New York City Tourism in a Blink

By: Elijah James
New York is a popular travel destination. Whether its business or tourist travelers, the state plays host to millions of visitors each year. Being the largest financial district in the world, New York undoubtedly attracts millions of business travelers each year. As such, New York doesn't only have a wide array of comfortable lodging options; it also has a whole line of car rental companies. With the many options available, how do you pick which New York car rental company to use?

1. Check your discounts. Your credit card, bank, airline, hotel or other businesses you use are likely to have rewards programs, promo packages and other agreements with certain New York car rentals that provide significant discounts. You don't want to pass this up.

2. Check their discounts. New York car rental companies routinely offer specials to snag more customers. The competition is stiff and you'd have at least ten companies vying for your business. Check their discount offers. You may get as much as 50% off if you take out a vehicle over the weekend.

3. Look for special features. Some rental car companies have fleets that carry GPS. Some offer roadside assistance. They don't have to provide these value-added services themselves. Other services, such as roadside assistance can be provided by affiliate businesses.

4. Consider office locations. Check company locations. You'd want to rent a car from a company with locations in the areas you are traveling to so that if and when you have to, switching cars happens fast and easy.

5. Know your car. Check your prospect's fleet. New York car rentals are often classified into various categories for price variations. The trick is to book for a lesser, lower-classed vehicle and book ahead. Especially during peak travel seasons, you are more likely to be upgraded, never downgraded, when there are glitches, switches and confusion.

Customer Feedback and Reviews

If you are shopping for New York car rentals for the first time, the choice can be a hit-and-miss. But if you do a bit of Google-ing, you could dramatically tip the odds to your favor. There are plenty of online forums and feedback sites that you can dig up to see what customers say about the service they've had with your options. Of course, you don't have to look up feedback for every single rental car company within a two-mile radius from your destination; pick two or three of your best bets based on the above criteria, and then check the feedback for those. If the items on your shortlist do not meet your expectations based on feedback, by all means scratch them from the list and replace them with other items.

Just a note on evaluating feedback and service reviews though. If you encounter a car rental company with a half-positive, half-negative general feedback rating, scratch it from the list right away and look for a better-rated, positively reviewed option. Pay close attention to the negative reviews and see what areas the complaints were centered on. Some companies offer you discounts and freebies in exchange for bad service. You don't want that kind of business.