Buying online is soaring and so is demand for our vans

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Buying online is soaring and so is demand for our vans

It seems we have taken to buying almost everything online during the Coronavirus restrictions, accelerating an already-growing trend.

As the numbers of cases are increasing again – the so-called second wave – it is likely that there will have to be more restrictions on our movements and we shall be ever more reliant on online shopping.

We are at near-capacity with van rentals as a result of this and people moving house before the end of the temporary cancellation of stamp duty on houses valued at up to £500,00 and have added two more vans to our fleet.

While insurance restrictions mean we can’t rent to individual couriers, we can rent to courier companies but we need you to let us know your requirements as soon as possible.

Earlier in the year, the lockdowns across different countries led to vehicle manufacturers cutting the numbers of cars they were producing and we had to put our plans for renewing our fleet on hold.

Thankfully, new cars are now becoming available and we are gradually catching up. Recently we have taken delivery of four brand new Renault Clios and there are more to come.

Given that some people are still very wary of using public transport, demand for car rentals has also been increasing so again, if you need a car please let us know well in advance.

Of course, as ever, we have safety measures in place in the office when you come to collect a rental and all our vehicles are thoroughly cleaned and sanitised between each rental.

As ever, we are doing everything we can to help our customers to stay safe.

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Book early to avoid disappointment

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Book early to avoid disappointment

A combination of factors has led to increased demand for our rental vehicles so we are asking customers to allow five to seven days when booking to be sure of getting a rental.

With the school summer holidays approaching an end and more families choosing to holiday in the UK rather than go abroad for fear of getting caught by last-minute quarantine restrictions on return we have seen a spike in demand.

Added to this, as offices re-open after the lockdown and more people are returning to work there is still unease about using public transport and therefore renting vehicles to travel to work more safely.

We are also still operating with all the safety measures for cleaning vehicles between rentals and for ensuring you can visit our offices safely for either vehicle collection or return.

This combination means that if you are hoping to fit in a last-minute holiday we will need some warning to be sure of being able to provide you with a vehicle.

We really don’t want any of our customers to be disappointed!

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Staycations are on the rise

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Research Shows Staycations are on the Rise

http://www.travelbulletin.co.uk/news-mainmenu/the-rise-of-staycations-expected-to-continue-over-summer-2019

11 April 2019

More British holidaymakers are choosing to stay close to home this summer instead of travelling abroad as the trend for staycations continues to grow, according to data gleaned from booking details and online travel searches by British consumers.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8451001/The-return-Great-British-staycation-Holidaymakers-book-breaks-hotspots-July-4.html

Brits will be able to take holidays in beauty spots in places like Devon and Cornwall – as the Prime Minister officially announced staycations from July 4.

Boris Johnson made the announcement in the House of Commons, paving the way for families languishing in lockdown to finally get away from a break.

Hotels were given the green light to throw open their doors as long as they were kept clean and safe.

Holidaymakers will expect to see some big changes when they do finally start their staycation. They include:

Contactless check-in at hotels, bed and breakfast and camp sites
Campers will have to stay in their car until they are directed to their pitch
In all settings they will be expected to stay over a metre apart from someone else
Breakfast buffets and mini bars are all out for the time being
Visitors could be asked to bring their own toilets with them
Guests will also be asked to bring their own hand sanitiser and soap
All paperwork and phones will be removed from hotel rooms
Camp sites will clean their toilets six times a day

https://www.financialreporter.co.uk/blogs/e-year-of-the-staycation-utilising-holiday-let-opportunities-in-2020.html

After the Government confirmed that it is revising the 14-day quarantine measures for a number of popular overseas destinations, this leads to the question: how many people will be comfortable travelling abroad for their holidays and how many will opt to stay within the UK borders?

At the moment, it appears that staycations are tipping the balance. After another Government announcement around the reopening of the hospitality sector in England from 4 July, holiday bookings across the UK are reported to have risen significantly with coastal counties and holiday destinations, such as Devon and Cornwall, seeing notable surges. Although when you see the recent photos taken at some coastal resorts, the back garden, a tent, a BBQ and ready access to fridge with an array of cold beverages also remains attractive! Hoseasons and Cottages.com, two of the largest self-catered holiday accommodation providers in the UK, were said to have recently seen their best online sales days, with the former seeing a booking every 11 seconds, and the latter seeing a 455% surge. Sykes Holiday Cottages saw similar growth, with a 417% booking growth over the past month, and a 221% growth compared to the previous June. These figures demonstrate the demand for a post-lockdown break and how many people either can’t afford an overseas holiday or are choosing to holiday in the UK.

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Rentals increase as lockdown eases

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Rentals increase as lockdown eases

Car and van rentals are increasing as people gradually return to work and some restrictions on lockdown are lifted.

As some recycling centres have been opened and house move restrictions have lifted demand for vans has surged, also increased by contractors returning to work.

Although we have introduced safety restrictions to help customers and staff stay safe from the pandemic, we believe we are the only vehicle rental company in the area to have managed to stay open throughout the lockdown.

We are currently looking at re-opening on Saturdays for customers to collect vehicles for weekend rental.

While nothing is set in stone as no-one really knows what will happen as restrictions continue to be gradually eased, we are advising customers to think ahead if they wish to rent a vehicle, whether car or van given the steady growth in rentals we have experienced recently.

Please call to book well ahead of when you will need a vehicle to enable us to complete as much of the paperwork as possible.

Hygiene and social distancing measures at our offices will remain in place for the foreseeable future, however, so we ask to be patient when they come to pick up a vehicle.

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Business as usual – well almost!

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Business as usual – well almost!

We believe we are one of the few remaining vehicle rental businesses continuing to rent to private customers.

So, it is business as usual, but, of course, because of the Coronavirus pandemic, with modifications.

Mindful of both staff and customer safety, we are allowing only one customer into the office when they come to complete the paperwork and pick up their vehicles.

We provide hand sanitising equipment and there are lines on the floor to show people the accepted social distances. Card machines and door handles are sanitised between each customer.

All vehicles are spray cleaned with anti-bacterial cleaner and wiped before each customer goes out with a vehicle.

Office hours have been reduced very slightly and we are asking all customers to make sure they ring us before 4pm if they need to speak to us.

Anyone who wants a vehicle during a weekend is getting a little extra for their money! We are asking all weekend renters to collect their vehicles on Fridays, which means they get some extra hours for free.

These are the arrangements for the foreseeable future and please be assured we are doing everything we can to ensure your safety.

Take care and stay safe.

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Business exhibition season

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Business exhibition season

It’s the start of the annual business exhibition season and that means transport for delegates and equipment.

Many businesses have their own portable stands, from roller banners to more elaborate self-assembly enclosures all featuring their company’s branding and details.

It may be that your company needs to rent a van for a few days to transport the equipment to the location and we can help. If your company also has magnetic signs you can attach them to the outside without any problem.

Or you may need a car to transport your representatives to and from the venue.

Generally, when businesses rent fleet vehicles from us for longer periods, they want to put their own branding decals on them.

If we cannot provide you with a vehicle that is free of our branding we are happy for you to remove ours for the duration of the rental period and replace it with your own. We would then remove your decals when you return the vehicles to us.

Demand for vehicles for business exhibitions tends to increase at this time of year, so if you can give us a week’s notice it helps us to make sure you can have the right vehicle for your needs.

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Planning a trip on Valentines Day

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How about a trip in a stylish car for Valentine’s or Mothers’ day?

Are you planning a special treat for your beloved on Valentine’s or for your mother on Mothers’ Day?

Among the most extravagant Valentine’s gifts ever have been a €7 million Bulgari diamond necklace (David Beckham for Victoria), a holiday trip to Thailand (Ronan Keating) and a €64,000 white gold panther motif Cartier cuff (Kanye West to Kim Kardashian).

There is a long tradition of extravagant Valentine’s gifts among celebrities.

In 1966, German multimillionaire Gunter Sachs arranged for a helicopter to fly over Brigitte Bardot’s home La Madrague in the Cote d’Azur, to air-drop hundreds of red roses over her house.

But you don’t have to be a millionaire to give your loved one a day to remember and you don’t need to only treat them on Valentine’s or Mothers’ Day.

If you are planning a treat for a loved one that involves more than the traditional cards and flower, how about a meal in a very special restaurant or a day or weekend trip somewhere special.

Why not add the finishing touch by renting a comfortable new saloon car to transport them in style and comfort.

We have a Hyundai i40 as a suggestion.

It is a very hi-spec model complete with Satnav, heated seats, reversing sensors and much more.

If you want to hire a car for Valentine’s there’s not much time left, so contact us soon if you want to be sure of a special car to transport your Valentine in style.

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Happy Christmas

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Happy Christmas

We wish all our customers, staff, friends and associates

A very happy Christmas

And a

Prosperous New Year

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Vehicle contract hire – a flexible option

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Vehicle contract hire – a flexible option

Many people do not realise how flexible vehicle rental is when compared to lease hire.

With lease hire, there is usually a fixed term contract and a mileage limit on each vehicle, which can cause problems if circumstances change. Lease hire is not a service we offer.

Rental periods, however, can be as flexible as our customers want and can be changed at any time. Typically, our customers rent for periods of between a month and a year but some can go for longer.

Among our regular customers are local authorities around Essex and with two elections, local and national now expected in the next two months, we expect to be busy.

They will need vans to transport the many temporary polling stations that are needed, not to mention the ballot papers and other equipment. It may be that people who will supervise at the polling stations will also need transport to get to and from them, especially if they are in out-of-the way places.

But there are all sorts of other tasks local authorities carry out that people are less aware of. In areas that use refuse bags rather than bins for household rubbish, who delivers the supplies of bags?

Then, there are the meetings outside of their authority areas that officers may need to attend. It can often be more cost effective, efficient and convenient to hire a car for a one-off event than to use public transport.

Why vehicle hire works for businesses

Among the other advantages of using a hire system for vehicles, even for a fleet of vehicles, is that they are all fully maintained with MOTs and servicing organised by the hiring company.

If a vehicle out on hire needs repairs for any reason it is straightforward to return it to us for attention and to be supplied with a replacement even at short notice.

If it should happen that a vehicle is not needed for as long as the original hire period, that’s no problem. The vehicle can be returned earlier.

Altogether, renting vehicles for however short or long they are needed and knowing there will be no maintenance or repair costs is a more flexible option than fixed term leasing.

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Leave plenty of time to rent a minibus

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Leave plenty of time if you need to rent a minibus

If you need to rent a minibus, particularly if you need a 17-seater, please be aware that they are in very short supply.

Since the DVLA changed the rules in 1997, when the 17-seater category DI was removed from the standard driver’s licence, drivers have been required to take a minibus test, so anyone whose licence was issued after that year will no longer automatically be able to drive one.

If, however, you have an older licence that is still valid it will still include the DI category and you can still hire and drive one.

Since 1997 almost all of the larger rental companies have ceased to hold these larger minibuses, but some local independents, like Robertsons, still offer them.

However, demand for all sizes of minibus is always high, not only for private groups but for organisations like schools, colleges, the police and businesses needing to transport groups of people for a variety of purposes. Drivers of school or college parties have to have done the minibus test and have DI category on their licences.

We always do a pre-rental DVLA check, so we will need the licence numbers of any proposed minibus driver to do this.

If you belong to a club, group or other organisation that has a trip planned, please give us as much notice as possible.

We never like to let people down, but the lack of availability of minibuses is becoming a serious issue.

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Tag: Blog

Buying online is soaring and so is demand for our vans

Book early to avoid disappointment

Research Shows Staycations are on the Rise

Rentals increase as lockdown eases

Business as usual – well almost!

Business exhibition season

How about a trip in a stylish car for Valentine’s or Mothers’ day?

Happy Christmas

Vehicle contract hire – a flexible option

Leave plenty of time if you need to rent a minibus