Should You Accept a Promotion Offered by a Broker?

Car rental companies regularly face this question, often caught between the need to generate volume and the pressure from brokers or online agencies. It's crucial to understand that broker promotional campaigns primarily aim to increase their own market share, not to optimize rental companies' volume. They measure success by the number of bookings, while rental companies are interested in the impact on their activity volume per rental day.

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So, how do you make the right decision?

Before accepting, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do I need volume during the proposed period?

Evaluate if this promotion matches a real need to fill your fleet.
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2. Is this volume necessary for the entire period?

Identify times when activity naturally fills up (Christmas, Easter, etc.) and when a promotion would be superfluous, or even counterproductive.
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3. What will be my fleet level during these periods?

If your fleet plan anticipates a reduction, last year's utilization rate should improve without additional volume. Conversely, if your fleet is increasing, additional activity could be beneficial for optimizing the utilization rate.

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This analysis should be conducted at the country level, but also region by region, city by city, and car category by car category. The goal is to obtain a precise mapping of your volume needs by region, category, and date, taking your fleet plan into account.

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Armed with this analysis, you'll be able to propose a clear recommendation to your management regarding the type of volume you genuinely need and the dates to exclude from the promotion.

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What response should be given to the broker?

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However, it's common for most brokers not to accept any limitations (neither by date, nor by geography, nor by car category). This can be due to technical limitations of their system or a desire not to reduce the potential impact of their marketing. Yet, in the hotel or airline industries, precise management of the promotional calendar is the basis of "revenue management."

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Conclusion

Given their response, it will be up to you to strategically decide whether or not to accept the broker's constraints. But at least you'll make your decision with full knowledge of the facts, which will allow you to more accurately measure the real impact of this promotion on your business. Always keep in mind that the broker is only interested in their own market share, not yours.
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Let’s Build Your Strategy Together

In a competitive pricing environment, testing strategic options before full-scale deployment can make all the difference.

Our team can help you evaluate the trade-offs, model different scenarios, and define the right strategy to protect your margins and optimize fleet utilization. Let’s put your goals in the driver’s seat.

👉 Contact us today to explore your options and outmaneuver the competition.

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References

Photo from Raul Barrios on Unsplash