Avis, in association with personal chauffer
company WeDriveU, has launched a premium service aimed at travelers
who would like the services of a professional driver but are
looking for an alternative to hiring a chauffeured limousine.
The new service is
called Avis Chauffeur Drive and it enables Avis customers to rent a
car and hire a professional driver at the same time. It is
available only to members of the Avis Preferred, Avis Chairman's
Club, Avis First and Avis President's Club loyalty
programs.
The service, priced
at $30 per hour for a minimum of three hours, is currently
available at Avis locations in major airports and within a 60-mile
radius of Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, New
York, Phoenix, San Francisco and Washington.
Avis said its
customers can rent the vehicle and use a WeDriveU chauffeur during
the entire rental period or as needed. If a driver is used
intermittently during a rental period, the three-hour minimum
applies each time.
The chauffeur can
also pick up the Avis rental car for the customer and meet the
customer wherever desired, including airline baggage claim or
curbside loading zones for airport arrivals, or at a hotel or
business meeting location. The driver can also handle the return of
the Avis vehicle.
"Avis Preferred
members can now let a locally-based professional driver worry about
traffic, directions, parking and the bags, and the customer can sit
back and relax if they're on vacation, or make the most of their
business travel time to get their work done," said Michael Caron,
vice president of product and program development for Avis Budget
Group, parent of Avis, in a statement. "And using Avis Chauffeur
Drive can also cost less than hiring a sedan from a limousine
service, so it saves the customer money, too."
"WeDriveU is
popular with busy executives and individuals who place a premium on
productivity, convenience and value, and we're delighted to now
extend our services to Avis Preferred customers," added Dennis
Carlson, president and CEO of WeDriveU.
Chauffeurs must be
reserved at least 24 hours prior to rental pickup time, Avis
said.
To
contact the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail to Michael
Milligan at [email protected].