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An Analysis of the Potential Benefits and Challenges of BookingThrough a Car Rental Web Site

This research report summarizes the work undertaken by Consumer WebWatch, after months of extensive testing and analysis of car rental Web sites. The sites tested were the three leading integrated travel Web sites, Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity, as well as the branded Web sites maintained by four leading car rental companies: Alamo, Avis, Dollar, and Hertz. All testing was conducted in a real-time, “apples-to-apples” environment to determine which Web sites offered the best booking tools and lowest rates. This testing also uncovered serious competitive issues as well.