The vehicle rental market is adopting contactless rental operations to meet the demands of a more digital, remote and exacting customer base.
Traditional car rental methodologies, which are often fragmented with disconnected workflows and disparate information, are falling by the wayside as digital tools and new-age software take the lead in ensuring rental operations remain efficient and, most importantly, accessible to a digital customer base. At this juncture, one of the most effective digital features any rental operator can import into their fleet management operations is a contactless car rental system.
What is a contactless car rental service?
Contactless car rental is a rental approach where the customer does not have to come into direct contact with fleet management operators during their whole rental experience. This means that picking up and dropping off the car is done solely via digital platforms.
Contactless car rentals also refer to a raft of digital, app-based features that both customers and rental operators can utilise to perfect customer interactions, secure payments, ensure data security, access and organise fleet maintenance and incorporate DVLA lookups.
How are contactless features helping customers and fleet operators post-COVID?
One of the most important aspects of contactless car rental is keyless vehicle entry. This has been a staple of rental operators since COVID due to the added safety net afforded to customers by reducing human interaction during the rental process.
But, as we highlight below, contactless solutions within car rental are more than simply removing a key. They now incorporate a wide variety of process improvements and exhibit top-notch efficiencies that have made car rental easier and fleet management systems more accessible.
The most critical thing for car rental firms to remember post-COVID is that good car rental software companies offer digital tools and features that meet the demand of a more connected, more savvy and more demanding customer base - this is the real magic behind contactless technology.
What are the main features of contactless car rental?
While contactless as a term seemingly refers to “hands-free” rental interactions, it’s actually a catch-all term for a suite of paperless, secure rental operations that help both rental customers and operators.
Some of the significant features & Benefits of Contactless car rental include:
Keyless entry
Covid was the catalyst for a sea-change in how rental customers access cars. Keyless entry is one of the most popular and expected car rental features because it offers safe, efficient contactless access to vehicles.
Paperless Rental Agreements
Gone are the days of reams of paper being given to you alongside your keys on a car rental desk. Contactless means contactless - no paper, all digital, no fuss!
Remote immobilization
Contactless also refers to safety features that customers should be aware of - such as remote immobilization, which assures customer and vehicle security. Besides, with the vast array of telematics within each rental car with contactless features, every car is secure.
Digital Booking Management
Our research indicates digital rental booking is 3x faster than analogue processes. It also increases efficiency, the speed of customer interactions and is entirely remote. However, contactless operations also mean fleet operators can re-assign fleets and navigate bookings from anywhere in the world from a single terminal, increasing fleet maintenance and allocation speed.
For rental fleet operations, contactless rental operations bring a plethora of capabilities:
Going Paperless & Sustainable
The days of legacy rental operators managing fleets via time-consuming paper administration are over. Paperless operations are a staple of rental fleet owners who have gone contactless, and the efficiencies - from being more sustainable to better data protection - are well documented.
Customer Safety & Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is one of the primary drivers for fleet operators integrating contactless services. As we mentioned in our other blog 6 reasons why keyless entry attracts more clients to your car rental company, up to 70% of customers express dissatisfaction with waiting times to access a vehicle. With the advent of keyless entry and remote car pick-ups, waiting times are drastically lower, improving customer satisfaction.
Efficient Workflows
Fleet operators have access to the entire fleet ecosystem and onboarding systems from contactless touchpoints. In addition, as all fleet data is safely stored, there is no workflow breakdown when trying to find information.
Minimal Human Interaction
While we always advocate for building relationships with customers, the fact is customers want speed, efficiency and digital safety - contactless operations offer this, and more!