Rental costs have skyrocketed
Thankfully for travelers, modern technology offers alternatives to conventional car rentals.
Alternative rental options
For shorter rentals, Zipcar offers car-sharing services in many cities in the United States. While not optimal for renting a vehicle for an entire vacation, Zipcar makes it easy to book a car for a few hours.
There are other alternatives to traditional car rentals, such as Getaround, and they each have their own pros and cons. For a true cost-saving option, though, U-Haul moving vehicles make great rentals.
U-Haul vehicles as rental cars
The benefits to this are easy to see. In Myrtle Beach, for example, a basic U-Haul costs $100 less than an average car rental per day. A U-Haul van might not feel as cool to drive as a rented Tesla, but it definitely saves money.
This has not been a secret to U-Haul dealers either. Some have noticed travelers coming in with suitcases and renting vans or trucks. U-Hauls still have costs associated with them, but travelers can save money if they get their rental from a U-Haul shop.
The long-term effects of the pandemic on the car rental industry are not yet known. For now, though, traditional car rentals are costing much more than they did a few years ago. Driving a U-Haul might not be the first idea that people have when searching for a rental car. It might be the cost-saving measure needed to make traveling easier, though.