Hertz and Opodo.com Partner for Quick Car Rental Rate Quotes

PARK RIDGE, N.J., Sept. 4 -- Hertz and the European online travel site Opodo.com have teamed up to offer Opodo's customers Hertz car rental rate quotes as soon as air travel reservations are confirmed.

At the time a flight reservation is confirmed, Opodo's European customers are provided with prepaid and non-prepaid Hertz car rental rate quotes based on final destination and arrival date and time. By clicking on the rate information the customer's rental details are automatically transferred to Hertz.com, enabling the customer to complete a simple and efficient booking process.

Brian J. Kennedy, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Sales, commented, "Booking car rentals through opodo.com benefits both Opodo's European customers and Hertz. The customer gets an almost instant rate quote so they can efficiently complete their car rental arrangements, and Hertz gets an effective, online mechanism to reach potential customers at a key point in the travel planning process."

David Scowsill, CEO, Opodo commented, "Opodo is always looking for ways to make its service even better for its customers. We believe that by offering Hertz quick car rental quotes at the time flights are confirmed, is an additional benefit adding choice and convenience for our customers."

To implement the Opodo.com cross-selling function, Hertz used extensible mark-up language (XML) based on the OpenTravel(TM) Alliance (OTA) 2002B specifications. The OTA is comprised of major travel providers working together to create and implement XML messages for use within the travel industry based on OTA's open e-business specifications. Hertz holds a seat on the Board of Director of the OTA.

Hertz is the largest worldwide general use car rental business operating from approximately 7,000 locations in more than 150 countries.