When Travel Goes Wrong: Pro Tips for Flight Cancelations, Delays, Lost Luggage, and More

Booking Tips

Booking rental cars can be tricky, especially during peak seasons, but there are strategies to ensure availability. Chris Hutchins suggests widening your search beyond airports, as neighborhood branches often have more options. He also recommends leveraging elite status with rental car companies, which can guarantee a reservation even when online availability seems limited 1.

If you look for cars a couple of days before your trip and they're all super cheap, then it's not a problem. If a couple of days before your trip, you do a quick search for cars at the airport you're going to and it's completely sold out everywhere, or they're all hundreds and hundreds of dollars a day. That might be a circumstance where I'd be thinking about backup options, or I'd be thinking about calling ahead just to try to make sure I have something.

--- Chris Hutchins

Additionally, having a backup reservation is wise, but be cautious of potential fees for not canceling unused bookings 2.

   

Overbooking Solutions

When faced with overbooked rental cars, negotiation and alternative transportation are key. Chris Hutchins advises negotiating for a free upgrade if your reserved car class is unavailable. He notes that rental companies often book you into a competitor's car if they run out of vehicles 2.

If they offer you an upgrade to a next class, make sure that you're not paying for it. If they say, we don't have your class, but we can put you here, that is an immediate I would be happy to upgrade, but I would like to have that upgrade for free.

--- Chris Hutchins

In cases where alternative transportation is necessary, expect the rental company to cover additional costs like cab fares to another location 3.