Oodles of brand focus instead of…………………
In the view of Oodles.com, people in the online travel industry are wasting too much time talking about where they are on Google instead of how to build a brand that is relevant to internet users, so that their brand is the first that comes to mind when consumers think of their product category!
With the launch of Oodles.com, getting into the consumers mind is exactly what founders, Steve and Des Sherlock, aim to do.
Designed for brand aware business and leisure travellers, Oodles.com is an easy-to-use self-booking tool which compares the live Internet rates of Australia’s five major car rental companies at over 700 depots across Australia.
Users choose the best deal and make the booking direct with the car rental company via the Oodles.com site.
Participating car rental companies are Europcar, Thrifty, Hertz, Avis and Budget.
Oodles.com claims their product category matters more today because internet users want to be empowered by un-bias, online tools that help them get what they want and without any fuss or extra expense.
Managing Director, Steve Sherlock said car rental business & leisure users would “save oodles of time” on the site, instead of jumping from site to site to find the best deal and “save oodles of money” by avoiding middle man and travel agent fees.
Between 1997-2005, Steve was prolific in founding and developing car hire businesses in Australia, UK, NZ and the USA such as: RentNewCars.com.au, CarHire.com.au, Vroom Vroom Vroom in the Australia, UK and NZ. The past 10 years has given him a solid grounding into what consumers want and how to deliver.
Steve said car rental was a very competitive industry with prices on major car rental company websites constantly moving up and down depending on usage levels, similar to flights. This allows for big savings, especially during non-peak periods as the car rental companies seek to maximize use of their fleet, on a daily and hourly basis. Car rental companies are keen to explore all online avenues in a competitive environment like this.
Key investor in the site is Mario Salvo, the former owner of Europcar Australia.
“Car rental is in my blood,” Mr Salvo said today, pointing out his involvement with Oodles.com did not conflict with terms associated with the sale of the Europcar business.
“This time I haven’t had to buy a single car but I’ve got a fleet of 50,000 cars,” he said. “Instead of the driver’s seat, I’m now in the back seat!”, as an investor.
Why “Oodles”? “The name Oodles,” says Steve Sherlock, “is a quirky way to say “lots more” and that is what we are working towards.
A self-booking tool that is used by more people, in more countries with more cars on the one screen, more detailed pricing, more easily used and where you save more time and money”.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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