ATL shifts into new Enterprise
America’s largest car rental company, Enterprise Holdings, on Monday announced a franchise deal with ATL Automotive under which the Jamaican firm will supply rental vehicles from three of Enterprise’s brands on the Caribbean island.
“Jamaica is an important market for our customers. These new locations enable us to serve both our leisure and corporate customers at one of the top tourist destinations in the Caribbean,” a news release quoted Peter A Smith, vice-president of global franchising at Enterprise Holdings.
The three brands that ATL Automotive — an affiliate of the family-operated Sandals Resorts International Group, which includes tour company Island Routes — will begin representing later this year are Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental, and Alamo Rent-A-Car.
Enterprise said that locating all three brands in one facility will offer customers easy access to a wide range of rental options.
“We’ll be opening with four locations with representation in both Montego Bay and Kingston,” ATL Automotive CEO Adam Stewart said in response to the development. “The locations have been carefully chosen to provide the highest level of convenience for both visitors and locals.
“We’ll be providing Honda primarily – reliable, great to look at, even better to drive and offers the best resale value in the market, which is a huge consideration for a rental business. We’ve played home to Honda for almost 20 years, winning JD Power and Associates Best in the Caribbean awards in the process, and believe it’s the perfect brand,” added Stewart, who is also CEO and deputy chairman of the Jamaica Observer.
“This car rental partnership is an absolutely perfect fit for our group; on one side you have the hospitality aspect with Sandals, which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to Jamaica every year and, on the other, ATL Automotive, which supplies the best cars and boasts the best facilities and personnel to keep them serviced and in pristine condition,” Stewart said.
“In the middle you have Island Routes, which was created specifically to encourage visitors to travel the unbeaten track. If you take those factors and add Jamaica’s first ever tri-brand agreement with the world’s largest car rental company, you’re on the right road,” Stewart said.
Island Routes, he said, will play a major role in the success of the partnership as the company was designed to inspire visitors to Jamaica to venture out and explore the country.
“This partnership is ideal in the sense that it makes it easier than ever for visitors in Montego Bay to jump into a car and visit the sights and sounds of Kingston and vice versa, or wherever it may be,” said Stewart, who added that in his role as chairman of the Tourism Linkages Committee he could see the huge national benefits – socially, culturally and economically – the moment that tourism extends from the traditional areas to all four corners of Jamaica.
“Island Routes works closely with the tourism industry’s biggest players, from travel agents to hotels, tour operators to airlines and it’s our responsibility to ensure that the tourism dollar reaches every single pocket in the country, and what better way than a car rental company,” Stewart said.
“As the franchisee bringing together the Enterprise, National and Alamo brands in Jamaica for the first time ever, we look forward to a successful partnership with Enterprise Holdings and to bringing these brands to new customers in new locations as we grow throughout the country,” Stewart said.
Enterprise has more than 9,000 locations in neighbourhoods and airports. Along with affiliate Enterprise Fleet Management, the companies offer car rental and car sharing services, truck rental, corporate fleet management and retail car sales. Combined, these businesses accounted for US$19.4 billion in revenue, employed more than 93,000 and owned 1.7 million vehicles throughout the world in fiscal year 2015. Services are offered in 80 countries.
Publicly traded, the company also accounts for the largest airport market share in the US.
“Culturally and operationally, ATL Automotive is a great match for us, given their strong growth profile, focus on customer service and dedication to philanthropy throughout the region,” Smith noted.
ATL Automotive, founded in 1997, is billed as Jamaica’s leading car dealer with a stable including the world’s top brands. Sister company, Sandals Resorts International, is the market leader in Caribbean tourism and operator of Sandals Resorts, Beaches Resorts and Island Routes Caribbean Adventures.
ATL Automotive now encompasses several divisions, exclusively distributing the world’s finest automobile brands from state-of-the-art showrooms and service facilities in Kingston and Montego Bay.
