Alamo Relaunches Web Site; Unique Consumer-Friendly Reservation Process Promotes Comparison Shopping

1 July 1999

Alamo Relaunches Web Site; Unique Consumer-Friendly Reservation Process Promotes Comparison Shopping

    FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--July 1, 1999--Choosing the right vehicle rental company just became a lot easier for America's leisure travelers with the recent relaunch of Alamo.com, Alamo Rent-A-Car's newly redesigned web site. Alamo.com's streamlined, four-step reservation process includes a unique comparison shopping feature that allows travelers to make informed rental decisions based on a vehicle's size, cost, capacity, and actual availability at any Alamo location in the country.
    "No other auto rental company offers the user-friendly features we have incorporated into our site," said Alamo Marketing Vice President Maria Menendez. "In just four simple steps, customers can submit a quotation request, view an actual photo of the vehicle categories available at their desired location, view their capacity in terms of people and luggage, obtain an itemized price quote, and instantaneously receive a confirmation number on-screen and via e-mail. And it's all on one screen."
    No other auto vehicle web site currently allows consumers the flexibility to compare the features and true cost in such a user-friendly way.
    The web site redesign is a direct result of Alamo's in-depth research into the specific needs of leisure travelers. Research results show that many leisure travelers do not know what a "Buick LeSabre or similar car" looks like or how many passengers or pieces of luggage it will carry. Nor do they want to navigate a complex web site. "Our innovations were prompted by what our customers told us they wanted - a faster, simpler process with less guesswork and more comparison shopping features," said Alamo President Karen Beard.
    "The web site redesign is one component of our overall commitment to make the experience of renting a vehicle as easy and pleasurable as possible," continued Menendez. "The new design also means no more clicking back and forth from screen to screen to determine each car's availability. With one stroke, all the vehicles available at the customer's destination can be viewed on a single screen."
    To make travel planning even more effortless, other new or revised content areas were also added to Alamo.com. The new "Family Fun" screen allows travelers to print out games and puzzles to entertain children during travel time, while other more detailed areas explain corporate travel partner benefits, destination attractions, options and the rental agreement.
    The site also features special Internet rates, a "Hot Deals on Wheels" weekly e-mail program, and a call back feature linked to Alamo's reservation center.
    Alamo, owned by AutoNation, Inc. , currently serves more than 15 million travelers a year through 103 locations in the United States and Canada, and more than 400 international locations in Europe and Latin America.