Travellers advised to book car hire well in advance

Prices look set to soar in the car hire industry as rental cars in key locations sell out fast. Carrentals.co.uk is warning holidaymakers that bank holiday bookings for car hire are forcing sell outs in the most popular holiday destination, which could lead to a massive hike in prices. Alicante and Malaga are among the many places that are suffering a lack of hire cars.

Many hire car companies were forced to dramatically cut back on their fleets as the recession hit and as a result there are far fewer cars on offer this summer. “Lack of car hire availability is proving to be a big problem for many travellers this summer.  The car hire companies have scaled back in light of the credit crunch, but visitor numbers during peak periods have held up.  It’s customers who are being let down, with some paying hundreds of pounds more for their car than they did a year ago, said Gareth Robinson, managing director of Carrentals.co.uk.

There are still good deals to be had including a week during the Bank Holiday period in Orlando at only £15 per day, £17 per day in Newquay and £18 per day in Crete. However to secure a good deal you must book in advance or face the possibility of high charges or no availability.