Once upon a time life was simple. Britz had set rates, they didn't change. It didn't matter if you went from Sydney to Cairns, or Cairns to Sydney. It didn't matter if you booked 6 month in advance, or the day before... the rate was the same.
While this was nice and simple to work with, it was causing some big problems. People were starting to book later and later, which meant Britz could not plan its fleet and relocation's far out. Vans were never where they needed them, relocation costs went up and availability was a real problem - customers wanted a van in Sydney but we had to turn them back. We had thousands of vans, but none of them were in Sydney. Customers and Agents wanted lower prices and more availability, but Standard rates were increasing costs and making availability harder. Then Britz came across the Idea of Flex Rates.
You can make it sound complicated, but the idea is quite simple. Its the equivalent of looking out the window and seeing how many vans you have in the yard. If you have lots, you have a low rate. As the yard starts to empty, you raise the rate. Britz do that weekly, for each vehicle and branch.
It has worked well and Britz has been able to offer lower rates and more availability as a result. While many agents were worried about working with flex rates at first they soon saw how this not only allowed them to sell more, but that once they figured out how to work with flex rates that it ended up being much simpler for them. So that is what this post is for, to help explain how flex rates work, and how agents can work with these in their systems, websites, brochures, etc.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Monday, November 06, 2006
How does the Flex system work?
There are 64 different rates levels offered, ranging from "A1" to "H8", with A1 being the lowest and "H8" being the highest available daily rate. If there is a large number of vehicles available the Flex level listed will be a lower number for example "B1" which corresponds to a lower daily rate. If you make your booking close to your intended date of travel generally there will be less vehicles available so the Flex rate will be higher, for example "G5" which corresponds to a higher daily rate overall. You will need to contact your travel consultant for the actual value of the Flex number when making your booking.
There are also different rates for different pick-up dates, pick-up locations and vehicle types. If you are flexible with your travel dates, vehicle types and pick-up/drop-off locations, you can secure the best deal available.
Britz campervan rentals are calculated on a calendar day basis with the day of pick up being counted as "day one" of the rental, regardless of the pick-up time. The day of drop-off is counted as the final day of the rental.
The Flex rate for the entire rental is determined by the date of pick-up, and therefore will not change throughout the hire period.
There are also different rates for different pick-up dates, pick-up locations and vehicle types. If you are flexible with your travel dates, vehicle types and pick-up/drop-off locations, you can secure the best deal available.
Britz campervan rentals are calculated on a calendar day basis with the day of pick up being counted as "day one" of the rental, regardless of the pick-up time. The day of drop-off is counted as the final day of the rental.
The Flex rate for the entire rental is determined by the date of pick-up, and therefore will not change throughout the hire period.
How to use Flex to get the BEST DEAL!
It is important to understand that the Flex rate may vary depending on:
- Time of booking
- Date of Pick-up (when you collect your vehicle)
- City of Pick-up (where you collect your vehicle)
- Your choice of vehicle
Some tips to ensure you secure the best deal:
1. Remember… Book early and save!
2. The Flex rate for the entire hire is based on the week within which you collect your vehicle. Look at what the rates are for the weeks before and after your planned pick-up date. Perhaps with a minor change to your intended travel dates you could save on your overall hire cost.
3. Look at the route you are intending to travel and what it may cost to make a small adjustment to your travel plans. Perhaps, something as simple as reversing your direction of travel will make a substantial difference to your hire cost. For example, if you are planning to travel from Sydney to Cairns, look also at what the rate is from Cairns to Sydney. Sometimes by reversing your route you can experience the same holiday at a much lower cost. At times, Britz need to relocate some vehicles, and do this by offering a lower Flex rate. These " relocation specials" can be identified from the Exception List below the Flex table on the website, or by comparing locations on the Emailed lists.
4. Look at the Flex rates for other vehicle categories. While normally the larger vehicles have a higher daily rate, with the nature of supply and demand it is possible that a larger vehicle may be offered at a lower Flex rate, making it similar in price to a smaller campervan . So if you are looking for a campervan for two people, also look at the rates available on the larger vehicles. You might find a great offer!
- Time of booking
- Date of Pick-up (when you collect your vehicle)
- City of Pick-up (where you collect your vehicle)
- Your choice of vehicle
Some tips to ensure you secure the best deal:
1. Remember… Book early and save!
2. The Flex rate for the entire hire is based on the week within which you collect your vehicle. Look at what the rates are for the weeks before and after your planned pick-up date. Perhaps with a minor change to your intended travel dates you could save on your overall hire cost.
3. Look at the route you are intending to travel and what it may cost to make a small adjustment to your travel plans. Perhaps, something as simple as reversing your direction of travel will make a substantial difference to your hire cost. For example, if you are planning to travel from Sydney to Cairns, look also at what the rate is from Cairns to Sydney. Sometimes by reversing your route you can experience the same holiday at a much lower cost. At times, Britz need to relocate some vehicles, and do this by offering a lower Flex rate. These " relocation specials" can be identified from the Exception List below the Flex table on the website, or by comparing locations on the Emailed lists.
4. Look at the Flex rates for other vehicle categories. While normally the larger vehicles have a higher daily rate, with the nature of supply and demand it is possible that a larger vehicle may be offered at a lower Flex rate, making it similar in price to a smaller campervan . So if you are looking for a campervan for two people, also look at the rates available on the larger vehicles. You might find a great offer!
How can you find out the right flex level?
Well you have 4 options, (any thoughts or suggestions for better options?!)
Option 1: When you book online with Britz rate you automatically get the correct flex rate
When you make a booking, provisional booking, or quotation via our B2B online booking site, the correct flex rate will automatically be shown and used.
Option 2: Britz can send you a weekly Flex update email
Each Thursday Britz can email email out a text file that lists all the relevant flex rates for each city, vehicle and week of pick-up. We warned, It’s a BIG file to print and read, but some Agents find it great to work with.
Option 3: Weekly Flex computer update file
Each Thursday Britz can send out an “computer friendly” version of the above, in a format that agents can use to automatically update their systems. We warned, computers can read this easily, to humans this just looks scary!
Option 4: www.britzflex.com
Britz has a separate website for our flex rates which shows agents and customers which rates are valid. Here instead of listing all of the cities one after the other, we simply have the flex rates listed to cover all cities, and then have a list of exceptions (eg -2 levels for pickup of Hitop in CNS between 1 Sept 07 and 15 Oct 07. The site also explains how flex rates work (similar to this file). The site is neutral and only shows levels, no $ rates; there are also no links or ways to contact us direct – some agents have their flex rate table on their website and link to http://www.britzflex.com/ in a pop up window so that agents can see which rate is valid from our site, and then see which $ price that reflects from the agents website. We are working on updating this site so please send us your feedback!!
Option 1: When you book online with Britz rate you automatically get the correct flex rate
When you make a booking, provisional booking, or quotation via our B2B online booking site, the correct flex rate will automatically be shown and used.
Option 2: Britz can send you a weekly Flex update email
Each Thursday Britz can email email out a text file that lists all the relevant flex rates for each city, vehicle and week of pick-up. We warned, It’s a BIG file to print and read, but some Agents find it great to work with.
Option 3: Weekly Flex computer update file
Each Thursday Britz can send out an “computer friendly” version of the above, in a format that agents can use to automatically update their systems. We warned, computers can read this easily, to humans this just looks scary!
Option 4: www.britzflex.com
Britz has a separate website for our flex rates which shows agents and customers which rates are valid. Here instead of listing all of the cities one after the other, we simply have the flex rates listed to cover all cities, and then have a list of exceptions (eg -2 levels for pickup of Hitop in CNS between 1 Sept 07 and 15 Oct 07. The site also explains how flex rates work (similar to this file). The site is neutral and only shows levels, no $ rates; there are also no links or ways to contact us direct – some agents have their flex rate table on their website and link to http://www.britzflex.com/ in a pop up window so that agents can see which rate is valid from our site, and then see which $ price that reflects from the agents website. We are working on updating this site so please send us your feedback!!
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