In an exclusive interaction with Travel Trade Insider, Rajiv Kr. Vij, Chairman & Managing Director, Carzonrent India highlights the impact of coronavirus pandemic on the car rental industry, importance of best sanitisation standards and the way forward for the sector.
Q. Carzonrent has been one of the market leaders in the car rental industry. How are you looking to further consolidate your position in the market?
A. Carzonrent services a large number of corporate customers besides airlines, hotels and air travellers landing at major Indian airports across India. We have achieved a leadership position in these segments of the market, building a successful track record of over 20 years. The company has serviced millions of global and Indian business travellers, providing them completely reliable and safe personal transportation solutions with transparent pricing and passing on benefits of operational efficiency built through proprietary technology tools.
We have developed innovative products to meet the requirements of corporate customers across India and will be launching these solutions which will expand our customer base, services portfolio and geographic footprint.
Q. The Covid-19 pandemic has shaken the tourism industry. How has been the impact on the car rental market and how do you see the future unfolding for the sector?
A. The pandemic and the long lockdown period has impacted our industry severally with a large number of cars lying unutilised and the industry having to take the load of large manpower and infrastructure costs with zero revenues.
However, as the economy begins to open up, we believe the industry will start reviving in the next few weeks. The industry has responded to the increased requirement of sanitisation of cars and drivers very well and implemented a slew of measures to make sure that the travellers moving in our cars feel completely safe and healthy. This will help our industry to revive and start growing over the next few months.
Q. You have introduced ‘CORProtect’ to ensure best sanitisation standards in your fleet. Do you think ‘hygiene’ quality will become the key customer puller in the car rental market like in the case of hotels?
A. “Car/Drivers Hygiene and Safety/Comfort of our Guests” has always been a key focus at Carzonrent and that precisely is the reason that we have received continued support and business from some of the largest corporate clients in the country.
This aspect has become even more important in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic and so we have gone to great lengths and launched “CORProtect” to ensure that each car is deeply sanitised and the drivers sanitise the vehicle after every trip. Driver’s cabin is separated from customers. They wear mask and gloves and hand sanitisers are offered to customers before entering the car. These measures are key to gaining customer confidence and we have received appreciation from a large number of our customers for the initiative.
Q. Carzonrent has in the past invested aggressively on technology to acquire large corporate businesses and streamline own system. Are there some new technology solutions you are looking to develop in the near future?
A. Carzonrent has invested heavily on developing proprietary technology tools to deliver reliability, transparency and benefits of operational efficiency to our customers. These have helped us acquire and retain customers and deliver a consistently safe and secure high-quality service to our customers across the country.
Our National Command Centre tracks all transactions nationally and ensures that the customer experience is maintained at highest levels even in case of unforeseen circumstances. We have now started implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning tools to further improve our ability to forecast demand, manage inventory and improve fleet utilisation/revenue per day per car.
At Carzonrent, Technology development is a continuous process and our very competent and enthusiastic team of engineers keeps developing newer tools and improve processes to achieve efficiencies and consumer experience.
Q. Do you think going forward the self-drive segment will grow strongly considering the pandemic has resulted in people avoiding contacts as much as possible? Has the demand for Corporate Chauffeur-drive gone drastically low?
A. Domestic tourism to drivable distances besides a preference for dedicated cars is expected to boost demand for self-drive and subscription products. This trend will continue as buyers seek options for more flexible and hassle-free ownership of cars. Corporate Chauffeur drive business has been impacted during the lockdown period but the industry is beginning to get back as the economic activity opens up and this segment will achieve its growth momentum in the next few months.
Q. Is there a way that travel agents can partner Carzonrent for mutual benefits?
A. Carzonrent has partnered with major travel and tourism players across India and has provided them seamless services for managing their customer’s requirement for car rental services for business and leisure. Our technology tools help the travel agents to offer car rental services to their business and leisure travellers across India using our technology tools for making bookings, getting instant confirmations, fixed prices, tax complaint invoices and clarity on their commissions. We would love to increase our engagement with travel agents to help them generate additional incomes from our services.
Q. Any other plans for the future?
A. Carzonrent believes that the industry is ready for consolidation and Carzonrent will play its leadership role over the next few years to emerge as the dominant player in the industry.