Must a Dollar Rent A Car franchisee register each location with the Reservations System?
Dollar_Rent_A_Car Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
10. RESERVATIONS SYSTEM
10.1. Participation in the Reservations System. You shall participate in and promote any Reservations System that is now maintained or may hereafter be established or designated by Us. Such Reservations System may, at Our option, be combined with reservations systems which service vehicle rental, leasing and sales systems other than the Franchised System (including vehicle rental, leasing and sales systems owned or operated by Our Affiliates) or may otherwise service vehicle rental, leasing and sales systems other than the Franchised System. You shall comply with all of the terms, conditions and procedures of the Reservations System, shall accept and service all reservations received through the Reservations System, regardless of the medium by which the reservation is received (e.g. telephone, central Reservations System, global reservation systems, Internet, or other collection or reservation systems) and shall pay to Us or Our designee the fees and other charges imposed by Us, and/or due under the Reservations System. In addition, You shall accept and service all reservations for Your services which are received from other franchisees of the Franchised System and Us and shall transmit all reservations which You are requested to place by any customer to the appropriate franchisee of the Franchised System or Us without charge to the customer and without fee to the receiving franchisee or Us, other than as
may be specified in the Operations Guide. You shall not establish or utilize a system for collecting and distributing reservations, either separately or in combination with other travel services, which in Our sole determination, competes with or is duplicative of a reservation, collection or distribution system established by or under Our authority, including, but not limited to, any telephone, computer or Internet reservations system. A reservation center for local rental business, which is neither promoted nor advertised outside of Your Territory or to airport customers, is not a violation of this provision. In addition to all rights and remedies available in this Agreement, at law and in equity, if You are in breach of any of the obligations under this Franchise Agreement or any other agreement with Us or Our Affiliates, We shall have the right to remove, suspend or block Your Locations as well as locations operated pursuant to any other franchise agreement with Us or Our Affiliates from all Reservations Systems until such breach has been cured to Our satisfaction.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 102–301)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Dollar Rent A Car FDD, franchisees must participate in any reservation system that Dollar Rent A Car maintains or establishes. This includes promoting the system, complying with its terms, conditions, and procedures, and accepting and servicing all reservations received through it, regardless of how the reservation is received.
This means a Dollar Rent A Car franchisee is obligated to use the brand's reservation system for all locations. They must accept reservations made via telephone, the central reservation system, global reservation systems, the Internet, or other collection or reservation systems. The franchisee must also pay any fees or charges associated with the reservation system.
Furthermore, Dollar Rent A Car franchisees must accept and service reservations from other franchisees within the Dollar Rent A Car system and transmit reservations to other franchisees when requested by a customer. The FDD also states that a franchisee cannot establish or use a separate reservation system that competes with Dollar Rent A Car's system, although a local reservation center that isn't promoted outside the franchisee's territory or to airport customers is permitted.