Travel management companies (TMCs) are missing out on revenue opportunities from the car rental industry, according to Avis.
Lisa Eastwood, head of business travel sales, said that as the importance of selling ancillary services has grown, car rental is "rightfully becoming recognised as a potentially major revenue stream".
Last year Avis said it increased its market share in the business travel arena by 43%, and that it intends to grow more in 2011.
“Only a small percentage of all bookings currently have a car rental attached," said Eastwood, "so we believe there is a real opportunity to grow the overall market and expand what could become a significant income for our customers.”
To grow its TMC business, Avis plans to provide more support to frontline staff with dedicated training on sales and products.
The car rental firm has appointed a new account manager onto the business travel team, Paul Clark.
In his new role, Clark will be responsible for all the independent TMCs in the UK.
www.avis.co.uk