WEBVTT - Silvercar Is a Better Car Rental Experience 0:00:04.480 --> 0:00:07.120 All right, throwaway everything you know about renting a car, 0:00:07.160 --> 0:00:09.320 because Silvercar does it differently. 0:00:09.400 --> 0:00:10.719 What's going on. I'm Richtemiro. 0:00:10.880 --> 0:00:13.280 This is Rich on Tech Daily and joining me today 0:00:13.360 --> 0:00:16.599 is Courtney Lol. She is with Silvercar and you're here 0:00:16.600 --> 0:00:19.440 to tell us all about how Silvercar is different when 0:00:19.480 --> 0:00:21.800 it comes to the car rental process and also what 0:00:21.840 --> 0:00:22.200 you get. 0:00:22.320 --> 0:00:22.560 Yeah. 0:00:22.560 --> 0:00:25.000 Absolutely, I mean when's the last time that you said 0:00:25.040 --> 0:00:26.160 I can't wait to rent a car? 0:00:26.200 --> 0:00:28.840 Probably never, pretty much never. But here's the thing. 0:00:28.880 --> 0:00:31.440 So my thing about rental cars, number one is that 0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:34.360 they never have a sunroof. Yeah, every Silver car has 0:00:34.400 --> 0:00:34.959 a sunroof. 0:00:35.080 --> 0:00:37.120 Yeah, I mean every the thing about silver cars. We 0:00:37.200 --> 0:00:40.160 really set out to solve the two biggest pain points 0:00:40.200 --> 0:00:42.560 for the industry, which is never knowing what you're gonna 0:00:42.600 --> 0:00:45.800 get and what we call the hassle. With Silver Car, 0:00:45.840 --> 0:00:47.800 we really take all the headache out of that and 0:00:47.840 --> 0:00:50.200 make it fun so you get an Audi every time 0:00:50.560 --> 0:00:54.360 those Audis have silver have sun roofs. You also don't 0:00:54.360 --> 0:00:56.840 have to wait in line or fill out paperwork and 0:00:56.880 --> 0:00:59.600 do that same process that you go through with all 0:00:59.600 --> 0:01:02.760 of the Trudition car players because we are delivering it 0:01:02.800 --> 0:01:04.240 all via a mobile app. 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:06.560 Okay, So you sign up on the mobile app, you 0:01:06.600 --> 0:01:08.280 rent it from the mobile app, then when you get 0:01:08.280 --> 0:01:11.280 to the location, you just scan a QR code on 0:01:11.760 --> 0:01:12.960 the front of the car. 0:01:12.920 --> 0:01:16.040 Exactly and you wait for that to unlock. Your trunk 0:01:16.120 --> 0:01:17.880 pops open, and away you go. 0:01:18.959 --> 0:01:20.640 So tell me who is Silvercar for. 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:24.680 So, Silvercar is really for anyone who enjoys a great 0:01:24.760 --> 0:01:29.280 travel experience. So, whether you're going for business, you want 0:01:29.280 --> 0:01:32.680 to make sure that number one time is valuable to you. 0:01:32.680 --> 0:01:34.440 You want to go from the plane to the car 0:01:34.480 --> 0:01:37.319 to you're meeting quickly, or you're going on a family 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:39.800 trip or a girls' weekend or a guys weekend, and 0:01:39.840 --> 0:01:41.560 you want to have a really cool car to be 0:01:41.560 --> 0:01:42.280 able to do that. 0:01:43.040 --> 0:01:44.399 Silvercar is that for you? 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:47.240 I think we like to say Sobercar is car rental 0:01:47.280 --> 0:01:48.440 for the modern traveler. 0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:52.280 And I feel like most of your users are very 0:01:52.320 --> 0:01:55.440 deliberate in seeking this brand out right now right. It's 0:01:55.440 --> 0:01:57.960 not like you just go to like a aggregator and 0:01:58.120 --> 0:02:01.040 get a Hurtz or whatever the other companies are out there. 0:02:01.600 --> 0:02:03.520 These are people that sort of hear about it and 0:02:03.560 --> 0:02:05.680 want to use the service, right. 0:02:05.640 --> 0:02:09.560 Yeah, absolutely, And you know there's no there's no value 0:02:09.600 --> 0:02:11.960 you can really put on word of mouth. We really 0:02:11.960 --> 0:02:14.679 do rely a lot on our customers to tell other 0:02:14.720 --> 0:02:18.880 people about their experience because that's what we we leave 0:02:18.919 --> 0:02:21.720 with experience. So whether you found out from a friend 0:02:21.840 --> 0:02:24.600 or you saw it on a you know, ad on Facebook, 0:02:24.760 --> 0:02:26.960 it definitely something that you seek out. But once you've 0:02:27.000 --> 0:02:30.320 found it, I will say, you very rarely ever go back. 0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:33.880 Okay, so let's talk about the cars. Audi purchased the 0:02:33.919 --> 0:02:37.040 company in twenty seventeen. So this was a startup Yep, 0:02:37.080 --> 0:02:39.560 that just did silver Audi's to start with, and then 0:02:39.600 --> 0:02:41.280 Audi was like, hey, this seems like a good business, 0:02:41.360 --> 0:02:43.440 let's just buy them since we're using our cars anyway. 0:02:43.600 --> 0:02:46.840 Yep, that happens. And what did that mean for the company? 0:02:46.919 --> 0:02:49.640 Yeah, I mean it's been really big things. So since 0:02:49.680 --> 0:02:54.519 the acquisition, which was completed in late twenty seventeen, we've 0:02:54.560 --> 0:02:56.120 opened eight new locations. 0:02:56.200 --> 0:02:57.200 We used to only. 0:02:57.000 --> 0:03:01.040 Have Audi A four's, which are their sedans. We've in 0:03:01.160 --> 0:03:05.040 January we released the Q five SUV, which really opens 0:03:05.120 --> 0:03:08.040 up a world of new opportunities and options for people 0:03:08.080 --> 0:03:10.360 with families or those that want. 0:03:10.160 --> 0:03:11.080 To go off roading. 0:03:12.160 --> 0:03:14.440 And you know, it's really just meant a lot more 0:03:14.480 --> 0:03:18.000 growth and a lot more offerings. We like I said, 0:03:18.040 --> 0:03:20.680 we're opening about a new location every month and show 0:03:20.720 --> 0:03:22.000 no signs of stopping there. 0:03:22.360 --> 0:03:25.840 And the cars are all kind of fully loaded, right, 0:03:25.880 --> 0:03:27.160 I mean, tell me some of the things you get 0:03:27.160 --> 0:03:30.240 Wi Fi, GPS, GPS. 0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:30.519 Serious radio. 0:03:31.240 --> 0:03:33.280 And then in certain locations, so for example, if you're 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:35.240 going to Denver or Salt Lake City and you want 0:03:35.240 --> 0:03:37.240 to go on a ski trip, we offer ski rocks 0:03:37.240 --> 0:03:40.480 for no extra cost, or San Diego we have surf 0:03:40.560 --> 0:03:41.880 racks for no extra cost. 0:03:42.640 --> 0:03:44.440 So we offer you a lot of that. 0:03:44.880 --> 0:03:48.000 Usable technology, but also the things that you need to 0:03:48.120 --> 0:03:49.680 just make it a more epic trip. 0:03:50.440 --> 0:03:54.200 Also, baby seats, like car seat rentals, you now have 0:03:54.320 --> 0:03:55.960 like included basically. 0:03:55.640 --> 0:03:57.960 So we actually so we offer car seats at no 0:03:58.040 --> 0:04:01.520 extra charge. And this mother we actually announced a new 0:04:01.520 --> 0:04:04.360 partnership with Italian car seat maker Peg Parago. 0:04:04.720 --> 0:04:06.920 It's a really high end luxury car seat. 0:04:07.440 --> 0:04:10.480 We did a study that showed that around seventy percent 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:13.240 of people are not comfortable with the car seats that 0:04:13.280 --> 0:04:18.240 they get from normal car seat providers, a normal rental providers, 0:04:18.600 --> 0:04:20.520 and they're charged twenty five dollars a day to do that, 0:04:20.760 --> 0:04:24.440 so we wanted to offer something that again improves the experience, 0:04:24.480 --> 0:04:25.920 and we don't want to charge you for it. 0:04:26.120 --> 0:04:28.640 And it's all I see the theme, the luxury theme, 0:04:28.760 --> 0:04:30.479 kind of the well premium theme. 0:04:30.320 --> 0:04:31.600 I guess is really what it is. 0:04:31.640 --> 0:04:34.640 Absolutely okay, So you said why FI get the navigation 0:04:35.040 --> 0:04:38.080 the satellite radio. I thought this was interesting too because 0:04:38.080 --> 0:04:41.039 two things I recently tested A ride in this thing, 0:04:41.600 --> 0:04:43.839 took it up to San Francisco for the week weekend 0:04:43.920 --> 0:04:47.320 maybe I think it was, and I didn't. I forgot, 0:04:47.360 --> 0:04:49.400 actually forgot to fill it up on the way back. Ye, 0:04:49.520 --> 0:04:50.800 So I was like, oh gosh, how much am I 0:04:50.800 --> 0:04:53.000 going to be hit with? And the fuel charge was 0:04:53.000 --> 0:04:55.120 actually very reasonable, So tell me about that part of it. 0:04:55.240 --> 0:04:59.479 Yeah, So we don't hit you with that terrible nine 0:04:59.520 --> 0:05:01.640 dollars per gallon charge that you'll get at a lot 0:05:01.640 --> 0:05:04.800 of the other location of the other competitors. We have 0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:07.120 fair fuel pricing, so we just charge you for the 0:05:07.120 --> 0:05:09.160 price at the pump. So if you're in a hurry 0:05:09.200 --> 0:05:10.919 and you need to drop off the car, you don't 0:05:11.000 --> 0:05:12.880 have to worry about two weeks later getting a two 0:05:12.960 --> 0:05:14.720 hundred dollars bill for half. 0:05:14.480 --> 0:05:15.440 Of a tank of gas. 0:05:15.680 --> 0:05:17.520 It was like I think five dollars for the fill 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:18.360 up or some Yeah, we. 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:20.200 Had charge you a five dollar convenience piecee for. 0:05:20.160 --> 0:05:21.520 This thing, and it was it was committed. 0:05:21.520 --> 0:05:23.599 And then the other thing is that I went through 0:05:23.600 --> 0:05:26.000 a toll, which I have sworn off with other car 0:05:26.040 --> 0:05:28.839 rental companies because I did a toll one time in 0:05:28.839 --> 0:05:30.760 New Jersey and it was like a five dollars toll 0:05:30.760 --> 0:05:31.839 became like thirty dollars. 0:05:31.839 --> 0:05:32.400 Absolutely. 0:05:32.440 --> 0:05:34.360 I mean, those are the things that we find that 0:05:34.400 --> 0:05:38.120 competitors really nickel and dime you on. We just like 0:05:38.200 --> 0:05:40.719 to lead always, as I said, with customer experience and 0:05:40.720 --> 0:05:42.480 what's the fair thing to do, what's the right thing 0:05:42.520 --> 0:05:45.480 to do. And so you only get charged the tolls 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:47.680 that you go through, and the amount of those tolls 0:05:47.720 --> 0:05:49.640 you don't have to charge get charged extra for a 0:05:49.680 --> 0:05:51.280 transponder or any of that stuff. 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:52.160 That's surprising, though. 0:05:52.160 --> 0:05:53.800 I will say you probably could have charged me an 0:05:53.800 --> 0:05:55.800 extra buck to five dollars for that convenience and I 0:05:55.839 --> 0:05:57.159 would have been fine with it, right, But I. 0:05:57.200 --> 0:05:58.720 Only got the four dollars charge. I was like, this 0:05:58.760 --> 0:06:00.480 is pretty good, and I bet. 0:06:00.440 --> 0:06:02.479 You'll rent from Silvercar again, right. 0:06:02.360 --> 0:06:05.520 Probably the goal tell me about the prices for Silver Car, 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:07.520 So what is it for an A four, What is 0:06:07.560 --> 0:06:08.360 it for a Q five. 0:06:08.560 --> 0:06:11.360 Yeah, So while we do talk about being a premium 0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:14.080 car rental company, we're really pleased with the fact that 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:17.000 we can offer very competitive prices. So A four's are 0:06:17.000 --> 0:06:19.279 going to start at about fifty nine dollars a day. 0:06:19.640 --> 0:06:21.560 Q five, which is the suv, is going to start 0:06:21.560 --> 0:06:24.120 at about seventy nine dollars a day, which if you 0:06:24.200 --> 0:06:26.000 look at you know, all the things that you get 0:06:26.040 --> 0:06:28.560 and not that nickel diming. It really is comparable to 0:06:28.800 --> 0:06:31.320 kind of that mid sized car class at a lot 0:06:31.320 --> 0:06:32.320 of the competitors. 0:06:32.760 --> 0:06:35.800 And where are you? Where Where is Silvercar located? 0:06:36.040 --> 0:06:39.279 So we are in twenty three locations. Those are really 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:41.960 some of the biggest airport markets in the country. So 0:06:42.040 --> 0:06:44.719 you think about all up and down the coast of California, 0:06:44.839 --> 0:06:48.080 New York, Miami, we just opened up a Dulles location. 0:06:48.200 --> 0:06:51.679 We're in Texas and Chicago. The easiest way to figure 0:06:51.680 --> 0:06:53.600 that out though, is once you download the app or 0:06:53.640 --> 0:06:55.800 go on the website, it shows you all of our 0:06:55.839 --> 0:06:58.000 locations as well as some that are coming soon. 0:06:58.800 --> 0:07:02.680 And the name is Silver You actually only rent Silver. 0:07:02.520 --> 0:07:05.080 Cars, so you literally always know what you're. 0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:06.120 Going to get, and what was that? 0:07:06.200 --> 0:07:08.080 So that was the founders, I guess they just thought 0:07:08.120 --> 0:07:10.040 that was neat that they did that, Like you're getting 0:07:10.040 --> 0:07:11.720 the same car every time, no matter where you rent, 0:07:11.760 --> 0:07:13.560 which is kind of nice as a if you're a 0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:15.640 frequent business traveler, it's kind of nice to like, I mean, 0:07:15.640 --> 0:07:17.880 they stay in the same hotel, get the same car. 0:07:17.960 --> 0:07:22.840 You kind of like like that familiarity. Yeah, exactly, absolutely. 0:07:22.320 --> 0:07:24.240 And you know, one of the interesting things was when 0:07:24.240 --> 0:07:27.000 we looked at silver, it was something that appealed to 0:07:27.160 --> 0:07:30.600 both genders, and it was something that gave you sort 0:07:30.640 --> 0:07:32.760 of a premium feel more so than. 0:07:32.640 --> 0:07:34.600 A bright red car or a black car or a 0:07:34.600 --> 0:07:35.120 blue car. 0:07:35.280 --> 0:07:37.880 So we did a lot of research into why we 0:07:38.000 --> 0:07:41.160 chose silver, but ultimately, yeah, there's that familiarity and you 0:07:41.160 --> 0:07:42.280 always know what you're gonna. 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:43.680 Get and who is your customer. 0:07:44.520 --> 0:07:47.080 So we like to say our customer is the modern traveler. 0:07:47.200 --> 0:07:51.600 So we've got families for leisure as well as business travelers. 0:07:51.640 --> 0:07:53.920 I think one of the interesting things when you almost 0:07:54.000 --> 0:07:56.360 look at what we call utilization, how many cars are 0:07:56.360 --> 0:08:00.320 out we have utilism, the amount of utilization for the 0:08:00.320 --> 0:08:02.360 weekday and the weekend, and then you kind of think 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:06.840 about that in terms of business versus leisure travel. So really, 0:08:06.920 --> 0:08:10.280 no matter what your need is, there's a Silver Car 0:08:10.360 --> 0:08:10.600 for you. 0:08:10.960 --> 0:08:12.680 Now. I remember at one point back in the day 0:08:12.680 --> 0:08:15.160 when I rented from Silver Car, they picked me up 0:08:15.200 --> 0:08:17.640 like curb side. Can you tell me kind of at 0:08:17.640 --> 0:08:20.440 the different locations how you get to this, because it's 0:08:20.480 --> 0:08:23.280 not always in the rental car facility per se exactly. 0:08:24.160 --> 0:08:27.000 So one of the things that we jokingly say internally 0:08:27.200 --> 0:08:29.600 is once you've been to one airport, you've been to 0:08:29.720 --> 0:08:32.400 one airport. So they're all a little bit different in 0:08:32.440 --> 0:08:35.319 what their requirements are. But so some of our locations 0:08:35.400 --> 0:08:38.839 like Austin or John Wayne, which we recently opened in 0:08:39.480 --> 0:08:40.079 we pick you up. 0:08:40.040 --> 0:08:41.079 Kurb side in an AUTI. 0:08:41.240 --> 0:08:43.720 Others, when you open me app, it'll show that you 0:08:43.760 --> 0:08:45.880 go to a shuttle and that drops you off with 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:48.400 the location. The nice thing is is that you're able 0:08:48.440 --> 0:08:50.200 on the website to take a look at what that 0:08:50.840 --> 0:08:53.640 process is beforehand. You're also able to see it on 0:08:53.679 --> 0:08:56.280 the app. And most importantly, we have a concierge who's 0:08:56.320 --> 0:08:58.200 in touch with you from the time you land until 0:08:58.200 --> 0:09:01.079 the time you get to your car never on your own. 0:09:01.320 --> 0:09:04.760 All right, Silvercar, Courtney, Lol, thanks so much for joining me. 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:06.640 How can folks learn more about Silvercar? 0:09:06.920 --> 0:09:09.199 Just go to silvercar dot com and then that'll take 0:09:09.240 --> 0:09:12.000 you to all the different locations that you need and 0:09:12.160 --> 0:09:13.319 the way to download the app. 0:09:13.679 --> 0:09:15.760 All right, there you have it, Silvercar. I've done this 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:18.880 several times. It is quite the experience. In a world 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:23.240 where travel can definitely be stressful and rental cars are 0:09:23.760 --> 0:09:27.520 generally known to be not the best cars in the world. 0:09:28.040 --> 0:09:30.800 Silvercar really does feel like you're kind of taking a 0:09:30.880 --> 0:09:33.760 premium car on the road. It's a nice aspect of 0:09:33.760 --> 0:09:36.040 your business trip or your vacation, whatever you're using it for. 0:09:36.160 --> 0:09:38.199 So check it out. Thanks so much for listening. 0:09:38.200 --> 0:09:40.040 If you like the podcast, go ahead and leave a 0:09:40.080 --> 0:09:42.760 review in Apple Podcasts. That way more people discover it. 0:09:43.240 --> 0:09:44.960 I'm Rich Damiro. You want links to everything to talk 0:09:45.000 --> 0:09:45.560 about here. 0:09:45.440 --> 0:09:48.280 Just go to Rich on tech dot tv. I'll talk 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:49.000 to you real soon.