A year ago, Denver had the highest average daily car-rental rates of any major city in the country, according to a survey from the AAA.
But a sharp 18 percent decline over the past year has brought rental rates back in line with the national average, which is up 3 percent over the past year.
“National prices are up, but we are getting a break here in Colorado,” said AAA spokesman Eric Escudero.
Last year, the average rental rate for an intermediate-size car in Denver was $57 a day, the highest of 20 cities surveyed by AAA.
This July 4 week, the average rate in Denver has fallen to $47 a day, closer to the national average of $43.55, according to the automobile association.
Boston has the most expensive average rates at $62 a day, according to AAA. Other cities with car- rental rates higher than Denver’s this week include Los Angeles; Orlando, Fla.; New Orleans; Philadelphia; and Washington.
Dallas offered the best bargain among major cities, with rental rates of $26 a day for an intermediate-size car.
Local travel agents, who book more outside the Denver market than they do in it, said they are noticing higher rates this year in the more popular tourist destinations.
“New York is up for the weekend, Boston is up, and Fort Lauderdale is up,” said Jean Maschinot of Bonnie Brae Travel in Denver.
She also is seeing a trend of travelers renting larger vehicles, minivans and SUVs, despite rising gasoline prices.
Using a different methodology, Abrams Consulting, a New York firm that provides research on the car-rental industry, also reported price declines in Denver, although not as large as the AAA survey suggests.
Rates have declined around 10 percent year over year in Denver, said Neil Abrams, an industry consultant based in Purchase, N.Y.
Denver’s decline reflects more on last year’s high prices than on any seismic shifts in the market, he said.
“You are coming off of historical highs,” Abrams said.
After a strong run in 2006, Abrams said, car-rental prices nationally started softening in February, before rebounding sharply in June with the summer travel season.
The AAA rental-car rate survey was for leisure travel. Business travelers typically negotiate longer-term contracts with more favorable terms.
Abrams said car-rental companies are under increasing pressures, chief among them higher purchase costs for the vehicles in their fleets.
Auto manufacturers have reduced the discounts they are providing rental companies and are cutting back on the number of cars they are providing.
Staff writer Aldo Svaldi can be reached at 303-954-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com.
