Starting a Catering Business with Hertz

Usually when renting a vehicle, it’s usually a car- however the occasion this time was a lot different. My wife is starting up a new catering business and did not want to make a big investment and buy a new van to bring everything around for the customers, so thankfully Hertz has a business rental program for people just like us! When starting out the business she had wanted to get a mini-van but my favorite saying came into play “go big or go home” so she went with Hertz’s Chevy cargo van. Now the first week of business was absolutely hectic, in all 5 days of the business week we probably only got about 6 hours of sleep! The website was going crazy getting all sorts of e-mails and requests for huge orders and the planning process was unreal. We got our first real customers on the second day of business it was a huge group of people that were getting ready to have a birthday party and anniversary combined into one! So we had to make a ton of food for them and believe me it was not easy-Good thing we had rented the cargo van from Hertz because we definitely wouldn’t have been able to stock up all of that food in my sedan or on her moped! As we arrived to the planning of the event we pulled up our customers were impressed that a first time catering business that just started up was looking as professional as we did, the van was a brand new model and we had the vinyl stickers printed at a local shop. We set everything up and everyone was amazed at how organized we were. Even I was a bit impressed because it was the first time I’ve ever done that in my life. Overall we had a great time our customers were extremely happy and so were we. We set up this business and so far it is doing very well, we have at least one event per week until March next year. All this would not have been possible if we didn’t get a cargo van from Hertz!If you are ever looking to start a business and don’t want to put down such a large investment on a vehicle Hertz is the way to go, we saved a ton of money and don’t have to worry about extra expenses that come with purchasing a new vehicle. Plus with all the extra values Hertz has to offer we were in the clear of any car problems at all.

Cool and Relaxing Getaway: The return trip

After a very enjoyable long weekend with the family, we are now closer than ever, spending time hiking and taking beautiful nature walks, the family has been able to talk through problems, issues, and concerns, as well as the enjoyable great moments in our lives.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and it was time to head back to the Florida heat. Once in the vehicle and ready to head back to Florida, the kids began complaining about the car being cold. We turn on the heating system and it immediately warms up, it is a fabulous system. Heading down to Florida is just as exciting as the other way around. By this time everyone is excited to get back to their beds and friends and just regular life. The trip back down seemed a lot faster. We of course had some snacks ready and tried less drinks so that we would need to make fewer bathroom breaks.

Once we were in Florida, we went by the house and decided to unload and rest up, since we had been so tired from the trip, we took a long nap and ended up waking up the next morning. Having gone over our rental time by one day, I expected outrageous fines. However, once we showed up at the office, the same associate took care of us. She had explained the fees that we had incurred from our extra day with the car. The Enterprise associate was so kind that she waived those fees for us. After inspecting the vehicle we signed the return paperwork and were on our way back home.

I have never been so pleased with a rental company, like I am with Enterprise. That associate helped make the trip even better, since there was no hassle involved at any point during our business transaction. The vehicle kept up pretty well, and the entire family was comfortable.

I will definitely be planning another trip shortly, maybe somewhere local this time. Perhaps the Keys will be our next destination. And I will make sure that I rent from Enterprise again. Their service was exceptional and the vehicles were in perfect condition.

Cool and Relaxing Getaway

The Cold season had finally arrived. In most of the country, that is (lol). Our beloved Florida is still pretty warm with temperatures as high as 81, as opposed to our fellow northeast states who's temperatures have already began dropping down to the 50's and 40's. So being tired of the heat, decided to take a trip up to North Carolina. Why not? Enjoy the cool mountain breeze, enjoy the season changes. The trip seemed just perfect to go up and be able to relax for a few days. Since we wanted to enjoy the scenery, we decided to drive instead of flying. Of course the economy had a lot to do with this decision as well. However, going on a road trip always gives you that much needed quality time with the family; Now on the road you get to catch up with everyone's life since is only your family and the road.

Since it's supposed to be a relaxing vacation, we decided to get a bigger vehicle, so we decided to go to Enterprise and rent an SUV, we ended up deciding on the Ford Escape, once we were now ready to sign the paperwork. Our friendly associate helped us with the paperwork and even helped inspect the vehicle inside and out. Once out of the Enterprise shop in Florida, it was time to head home and load our luggage.

After the loading was complete, we were finally on our way to a relaxing long weekend. I must admit, leaving at 4:00 p.m. might not have been the brightest idea, since we did run into traffic both on I-4 and I-95. But it didn't seem to bother the kids since the Escape had an amazing sound system, and they also had all this space to stretch out their legs. So yes with such an amazing system in the vehicle, of course some Karaoke took place; and it was a much needed fun family time. It's those simple moments singing over 'N Sync's "Bye Bye Bye" that seem to bring the family closer together.

After all the laughs and good times, night time had set in, kids already had fallen asleep. Since it is only a 10-12 hr trip we decided to catch a little shut eye in South Carolina, since it would only be a few hours of sleep, the decision was made to sleep in the vehicle in one of the rest shops in South Carolina. Since the vehicle was so comfortable, we simply leaned our seats back and lights out it was.

Waking up a few hours later, surprisingly well rested; We decided to take the off-ramp for some much needed breakfast at the local IHOP. After the nice warm breakfast we were finally ready to resume our trip. After another four hours of driving and a few more pop teen sensation impersonations, we finally arrived at our destination. Everyone simply thrilled about spending the weekend at such a beautiful place. The kids were loving the mountains which we don't get at all in Florida, it was simply spectacular.

Avis-Budget Group 3rd Quarter 09'

Avis-Budget is one of the leading Car rental brands in the world. It has two branches of agencies that rent cars to anyone and everyone. With very few decreases on record, this company is thriving.

In the third quarter months of 2009 (ending september 30th), Avis has released information regarding their sales results. Their revenue was well over 1.5 Billion dollars. This is a 13% decrease from a year-over-year basis. This is due to a 21% decrease in rental days recently.

Their Fleet (Car inventory) cost decreased by 25% mostly due to a 21% decrease in average fleet use. Their cost was actually better than anticipated because of the temporarily low gas prices during the summer.

International sales were down 9.1%. Avis reports that this is entirely do to the impact of the exchange rates costing them over $10 million dollars. Their projection is that this cost will be offset by the fourth quarter.

Avis projects that the rental demand will be stable during the fourth quarter and into the 2010 year. While the projection for the 4th quarter is lower than the third, they expect to catch up and increase in 2010. They also expect to keep the size of its rental fleet the same through the end of 09' and a possible 15% increase in size by 2010's second quarter. The company also expects to launch a program that will help minimize costs and enhance productivity called the Performance Excellence Initiative. They expect the benefits of this program to exceed $100 million dollars by the end of 09' and an annual savings generated of $270 million in following years.

Overall, this company is moving in directions to increase sales and meet demands. They are projecting that the 2010 revenue will increase upon the 08-09 years.

I know that in the last 6 months I have used nothing but Avis because I have never had a bad experience with them. I travel alot because of my job, and renting cars has always been a drag. The last six months have been significantly easier because of the help Avis has been able to provide. When our company has outings and business trips, we rent up to 8 or 9 cars. And Avis has been more than patient enough with us and our large orders. I am more than excited to hear that they are pulling through in a hard time so that I can continue renting with them in the future.

NHRA Tournament - Las Vegas 09'

My father is a pretty big race car fan; his truck is covered with a million and half Nascar, NHRA, and Mobile 1 stickers and my mom jokes around that he’s spent more money on the stickers than the truck itself! Just last week was his birthday and instead of sitting down and watching the NHRA on the television from the comfort of his own home he decided to go big, real big- like 12 passenger van on a 2,500 mile long road trip to watch it live big! Now I don’t usually care much about NHRA enough to drive out there however I was pretty much forced. Well we started off the day by going to the Avis Car Rental at the Orlando International Airport and picked up the massive van and drove back to my house where we all got ready to load up, once we all got into the van it looked like there was a bunch of extra room so I invited a friend to come along, about 10 minutes later my buddy Brock showed up at my door a funny thing about Brock is that he always walks with a BBQ Grill I’m talking all day every day and I’m not talking about a portable George Forman grill I’m talking a big stainless steel grill- why he does it no one knows but if you’re looking for a BBQ Brocks your man, but back to the story we were all surprised because he lives about 20 minutes away and we assumed it would take a lot longer however he assured us that he borrowed his friends Nissan Altima SE-R and made it to my house in no time flat. After checking out his borrowed ride we embarked on our journey to the land with no stories – good ole’ Las Vegas. I’ve been to Vegas once before but I was in the 4th grade so I didn’t have any “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” stories to tell…yet. Since my dad was driving the Van we did not stop once, and everyone that had to use the bathroom on the way there heard the same three lines over and over “too bad!” you’re out of luck!” or just the plain and simple version “hold it!” there was nothing going to stop this NHRA mad man from getting to his event extra early so we just put up with the bladder torture until he decided to stop in the middle of a dessert in Nevada on a back road with one gas station, well as soon as pops got out of the van Brock didn’t let us down-he yanked out his handy dandy BBQ grill and made some burgers and if anyone knows my dad he never says no to a good burger so we stopped and ate, just like any other road trip we’ve been on and he hurried back in and we headed off to Las Vegas to watch the National Hot Rod Association do what it does best. Brock and I were very excited that we were also able to see Freestyle Motocross in the same area it was a total coincidence that they were there and we had a blast watching all of the stunts being performed, after the show we decided to see exactly what Las Vegas had to offer, I’d love to tell you but like I said earlier what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, and the only way for you to find out is rent a car and find out yourself!

Florida Keys

We decided to go to the Florida Keys this time, and kayak down some of the rivers, or through the rivers or just explore. I don’t know exactly how to explain it but the whole thing is just a maze of rivers! Once again as is our usual tradition we decided to rent a car to take us there and back. Of course this time we would be taking more equipment, and camping out on the trail. We also had to bring the kayak, so we needed a vehicle with a sturdy roof, lots of room for our stuff, and a comfortable sitting space for the drive. Of course if you have read my previous blog we just recently had rented a hybrid to take to Daytona, and now we wanted another for this trip. With the standards we had for getting there and the want for a hybrid we were offered the Ford Escape, an SUV with all the needs we wanted, and of course, a hybrid.

This SUV drove beautifully and when we picked it up from National we were in and out in minutes. I’m not sure why I keep hearing all these bad stories about car companies, because to me it seems like every company we have rented from has treated us well, and we keep changing companies nearly every trip. I think most of these people don’t call ahead of time and expect a walk in walk out experience; it’s quick and easy if you prepare.

We took the car down to the Keys, it was only a five or six hour ride, and we stayed a night in a hotel before getting an early morning start into the state park. We made safety protocols with the rangers incase we got lost and were given a camp site, directly off the campsite was the water, I’m not even joking you could step out of our tent walk twenty feet and be swimming. We place our kayak in right there about noon after the campsite was set up, placed our valuables in the car and set off and immediately flipped the kayak. We would have been aggravated except that we had a waterproof food cooler and my cell phone was in a plastic bag. Soaking wet in our bathing suits we didn’t necessarily laugh it off but we got back in and set off again this time paying more attention to how we distributed our weight. It took a few minutes for us to relax but then we were a mile away from where we started and nearly dry from the Florida sun.

We traveled around for hours, and we saw alligators, snakes, loads of fish and tons of birds. We did this several days and on the last day we saw some otter’s right near our campsite. We went fishing and caught two catfish, we didn’t eat them, heck I don’t even know how to filet them. The skies were clear, much like Georgia there wasn’t that much light pollution and we could see constellations that had been hidden from us in our winter home. The camp grounds were clean and the bathrooms were cleaner, so if you’re ever looking for a nice getaway the Florida Keys are perfect.

We returned home the next day, fully satisfied by the vacation, the Keys and our car. I suggest going to the Key’s if you get the chance, we didn’t do everything there was to do, but we enjoyed every moment that we were there.

Big Up Belize!

Fresh off the boat and off to Budget rental car place to pick up our Nissan truck, Which looks a little different from ours in the states But, still cool. For me, This is my kind of trip. Personally I love reggae music and the whole Island feel of things. Growing up in a big city it's the perfect vacation to chill and relax. Of course you get hounded by the locals to by their special BOTANICALS if you know what I mean. But other than that it is the best way to chill out for a while. Plus, I'm a big fan of jerk chicken and rice and peas. Goooood stuff. The only problem was I was broke out with the worst hives I've ever experienced in my life. I couldn't figure it out to save my life what was causing the break out. But, Then while on a trip back from one of the Mayan ruins the boat captain made us lunch and I had these coconut tart type of things (which I ate like 4 of those things) Man I love coconut and that's why my whole right side of my face swoll up like someone was punching me in the face minus the bruising. Come to find out every restaurant we ate at cooks the rice and peas in coconut milk. Bad Bad Bad, I found out the really hard way that I was allergic to coconut. Now that I'm done with that mess I can enjoy my trip. We did some cave tubing in Belize City, That was really cool. While we were in Belize City I had to check out the local CD shop to get my reggae music on. What a hook up. Dubs galore. That made the trip better after suffering from swollen face. The only thing I could eat safely was tilapia which is still good with me. If only I had more time I could have took the Nissan on a 4x4 expedition in the jungle. I would have felt like I was on the Discovery Channel. If you are in Belize you have to dive the Blue Hole. What an experience. Being in the saltwater fish industry this was a cool visual to see the fish in their natural habitat. I also checked out all the Mayan ruins there. One of the ruins which I can't remember the name cause there were so many But all I remember It was really tall. When you climb to the top you had a 360 degree view of the top of the jungle and the rivers surrounding the ruins. On the way down you had to use a rope because the steps were so steep. But me being tall and inpatient i started to walk down one step at a time. As I started to go I noticed that I was picking up speed but at a steady pace. I made it down the front of the ruin in like 60 seconds. The look on all the peoples face as I flew by them was priceless. It had to be the new Jordans I had on cause I was getting some air just going down instead of up, LOL. Everyone was in awe that I didn't fall on my face going down like that. I probably could have gotten in trouble but no one said anything. We took some awesome pictures which we had framed and hung above our bed to remind us of the beautiful scenery. Blues, Greens, Aquas, you name it. Very easy on the eyes. We bought some really nice art work from a cool shop on San Pedro. All in all the trip was great. Budget rental car was quick and easy, The truck was cool and reliable. The food was really good only I paid the price for that. The people were really nice, even when I said I was good on the BOTANICALS. The Mayan Ruins were very educational. And I pick up some good reggae music for time to come. So now when ever some one says they're from Belize I say BIG UP BELIZE!