Looking to rent a car in Calgary? Good luck with that
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Pal Sahota, a manager for the Toronto Branch for Zoom Rent A Car who is also involved with the company's Calgary location, said the car rental market is very seasonal, with peak vehicle rentals taking place from the end of June towards mid-July.
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'Calgary is very different than us here in Toronto, because in Calgary, there's not walk-in customers that show up to the door looking for cars they can get here,' Sahota said. 'Most people make appointments when they need a car. It's very slow in general, but summer's when it's really busy.'
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As a car rental service near the airport, Sahota said its fleet is usually sold out in the summer, with the weekend as the busiest times through the season.
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A trend Sahota notices with his clientele is the different destinations their customers visit during their time in Calgary. Although they might stop in for the Stampede, tourists also take the time to drive to places outside of the city.
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'From experience, we have a lot of clients from the U.S. that fly into Calgary,' Sahota said. 'They're mainly driving to Banff, Lake Louise, and the Jasper area. Because we are close to those places and the mountains, that's why we get a lot of clients.'
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Sahatat Tanzir, associate manager with the downtown Calgary Hertz Car Rental, said the business would receive on average between 10 to 15 car rental requests a day in May. By June, business quickly started to pick up for the summer vacation season.
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'So now, on an average, we are giving about 20 retail rentals,' he said. 'It also depends on the location. If you compare us to the airport location, let's just say for today, there can be 250 to 300 rentals in one day.'
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Depending on the time when customers rent a vehicle, Tanzir said that rates can vary if they decide to rent during the week or over the weekend.
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CBC
a day ago
- CBC
Five-year funding saga for new Medicine Hat Stampede grandstand continues
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Calgary Herald
2 days ago
- Calgary Herald
Opinion: Does pipeline fever mean missed opportunity elsewhere?
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Edmonton Journal
3 days ago
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