Budget Rent a Car System, Inc. is an American car rental company that was founded in 1958 in Los Angeles, California by Morris Mirkin.[2] Budget is a subsidiary of the Avis Budget Group, with its operations headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey.[3]
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 Smart Fortwo rental from Budget | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Car rental |
| Founded | 1958 in Los Angeles |
| Founders | Morris Mirkin Jules Lederer |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Number of locations | 3,925 (2019) |
| Revenue | US$3.2 billion (2019) |
| Parent | Avis Budget Group |
| Website | www |
| Footnotes / references [1] | |
History
editWith its original fleet of 10 cars, the company lived up to the 'Budget' name by undercutting the daily and per mile rental rates of the established airport based car rental companies. Mirkin was joined in 1959 by Julius Lederer and together, they built the company internationally. In 1960, the headquarters moved to Chicago, Illinois and the rental fleet expanded with franchised and wholly owned rental outlets.
The company was eventually acquired by Transamerica Corporation, and then sold in 1986 in a leveraged buyout by Gibbons, Green and van Amerongen Ltd., along with management (led by CEO Clifton E. Haley) and selected investors. The company made its first public stock offering in 1987.[4]
Team Rental Group purchased the public company in 1997 and took the name Budget Group. In 2002, Budget filed for bankruptcy and was later sold to the Cendant Corporation, which also owned Avis.[5] In September 2006, Cendant Corporation separated into four independent companies. The real estate division became Realogy, Inc., its hospitality services division became Wyndham Worldwide, and the travel distribution services division became Travelport, Inc., an affiliate of The Blackstone Group. In 2006, following the Travelport sale, Cendant, now composed solely of its vehicle rental services businesses, renamed itself Avis Budget Group.[2]
Locations
editWorldwide, as of 2019, 2,275 locations are company owned, and 1,650 are licensees; 1,925 offices are located in the Americas, and 2,000 are located internationally.[1]
Celebrity spokespersons
editBeginning in April 2011, television actress Wendie Malick of Hot in Cleveland became the spokesperson in a series of television and online ads that offer special, limited-time, discount offers.[6]
See also
edit- Bob Ansett – Budget Australia's owner
References
edit- ^ a b "SEC Filings: 10-K 2019". Avis Budget Group. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
- ^ a b "Budget Rent a Car". Answers.com. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
- ^ "Customer Care". Budget Rent a Car. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
- ^ "The Avis Budget Timeline". The Avis Budget Group. Archived from the original on 2012-04-28. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
- ^ "Cendant cutting hotels, strikes deal for Budget". tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
- ^ "Budget Launches New Advertising Campaign" (Press release). Budget Rent a Car. 18 April 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-26.