Carrentals.co.uk Re-Launches as First Major Online Comparator in the Travel Industry

8 February 2007 – Online travel price comparators such as TravelSupermarket are failing to offer consumers a true reflection of the best prices in each market, according to Carrentals.co.uk, which has re-launched to be the first genuine online car hire price comparator.

Launched this week with a commitment to give UK customers a fairer deal, the new site provides impartial price comparisons on car hire deals from up to 40 different rental websites, together with independent advice and information.

Websites searched for the best car hire deals include Holiday Autos, E-Bookers, Opodo, Alamo, Thrifty, EasyCar, Carrentals.co.uk, Time To Car Hire, and more, allowing customers to check prices and features of hundreds of different car hire options from within one comparator.

“Everyone loves to think they are getting the best deal by visiting comparator websites – they have become recognised as offering the consumer a way to find the best deal,” said Gareth Robinson, marketing director of Carrentals.co.uk. “The reality is that sites currently in the market, such as TravelSupermarket, are just playing at being a comparator – listed companies pay to be on the sites through pay per click agreements, so the sites fail to search the entire web.

“We have developed what we believe is the first genuine car hire comparator with extensive reach. It uses the latest technology to search up to 40 car hire sites for the best possible deals available at any one time. No major comparators have done this to date, meaning consumers may not be getting as good a deal as they thought. Carrentals.co.uk has always been known for low price car hire, but now we offer customers the chance to compare the best deals and availability from brands such as Alamo, EasyCar, Holiday Autos and our own Carrentals prices.”

Currently many sites marketed as comparators in sectors such as travel, insurance and online shopping, only list companies who have a pay per click agreement with them, resulting in many other sites and prices not being featured.

In contrast, Carrentals.co.uk offers impartial price comparison from many of the leading car hire providers and brokers. Companies do not pay to be featured on the site, instead the technology behind Carrentals.co.uk trawls through up to 40 websites to source the best prices for each individual request.

Customers can search by car type in over 4,000 locations around the World, with search results shown in price order, together with details of the company providing it. Visitors can then go straight to the supplier’s site, which retains the rental location and dates, and read more about the hire options and conditions.

Robinson added: “The car hire market is very competitive and changes quickly. Our comparator now offers consumers instant access to the best car hire deals available from within a single site.”

Since its launch in 2003 Carrentals.co.uk has grown to become one of the leading online car hire websites. In 2006 it booked its 100,000th customer and turnover reached £8million.
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About Carrentals.co.uk
Carrentals.co.uk was launched in February 2003 and grew to become one of the UK’s leading online car hire companies by 2006, when it also booked its 100,000th customer.

In 2007 the company re-launched its site to create the first major online price comparator in the travel industry. Using the latest technology the new Carrentals.co.uk site now searches up to 40 different car hire websites, providing an impartial comparison of the best prices available.

Websites searched include Alamo, Thrifty, Sixt, Holiday Autos, Opodo, EBookers, Carrentals.co.uk and EasyCar, with the Carrentals.co.uk site quickly comparing prices and allowing customers to refine their search by car type.

The Carrentals.co.uk site also features over 6,000 links to useful tourist information sites, plus over 2,700 pages of travel information in a mini-guide format.

To book or for further information visit www.carrentals.co.uk


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