Looking to book a rental for my upcoming trip next month. Normally my friend just comes to pick me up and drops me back off at the airport but with all the traffic she's dealt with lately I don't want to put her out next time. Been visiting her for years and it's my turn to play driver! That being said, I've rented a few times for us to take longer drives but usually just got my car from the hotel I was staying at rather than rent upon arrival from the airport, so it's been YEARS since I've used the airport location. My second ever trip to Vegas my friend and I were pleasantly surprised to be able to walk right up to the counter to pick up our reserved car while the companies next to us had full switchbacks and lines to the door. While I realize the queue can be affected by so many different factors, does anyone have a favorite car company when picking up at LAS because of efficiency or regularly short lines? I'll also be picking up kind of late, probably around 9pm on a Sat night, so I'm assuming a skeleton crew at the desks. Any insight would be helpful as far as what others have experienced in the past. Was thinking to grab my car and take my friend out to an off strip dinner somewhere but would rather manage my expectations with regard to how long getting a car would really take. Normally was less than 5 min at the Cosmo but I'm not expecting that at the airport hub. Thanks all for your expertise!
I am not sure there is a constant of which rental company will be busiest at any given time. I have arrived at every time from 7:00am to 9:00pm and I don't think I can say that one rental company is always busy or never busy. I always make a reservation and use the least expensive of Hertz/DTAG or Avis (and subsidiaries). I belong to all of the loyalty programs so I skip the line and go straight to the garage and grab my car. I usually also make my reservation as soon as I know my dates, changing it if I find a lower price. As I have taught my daughter, reservations are made to be cancelled.
At LAS, you have to catch the shuttle bus to the car rental center. The busses are located across the street, after leaving the baggage claim area. Wait time depends on the crowd, but I rarely had to wait more than 10 mins. I get discounts from Hertz, since I'm also a gold club member so like @bruceb mentioned, you go direct to the garage area and look for your name and car location on the board. I also use Budget, if their rates are lower and you can bypass the desk as well, if you're a club member. Returning your rental is also easy, since they have people who process your return at the car drop-off areas.
Join the loyalty club of whichever company you're considering. We usually rent from Avis or Budget and never wait in line. Go downstairs to the cars and check your name on the board, walk to your car and drive away.
Thanks all for the info! I've signed up with Hertz and Budget as I get a discount through my insurance company with those two as well as Enterprise and Avis, although in my past experience those latter two are always more expensive so I didn't bother with them. I didn't realize you can completely skip the line once you sign up with their programs, that's a huge bonus, so thank you!
Avis requires you to go to the counter once after you sign up for Preferred. At least I had to. After that it’s a real time saver.
When you're dropping off at the airport, you also have to factor in the wait for the shuttle back, which can have long lines during peak hours. The staff and shuttle drivers are good at managing the lines though. Personally I prefer to drop the car at a hotel if possible when I'm done going off strip and use an uber or taxi directly back to LAS, which saves the hassle and car$/parking $ if it's not same day. Hertz has locations at Treasure Island and Venetian/Palazzo if i remember correctly.
Curious what peak hours would be considered? My flight home leaves at 1:40pm so I feel like arriving around 11am would be my plan. I prefer to play it safe and don't mind hanging out at the airport for a bit before the flight if people recommended I leave earlier. It's the Wed after NFR if that makes any difference. I actually had some of the best gambling of my entire trip at the airport last time and had to hurry a little to get to my gate after I hit a bonus not a jackpot or anything, just took longer than expected for it to all play out. I wish Hertz was still at the Cosmo, it was so easy to rent/return right there. I think it's Avis now Maybe I'll take a peek at their prices, the convenience might be worth it if it's not too bad!
Also, oooof. Prices to pick up at LAS and leave it at the Cosmo are way more expensive but Avis actually looks to be the cheaper option out of Budget, Hertz, and Avis. I have some errands to run but I'm gonna have to do some more research later on. Thanks as I probably wouldn't have even checked in the first place.
All MGM hotels plus Mirage have an Avis, maybe try them too. I wasn't aware of the huge price difference for a one way. I usually use Hertz and Avis corporate leisure codes that give me the same rate for one ways as a regular rental at LAS. If the difference is substantial then yeah dont bother with the one way Getting to the rental car center 2 1/2 hours before your flight should be ok but I think when I visited South Point during NFR last year with a rental car, there were more cars there than usual. Also don't forget what Ten said above, if you use Avis Preferred you have to go to the counter the first time. There is a separate preferred "booth" in the garage that you can use if I remember correctly
That's a peak time for departures. Checkout times on the strip are 10:30-11:00 almost everywhere, and probably one of the busier times of day for outgoing flights. I know the flights leaving LAS between noon and 3pm are by far the most expensive for me almost 100% of the time, due to the convenience of checkout time being about the same time you need to head to the airport for those flights.
I've used almost all the rental companies in Vegas through out the years and my advice is always sign up for the club, pick the cheapest and keep checking as prices to change often in LV. On a side note Enterprise at LAS is top notch in their service. They will walk you to the car and check it out with you and if they feel it is dirty/smells like smoke they will upgrade you at no charge. My sister had an experience with them this Summer after a very long flight day(because of delays) she arrived in the middle of the night and they told her all they had was some type of truck to which she told them she was not willing to drive since she would most likely crash it because she has never driven one. The counter person told her she could come back in the morning for a car, which she was not going to do. The manager must of heard and peaked out and let her know she was calling to get a car for her right now. She ended up get a Charger for no extra cost!
Thank you for the reminder because I would've completely forgotton that. Their pricing is significantly better than the others for the time I'm going so it's worth it to me to get in their system now that I know it's could be a good option pricewise. I signed up with their program, will definitely keep an eye out for any special lines or booths Thanks for the info! Might plan to be a little earlier. I basically just pick the latest nonstop flight heading to Orlando with Southwest and it's usually close to if not the cheapest flight. Makes sense that my departure would be peak with checkout times. I'm hoping that the fact it's midweek (Wed) will help with crowd levels. Enterprise is significantly more expensive than any of the other brands unfortunately. Budget and Hertz are about the same, Avis was surprisingly about $40 cheaper. Enterprise was at least $50 more! I do love some good customer service though so I'll keep checking with them
Yes they usually are more expensive, but I have a discount from work that is really good. Sorry I cannot share it, wish I could thou.
If you haven't booked a rental car yet, today is the cheapest I have seen on Budget since I rebooked my rental in September. I usually check daily just to ensure I have the best rate (and it's incredibly low so I probably can't get much better), but it's just something I do in the trip planning stages. Every dollar saved is another dollar to be enjoyed in Vegas.
I haven't yet but I need to get a move on. I was thinking to wait to book til Sun/Mon but then realized I don't really know if car rentals act the same as air travel where cheaper fares are usually found basically when you avoid purchasing on a weekend day. Anyone have any evidence of car rentals being cheaper when you actually make your reservation on a certain day of the week vs another?
I don’t have any evidence to confirm one way or another, but take this for some data points on bookings I did for this upcoming trip trying to get to the best price (which I landed in September). My rental is total rate including taxes and fees for 6 full days with a weekend during NFR. Enterprise, booked on Thursday, 430 Enterprise, booked on Monday, 365 Budget, booked on Thursday, 265 Budget, booked on Friday, 252 And in case you’re wondering, yes I keep detailed stats on things. It’s what I do as a coach so I’m very analytical.
I love the data! So yeah, doesn't seem like there's much to make it seem like cheaper bookings fall on a certain day of the week. Just gonna make my reservation tonight and keep checking for lower prices, thanks!
Wound up booking with Avis after all! With my discount code they were the cheapest and offered the most free coverages/additional driver. Definitely going to keep checking though, certainly wouldn't mind if it was cheaper! Cost $357 for 5 days including Sat/Sun during NFR so I'm not entirely surprised.
