On behalf of all of the teams here at Avis we would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We would also like to thank you for following and adding to the blog this year and hope that you carry on into the new year.

We also would like to let you know that there will be limited coverage of the Avis We Try Harder blog from 24th December 2010 until 4th January 2011. If you a have a query with your rental please contact our reservation team or our customer service team. The contact details and opening hours for the two teams over the Christmas period are below.

Customer Services
customer.service@avis.co.uk
0844 544 6666*

23rd Dec – 09.00 – 17.00
24th Dec – 09.00 17.00
25th- 28th Dec – CLOSED
29th Dec – 09.00 – 17.00
30th Dec – 09.00 – 17.00
31st Dec – 3rd Jan – CLOSED
4th Jan – 09.00 – 17.00

Reservation Centre
08445 818181*

23rd Dec – 07.00 – 22.00
24th Dec – 07.00 – 14.00
25th Dec – CLOSED
26th Dec – 07.00 – 22.00
27th Dec – 07.00 – 22.00
28th Dec – 07.00 – 22.00
29th Dec – 07.00 – 22.00
30th Dec – 07.00 – 22.00
31st Dec – 07.00 – 14.00
1st Jan – CLOSED
2nd Jan – 07.00 – 22.00
3rd Jan – 07.00 – 22.00
4th Jan – 07.00 – 22.00

*Please note that calls to Avis customer care cost 5p per minute from a BT landline. Costs from other networks and mobiles may be higher.

Over the past few days the UK has experienced significant snowfall accompanied by extremely cold temperatures. This has had a major impact on transportation – most notably with some of the largest airports in the country such as London Heathrow being closed or subject to severe delays and cancellations.

Rest assured that the vast majority of our locations have managed to open and are standing by to help. Where driving conditions are particularly treacherous we may encounter delays to deliveries but we will aim to minimise these and keep customers informed of the situation.

If you already have a rental car, and are unable to return it due to the weather please contact the rental location you picked up from who will happily arrange an extension at the same rate.

If you need to amend or cancel a booking or find out our latest rates and availability please call our reservation centre on 08445 810 147 who will be happy to help.

Finally, please make sure you take care and are fully prepared when driving in the current conditions. We hope that your journey goes as smoothly as possible and you reach your destination soon, safely and without getting too cold.

At Avis we try harder to keep your car rental costs down, which is why we offer optional extras such as additional driver cover. This is well worth having as you might face paying for an expensive trip home if something happens and your only driver is out of action.

Renting a car from Avis for a holiday in Europe makes lots of sense. Not only does it keep down the miles on your own car, but it also gives you the chance to rent something a little bigger, like a people carrier or an estate car, so you can fit everything in comfortably. You can hire from home and take the ferry or the channel tunnel, or you can fly to your destination and hire when you get there from Avis offices across Europe, including holiday favourites like Italy, France, Spain and the Balearic Islands.

Adding an extra driver is a good idea wherever you choose to travel, because your standard Avis Rent a Car contract only covers you for one named driver. That means that the same person has to do all the driving all the time, which is not much of a holiday for them. Not only that, but if that driver falls ill or gets hurt, you could find yourself in a difficult situation.

Extra driver cover can be booked in advance, when you reserve your hire car online, or can be purchased at the Avis pick up point when you collect your car. The costs vary depending on which country you are renting in, but are a small price to pay compared to the cost of getting your family and your rental car home without an insured driver.

An additional driver is just £9 a day for rentals in the UK, €30 per rental in France, €5.83 per day in Italy and €8 plus tax per day in Spain and the Balearics. (Prices correct at Nov 2010 and subject to change. See website for latest rates).

Avis Premium cover includes an additional driver free of charge, along with reduced insurance excess and enhanced personal accident cover. Premium cover with Avis starts at just £12.50 a day for small cars, rising to just £16.50 a day for larger vehicles, so it’s well worth considering as an alternative to additional driver cover.

Sharing the drive not only means you’re covered in an emergency, it also gives both drivers a break and a chance to enjoy the scenery, as well as giving them both the chance to enjoy the unique experience of driving on Europe’s great roads like the Millau Viaduct in France, or Italy’s famous Great Dolomite Road.

At Avis, we always like to find out what you think of the extras such as additional driver cover. If you have any opinions, comments or experiences you would like to share please leave a comment, or email us direct.

On Sunday 28th November 2010, 35 of us from Avis Headquarters joined James and Oliver Phelps (a.k.a. Harry Potter’s ‘Fred and George Weasley’) to help make up the 700 runners that took part in the 2010 Thames Hospicecare Santa Dash. The 5km race was held in Swinley Forest, the location where some Harry Potter movie scenes were filmed, and although it was extremely cold that day there was an amazing turn out of runners and their supporters.

The Santa Dash is held annually to raise money for Thames Hospicecare (THc), a great charity who provide care and support to adults with life-limiting illnesses. THc helps 1000 patients and their families each year in the local Windsor and Ascot area but also services the surrounding communities of East Berkshire and South Buckinghamshire.

THc relies heavily on charitable donations and so far this year’s Santa Dash alone has raised £40,000 to help them and their staff continue the great work and care that they provide.

If you would like to find out more about Thames Hospicecare, or would like to donate money to this very worthwhile cause, then visit www.thameshospicecare.org.uk.

Click here take a look at some of the Santas in action or click on one of the links below to view the coverage that this years race has received.
itv.com/London
itv.com/meridian-west
bbc.co.uk

Avis, like other car rental companies all over the world has no control over which new cars become available from specific car manufacturers at any given time. This is why we offer a class of car for our standard car rentals. You still get the best available car that has the range of features you want, you just can’t chose the make and model.

Whether you choose a small economy car or a large estate car, you might drive away with the example car listed – but the final choice will depend on what’s available to Avis at the time. Whatever the alternative, it will be something very similar, with exactly the same level of features.

Many people are happy with this but some of our customers have told us they want to drive away in exactly the model and make that they choose. The solution from Avis is our Select Series. We now offer the several specific, guaranteed models at eight of our car rental locations around the UK. This choice will expand over the coming months as we complete our latest round of updates to the Avis fleet.

Avis Select Series is ideal for customers who want to hire a specific model of car for a special occasion. If you are entertaining family from abroad for an important family wedding it is great to be able to book the exact model that you want so that you can fit them and their entire luggage in – and to make a bit of an impression.

Many of our customers have been in touch to let us know that they appreciate this option but we’d love more feedback on the Select Series. Please feel free to add a comment to the blog – or send us an email.