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I'll Take the Lamborghini!
By James Shillinglaw
Published on: September 5, 2008
I have to admit, there is one sector of the travel industry that just isn’t that sexy. I mean, everyone loves to go on cruises ships, stay in resorts, take interesting tours or even fly in an airplane (well, maybe not the latter). But renting a car just doesn’t seem all that thrilling – at least to me. Well, it wasn’t until a few weeks ago.
We spend a fair amount of time and effort writing articles about how agents can make money by booking car rentals. In truth, there are some excellent commissions to be had – much more than booking an airline seat. But unfortunately car rentals are not always top of mind for many agents. But if you drove the kind of car I just tried out in Las Vegas, you just might change your mind.
Earlier this summer I attended a party at Tavern on the Green in Central Park celebrating the opening of Beverly Hills Rent-a-Car’s first location in New York City. It turns out that the company isn’t just in Beverly Hills anymore, but has locations at Los Angeles International Airport, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Marina Del Rey, Santa Monica, Studio City, North Hollywood, Palm Springs, and Newport Beach Airport in California; the Biltmore Resort & Spa and the Pointe Hilton (Squaw Peak) in Arizona; an outlet a quarter mile off the Strip in Las Vegas; and now one in Manhattan. At the event I interviewed Daniel Park, Beverly Hills Rent-A-Car’s general manager, about the company and how agents can take advantage of its rentals.
When Daniel heard I was heading out to Las Vegas in August, he suggested that I try out the company’s Ferrari driving experience. Now how was I going to say no? For a little less than $300, Beverly Hills Rent-a-Car will pick you up at your resort, take you to their location just off the strip, give you a briefing on the car you’re going to drive, and get you out on the road in a pretty snazzy vehicle.
When the time came, I called the company’s Vegas location and Tarek Kabban, director of sales and marketing, drove over in a customized Buick Escalade SUV to pick me up. A few minutes later I was standing in the location’s parking lot with an awful choice: Should I drive the black Ferrari 360 Modena Coupe, which can go from zero to 60 in 4.5 seconds, or should I take the brand new, pistachio-colored Lamborghini Gallardo, which can go from zero to 60 in 3.9 seconds? Well, it was obvious – this was Vegas, after all, so the flashier the better. I decided on that the Lamborghini, which at $250,000 happened to be even more expensive than the $150,000 Ferrari, was going to be my ride.
It also helped that the Lamborghini was a bit friendlier to drive, including an option that raised the low-slung vehicle a little higher off the ground. It also had a great shifting function – no clutch needed here – with small levers on both sides of the wheel that allowed me to shift gears with ease. Tarek gave me a briefing on the controls – though I’m not sure I absorbed what he told me – and we were off.
Now I’m not going to tell you I zipped around Vegas putting that Lamborghini through its paces. In truth, with Tarek accompanying me, I kept it at the speed limit and nervously avoided any cars or trucks around me. All I needed was to put a small dent in the car and say goodbye to my insurance. It also didn’t help that before we set off on our ride, the car was examined with a mirror underneath to see if there were any dents.
I have to admit it was pretty neat driving that pistachio (or was it lime green?) car around Vegas, with everyone doing a double take as I passed by. I started to get the hang of the shifting system and the other controls in the car. I accelerated a bit on a straightaway, but not too much. And suddenly we were turning back into the parking lot and my ride was over.
According to Tarek, most people renting a Lamborghini would do so for a couple of days, taking it out to some desert roadway to see what it could do. But the company offers far more than just Lamborghinis and Ferraris. We walked back into the garage to see the fleet, which included a Bentley Arnage (renting at $2,000 a day), a Mercedes C300 Sport (a mere $100-170 a day), a Corvette convertible ($350 a day), a Rolls-Royce Phantom ($3,000 a day), a Bentley Continental GT ($1,800 a day), and a Rolls Royce Drophead convertible (a whopping $7,500 a day).
Beyond the exotic cars, however, Beverly Hills Rent-a-Car also offers some more conventional vehicles, such as a BMW, a Porsche, a Mercedes E550, a Lexus ES 240, a Mercedes CLK 550, a Smart Car and, yes, even a Honda Accord. It also has 15 deluxe passengers vans that it rents out for groups touring Vegas and even some classic cars. It will deliver any of these vehicles to your location and pick them up again (no rental lines here!). The company also supplies cars to movie studios when they are filming on location. And best of all, it will work with travel agents. And its rental rates can mean some significant profits for you, if you have the right customers.
So thank you Daniel and Tarek for giving me a chance to drive the Lamborghini. Car rentals are now a bit more exciting – at least for me. For more information on Beverly Hills Rent-a-Car, call 866-906-8125 or visit www.bhrentacar.com.
James Shillinglaw, CTC
Editor in Chief
jshillinglaw@pmgemail.com
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