Pepper spray, or oleoresin capsicum, is legal to use for your personal protection and self defense in most states. However, transporting defense spray or another disabling chemical or device (such as a stun gun) from one place to another can be somewhat tricky-especially if you are traveling by plane. Today’s airline restrictions are very strict, and for good reason. The limitations are in place to keep all passengers and employees safer.

What Pepper Spray Products are Allowed?

There are certain limitations on what you can actually transport while you are traveling by plane-specifically, you are forbidden to travel with any other disabling chemical or device, and these regulations are strictly enforced. The specific rules regarding pepper spray state that carrying a spray on your person or in your carryon luggage is prohibited. If you do feel you need defense spray at your destination, it is possible to get it there since you are allowed to pack pepper spray containers or cans that are 4 oz. or less in your checked baggage. Most pocket or purse-sized pepper spray cans that you will find are generally in the 2.5-3 oz. range, and rarely larger than 4 oz., so this should not be a problem.

Tell the Airline that You Have an O.C. Spray

If you do choose to pack a small can of defense spray or a stun gun in your checked luggage, you must declare this to the clerks at the baggage counter. They will probably want to inspect the can (this is generally required by law), and ensure that there is a locking safety device to prevent unintentional discharge while inside of the bag.

While most self defense spray dispensers are small enough to be contained in your purse or pocket, remember that you will be searched and have to pass through a metal detector prior to boarding the airplane. Concealing the container can get you arrested.

Don’t Conceal Your Defense Spray in Your Carry-on Luggage

If you feel that you will want to have your defense spray or a stun gun for your personal protection at your final travel destination, then knowing the airline safety regulations regarding how to properly pack the spray is very important. Unfortunately, if you do attempt to get through security with the spray on your person or in your carryon baggage, it probably will be confiscated. Safely packing it into your checked baggage at the start of your trip is a much better way to handle the situation and ensure that you still have it to protect yourself when you arrive.

Check All State and City Pepper Spray Regulations of Your Travel Destination

Also, you will want to be sure that you carefully check the laws regarding personal protection devices and disabling chemicals in your destination state. It’s important to understand that there may be specific limitations on the legality of having OC spray in certain states, such as Massachusetts (requires a firearm card), New York (limitations of point of purchase), Wisconsin (limitations on concentration of pepper spray or other chemicals), Washington DC (pepper spray must be registered), California (limits size of container), and Michigan (limits ingredients and size of container). In Canada, pepper spray is completely illegal, so if you are headed to Canada then leave the pepper spray at home.

Source by Rebecca M. Jacobs

Seoul, or the Seoul Special City, is the capital and the largest metropolis of South Korea. It is located in the Han River. Seoul was once named as the World Design Capital in 2010 by International Council of Societies of Industrial Design. The city has a humid continental climate; summers are generally hot and humid while winters are often relatively cold.

Things to do in Seoul:

Visit the palaces.
Unhyeon Palace – used as an exhibition area traditional art performances, modern and creative dances. The re-enactment of the marriage of King Kojong and Queen Myongsong is one of the main attractions in the palace. It happens twice each year.

Changyeong Palace – known as the most peaceful and serene among all palaces in the city.

Changdeok Palace and Biwon Garden – Changdeok Palace represents a friendlier environment. At this palace you can imagine a king enjoying himself at the top of the tree. Biwon Garden, known as the secret garden, is a typical palace backyards where the royals are relaxing.

Deoksu Palace – the most accessible palace because of its location in central Seoul.

Jongmyo Shrine – devoted to the spirits of Korean royal ancestors. They still follow the original procedures for the offering of sacrificial gifts of food and drink in original ritual utensils. The royal descendants and participants are costumed by rank as well as the ritual dance and music ensembles.

Gyeongbok Palace – located in Seoul’s main boulevard, Sejongro. A palace near the President’s house, the Blue House.

Explore the museums.
National Palace Museum of Korea – exhibits the heritage of Joseon Dynasty and the Imperial Family.

National Museum of Korea – audio or visual guide is recommended when touring this very huge museum as it has so many relics. It has 6 galleries.

War Museum – it has 6 show rooms displaying an almost 5,000 year history of foreign invasions. The park that surrounds the museum displays aircraft, tanks and other fighting machines from the Korean War to the present.

Seoul Museum of Art – the road of the Museum doesn’t have walls to allow the visitors to enjoy the sculptures and landscape from the outside. A hundred-year old tree has been preserved together with the sculptures and installed artworks which tells about the past and present shape of Seoul.

The Story of King Sejong – dedicated to display the achievements of King Sejong.

Other museums in the city are Agricultural Museum, Embroidery Museum, Heojun Museum, King Sejong Great Memorial Hall, Korean National Police Heritage Museum, Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, National Folk Museum, Seodaemun Museum of Natural History, Seoul Historical Museum, and Seoul Railway Museum.

Enjoy the parks.
Seoul has a lot of parks too. Enjoy at these parks around the city: Cheonggye Stream, Yeouido Park, Dosan Park, Yangjae Stream, Dream Forest, Yangjae’s Citizen Forest, Han River Park, World Cup Park, Hongreung Arbuterum, Seoul Forest, Namsan Park, Seoul Children’s Grand Park, Olympic Park, Seonyudo Park, Paris Park and Seokchon Lake Park.

Experience night life in Seoul.
Visit these places and see how fun it is in Seoul at night: Yeongdeungpo (Night Life), Bangbae-dong Café Street, Sinchon-dong (Night Life), COEX Mall, Lotte World, Daehang-no (University Street), Jong-no (Night Life), Dongdaemon (Night Life), Jamsil (Night Life), Gangnam (Night Life), Itaewon-dong (Night Life), Hongdae (Hongik University area).

Go shopping.
There are a lot of shopping malls in Seoul. Shop until you drop!

Seoul is Korea’s center for education, business and modern culture. There are a lot of activities in the city for everyone such as visiting museums and palaces, parks and mountains, and amusement parks and night clubs. So much to learn and a lot of fantastic things to do in Seoul, South Korea!

Source by Matthew Talbot

Time travel has been a topic that has seemingly fascinated people for centuries. It has been written about in science fiction novels, made popular in blockbuster movies, and theorized in television shows. The concept is simple, it is moving from one point in time to a different point in time. In actuality, we’re all time travelers; we are slowly traveling into the future. Scientists have created many theories of how time travel could work. The most recognized theory is Einstein’s theory of relativity, E=MC2. In this theory, E represents the units of energy, m represents the units of mass, and c2 represents the speed of light squared. In a nutshell, Einstein’s equation theorizes that the closer something travels near the speed of light, the slower time will pass. There are many other well-known theories, which include wormholes and paradoxes such as: bootstrap, grandfather, and multiple universes. There are even theories that postulate time travel through out-of-body experiences, where one’s mind can leave their body and move into a different time and place. But for this argument, let’s consider physical time travel only. Let’s say at some point in the future, mankind creates a spaceship or machine that is capable of manipulating time by moving near the speed of light. Basically, at some point in the future our technology gives us the ability to bend time and space, and with this ability we are able to master the ability to traverse into the past and the future by controlling the length, width, and depth of space and time directed by the apparatus. By creating such a machine, you would be able to travel forward or backwards in time based on the duration and rate of speed traveled.

If this is possible, the logical assumption is that people from the future would travel back through time. Some of these individuals would likely visit the time that we live in. There are theories that speculate that time travel is scientifically impossible, but if an individual traveled to the past, their actions would alter history. Based on the rate of technological advancement that has occurred over the last 20 years (cell phones, computers, the Internet, etc.), one could speculate that anything and everything is possible, it’s just a matter of “time”. If anything is possible, then individuals are already using this device.

How could individuals from the future sending themselves back to our time or past not affect the past occurrences of our lifetime? First let’s assume the cost of building such a machine would be beyond the means of any individual or company. It would likely take the joint funding efforts of multiple countries. Therefore, the answer could simply be the highly regulated and controlled use of time travel. Coupling the ever-increasing pace of regulation and oversight on all aspects of everyday life with the use of a time traveling device, it would likely result in an environment where time travel is in complete and absolute control by a regulating body. This would ensure history is not altered. Under this assumption, time travel would not be viewed as a possibility, but as an eventual reality.

Source by Michael Zuren PhD.

The general aviation sector has been in the doldrums for quite a while. Some blame this on increased FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) regulations, much of which occurred after 9-11 to protect airports from potential terrorists, unfortunately these increased security requirements and increased regulations have stifled the general aviation (GA) sector. The economic crashes of 2000 and 2008 didn’t help, although in 2003 the economy was flying high thanks to Bush Tax Cuts and stimulus, then it hit a wall again and didn’t really do well until the run-up just before the 2008 crash.

The GA sector has only slightly recovered since then but not back to its 2003 highs. When Obama got elected he railed against Corporate Jets and Corporate Fat Cats which hurt jet sales and new aircraft sales. Remember when congress went after the Auto Makers for flying their corporate jets to Washington DC to beg for bailouts? Public sentiment against GA was at an all-time low.

All of this had hurt aircraft cleaners and jet detailers – it made it tough to make money, but it looks like things are changing and the number of GA Aircraft is increasing. This new Trump Administration is pro-Aviation unlike the Obama Administration. Cutting corporate taxes will also help GA and jet sales. It looks like clear skies ahead for those in the General Aviation services business.

There was a great article in AIN – Aircraft International News – December Edition titled; “UBS Bizjet Index Sees Post-election Surge,” by Chad Trautvetter posted on December 12, 2016 which noted the following facts; The new Trump Administration in the U.S. is widely seen as a positive, with 61 percent of those surveyed expecting the outcome of the U.S. presidential election to ultimately be positive for the business jet market, while 11 percent don’t see a positive impact and 28 percent are uncertain.

In fact the article went on to note that there was an increase of between 44-49% increased orders for private jets over last year. Many of those aircraft will be delivered by 2018, and the backlog will increase used aircraft sales and current new inventory. More aircraft certainly means more aircraft to clean and more new aircraft means more corporate detailing customers as well. Meanwhile, along with the fractional jet market, we see jet air-taxi services on the increase as well as Uber style aircraft ride-sharing plans smaller companies can buy into. All of this means the GA sector is ready to take off again and that’s good for business.

Source by Lance Winslow

Call it the new underground radio, or perhaps the next step in future media, but “podcasting” has all but conquered the Internet. By offering Web users a new dimension in obtaining news, fringe entertainment, and music from up and coming and/or established artists, the podcast is yet another way the Internet expands its interactivity. We can do more than see, we hear and we listen…and are introduced to new ideas and cultures that miss the mainstream.

Simply defined, a “podcast” is an audio clip, a miniature radio program focusing on a topic like travel, art, news, sports, or just about anything of interest. The term comes from a combination of “broadcast” and “iPod”, as these short clips are primarily downloaded for use iPods and portable MP3 players. Clips may range from five to twenty minutes long to allow for easy downloading, and may be found through specific websites that offer podcasts or through specialized portals like Libsyn, that host podcasting communities. Web users interested in listening to podcasts may use a specialized search engine like Odeo or iTunes to find thousands currently available.

For website owners, authors, musicians, and others interested in a unique method of reach, a podcast can be a valuable marketing tool. Whether you are selling a book by reading an excerpt or reporting on a favorite travel destination, adding a podcast to your existing website can help drive more traffic to your site, which in turn can increase your visibility and business. There are countless advantages to offering a podcast to existing customers and possible new visitors who enjoy this new technology.

Podcasts are inexpensive to produce! If you think you need to rent a recording studio to make a regular podcast, think again. All you really need is a computer, some good recording software, a microphone, a good speaking voice, and the willingness to have a little fun. A quick Internet search will direct you to recommended programs, particularly freeware and/or shareware that works well in a pinch until you are able to spend a bit of money for a more sophisticated production. If you find you are running out of memory saving podcasts to your computer, simply burn the MP3 files onto CDs and keep going!

Podcasts broaden your audience! As you begin to build a podcast archive, you increase the opportunity for your website to be found through search. Also, a podcast allows your site to be listed in specialized search portals dedicated to audio-enhanced websites, thereby increasing your link popularity. Say you are a writer of mysteries and introduce a podcast about your novels and the mystery genre in general. A podcast listener searching for that particular topic may find you through your podcast, but not necessarily have found you another way. With the podcast, you open your door to a possible reader, and perhaps others who may not be into mystery, but might change their minds upon hearing your show!

Podcasts introduce a new level of comfort! Podcasts offer a new dimension to your website, a personalization unmatched by the written word. When you deliver a voice to accompany your website content you enhance the style of your site, attracting visitors to the “real” person behind the website. The concept, of course, is hardly new. During his presidential administration, Franklin Roosevelt addressed the nation through radio “fireside chats,” which were very effective in increasing public awareness and support. The broadcasts helped to amplify an agreeable persona in the president, which bolstered the spirits of the nation during wartime.

Now, it’s likely your podcast will not be designed to rally troops to victory. But, to offer this option to site visitors can endear people to the image you project, and in turn help sell your books, music, and services.

Podcasts give you a voice! With a podcast you can reinvent yourself. Do you operate a website of restaurant reviews? You can host “The Phantom Dining Booth,” as the secret diner who reports the daily specials around town. If you write romances, you can tout your own works and become the new Mary Hart, offering irreverent news and gossip on the romance publishing industry. Serious or playful, using a podcast gives your site a unique voice that you can work to your advantage.

Once you have made the decision to record a podcast, next comes the fun part, actually making it. In Part II of this article, we’ll go over the procedures to create, upload, and promote a podcast.

Source by Kathryn Lively

How could new travel alerts and terror threats impact wholesaling houses for U.S. real estate investors?

The last week has seen new global travel warnings issued by the U.S. State Department as well as the extended closing of embassies overseas. Some sources report we are now seeing more and more specific threats than ever. Plus, a pullback in the ‘war on terror’ and a Fox News report on August 5th, 2013 stating the U.S. Army continues to do business with terrorist linked contractors suggests America’s enemies are better funded and bolder than they have been in many years, which could lead to more attacks, or at least threats.

So could this along with increasing travel expenses alter current trends and change the game for those wholesaling houses?

This all could definitely help keep more U.S. investment dollars at home. But could it take some of the fire out of the global investment rush, especially in terms of second homes?

It could at least have a limiting effect on travel. This could change the rush to invest closer to some airports and travel hubs, but an influx of capital from abroad and foreign buyers looking for a backup plan and to get cash somewhere safer could balance this out. Certainly it could encourage more in terror prone areas to get their cash out of abroad and put it in the U.S., which combined with the current massive interest in U.S. property from Asia could boost demand and home prices further, improving conditions for wholesaling houses.

Major international investment houses like Barclays are already honing in on new generation of African millionaires offing new investment opportunities. Many of these will definitely be housing related investments and will help raise visibility of the benefits of investing in the current market.

Still it pays to balance your out of area, national and international marketing with a local presence, local branding and relationship building. Dominate your local market. This is your bread and butter. Then look for opportunities to capitalize on global investment trends and interest.

If you are going to take an international approach to marketing and wholesaling houses adding and partnering for services which can make it easier for investors and overseas private lenders to work with you and buy from you can be smart. This can include translation, banking, title and property management services, which can also often become alternative revenue centers for ongoing passive income.

Source by Sean Terry

News is essential to be in touch with the latest happenings in the world. Unfortunately news has become something unreliable as a result of biased information presented by broadcasting co-operations and news service providers but it is important to be aware about updates in the world we live in. It may seem overwhelming at times but being informed with the current events around the world would help you to be on top of things wherever you are.

News provide the latest information about current affairs that occur politically; technologically as well as in business and we must consider ourselves as privileged to be educated about them at present unlike the ancient days where global information was the least available. In general, people in all walks of life read news and everyone have their own desired category to read. Whatever your interest maybe, it is important to be educated about the current activities that happen around the globe and maybe beyond. As a younger reader, news feeds in Twitter, Facebook or Perez Hilton would find very interesting, but these do not provide the general knowledge which is part of education. Therefore you need to be informed about all extents; no matter you are young or old.

Think about the world leaders. How many of the names of the world’s presidents or prime ministers are you aware of? If you know it all, you are well updated but if you are not, it is time to read. Understanding about the society that you live in and the societies around the world are significant as we are living in a globalized village.

Haven’t you felt clueless about your surroundings when you return home after a long holiday? Similarly you would feel ill-informed about the affairs around the world without making yourself educated about the news. Of course, it is not as easy as it sounds and would be the most uninteresting toil to sit at one place and read news but today the option of reading news online on desktop, laptop or even on mobile phone is available.

Newspaper companies have enabled their news to be read online but they are updated instantly. However, the latest news can be attained through news aggregators who are available online on the internet. A news aggregator is a web application which aggregates syndicated web content such as news headlines, blogs, podcasts and video blogs that arise globally within one site for easy and quick viewing. Online aggregators provide up to date information on various categories such as business, technology, entertainment, politics, travel, health, world news and many more where interesting and useful information on every topic is available. This helps to be in touch with all latest affairs at one place at one time as and when it happens.

Source by Nasheeka Brishmela

Have you ever eaten chicken feet? How about barbequed chicken necks? What? I thought not. So, while you’re in Cuautla you’ll have your chance. Don’t miss it! Now here’s what you need to do:

Hotel Colon

Address: Main Plaza

Phone: 352 – 2186

The premiere place for people-watching smack dab on the Zocalo. Meals are of local fare and modestly priced. The day’s offerings are written on a standing menu posted right out front on the sidewalk complete with prices. The wall-less dining area is just an extension of the Zocalo sidewalk, so you could spend hours here just sippin’ “Jamaica” and winkin’ at the passers-by. And there’ll be plenty. It’s an excellent “first stop” on your Cuautla tour. While you’re at it, pick up a copy of “THE NEWS”, Mexico’s premiere English language newspaper or, in Spanish, “El Sol de Cuautla”, both on sale just a few steps away at the news stand in front of the restaurant.

The Plaza Galeana

Address: at the corner of Los Bravos and Estrada Bollas

At this shopping plaza and gallery, there are a number of little eateries at budget prices featuring everything from pizza to fried chicken and roast turkey. There are juice bars, ice cream shops and a couple of discos for the teeny-boppers (called “coca-colos” in Spanish). If you’re not sure what you want to eat, or it’s late, just drop by here and stroll around until you find something you like. (to EAT, that is!)

On Los Bravos, the street leading north from the Zocalo to the Plaza Galeana, there are likewise several shops and a couple of fairly good restaurants to tempt your palette.

Rosticero de Pollos

Address: Calle 2 de Mayo and Zemano

(half a block up the street from the Hotel España and one block from the Hotel Colon)

If you’ve never eaten chicken feet or roast chicken necks, here’s the place you can correct that fault. Served piping hot right off the rotisserie, bursting with flavor and CHEAP at 10 pesos for a dozen, it’s an experience you’ll never forget. It’ll make a great story to tell your grandchildren! “Did I ever tell you about the time I ate chicken feet in Cuautla? Zapata’s rebel forces were headquartered just down the road you see, and …”

Jugos Y Tortas Alameda

Address: Galeano at the corner of Ferraro

A veggies-only restaurant that serves such delicious specialties as “Omelet Huitlacoche” and platters of Chilaquiles, nopales (cactus) and an assortment of “tortas” for 7 to 26 pesos. Servings are plentiful and tasty even for non-vegetarians like me. A selection of juices in combinations having medicinal properties are also offered. The juice combinations and their specific benefits are written up on plaques hung around the restaurant walls.

EL Oasis

Address: Galeano between Ramirez and Ferrano

This restaurant is open late for party-goers and the late-night crowd and serves tempting meals at reasonable prices. There’s internet service at a bank of six computers in the rear of the restaurant. Rates are 10 pesos per hour or 6 pesos for 30 minutes. Try their fresh-whipped hot chocolate on a cool Cuautla night for a zesty pick-me-up.

Be sure to check out my other articles in the two continuing series: Teaching English in Mexico and Traveling in Mexico. If you would like more information, have questions or comments, the author can be e-mailed; see address below.

Source by Larry M. Lynch

Ideally, if you’re going on a trip, you should purchase travel insurance right before you leave. However, it is perfectly understandable that for some people, this might not be that case. There are many travelers who ask whether they can purchase travel insurance after departure. This might happen when your travel insurance has run out because you have overstayed in a certain place, your policy has expired, or you just forgot to take out travel insurance.

If you’re already abroad and you decide to buy insurance, you can still get coverage. Look for a reputable insurance company that offers an Already Traveling Policy. The good news is that some insurance companies are already offering this to travelers.

There are certain conditions for getting this type of travel insurance. Leading travel insurers provide this type of coverage subject to certain conditions. If you are under 65 years of age, you should not exceed 18 months outside of your country of residence. If you’re between 66 to 74 years of age, you should not exceed 6 months outside of your country of residence. You can also get this type of insurance when no claims or any occurrence leading to a claim has previously happened. Here’s an example of the latter scenario: If you lost your laptop yesterday, you are not allowed to take out this type of insurance and make a claim for it.

What coverage will you actually get when you get an Already Traveling policy?

• 24/7 emergency medical assistance

If you fall ill or get injured, you can get emergency medical assistance 24/7, 365 days a year. Just call the emergency hotline provided in your policy. This also covers medical expenses and emergency medical transportation.

• Coverage for adventure activities

There is standard coverage for adventure activities specified in the policy. Make sure that you read what types of activities are covered and that you understand the terms and conditions.

• Valuables

You can get this extension option to your Already Traveling policy. You can get protection for your belongings while you travel including your bags, technology gear, jewelry items, and important travel documents.

Obviously, pre-trip cancellation is not covered in this type of insurance. This is because you have already left your home country. We feel that we need to stress this because some travelers still ask this question even though the insurance is especially meant for people who are already traveling.

Buying travel insurance after departure is possible. You can still get the coverage that you need as a traveler. This is a convenient way to get travel insurance while you’re already traveling. You need to remember, though that if you purchase a policy while traveling, waiting periods and certain conditions do apply. Many travel insurance companies have 36-hours before full coverage can apply after the policy has been purchased. However, some policies provide coverage straightaway. Check the policy and make sure that you know when coverage is applied.

Source by Neil Clymer

Market Overview

The car rental industry is a multi-billion dollar sector of the US economy. The US segment of the industry averages about $18.5 billion in revenue a year. Today, there are approximately 1.9 million rental vehicles that service the US segment of the market. In addition, there are many rental agencies besides the industry leaders that subdivide the total revenue, namely Dollar Thrifty, Budget and Vanguard. Unlike other mature service industries, the rental car industry is highly consolidated which naturally puts potential new comers at a cost-disadvantage since they face high input costs with reduced possibility of economies of scale. Moreover, most of the profit is generated by a few firms including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis. For the fiscal year of 2004, Enterprise generated $7.4 billion in total revenue. Hertz came in second position with about $5.2 billion and Avis with $2.97 in revenue.

Level of Integration

The rental car industry faces a completely different environment than it did five years ago. According to Business Travel News, vehicles are being rented until they have accumulated 20,000 to 30,000 miles until they are relegated to the used car industry whereas the turn-around mileage was 12,000 to 15,000 miles five years ago. Because of slow industry growth and narrow profit margin, there is no imminent threat to backward integration within the industry. In fact, among the industry players only Hertz is vertically integrated through Ford.

Scope of Competition

There are many factors that shape the competitive landscape of the car rental industry. Competition comes from two main sources throughout the chain. On the vacation consumer’s end of the spectrum, competition is fierce not only because the market is saturated and well guarded by industry leader Enterprise, but competitors operate at a cost disadvantage along with smaller market shares since Enterprise has established a network of dealers over 90 percent the leisure segment. On the corporate segment, on the other hand, competition is very strong at the airports since that segment is under tight supervision by Hertz. Because the industry underwent a massive economic downfall in recent years, it has upgraded the scale of competition within most of the companies that survived. Competitively speaking, the rental car industry is a war-zone as most rental agencies including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis among the major players engage in a battle of the fittest.

Growth

Over the past five years, most firms have been working towards enhancing their fleet sizes and increasing the level of profitability. Enterprise currently the company with the largest fleet in the US has added 75,000 vehicles to its fleet since 2002 which help increase its number of facilities to 170 at the airports. Hertz, on the other hand, has added 25,000 vehicles and broadened its international presence in 150 counties as opposed to 140 in 2002. In addition, Avis has increased its fleet from 210,000 in 2002 to 220,000 despite recent economic adversities. Over the years following the economic downturn, although most companies throughout the industry were struggling, Enterprise among the industry leaders had been growing steadily. For example, annual sales reached $6.3 in 2001, $6.5 in 2002, $6.9 in 2003 and $7.4 billion in 2004 which translated into a growth rate of 7.2 percent a year for the past four years. Since 2002, the industry has started to regain its footing in the sector as overall sales grew from $17.9 billion to $18.2 billion in 2003. According to industry analysts, the better days of the rental car industry have yet to come. Over the course of the next several years, the industry is expected to experience accelerated growth valued at $20.89 billion each year following 2008 “which equates to a CAGR of 2.7 % [increase] in the 2003-2008 period.”

Distribution

Over the past few years the rental car industry has made a great deal of progress to facilitate it distribution processes. Today, there are approximately 19,000 rental locations yielding about 1.9 million rental cars in the US. Because of the increasingly abundant number of car rental locations in the US, strategic and tactical approaches are taken into account in order to insure proper distribution throughout the industry. Distribution takes place within two interrelated segments. On the corporate market, the cars are distributed to airports and hotel surroundings. On the leisure segment, on the other hand, cars are distributed to agency owned facilities that are conveniently located within most major roads and metropolitan areas.

In the past, managers of rental car companies used to rely on gut-feelings or intuitive guesses to make decisions about how many cars to have in a particular fleet or the utilization level and performance standards of keeping certain cars in one fleet. With that methodology, it was very difficult to maintain a level of balance that would satisfy consumer demand and the desired level of profitability. The distribution process is fairly simple throughout the industry. To begin with, managers must determine the number of cars that must be on inventory on a daily basis. Because a very noticeable problem arises when too many or not enough cars are available, most car rental companies including Hertz, Enterprise and Avis, use a “pool” which is a group of independent rental facilities that share a fleet of vehicles. Basically, with the pools in place, rental locations operate more efficiently since they reduce the risk of low inventory if not eliminate rental car shortages.

Market Segmentation

Most companies throughout the chain make a profit based of the type of cars that are rented. The rental cars are categorized into economy, compact, intermediate, premium and luxury. Among the five categories, the economy sector yields the most profit. For instance, the economy segment by itself is responsible for 37.7 percent of the total market revenue in 2004. In addition, the compact segment accounted for 32.3 percent of overall revenue. The rest of the other categories covers the remaining 30 percent for the US segment.

Historical Levels of Profitability

The overall profitability of the car rental industry has been shrinking in recent years. Over the past five years, the industry has been struggling just like the rest of the travel industry. In fact, between the years 2001 and 2003 the US market has experienced a moderate reduction in the level of profitability. Specifically, revenue fell from $19.4 billion in 2000 to $18.2 billion in 2001. Subsequently, the overall industry revenue eroded further to $17.9 billion in 2002; an amount that is minimally higher than $17.7 billion which is the overall revenue for the year 1999. In 2003, the industry experienced a barely noticeable increase which brought profit to $18.2 billion. As a result of the economic downturn in recent years, some of the smaller players that were highly dependent on the airline industry have done a great deal of strategy realignments as a way of preparing their companies to cope with eventual economic adversities that may surround the industry. For the year 2004, on the other hand, the economic situation of most firms have gradually improved throughout the industry since most rental agencies have returned far greater profits relative to the anterior years. For instance, Enterprise realized revenues of $7.4 billion; Hertz returned revenues of $5.2 billion and Avis with $2.9 billion in revenue for the fiscal year of 2004. According to industry analysts, the rental car industry is expected to experience steady growth of 2.6 percent in revenue over the next several years which translates into an increase in profit.

Competitive Rivalry Among Sellers

There are many factors that drive competition within the car rental industry. Over the past few years, broadening fleet sizes and increasing profitability has been the focus of most companies within the car rental industry. Enterprise, Hertz and Avis among the leaders have been growing both in sales and fleet sizes. In addition, competition intensifies as firms are constantly trying to improve their current conditions and offer more to consumers. Enterprise has nearly doubled its fleet size since 1993 to approximately 600,000 cars today. Because the industry operates on such narrow profit margins, price competition is not a factor; however, most companies are actively involved in creating values and providing a range of amenities from technological gadgets to even free rental to satisfy customers. Hertz, for example, integrates its Never-Lost GPS system within its cars. Enterprise, on the other hand, uses sophisticated yield management software to manage its fleets.

Finally, Avis uses its OnStar and Skynet system to better serve the consumer base and offers free weekend rental if a customer rents a car for five consecutive days Moreover, the consumer base of the rental car industry has relatively low to no switching cost. Conversely, rental agencies face high fixed operating costs including property rental, insurance and maintenance. Consequently, rental agencies are sensitively pricing there rental cars just to recover operating costs and adequately meet their customers demands. Furthermore, because the industry experienced slow growth in recent years due to economic stagnation that resulted in a massive decline in both corporate travel and the leisure sector, most companies including the industry leaders are aggressively trying to reposition their firms by gradually lessening the dependency level on the airline industry and regaining their footing in the leisure competitive arena.

The Potential Entry of new Competitors

Entering the car rental industry puts new comers at a serious disadvantage. Over the past few years following the economic downturn of 2001, most major rental companies have started increasing their market shares in the vacation sector of the industry as a way of insuring stability and lowering the level of dependency between the airline and the car rental industry. While this trend has engendered long term success for the existing firms, it has heightened the competitive landscape for new comers. Because of the severity of competition, existing firms such as Enterprise, Hertz and Avis carefully monitor their competitive radars to anticipate Sharpe retaliatory strikes against new entrants. Another barrier to entry is created because of the saturation level of the industry.

For example, Enterprise has taken the first mover advantage with its 6000 facilities by saturating the leisure segment thereby placing not only high restrictions on the most common distribution channels, but also high resource requirements for new firms. Today, Enterprise has a rental location within 15 miles of 90 percent of the US population. Because of the network of dealers Enterprise has established around the nation, it has become relatively stable, more recession proof and most importantly, less reliant on the airline industry compared to its competitors. Hertz, on the other hand, is utilizing the full spectrum of its 7200 stores to secure its position in the marketplace. Basically, the emergence of most of the industry leaders into the leisure market not only drives rivalry, but also it varies directly with the level of complexity of entering the car rental industry.

The Threat of Substitute

There are many substitutes available for the car rental industry. From a technological standpoint, renting a car to go the distance for a meeting is a less attractive alternative as opposed to video conferencing, virtual teams and collaboration software with which a company can immediately setup a meeting with its employees from anywhere around the world at a cheaper cost. In addition, there are other alternatives including taking a cab which is a satisfactory substitute relative to quality and switching cost, but it may not be as attractively priced as a rental car for the course of a day or more. While public transportation is the most cost efficient of the alternatives, it is more costly in terms of the process and time it takes to reach one’s destination. Finally, because flying offers convenience, speed and performance, it is a very enticing substitute; however, it is an unattractive alternative in terms of price relative to renting a car. On the business segment, car rental agencies have more protection against substitutes since many companies have implemented travel policies that establish the parameters of when renting a car or using a substitute is the best course of action.

According to Tracy Esch, an Advantage director of marketing operations, her company rents cars up to a 200-mile trip before considering an alternative. Basically, the threat of substitute is reasonably low in the car rental industry since the effects the substitute products have do not pose a significant threat of profit erosion throughout the industry.

The Bargaining Power of Suppliers

Supplier power is low in the car rental industry. Because of the availability of substitutes and the level of competition, suppliers do not have a great deal of influence in the terms and conditions of supplying the rental cars. Because the rental cars are usually purchased in bulk, rental car agents have significant influence over the terms of the sale since they possess the ability to play one supplier against another to lower the sales price. Another factor that reduces supplier power is the absence of switching cost. That is, buyers are not affected from purchasing from one supplier over another and most importantly, changing to different supplier’s products is barely noticeable and does not affect consumer’s rental choices.

The Bargaining Power of Buyers

While the leisure sector has little or no power, the business segment possesses a significant amount of influence in the car rental industry. An interesting trend that is currently underway throughout the industry is forcing car rental companies to adapt to the needs of corporate travelers. This trend significantly reduces supplier power or the rental firms’ power and increases corporate buyer power since the business segment is excruciatingly price sensitive, well informed about the industry’s price structure, purchase in larger quantities and they use the internet to force lower prices. Vacation buyers, on the other hand, have less influence over the rental terms. Because vacationers are usually less price sensitive, purchase in lesser amounts or purchase more infrequently, they have weak bargaining power.

Five Forces

Today the car rental industry is facing a completely different environment than it did five years ago. Competitively speaking, the revolution of the five forces around the car rental industry exerts some strong economic pressure that has significantly tarnished the competitive attractiveness of the industry. As a result of the economic downturn in recent years, many companies went under namely Budget and the Vanguard Group because their business infrastructure succumbed to the untenability of the competitive environment. Today, very few firms including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis return a slightly above-average revenue compared to the rest of the industry. Realistically speaking, the car rental sector is not a very attractive industry because of the level of competition, the barriers to entry and the competitive pressure from the substitute firms.

Strategic Group Mapping

As a moderately concentrated sector, there is a clear hierarchy in the car rental industry. From an economic standpoint, disparities exist from a number of dimensions including revenue, fleet size and the market size each firm holds in the market place. For instance, Enterprise dominates the industry with a fleet size of approximately 600,000 vehicles along with its market size and its level of profitability. Hertz comes in second position with its number of market shares and fleet volume. In addition, Avis ranks third on the map. Avis is among one of the companies that is having issues recovering its revenue margins from prior to the economic downturn. For instance, in 2000 Avis returned revenues of approximately $4.23 billion. Over the course of the next several years following 2000, the revenue of Avis has been significantly lower than that of 2000. As a way of reducing uncertainty most companies are gradually lessening the level of dependency on the airline industry and emerging the leisure market. This trend may not be in the best interest of Hertz since its business strategy is intricately linked to the airports.

Key Success Factors

There are many key success factors that drive profitability throughout the car rental industry. Capacity utilization is one of the factors that determines success in the industry. Because rental firms experience loss of revenue when there are either too few or too many cars sitting in their lots, it is of paramount importance to efficiently manage the fleets. This success factor represents a big strength for the industry since it lowers if not completely eliminates the possibly of running short on rental cars. Efficient distribution is another factor that keeps the industry profitable. Despite the positive relationship between fleet sizes and the level of profitability, firms are constantly growing their fleet sizes because of the competitive forces that surround the industry. In addition, convenience is one of the crucial attributes by which consumers select rental firms. That is, car rental consumers are more prone to renting cars from firms that have convenient rental and drop off locations. Another key success factor that is common among competing firms is the integration of technology in their business processes. Through technology, for instance, the car rental companies create ways to meet consumer demand by making renting a car a very agreeable ordeal by adding the convenience of online rental among other alternatives. Furthermore, firms have integrated navigation systems along with roadside assistance to offer customers the piece of mind when renting cars.

Industry Attractiveness

There are many factors that impact the attractiveness of the car rental industry. Because the industry is moderately concentrated, it puts new market entrants at a disadvantage. That is, its low concentration represents a natural barrier to entering the industry as it allows existing firm to anticipate sharp retaliations against new entrants. Because of the risks associated with entering the industry among other factors, it is not a very attractive sector of the marketplace. From a competitive standpoint, the leisure market is 90 percent saturated because of the active efforts of Enterprise to dominate this sector of the market. On the other hand, the airport terminals are heavily guarded by Hertz. Realistically speaking, entry in the industry offers low profitability relative to the costs and risks associated. For most consumers, the main determining factors of choosing one company over another are price and convenience. Because of this reason, rental firms are very circumspect about setting their rates and that generally force even the industry major players in the position of offering more to the consumers for less just to remain competitive. Hertz, for example, offers wireless internet to its customers just to add more convenience to their travel plans. Avis on the other hand, offers free weekend specials if a customer rents a car for five consecutive weekdays. Based on the impact of the five forces, the car rental sector is not a very attractive industry to potential new market entrants.

Conclusion

The rental car industry is in a state of recovery. Although it may seem like the industry is performing well financially, it is nonetheless gradually regaining its footing relative to its actual economic position within the last five years. As a way of insuring profitability, besides seeking market shares and stability, most companies throughout the chain have a common goal that deals with lowering the level of dependency on the airline industry and moving toward the leisure segment. This state of motion has engendered some fierce competition among industry competitors as they attempt to defend their market shares. From a futuristic perspective, the better days of the car rental industry have yet to come. As the level of profitability increases, I believe that most of the industry leaders including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis will be bounded by the economic and competitive barriers of mobility of their strategic groups and new comers will have a better chance of infiltrating and realizing success in the car rental industry.

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Source by Rodrigue Monestime