Car rental - without reviews, where would we be?

Today the Times ran a hardy perennial in their weekly Troubleshooter column - holiday car hire.

The most important message was saved for the last paragraph...

  And more and more of us are doing just that...

Goldcar in Palma?

This is just one more instance where reviews can save consumers heartache and cash. It also highlights a massive opportunity for a well-run business in the sector.

The opportunity?

Let us explain, by showing you some examples. We took Palma in Majorca - because it's a popular holiday destination served by just about every car hire company you can think of, from the multinationals to small independents. What do they look like? First the big three: Hertz, Avis and Europcar...

Hertz...

Avis...

Europcar...

But a little time spent on Google comes up with...

 And the company even responds to its customers!

The lesson...

For individuals - is 'read reviews'.

For businesses - is 'look great - or else'. Or else what? Or else consumers will - increasingly - read your Google reviews* and use a competitor.

Need to consult a reviews site? Of course not.

*Google reviews? Why not Rentalcars.com or TripAdvisor? For one simple reason - when anyone searches for car rental the first reviews - and these days probably the only reviews - they see are Google reviews.