Co-op Travel Signs New Car Hire Agreement with Leading Comparison Site

    LIGHTWATER, ENGLAND, August 27, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Co-op Travel has signed a new car hire agreement with Carrentals.co.uk, which will see the cooptravel.co.uk website compare prices from over 35 car rental companies through a white label service.

The first company to incorporate the Carrentals.co.uk white label solution into their website, Co-op Travel will now offer a more integrated experience for customers, enabling them to compare a wide range of cars, companies and prices through a fully branded car hire section.

Through the new agreement Co-op Travel aims to double its car rental business in the first year.

Justin Joyce, Head of Customer Experience at Co-op Travel, says: "While we had car hire on the site before, it failed to offer the quality customer experience we need to deliver in the current market. As a result we looked to provide a more comprehensive service that would ensure visitors to our site got the best choice of prices and providers.

"The Carrentals solution offered us the ability to include their full comparison service, but with our own branding throughout. The result is a far superior car hire experience for our customers, with feedback from users already very positive and bookings in the first few days of launch well ahead of target."

The announcement comes as many travellers face car hire shortages and price rises in popular destinations across the UK and Europe, as car rental companies cut stock levels for 2009 in light of the recession. The new Co-op Travel car hire service will now offer a wider choice of both large and small rental suppliers, providing more choice of cars and prices in one place.

To promote the new offering Co-op Travel has made car hire more prominent throughout its site, with customers benefiting from a fairer, broader choice of car hire options.

Gareth Robinson, managing director of Carrentals.co.uk, says: "This is the first white label agreement we have entered into, but the quality of our car hire offering is attracting growing interest from companies who want to enhance their customer experience in this area. We've invested a lot in developing the technology to deliver a first class comparison service, and we are confident that Co-op Travel will quickly see the benefits this brings in terms of sales and service."

Carrentals.co.uk was voted Best Car Hire Website in the 2008 Travolution awards, and compares prices from over 35 leading rental providers including Alamo, Budget, Holiday Autos, and Thrifty.

Co-op Travel is part of the Midcounties Co-operative and is one of the largest independent travel agents, offering a wide range of holiday options. www.cooptravel.co.uk.

For more information on car hire and Carrentals.co.uk visit www.Carrentals.co.uk.

About Carrentals.co.uk
Carrentals.co.uk was launched in February 2003 and grew to become one of the UK's leading online car hire companies by 2006.

In 2007 the company re-launched its site to create the first major online price comparator in the travel industry. Using the latest technology the Carrentals.co.uk site now searches up to 35 different car hire websites, providing an impartial comparison of the best prices available in over 9,000 locations.
Websites searched include Alamo, Budget, EasyCar, Ebookers, Hertz, Holiday Autos, Opodo, Sixt and Thrifty, with the Carrentals.co.uk site quickly comparing prices and allowing customers to refine their search by car type.

The Carrentals.co.uk site also features over 5,000 pages of travel information in a mini-guide format.
In 2008 Carrentals.co.uk was voted Best Car Hire Website in the Travolution Awards. To book or for further information visit www.carrentals.co.uk.

About Co-op Travel
The Midcounties Co-operative is based in Oxford and Walsall, with trading outlets stretching to Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire and surrounding counties.

Trading groups are: food retail, funeral, travel, pharmacy, Motorworld, Co-operative IT and Imagine co-operative childcare.

The Society is the second largest independent co-operative in the UK. The Midcounties Co-operative is a GBP700m business with more than 550 branches, 7,000 employees and 300,000 members.

Our aim is to be a successful consumer co-operative working towards creating a better, fairer world, and to enhance the lives of our colleagues, members, customers, and the communities we serve.

Media Contact Carrentals.co.uk
Rachel Builder & Debbie Williams
Context
T: 01625 511966
[email protected]
www.contextpr.co.uk

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