Alamo Rent-a-Car will begin increasing its presence in Canada by adding two more airport locations in the next 12 to 18 months.
The Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based company already operates airport-area outlets in Montreal and Vancouver and is currently looking for sites near the airports in Toronto and Calgary.
The next cities on its schedule are Edmonton, Ottawa, Quebec City and Winnipeg.
By concentrating on airport locations, Alamo targets its two main markets, leisure and business.
Its third market is suburban, for weekend getaway and replacement rentals.
Twenty-three-year-old Alamo is the largest independently-owned car rental company in the u.s.
In addition to its two Canadian sites, it operates 144 locations in the u.s., primarily in popular tourist destinations such as Florida, California and Hawaii.
The company also has a presence in Europe and other areas of the world. These offices cater to those planning to visit the u.s.
In terms of fleet size, Alamo is third after Hertz and Avis in the u.s.
(When it comes to annual revenue, a small company called Enterprise is number one. Unlike the three major players, Enterprise, which also plans to expand in Canada, built its business in the replacement market through its relationship with insurance and repair companies.)
Alamo is known in its industry as an innovative marketer.
The company recently announced a tie-in with Continental airlines and Visa where travelers flying Continental and then renting a car from Alamo get a free companion ticket on Continental if they make these purchases with a Visa card.
Alamo has also launched a frequent renter program called True Blue which the company says was the missing piece of the pie for those accruing points for free travel.
Although consumers have been able to collect points for free air fare and get credits from hotels for free visits, they’ve always had to pay for car rentals until True Blue.
Hal Riney & Partners of San Francisco handles broadcast advertising for Alamo while Tower Advertising of Fort Lauderdale is its print agency.
The u.s. agencies have also handled the limited amount of Canadian advertising the company has done so far.
The company primarily uses print and radio advertising with some television for local sales support.
