Do you call airport rental car ahead of time to confirm that you won't be without a car?

Depends on where and if there is a big event going on like the Super Bowl. Always call the local office where you are renting and not the national number.

probably should do this if you rent a car in Atlanta....not sure it would help though. That place is a shitshow.

They rarely, if ever, answer the phone.

Like most others here if I'm flying into a smaller town I will call before the flight takes off.
On our most recent trip I didn't call Halifax but I made sure to call St. John's Newfoundland as I had heard that they run short of cars. No problems when we arrived at both airports though.

I've always received a car if I had made a reservation ahead of time. I've only booked rental cars online & have never once considered calling to inquire or had any concern that my reservation wouldn't result in a car upon my arrival.

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I waited over 2.5 hour in DEN for a car a few years ago, and every car rental brand was facing the same delays (and I don't know of any great reason why).

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Friend,

If this was in 2021 or 2022, the rental car shortage was due to rental car companies selling off their inventory in 2020 when people stopped traveling. They did not adequately predict the increase in demand in 2021 and were running shortages into 2023. The summer of 2021 was the worst time in recent memory to rent a car. We flew to Bozeman that summer for our annual fly fishing trip, and there was no car waiting for us. We ended up renting a ten foot box truck from U-Haul. Uncle was not pleased, but it got us where we needed.

Yours,
TulaneLSU

I get a text from Avis telling me where my car is located. If you rent a couple times a year it’s not hard to get “preferred” status just bite the bullet for a while and use a single vendor

Rental Car places are a shite show enough without the phone calls. Every time the phone rings, things get slower. Don’t be that jackass on the phone.

Book using Costco and get car through Enterprise -National-Alamo, and you won’t have to worry.

Airport operations are first priority for vehicle availability because those are almost always garanteed to show up. If you never noticed, most rental reservations don't charge you to book with them, unlike hotels. It's easier to get vehicles moved over and around for airports due to their need for a higher volume compared to home city locations.

That being said, depending on who you book with, you are likely not going to talk directly to the airport, you'll get in touch with a customer service rep who will tell you "yes" to all your needs because that's the expectation set for them.

If it's sold out it's because they are already see they're tapped out based on the returns and pickups they have coming.