Car rental prices soar ahead of holiday travel

Car rental prices are shooting up while travelers have fewer choices to choose from during the holiday season, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Driving the news: The shortage can be traced to a rise in holiday travel, which is near pre-pandemic levels even with COVID cases rising due to the Omicron variant.

The big picture: The car rental industry was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, but made a comeback earlier this year after the vaccine rollout.

• Companies tried to restock to meet demand, but were unable to do so because of a chip shortage.

By the numbers: The average daily rental rate in the U.S. in December was $81, up 31% from 2020, according to travel company Kayak, the WSJ writes.

• Pre-pandemic, the average rental rate was around $46 a day in December.

What they’re saying: Hertz and Enterprise Holdings Inc. both told the WSJ that they are “taking steps to alleviate constraints” by moving stock and staff to high-demand locations.

• Both companies also said they were trying to raise inventory by “non-traditional” means such as buying from dealerships instead of directly from manufacturers.