Customer satisfaction with on-airport car rentals reached an all-time high in J.D. Power's 2019 North America Rental Car Satisfaction Study as Hertz displaced long-time favorite Enterprise as the top brand in the survey of 9,382 business and leisure travelers who rented vehicles from airport locations from August 2018 through August 2019.
Car rental companies averaged a score of 843 on a 1,000-point scale. That's up 13 points from last year's survey and is the highest score among all J.D. Power's travel-related studies, according to J.D. Power travel intelligence lead Michael Taylor. "This is due largely to the companies' continued innovation to tweak their pickup and return processes and deliver standout customer experiences. Many customers can walk the lot and pick a specific car, and the pickup process can be completed in 15 minutes or less. Adding personalization through apps and alerts to mobile devices is a big plus, too."
Hertz edged out Enterprise by a single point. Enterprise had been the top brand for the previous five years. Enterprise sister brands Alamo and National came next in the rankings this year.
The gap among car rental brands' scores overall has narrowed. Just 31 points separate Hertz from the lowest-rated brand, Budget. Last year, the gap between the top and bottom brands was 51 points.