quiet

[EMM]

Arrived yesterday, flight almost full , Faro airprt was certainly busy.

Our car hire rep said that early June was certainly quieter than expected but as of now they do not have any spare cars until september.
He is also getting calls from other companies looking for extra cars.
I have no doubt that UK /Irish visitor numbers will be down but overall the Algarve will match last year.

UK weather could have an influence we know of one couple who were due to have a holidy in the UK this week. Got so fed up with the weather and the poor forcast that they booked a last minute to Lagos with Easyjet, flights transfers and hotels.
Keep you fingers crossed for a wet and windy UK summer.

[joeysoap]

you could well be correct re the hire care situation. on recent short trip used resort hoppa (excellent service) and while myself and one other family were waiting at faro airport (15 mins max - shared mini bus) another young couple approached the desk and made enquiries about using their service. they were fixed up in about 5 mins and off we went. turns out they had hired a car -( wont name the company they stated - think of africa) had paid by credit card but - no car available. on the journey this changed slightly - car available but car hire company would not give it to them. they were either german or dutch and i gathered they booked through another company so maybe problem lay there. either way they were really disappointed - first time in the algarve (pera)and were hoping to travel around for 10 days. to say they were disillusioned about their first portuguese experience would be putting it mildly.

for what its worth this also happened to my daughter last august. booked on line. pay cash at the airport. no car available - ok available - if she agreed to pay an extra €200 on top of what already agreed. ( wont name company - two different names anyway- one possessive and the other close at hand) i had previously used this company and recommened it to her. this year although i now always use best deal i was afraid to recommend any company to her in case the same happened and recommended an large intermediary (atlas). turns out they have engaged best deal so hopefully she will be allright this year.

[fmm]

I think we would all appreciate learning which car hire companies are having problems - cannot see why you would not want to publish the names?
If there is a problem, I am sure the mods will remove them.

I am not very good at cryptic clues so My something?

And I am thinking of africa but not coming up with anything!

[shanagarry]

You need to be aware that the shortage of hire cars is a Europe-wide phenomenon - not just here in The Algarve.

The days of cheap cars being offloaded by car manufacturers to rental companies supported by generous buy-back arrangements are from a bygone era. In days gone by all the major rental companies were in part owned by a car manufacturer - today not one of them is so owned and instead the current owners (mainly private equity) are in the business of making money by utilising their assets efficiently. I know as I am in that industry.

In 2005 the European Rental Car Parq consisted of 840,000 vehicles - at the end of 2010 that number has fallen to 572,000 and continues to fall - due mainly to the excessive cost of funding (where it is available) and the removal of the buying incentives. Some car manufacturers supply limited numbers to the rental industry as they are under pressure to protect the investment (resale value) made by private buyers.

The many brokers that operate on the internet and here in Portugal depend on selling the rental days they commit to - which they have to pay for - whether they use them or not. For that reason early and late season deals are very attractive - especially the latter.

Car hire shortage is the future as rental companies only buy enough for their own immediate business needs and while they will continue to selectively 'feed' the professional brokers - it is worthwhile paying a little more if you want to be secure in the knowledge that there will be a car waiting here for you. The brokers will continue to vie for your business while living in the hope that the ultimate owners of the car(s) have enough to satisfy their requirement - and will do business with them. Many car hire companies are demanding advance payment from the brokers - which puts great pressure on their cash flow and could create a temptation to oversell.

While I know we all like a bargain - the deal that looks too good to be true - could be just that. There have been too many instances of people arriving having believed they booked their car only to find - they are a victim of an over-zealous broker.

Be careful

[joeysoap]

I think we would all appreciate learning which car hire companies are having problems - cannot see why you would not want to publish the names?
If there is a problem, I am sure the mods will remove them.

I am not very good at cryptic clues so My something?

And I am thinking of africa but not coming up with anything!

the reason I am reluctant to name the first company is because I don't know where the blame lies. (think of a very large ungainly african animal- not an elephant)
you are however correct on the 2nd score. no reason not to name as I have already had a blazing row with them over this. my algarve cars aka local cars. greedy barstewards.
I use best deal and they are definitely slightly more expensive off peak then most of the others but so far have have not let me down. I usually book just an 'A' class car and usually get a 'B' car. once I even got a ford escort estate diesel for the price of the smaller car. only once did I get what I actually booked.

[EMM]

Went into the centre last night it was busy, There is now entertainment in the square almoste EVERY night  during the summer.Last night is was two girl singers and the fire eater was getting ready for his show watched by an expectant crowd of children,There was also a duo playing on the small stage opposit Oasis.Elsewhere, Bradys is closed for up to a week as they install extra sound proofing following problems with the neighbours.The Roundup had its usual quota of song stranglers ( Karaoke ).Mungos seems to be the place to go after midnight  ( if you are under 30 ).

[joeysoap]

was in mungos last wednesday. same group are on again tonight. i thought they were excellent.
i am well over 30 and would agree that mungos itself draws a younger crowd but i was perfectly comfortable
in the bar 'next door' with the red seats. older crowd sat here and in the bar next again. I left around 12.30 so cant
really speak for the smaller hours.

[joanne]

I go in Mungos all the time and I am over 30 as are a lot of my friends and people that go in a lot, never felt to old etc to be in there I really enjoy it in there and will be there this time tomorrow with my Daughters, Dan and Daniel always look after us and are both great.

[EMM]

We were in Mungos last night. There was entertainment in the small square outside until midnight and it was full of families and mixed age groups.
The familes tend to leave once the music finishes with people moving back into the bar.
A sign of the times they now have a bouncer, can,t remember seeing one before

[laserblazer]

A sign of the times they now have a bouncer, can,t remember seeing one before

Is pato in town?

[pato]

A sign of the times they now have a bouncer, can,t remember seeing one before

Is pato in town?

September!

[laserblazer]

A sign of the times they now have a bouncer, can,t remember seeing one before

Is pato in town?

September!

Probably training the bouncer up in preparation