Rental car customer satisfaction, after eroding during the pandemic based in part on elevated prices, took a turn for the better this year, at least at airports, a J.D. Power report says.

The 2023 North America satisfaction study said price stability and improved vehicle availability and staffing bumped renter satisfaction 14 points on its 1,000-point scale.

“The post-pandemic period has been tough for North American rental car companies and their customers, but now that things have stabilized, customer satisfaction has started to increase significantly,” said Michael Taylor, managing director of travel, hospitality and retail at J.D. Power.

Overall customer satisfaction rose to 843. J.D. Power ranked Enterprise tops for customer satisfaction in the study for the third year in a row with a score of 866, followed closely by National at 865 and Alamo at 862.

The study polled more than 8,600 business and leisure travelers in the 12 months ended in August who rented vehicles at airports in the previous year.

Satisfaction with renting could take a hit from the union strikes in Detroit if they reverse some of the inventory gains that have helped improve renting conditions, Taylor said.

“Given the tight correlation we see between vehicle availability, price and customer satisfaction, it’s going to be important to keep an eye on the UAW strike as a potential supply chain issue that could negatively affect customer satisfaction during the course of the next year.”

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