs are plotting to be one step ahead: electric short-term mini-rental cars, much like one finds public-use bicycles.

(image)