Airport information
To our dear and valued customers: what changed at the car rental offices at Queen Beatrix Airport, and how our complimentary shuttle works.
How our shuttle works
We operate a shuttle system to our location ½ mile from the airport terminals. We are on the main road toward town, just across the airport runways. Our location is cleaner, safer and more spacious.
- Our shuttles are complimentary to all our customers and run at 15-minute intervals, starting on the hour.
- Our staff and shuttles are ready for you anytime. We complete the paperwork and you will be on your way in no time.
- When you leave, drive to our off-site location just 2 minutes from the airport, and we will be most happy to drive you and your luggage to the airport.
Why we are not at the terminal
We would be remiss if we did not inform you of all the changes that have taken place in the car rental industry, and more particularly at the car rental offices at Queen Beatrix Airport in Aruba.
The Aruba Government, which owns 100% of the airport, has imposed a closed bidding system to secure an office at the airport. Instead of 22 agencies to choose from, there are 10, and many limitations have been placed on which agencies are qualified to bid for these offices.
The ten agencies that won the bids for the airport location face two significant increases in the cost of operating there. First, the rent is increased. Second, they pay percentage rent to the airport: a concession fee of 10% to 15% of their sales. As you can see, these agencies pay dearly for the right to operate at the airport. Our projection is that they will be forced to pass their additional costs on to you, the customer, as an airport concession fee (another name for more taxes). We would approximate at least a 12% increase in your rental fees.
Although Optima Rent A Car is well qualified, we chose not to bid. On the other hand, the agencies that lost their offices, whether they lost the bid, chose not to accept it or were not permitted to bid in the first place, are being persecuted by the Airport Authority.
We tried very hard to negotiate with the airport management to upgrade the car rental facilities at the airport in order to justify the extra fees, to no avail. The car rental facilities are still as inefficient as they always were, and the safety issues were never considered. This is one important reason we chose not to bid. But mainly, we most certainly do not want to increase our rates by 12 or 15%, nor do we want to inconvenience any of our loyal customers. Our hands are tied, and we need to keep the same level of service for all our customers.
We thank you for your time and look forward to serving you many times in the future. Please feel free to send us any comments or questions at info@optimarentacar.com.
Optima Rent-A-Car
Telephone: +297 555-0148
Email: info@optimarentacar.com