Searching for Car Availability

You can shop for rental cars using the Car Availability Search screen.

Equivalent Terminal Formats
To search for car availability:

  1. Open the Car Availability Search screen.

    In Flex Windows, click the Search icon to select Car Availability Search.

    • Classic Windows. From the SEARCH menu, select Car Availability Search.

    • Use the Calendar to search for cars for a selected date range.

    • Click on a booked Air Segment number within a PNR/Booking File and select Cars.

      If you select this option, flight-related information for locations, dates, and flight numbers is pre-populated on the Car Search Availability screen.

    The Car Availability Search screen is displayed.

    Note: This example shows a Search screen in Flex Windows. Classic Windows has a different layout, but displays the same fields.

    In Flex Windows, the Search screen is displayed as a side panel in the Travelport Smartpoint screen. You can choose to pin the side panel so that you can simultaneously view the PNR window.

    By default the side panel is unpinned and collapses automatically if you click a location outside of the side panel. However, you can click the Pin icon to retain the side panel if you work in other locations in the Travelport Smartpoint screen.

    You can also click the Collapse arrow at any time to close the pinned or unpinned side panel.

  2. If applicable, select the Use arrival flight details check box to pre-populate the dates, locations, and flight number from the associated air segment. This check box is displayed only if you opened the Car Availability Search by clicking a booked Air segment number.

    Reservation Details

  3. In Pick-Up City, enter the city code or city name where the traveler wants to pick up the rental car. Click the selected city or press ENTER.

    Notes:

    • The closest match to your entry displays at the bottom of the list. If the code is unknown, Smartpoint displays a name list when you type in the full city name.

    • If you are training or testing, and do not want to use actual inventory, you can enter XXX for the Test City code in place of an actual city code.

  4. Optional. Click the Reference Point drop-down arrow to select a reference point for the pick-up location.

    You can search for car rental locations based on landmarks or places of interest. Travelport Smartpoint lists reference points for the city you have entered, if available for that city.

    1. In City, enter a city code or city name. As you type, the closest match displays at the bottom of the list.
    2. Click the Reference point drop-down arrow to select a location.

    1. Select a Pick-Up Location near the reference point.

  5. Optional. Click the Pick-Up Location drop-down arrow to select from a specific location and location code in the requested city. Click the selected location or press ENTER.

    Notes:

    • If a Pick-Up Location is not specified, the main airport associated with the city is used.

    • There is a known issue in Smartpoint 11.1 that may cause the location list to display as blank. If this issue occurs, click the arrow again. If the issue persists, please contact the Smartpoint Help Desk.

  6. In Pick-Up Date, enter or change the desired pick-up date or click the Calendar icon to select a date from the drop-down calendar. The current date is highlighted in green.

    Tip! In Smartpoint 9.1 and later, you can search and book on the previous two days, if an earlier date is valid in the time zone of the itinerary city or location.

    As of Smartpoint 9.1, you can use follow the sun functionality to create or change bookings that occur one or two days before the current date in your agency's time zone. These updates apply calendars and date fields in Search menus, Tools menus, Smartpanel, and Sell menus.

    For example:

    On November 20 at 05:00, an agent in Dubai (UTC+4) needs to rebook a flight from Honolulu (UTC-10) to Los Angeles. Because the flight pair occurs on the other side of the International Dateline, the time Honolulu is 15:00 on November 19. The agent in Dubai can successfully enter November 19 for a search or sell because November 19 is currently a valid date in Honolulu.

    Some location pairs in the Pacific have a two-day time difference. The biggest time difference between two places on Earth is 26 hours between:

    • The Howland Islands, which are the farthest west and use a time zone of -12 hours UTC.

    • The Line Islands in the Republic of Kiribati, which are the farthest east and use time zone of +14 hours UTC.

  7. In Pick-Up Time, enter or change the desired pick-up time or click the Calendar icon to select a time from the drop-down list.
    You can enter any time format accepted by the host, including formats such as 1A, 1P, 13, and 1300.

  8. Optional. The Drop-Off City automatically displays the selected Pick-Up City. To change the Drop-Off City, enter the city code or city name where the traveler wants to drop off the rental car. Click the selected city or press ENTER.

  9. Optional. Click the Reference Point drop-down arrow to select a reference point for the drop-off location.

  10. Optional. The Drop-Off Location automatically displays the selected Pick-Up Location. To change the Drop-Off Location, click the Drop-Off Location drop-down arrow to select from a specific location and location code in the requested city. Click the selected location or press ENTER.

  11. In Drop-Off Date and Drop-Off Time, enter or change the date and time that the traveler wants to drop off the rental car.

  12. Optional. Enter the carrier and flight number for the arriving flight. The flight number is pre-populated if you opened the Car Availability Search by clicking an air segment number.

    Additional Search Options

  13. Enter any of the desired Additional Search Options, such as rate codes, corporate discount numbers, loyalty numbers, and preferred suppliers, car types, and locations.

    The Car Availability Search screen allows you to search by a number of optional modifiers.

    The following optional modifiers can be added to a search.

    Search Option

    Description

    Location Preference

    A preferred type of location such as terminal, city (center), suburb, or resort.

    For Travelport+ (1G) and Apollo (1V), the preferred location format is /L-x, where x is one of the following location values:

    C = City

    S = All Suburbs

    NS = North Suburbs

    ES = East Suburbs

    SS = South Suburbs

    WS = West Suburbs

    R = Resort

    T = Terminal Only

    0 = Off Terminal

    Car Type

    Car Type codes combine other Car Search Options, such as categories, classes, door counts, and fuel types. For example: CBMN = 2-Door Compact Manual No Air.

    When you select a Car Type, the fields for the corresponding Car Search Options automatically populate.

    Car Size

    Requests a car size, such as Mini, Compact, or Full Size. Car sizes may also be combined with car classes, such as Elite Economy or Luxury Intermediate.

    Category

    Requests a car category, such as 2-door, 4-door, Convertible, Passenger Van, or Limousine.

    Transmission Drive

    Requests a specific transmission type, such as manual, automatic, four-wheel drive (4WD), and all-wheel drive (AWD).

    Fuel/AC

    Requests fuel types and air conditioning options.

    Rate Code

    Select a Rental Company from the drop-down list of car rental companies. Then enter the applicable rate code for that supplier in the Rate Code field.

    • You can enter only one rate code within a search request.
    • If you request a Corporate ID or Frequent Renter Number for more than one car rental company, the Rate Code field is disabled.

    If previously added a rate code in the PNR/Booking File, the rate code is pre-populated.

    • Rate codes from a PNR/Booking File or Client File/PRO-file data override pre-population from the last availability entry.
    • If multiple rate codes are found in the PNR/Booking File, Smartpoint uses the first rate code and ignores any additional rate codes.
    • If the required rate code is not already included in a Client File/PRO-file associated to the PNR/Booking File, you can also add rate codes by creating a remark using either a terminal entry or the Other Remarks tab of the PNR/Booking File Remarks screen.

    If the rate code does not display automatically, it may have been entered in a format that is not supported by Smartpoint. Contact your Travelport representative to request a configuration change to match your agency's format.

    • *C*Rate Code ZE ABC123
    • *C*Rate Code ZE/ABC123
    • *C*Rate Code ZE-ABC123

    Frequent renter numbers can be added in individual lines or with multiple numbers on one line. For example: *C*Rate Code ZE-ABC/Rate Code ZL-123XYZ.

    Historical Remarks (HC**) and Confidential Remarks (HC**) are also supported.

    • C/Rate Code ZE ABC123
    • C/Rate Code ZE/ABC123
    • C/Rate Code ZE-ABC123

    Frequent renter numbers can be added in individual lines or with multiple numbers on one line. For example: C/Rate Code ZE-ABC/Rate Code ZL-123XYZ.

    Rate Category

    Requests availability by rate category, such as Association, Business, Corporate, and Government.

    Prepaid rates must be specifically requested. Using a terminal entry, append /Y to your car search request (e.g., CAL13JAN-15JANDEN/ARR-1400/DT-1400/Y). In the Car Availability Search panel, choose Prepaid Rate in Rate Category.

    A PREPAID header is displayed in the car availability display. Prepaid rates are indicated by the P in the Guarantee field.

    Click a rate to confirm the prepaid rate category in the Rate Detail section of the Rate Rules. The Special Text Comments section details cancellation and no show penalties.

    Refer to Car Prepaid Rates for more information and FAQs.

    Rental Company

    Select a rental company (vendor or supplier) to limit the car availability display to that rental company only.

    Click the Add icon to add more rental companies. A maximum of four rental companies can be included in the request.

    Corporate Discount

    Select a Rental Company and enter an associated Corporate Discount (CD) code.

    A maximum of four frequent corporate discount codes can be added.

    A known issue in Smartpoint 10.1 can cause a pre-populated Corporate Discount (CD) code and corresponding Rental Company to not display when the Car Search screen is opened from the PNR/Booking File. This information displays correctly when the screen is opened from the Search menu.

    This issue was corrected in Smartpoint 11.0.

    Where ZD is the vendor code and 2345678 is the corporate discount identifier.

    • Apollo (1V): >³:5C/ZD CD-2345678

    • Travelport+ (1G): NP.ZD CD-2345678.

      Note that 1G adds corporate discount codes as notepad remarks.

    Corporate discount codes can also be added through profiles or remarks.

    If previously added a corporate discount in the PNR/Booking File, the corporate discount code is pre-populated.

    • Corporate discounts from a PNR/Booking File or Client File/PRO-file data override pre-population from the last availability entry.
    • If the required corporate discount is not already included in a Client File/PRO-file associated to the PNR/Booking File, you can also add corporate discount codes by creating a remark using either a terminal entry or the Other Remarks tab of the PNR/Booking File Remarks screen.

    If the corporate discount does not display automatically, it may have been entered in a format that is not supported by Smartpoint. Contact your Travelport representative to request a configuration change to match your agency's format.

    • *C*ZE CD 162744
    • *C*ZE CD/162744
    • *C*ZE CD-162744

    Corporate discount numbers can be added in individual lines or with multiple numbers on one line. For example: *C*ZE CD-162744/ZL CD-1234556.

    Historical Remarks (HC**) and Confidential Remarks (HC**) are also supported.

    • C/ZE CD 162744/ZL
    • C/ZE CD/162744/ZL
    • C/ZE CD-162744/ZL

    Corporate discount numbers can be added in individual lines or with multiple numbers on one line. For example: C/ZE CD-162744/ZL CD-1234556.

    Frequent Renter Number

    Select a Rental Company and enter an associated Frequent Renter Number.

    • A maximum of four frequent renter numbers can be added.

    If you previously added frequent renter numbers in a PNR/Booking File, any frequent renter numbers associated to the primary traveler are pre-populated. If more than one frequent renter number is associated to the selected rental company, click the drop-down arrow to select the desired number.

    • Frequent renter numbers from a PNR/Booking File or Client File/PRO-file data override pre-population from the last availability entry.
    • If the required frequent renter numbers are not already included in a Client File/PRO-file associated to the PNR/Booking File, you can also add requent renter numbers by creating a remark using either a terminal entry or the Other Remarks tab of the PNR/Booking File Remarks screen.

    If frequent renter numbers do not display automatically, they may have been entered in a format that is not supported by Smartpoint. Contact your Travelport representative to request a configuration change to match your agency's format.

    Frequent renter numbers can be added in individual lines or with multiple numbers on one line. For example: *C*/ZE ID-ABC123/ZL ID-1234556.

    Historical Remarks (HC**) and Confidential Remarks (HC**) are also supported.

    Frequent renter numbers can be added in individual lines or with multiple numbers on one line. For example: C/ZE ID-ABC123/ZL ID-1234556.

    Promotional Code

    Select a Rental Company and enter an associated Promotional Code.

    Tour Code

    Select a Rental Company and enter an associated Tour Code.

  14. Click SEARCH to display the car availability to the Terminal Window.

    Tip!
    If your car search is unsuccessful or if you decide to change your search request, your entries continue to be displayed when you open the Car Availability Search screen again for the Search menu.

    All of original entries remain the same, except for:

    1. Car Type. If you requested a Car Type, the type information is displayed separately in the Size, Category, Transmssion/Drive, and Fuel/AC lists. However, you can still use Car Type to indicate these car modifiers in your new request.
    2. Vendor-specific information such as negotiated rate codes or corporate discounts. For example, if your original request data includes a corporate discount code for vendor code ZE, but you limit the request only to ZI vendor locations, the corporate discount code for ZE is removed. If you change the request again to permit ZE, the corporate discount code is redisplayed.

    If you want to erase your changes, you can either:

    • Click the RESET ALL to begin again with a fresh Car Availability Search screen.
    • Click Reset in the Additional Search Options section to clear your search options in that section only.
    Note: The Reset feature can be affected if information is entered in more than one section. For example, the Search screen contains both a:
    • Pick-Up and/or Drop-Off Location in the Reservation Details section.
    • Vendor listed in Rate Code field in the Additional Search Options section.

    If you click Reset in the Additional Search Options section, entries for both the Additional Search Options and the Pick-Up and/or Drop-Off Location sections are cleared. This situation occurs because the vendor in Pick-Up or Drop-Off Location is associated to the vendor listed for the Rate Code. However, only one vendor can be associated to a non-airport location.

Completed Screen Example

The following example shows a Car Availability request with:

  • A pick up in Miami and drop off in Orlando.
  • A terminal-only preferred location.
  • A selected Car Type of EMBR, which automatically populates the Size, Category, Transmission/Drive, and Fuel/AC fields.
  • A specified rental car company.
  • A promotional rate code.