Is a Dollar Rent A Car franchisee required to accept reservations from other Dollar Rent A Car franchisees?
Dollar_Rent_A_Car Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
In addition, you must subscribe to, participate in and promote our (or our affiliate's) reservation program or system (the "Reservations System"), and pay related assessments and contributions as we prescribe on the same basis applicable to other System franchisees. You must participate in and promote any Reservations System that we now maintain or may later establish or designate. You must comply with all of the terms, conditions and procedures of the Reservations System, must accept and service all reservations received through the Reservations System, regardless of the medium by which the reservation is received (e.g. telephone, central reservation system, global distribution systems, Internet, or other collection or distribution systems) and may pay to us or our designee the fees and other charges imposed by us, and/or due under the Reservations System. In addition, you must accept and service all reservations for your services which are received from other franchisees of Dollar and us and must transmit all reservations which you are requested to place by any customer to the appropriate Dollar franchisee 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 must 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 we establish or under our authority, including, any telephone, computer or Internet reservation system. A reservation center for local rental business, which is neither promoted nor advertised outside of the Territory or to airport customers, is not a violation of this provision.
Source: Item 16 — RESTRICTIONS ON WHAT THE FRANCHISEE MAY SELL (FDD pages 75–77)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Dollar Rent A Car's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are required to accept reservations from other franchisees. Specifically, Dollar Rent A Car franchisees must accept and service all reservations for their services received from other Dollar Rent A Car franchisees and from the franchisor itself.
Furthermore, if a Dollar Rent A Car franchisee receives a request from a customer to place a reservation with another Dollar Rent A Car location, the franchisee must transmit that reservation to the appropriate Dollar Rent A Car franchisee. This service must be provided without any charge to the customer and without any fee to either the receiving franchisee or to Dollar Rent A Car, except as specified in the Operations Guide.
This requirement ensures a cohesive and interconnected network of Dollar Rent A Car locations, allowing customers to easily book and modify reservations across different locations. It also prevents franchisees from establishing their own competing reservation systems. The FDD clarifies that franchisees cannot establish or utilize a separate system for collecting and distributing reservations that competes with Dollar Rent A Car's established system. However, a reservation center for local rental business that is not promoted outside of the territory or to airport customers is not considered a violation.