General Car Rental Industry

This industry encompasses businesses that rent out cars to their clients for an extended period of time, from days to weeks on end. It also includes businesses that lease cars out to their customers, but these tend to be for a much longer period of time, at least a year or more. The most prominent and well known player in this industry is ZipCar, which is owned by Avis Budget Group LLC. Therefore, there are very few small scale businesses within this industry. The car rental market is currently valued at $23 billion, with almost 20,000 operating businesses. The car rental industry is especially popular with people who need to drive to the airport, drive in the place they are vacationing, or with college students in rural areas who do not have cars of their own.

Travel & Hospitality Industry Trends

This larger industry has struggled significantly due to the pandemic and resulting lockdown, and even as the economy begins to reopen most people remain wary of traveling in fear of being exposed to the virus. Furthermore, many states have mandated hotels and other hospitality institutions to enforce stringent restrictions, such as requiring a negative COVID test and banning the use of certain facilities, leading to a decline in revenue. The travel and hospitality industry is heavily dependent on revenue from large group events such as weddings or bachelor parties, something that has been heavily discouraged due to the virus. While some more established sectors of the travel and hospitality industry are expected to make a rebound once the pandemic subsides and vaccine rollout continues, other small scale establishments within this industry are not expected to survive.