Announcement blog posts

It is my pleasure to share with you the second edition of my monthly contribution to the Avis blog. In my last contribution I highlighted how the main task of the fleet team is to match the requirements of customers in terms of size, quality and cost of cars with the opportunities presented by the manufacturers in terms of supply of the right cars. We are committed to supplying the safest, most reliable and most efficient cars available, but need to recognise that the exact mix (model and deriva Read More >>

The Travel supplement of The Sunday Times had some great stuff in it last weekend. One article that I picked out as particularly relevant for our blog was Mark Hodson’s “10 top travel websites to make life simple again”. Of his top 10, the website that really caught my eye was wayn.com. An acronym for “Where are you now?”, wayn.com is a social networking site for travellers, connecting 8 million members around the world. Admittedly I am new to this website but a quic Read More >>

We’ve had our share of problems in the recent floods with many locations surrounded by water and losing electricity over the last couple of days. Fortunately, most locations are now open in some capacity. Only our station in Oxford remains closed. Our key corporate accounts are asked to liase with the station and their booking department to ensure we can best meet your needs. For those corporate accounts who qualify for a delivery service, where possible other local stations will deliv Read More >>

The BAA have warned that the dates between Friday the 27th of July and Monday the 30th of July will be London Heathrow’s busiest weekend, handling approximately 850,000 passengers, according to a report on the travel news website e-tid. The BAA are advising passengers to be prepared with the current hand baggage and liquid restrictions picked out as particular causes of delay. I would advise taking the time to familiarise yourself with these restrictions and security information is avail Read More >>

We are the official car rental partner to Silverstone, which means I get free tickets to the British Grand Prix! I’ll be there on Sunday as, for the second year in a row (see some of my team with Michael Schumacher last year on the left), Avis is providing the cars for the chauffeur-driven shuttle service that picks up VIPs, team members and officials arriving by helicopter to take them to their trackside destination. It’s a non-stop job as the Silverstone heliport becomes the busie Read More >>

Launching this blog has really sparked my interest in other blogs. One of the best travel related blogs I have found so far is Travel Rants. It provides great tips and insider travel information with posts such as ‘Credit card companies freeze spending whilst abroad’, ‘Don’t loose your head booking your late deal’ and ‘Airline ticket name change debate’. I’ve certainly learnt a thing or two from them! Clicking on the ‘Introduce yourself̵ Read More >>

For those of you who are interested in driving a hybrid, I am delighted to announce that we now have the Toyota Prius available at selected London locations in the UK. The Prius, which works on a mixture of petrol engine and electric motor, is available to book at www.avisprestige.com and has the added advantage of being exempt from the congestion charge! If you would like to know more about some of the new greener cars we have available across Europe then you might be interested to read Rob&# Read More >>

Nice in the South of France is rapidly becoming one of the most popular destinations in France for English tourists and it’s a great base for exploring the French Riviera, Monaco and Provence.  I travelled there a couple of years ago for my friend’s wedding and next month, I’ll be there to celebrate the christening of his daughter.   I’ve been speaking to an Avis colleague in France, Sophie Grimoin who gave me some great recommendations if you’re visiting.  She suggests tak Read More >>

I read an article yesterday in the travel industry magazine Travolution that reported on how a number of hotels are planning legal action against Tripadvisor. The reason? Because they have allowed negative reviews about said hotels to be posted on their website. What the heck happened to freedom of speech?! I think Tripadvisor and other similar review sites do a great job and I personally use Tripadvisor all the time. When you are spending your hard-earned money on a holiday, flight, hotel room Read More >>

To add to Scotland’s excellent efforts at the Falkirk Wheel I am delighted to announce that we raised approximately £3,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support courtesy of the Avis Charity Day held in Birmingham on Saturday. The day ‘kicked off’ with 11 teams representing head office, our rental locations, partners and suppliers who were all competing for the much-coveted We Try Harder Cup. The forecast was not looking favourable but the weather turned out to be fantastic. And despite all the pr Read More >>