New Zealand Self-Drive

Dear Valued Partner,

With New Zealand’s borders now open to visitors from visa waiver countries (and to the rest of the world from August 1), we have seen a very high volume of requests for self-drive itineraries.

This is great news as people are wanting to visit our shores and there is no doubt that driving around Aotearoa is a great way to see the country.

With this in mind, we wanted to send you an update along with some simple tips to ensure your clients can secure a rental car and not be disappointed by any availability challenges that may arise.

There is also a more detailed update below from Budget Rental Cars regarding travel between the North Island & South Island, along with some other important changes to be aware of.

If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to let us know – email tours@pdnz.co.nz

TIPS TO ENSURE YOUR CLIENTS SECURE A RENTAL CAR BOOKING

With high demand on rental cars in New Zealand and rental car companies in general rebuilding their fleet, we are seeing some availability challenges start to arise.
We will always do whatever is needed to try and secure the vehicle your clients are looking to book, but these quick tips will help to ensure they don’t miss out.

1. Book Early

We encourage you to get your clients to book their itinerary as early as possible to ensure they secure  their preferred rental car booking for the duration of their trip.
As we get closer to our peak travel season and more bookings come in there will be more pressure on supply.

2. Flip the itinerary

If there is an option for your clients to start their itinerary in the South Island and travel from south to north, this will be a huge help.
One of the challenges in New Zealand is that most trips run from North to South and many of the vehicles in the fleet are left at South Island depots at the end of an itinerary, meaning they either need to be relocated or wait for clients to be able to travel from South to North.

3. Consider travelling in the shoulder season

Look at shoulder season travel – If your clients can travel in either September/October or March/April, instead of  during the peaks months (November– February), this will also lessen the chance that they won’t have cars available to book

IMPORTANT BUDGET RENTAL CARS NEW ZEALAND UPDATE

With immediate effect, all Budget Rental vehicles will travel between the North and South Islands of New Zealand onboard the Cook Straight Ferry services.

This is a significant change from how Budget previously operated and is great news as it means clients no longer need to drop off and pick up vehicles on either side of the ferry crossing. They can simply drive the car onto the Interislander Ferry and keep the same vehicle throughout their itinerary.

With this change happening, Budget have ceased their Wellington Ferry Terminal operation, however the Picton Ferry Terminal remains business as usual.

What does this mean for self-drive bookings:

• All existing bookings have already been confirmed with the vehicle ferry inclusion
• All new multi-island self-drive bookings with Budget Rental Cars will have the cost of the vehicle ferry cost added to the booking.
• Any pre-packaged self-drive programmes that are requested and travelling from the North to the South Island, the vehicle ferry charge will be added to the package price. 
• Normal vehicle insurance terms & conditionsapply

Additional updates from Budget Rental Cars to be aware of:

• As mobile technology continues to evolve, Budget have phased out the GPS accessory hire, with all vehicles now offering this as an inbuilt vehicle feature or have Android Auto/Apple Car Play for clients to connect their phone to.
• Rotorua City Depot has permanently closed.
• Auckland City and Wellington City depot locations have changed – refer latest fleet guide.
• An updated Budget Rental Car manual including all applicable Terms & Conditions can be found here.
• Baby Seat price adjustment – Daily cost has increased slightly but weekly cost remains unchanged at $65+GST (capped at $65+GST) and payable direct at time of collection.

GO RENTALS: SOUTH TO NORTH BOOKINGS ONLY UNTIL JANUARY 31 2023

With the high volume of bookings mentioned above, a large majority of these are departing from Auckland and travelling South. To ensure there is a balance of vehicles available throughout the country and to ensure as many as possible make their way back to Auckland, Go Rentals have put a stop sale on any one-way rentals departing from Auckland until January 31 2023.

All Go Rentals hires up until this date will need to be departing from either Christchurch or Queenstown. To help make this more attractive, the team at Go are offering a free Interisland Ferry crossing, along with discounted rates for bookings departing from these locations. (subject to availability at the time of booking).

If we have any further updates from the team at Go Rentals, we will be sure to let you know as soon as we hear.