Hertz and CLEAR Partner on 30-Second Car Rental

A new service rolling out from Hertz and CLEAR promises to get customers through the rental car exit gate using only biometrics to identify them – all in less than 30 seconds. 

Hertz today announced the partnership with CLEAR, the airport service that uses fingerprints or iris recognition to identify travelers at security checkpoints. The process at Hertz counters will not even require those; it will use facial recognition to speed travelers through the car rental exit gate under half a minute. 

“Delivering against the speed benefit is something we’ve been innovating against, with our Ultimate Choice [which lets customers choose a car off the lot without stopping at a desk]; and eReceipts, which allow customers to simply park and leave when they return their cars. But this takes it up to a whole other level,” Hertz Chief Marketing Officer Jodi Allen told Travel Market Report. “After you link your accounts, you choose a car from our Ultimate Choice lot, and then we use RFID at the exit gate” to connect your face with your paperwork and driver’s license. 

While improving the exit speed from two minutes to 30 seconds may not seem like much, “our research tells us that kind of product, on a Monday morning in Atlanta when we have a surge of people who need to get on their way quickly, matters to our busy travelers,” Allen said. 

As for the travel agent channel, she noted: “Travel agents are a very important customer for us, and this is definitely something we believe appeals to travel agents and their customers. At the end of the day, everyone wants speed, and we think this allows us to offer that.” 

The first “Hertz Fast Lane powered by CLEAR” already is open at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). In 2019, Fast Lanes will roll out at 40 more locations, including Los Angeles International (LAX), John F. Kennedy International (JFK) and San Francisco International Airports (SFO). 

“We’re trying to reach as many customers as we can, as quickly as we can, and you can expect there will be more locations by the end of February,” CLEAR CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker told Travel Market Report. “Our intent is to get as much rolled out as we can by prime travel time, which starts in June.” 

Signing up 
The standard rate for CLEAR is $179, and a family plan allows up to three additional members for $50 each.  

CLEAR members can sign up for the Hertz program at no additional cost; Hertz Gold Plus Rewards members can enroll in the Hertz CLEAR program for free, or in the full airport CLEAR program at a reduced cost.? 

Members of the Delta Sky Miles loyalty program also can get CLEAR at a reduced rate. 

CLEAR is available at 26 locations, the latest being LaGuardia’s Terminal 4 in New York. A company representative said CLEAR “definitely has plans to go international; we’re looking into international opportunities, but we do have a pretty aggressive target domestically. Our view is that the top 50 airports are all attractive.” 

“CLEAR believes that you are you, and we’re creating a future in which your fingerprints, eyes and face are your best and most secure ID,” Seidman-Becker said in the press release announcing the program this week.?