Don't Rent from Thrifty in Honolulu

[Tom O.]

Just off the Island Princess which made a port stop at Honolulu. Don’t rent a car from Thrifty there. First their shuttle service to the airport was the worst of all the companies. We waited at the pier area and watched all the other rental companies go by several times. We had to wait over an hour before they showed up.

But even worse is their location. They are not located where all the other rental agencies are. So while attempting to return a car, we simply followed the airport signs that say “Rental Car Return,” only to find that all the companies are lined up there except Thrifty. We looked through the rental paperwork that was given to us – no map – no instructions – nothing. We drove all around the airport area for some time, in a panic, until I recognized an intersection that our shuttle had gone through that morning. I somehow managed to find it, even though there were no signs of any kind directing me there. Lucky for us the ship didn’t leave until 11pm that night so we had plenty of time. If we had to leave at 5pm, we may very well have missed the ship.

I had excellent service from Thrifty at all the other ports in Hawaii. Except in Lahaina (Maui), where Thrifty has no service, so I used Dollar.

[vjblk]

I'm sorry you had what you would consider a bad experience with Thrifty but I guess my question is did you not take note where you picked your car up? Usually you return your car to where you picked it up. At least in my experience that's the way it has worked. I know their airport location is not in the airport itself and I am assuming you picked your car up there. Did you not think that you had to return your car to where you picked it up? If I recall their lot has plenty of signs on where to return the car. It sounds like you made an assumption on where to return your car and shouldn't blame Thrifty for that. I've always had a good experience with Thrifty when renting from them on land vacations in Honolulu, even from the Seaside location that has gotten some bad words on these threads. I guess maybe I'm just anal but before I leave a rental lot I always make sure I know where their entrance is for returns so that I know exactly where to return the car.

 

Sorry your experience left you with a bad taste for Thrifty in Honolulu.

[emalemi]

Tomo:

 

When I booked at each port, I asked for the telephone number of the location. Not only so if we got lost we could call for directions, (this came in handy since we DID get lost), but also to call if the shuttle had not arrived yet.

 

That said, I agree that the thrifty location in Honolulu is tricky to find!

 

In Honolulu we had called the thrifty office around 7AM to request a shuttle as soon as we arrived in port but they told us it would be 8:30 before their service even started. Instead of waiting, we went directly to a taxi right off the ship, and even HE could not find the Thrifty location!! We drove around and around, and my husband could tell he did not know where it was and told me to call thrifty for directions. I'm glad we did, because when we told the taxi driver the address, he had to go in a different direction. He too was following the "rental car" signs.

 

I remember it sitting back from the Nimitz Highway between a honda dealership and Enterprise rental car. Hard to see from the highway!

 

vjblk:

 

We too had wonderful service from Thrifty and I would definitely rent from them again. We rented for 2 days in Maui, 1 day in Kauai and our last day in Hono. The shuttle service on all our other days was excellent.

[bug_dan]

Alamo is another agency whose airport location is not at the Airport, rather about 1 mile east. To their credit, they add directions to the location on the front of the drive guide. I sympathize with the OP since I don't like to ask for directions either, maybe renting a GPS or bringing one with you ????

[Bucky3]

Agree with Tom O completely. We also rented from Thrifty in Honolulu with somewhat the same experience and would not rent from them again in Honolulu. We did have good service in Hilo and Kauai. In Maui we used Enterprise, and it was excellent. In Kona we used Dollar at the King K hotel across from the pier. One plus for Thrifty in Honolulu was that we returned the car to the Seaside St. location. DH knows Waikiki well, but it was still a hassle finding the driveway to that location - no signs, just an address. They did shuttle us to the Halekulani after we returned the car - those mai tais were really good! There were six of us so we taxied back to the ship from there.

[HawaiiCruisers]

It seems to me that the topic should be something different than it is.

 

From the read of the board it isn't that Thrifty cheated or provided excessive prices or were dishonest they just seem to have an inconvienent location. Which is the case of most car rental agencies world wide. I just hate it when I walk out the airport the car is not curbside.

 

I would suggest that the topic be something more along the lines of be informed about renting a car in Honolulu, well for that matter anywhere.

 

Yes Thrifty and Alamo do not have airport locations but usually they have the least expensive rental rates -- in part because of the location.

 

Thrifty is a good company to rent from in Honolulu not a bad company as implied by the thread name.

[JohnL1935]

Maybe it's me but I always feel it an accomplishment to follow the signs and find the rental return location. I always feel "pushed" by other drivers and an instant decision seems to be necessary to follow the signs in the maze of turn offs, etc. Once in Vegas I ended up in a parking garage and had to argue with the cashier not to pay since I was only in their garage a minute or two. That turn-off was with my BIL next to me helping to navigate.

 

I don't know if Thrifty uses the same garage in Waikiki as Alamo but even after getting into the garage I ran out of Alamo direction arrows and had to ask someone inside where Alamo was when I approached one of those unmarked forks in the "road". Maybe it is me...

 

John L.

[JDMOR]

Strange!! I recently rented a car from Thrifty in Honolulu. The shuttle from Aloha Tower seemed to run a frequently as the other companies. The location of the "off airport" Thrifty location (and better prices) is clearly shown on the inside back page of their "Oahu Maps" handout. Includes written directions from oher Oahu locations. As the old saying goes, "If all else fails, read the instruction manual". Also had good service on Maui and Kauai.

[Tom O.]

Quoted from vjblk: I guess my question is did you not take note where you picked your car up?

This is easier said than done. I am in a large city that I have never been in before. I did not drive there myself (took a shuttle). Since it was an airport location I assumed it was located near the other airport rentals. With all the stress of waiting an hour for a shuttle I forgot to look through the paperwork to see if there was return instructions like I have received with every other car I have ever rented - there was none. The location is right next to the freeway, but there is no offramp near by. You must drive through a maze of industrial roads to get there.

 

Quoted from JDMOR: "Strange!! I recently rented a car from Thrifty in Honolulu. The shuttle from Aloha Tower seemed to run a frequently as the other companies. The location of the "off airport" Thrifty location (and better prices) is clearly shown on the inside back page of their "Oahu Maps" handout."

Could be that the shuttle service for Thrifty was bad that day. The previous day in Hilo we had a wonderful shuttle driver. He drove by the return point to make sure we all knew where to return our cars and gave us some tips of places to go to. The Honolulu shuttle driver never said a word to us. Same company, two different employees. We never received a copy of the Oahu Maps handout you mentioned.

[darthwolf]

Hi, Just wondering if the Thrifty Car rental is apart from the airport, will then shuttle me to the airport after I return my car?

 

Or is it just a short walk away?

 

thanks

[lindajeff]

Hi, Just wondering if the Thrifty Car rental is apart from the airport, will then shuttle me to the airport after I return my car?

 

Or is it just a short walk away?

 

thanks

 

Yes, they will pick you up from the pier AND when you are done visiting Oahu, they will take you to the airport (too far to walk).

[trstr]

I rented a car prior to my cruise and the end of my cruise from thrifty in honolulu. They were all nice and efficient. The shuttle seeemed timely. However the first time I returned I could not find their location. The signs take you to a different area for rental cars return where thrifty is not. The 800 number also was no help since they told me it was on Nimitz Hwy and it is actually on a service road. I got there by insisting to talk to the local office. Thrifty should add some signage for returns to be helpful.

[HawaiiCruisers]

I rented a car prior to my cruise and the end of my cruise from thrifty in honolulu. They were all nice and efficient. The shuttle seeemed timely. However the first time I returned I could not find their location. The signs take you to a different area for rental cars return where thrifty is not. The 800 number also was no help since they told me it was on Nimitz Hwy and it is actually on a service road. I got there by insisting to talk to the local office. Thrifty should add some signage for returns to be helpful.

 

They might not have signage because it might be against the law. When I rent a car I always check to be sure that I know where to return it. Thrifty has some of the better rates -- why? Because as in most places where companies have good rates they are off the airport.

 

Why do I always verify where to return the car to..... I once made the mistake of not asking but assuming and found myself in a much too stressful position. It wasn't the rental car companies fault they told me but I didn't pay attention.

[waiting2retire]

Tom O, I really want to thank you for posting this thread. I read it before I left for Hawaii (first timer), and decided to keep my reservation with Thrify in Honolulu, but because of your advice, I watched the road very closely when I was on the shuttle to the rental office. Even with that close observation, I had to do a quick u-turn on Nimitz when I missed the right cut-off to the service road.

 

I have no idea how long I might have wandered around had I not read of your experience. Thanks again!

 

Bonnie

[Budget Queen]

Frankly- this isn't the fault of Thrify for you not knowing the location for return. Our shuttle bus driver was very explicit in pointing out landmarks for the return. It sounds like you were not paying attention to the drive, since it certainly was not located at the airport. In addition- the map booket, at the counter- had a very detailed directions for the Thrifty rental return location.

 

You have written a great post for others to consider and pay attention to locations.

 

I rented from them last week with no problems.

[Coolcruise02]

We rented from Thrifty and had great service but we used the Sea Side location. We called when the ship docked in Honolulu and the shuttle van was there in 15 min.