New Volcanic Ash Cloud Prompts Carrentals.co.uk to Demand Better Communications from Travel Industry

SURREY, ENGLAND, June 01, 2011 (Press-News.org) The latest natural threat to the travel industry - in the shape of another volcanic ash cloud heading south into mainland Europe - has prompted Carrentals.co.uk to call for better crisis communications from travel industry suppliers. The leading car hire comparison website hopes the global travel sector will have learned lessons from the errors made during last year's volcanic eruption.

Gareth Robinson, Carrentals.co.uk Managing Director, says: "We believe that the travel sector could have handled itself better during last year's volcanic ash emergency - flights and holidays suffered in the impact, while also car hire companies, hotel chains and other travel suppliers let themselves down. Tourists and business travellers were entitled to expect better communication from companies, many of whom didn't really seem to know their own crisis policies or processes."

Gareth continued, "Last year's emergency should serve as a learning experience for travel sector suppliers this time around. We hope and expect to see much better communication and information flow from airlines, hotels and all other travel industry players. Companies need to have real crisis management processes in place to quickly and easily assuage people's concerns about the volcanic ash cloud affecting their trip."

Leading consumer publication Which? recently published details of the troubles and problems experienced by travellers throughout the 2010 volcanic ash cloud crisis. The study revealed that many tourists and travellers are still awaiting compensation or refunds for cancellations more than a year later.

To assist travellers this time around Carrentals.co.uk is advising its hire car customers who have booked a vehicle via its site to utilise the help section of the Carrentals.co.uk website should they have any problems or require information during the volcanic ash cloud emergency.

Carrentals.co.uk is the leading car hire comparison site, comparing deals from up to 50 rental companies, including Alamo, Auto Europe, Budget, Holiday Autos and Sixt, in over 15,000 locations worldwide.

About Carrentals.co.uk
Carrentals.co.uk was launched in February 2003 and grew to become one of the UK's leading online car hire companies by 2006.

In 2007 the company re-launched its site to create the first major online price comparator in the travel industry. Using the latest technology the Carrentals.co.uk site now searches up to 50 different car hire websites, providing an impartial comparison of the best prices available in over 15,000 locations.

Websites searched include Alamo, Auto Europe, Budget, Ebookers, Hertz, Holiday Autos, Opodo, Sixt and Thrifty, with the Carrentals.co.uk site quickly comparing prices and allowing customers to refine their search by car type.

The Carrentals.co.uk site also features over 5,000 pages of travel information in a mini-guide format.

In 2008 Carrentals.co.uk was voted Best Car Hire Website in the Travolution Awards, and in 2010 it was Highly Commended in the Best Meta-search/Price Comparison category. To book or for further information visit www.carrentals.co.uk

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