Hiring a chauffeur, to impress that special client, just got easier last Monday, June 4, 2007, when Avis rentals began offering chauffeurs as part of some rental policies.

Under their current price structure, a chauffeur can be hired with 24-hour notice in 10 big cities, including New York and Los Angeles for a mere $30 an hour (3 hour minimum) in addition to regular car rental costs. Applauding this move is Michael Kane who expects other rental companies to soon follow suit, stated, “I’m surprised it hasn’t been done sooner.”  However, due to local licensing restrictions many principalities may make this option unavailable due to conflicting concerns from taxi, limousine and car-for-hire industries. This is not, however, a problem that overly concerns Avis’ Vice President, Michael Caron, who stated, “We are not in the livery business, so local laws regulating cars for hire do not apply to our Chauffeur Drive service.”

While Avis’ Chauffeur service is targeted at midlevel and high-level executives Caron believes that it will also draw business travelers who fly into small airports without rental-car facilities. That way travelers do not have to pick up their rental vehicles but can have a chauffeur pick them up outside of the airport terminal or come inside to handle their bags. They can also decide to dismiss the chauffeur at any time and drive themselves.

When using the new service customers will be billed separately by Avis for the rental car and again by WeDriveU, a company that has provided chauffeurs since 1988. This way the consumer can charge a portion or all of the expense to their business accounts depending on the existing situation.

Travelers like Doug McIntyre believe that the service could be a valuable tool in client negotiations where status is often times a tilting factor in who the client chooses to represent them. So be it, Boston, Chicago, Dallas or Washington be sure to check out Avis’ newest feature to see how it could work out for you.

[tags]Avis, Chauffeur, car rental, livery services, Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Business travelers, business services[/tags]