Budget Car Rental voted 'Best Middle East Car Rental Company'

The move to the new Zeenah Building in Deira is the culmination of weeks of planning but the inaugural 'Best Car Rental Company' award was an unscheduled bonus, according to general manager Duncan Peat.

The distinction was based on the 2002 reader survey conducted by Business Traveller Middle East magazine and reflects the views of the quality publication's influential readership.

'This is a particularly significant accolade as the judges are the most important people of all - our customers,' said Peat. 'We always strive to deliver top quality service so it's very encouraging to have our customers confirm that we're getting it right.'

Budget's move to 400 square metres of head office space in the newly completed Zeenah Building opposite Deira City Centre is part of the customer service commitment, he added.

'We are conveniently situated for the airport and the city centre, and for business and leisure hotels. Clients can find us very easily and we can get vehicles to them very quickly.'

Garaging and servicing of Budget's rental fleet of 1,800 vehicles is still handled from the company's Rashidya workshops, including 800 falling under the company's fleet-management service that provides full maintenance leasing to corporate clients.

The rental fleet ranges from self-drive economy cars to chauffeur-driven Cadillac limousines, as well as mini-buses and luxury coaches.

Rental business had been growing by eight percent annually until the setbacks of last year but has now almost completely recovered, say Peat, who is full of praise for the tourism promotion campaigns that have since been implemented, saying:

'The marketing effort by the Dubai Government has been outstanding and has been a vital factor in countering the problems suffered by the travel industry post-September. By the third or fourth quarter of this year, we expect to be back to where we were before then.'

The Budget limousine fleet is very popular with visiting business travellers, he says, not just for image-building but the sheer practicality of having dedicated drivers who know their way around the area and are always on call when needed:

'We have about 90 vehicles - mainly Cadillacs - servicing this market segment which is getting stronger all the time, so much so that we expect to have to expand this fleet to nearer 100 vehicles.'

Coach rental is also showing growth, with customers ranging from sports and social clubs to tourist groups and staff transport.

'Ours is a highly competitive industry in the Middle East with a wide diversity of players - from the big name multi-nationals to small independents that will hire a car for 50 dirhams a day,' says Peat.

'In this kind of market environment, we have to stand out from the crowd. That's why we look at the big picture - we're a transportation business and not just a car rental service. We're also one of the few with ISO 9002 accreditation covering every aspect from vehicle maintenance to customer relations.

'I think that's also been a big contributory factor in winning the Business Traveller award.'