For those Thermeon customers who are Dollar licensees also running a Thrifty location under dual branding, this chapter addresses the set up steps required for your CARS+ system when the fleet will be shared by the Dollar and Thrifty locations within the same operating company.
It is assumed that the reader has a good working knowledge of CARS+ and is familiar with the standard chapters of the CARS+ manual.
II. REQUIRED SET UP STEPS
A. CUSTOMER RECORDS (CUST)
The following two Customer Records need to be created in order to process corporate rentals for accounts that are approved by Tulsa for national account billing. These codes will be used as the direct bill account numbers:
CB - Central Bill. Corporate accounts that fall under this category require the renter to present a voucher at the time of the rental. As long as the customer's corporate discount information indicates "CB" in the "how paid" field, the RA can be set up as a direct bill rental using "CB" as the bill-to company. The amount due on the RA will be invoiced through Tulsa's national account billing. These RAs can be created from national or local reservations or can be walk up rentals. (If the corporate discount number is removed from the RA, the bill-to customer "CB" will also be removed from the RA.)
AB - Authorized Bill. Corporate accounts that fall under this category do NOT require the renter to present a voucher. As long as the customer's corporate discount information indicates "AB" in the "how paid" field, the RA can be set up as a direct bill rental using "AB" as the bill-to company. The amount due on the RA will be invoiced through Tulsa's national account billing. These RAs can be created only from reservations received from the reservation center.
CUSTOMER FILE UPDATE:
Page 1, Field # 2 Last Name: Enter the name "Authorized Bill" or "Central Bill"
Page 2, Field # 2 Customer Type: Enter "DB" (or whatever code you use for Direct Bill customers)
Save with "F4" (instead of "F1") in order to assign the proper code.
GVT CODES
Contact Thermeon's Customer Support Dept. and ask that the following GVT records be set up:
GVT CODE
ALPHA VALUE FIELD
PURPOSE
CENTBILL
CB
Moves code "CB" to the Notes field in the reservation.
AUTHBILL
AB
Moves code "AB" to the bill-to # field in the reservation as well as on the RA.
Note: Location field is left blank.
B. RESERVATION INTERFACE
Under the dual branding set up, your operating company in CARS+ will be receiving reservations for the Dollar operation as well as the Thrifty operation. A separate reservation interface program is used for each company. Therefore, a separate User Access record must be set up for the Thrifty interface. It is set up in a similar manner to the record for the reservation interface program for Dollar. Set up the record as illustrated below.
1. Edit User Access File (EDITUAF)
Enter the Edit User Access File program. Create a new record as shown below. A partial screen is shown below and the remainder of the fields can be ignored.
OPTION: __ EDIT USER ACCESS FILE
1 Employee RESIN2 (Page 1 of 2)
2 Password RZMRG8 21 Password Exp Date
Last Login Date 22 Account Exp Date
3 Menu Type AGENT Restrict DBR Date
4 Create Bill-to 24 Restrict Reports
5 Prompt CHGENV 25 Empl Last Name
6 RW Initials RZ 26 Empl First Name
7 Company-ID 00 27 Restrict Rpt Code
8 RW Password 28 Employee Address
9 Fleet Access Mode
10 Default Drawer 29 Employee City
Note regarding Field 3: Enter any rental agent level menu type. AGENT" is shown as an example.
2. Terminal Records
Ask Thermeon's Customer Support Dept. to set up the appropriate Terminal Record for user RESIN2.
C. LOCATION CODES (EDITLOC)
When operating locations in the same city under dual branding, reservations are received from both Dollar and Thrifty under the same location code (usually the airport code). Because the two locations are using the same CARS+ operating company, only one of them (the Dollar location) can use that code. The Thrifty location needs to be set up under a different location code.
For example, if the airport code is "ABC", the Dollar location will be set up as Location ABC and the Thrifty location must be set up under a different Location Code, such as ABC1.
Since both companies will send reservations to Location ABC, a method has been developed to merge the Thrifty reservations to the alternate location code. (Using the example above, the Thrifty reservations for Location ABC would be re-directed to Location ABC1.) A similar method is used to transmit data back to Tulsa via Marketing Link. This method involves setting up two GVT records. Contact Thermeon's Customer Support Dept. and ask that the following two GVT records be set up:
GVT CODE
LOCATION FIELD
ALPHA VALUE FIELD
REASON
THRLOC
Tulsa location code
CARS+ location code
Convert Thrifty reservations from Tulsa code to CARS+ location code
THRLOC
CARS+ location code
Tulsa location code
Convert location code back to Tulsa code for marketing link
Other fields to set up in Edit Locations:
Field 10: Profit Center - In order to separate the accounting for Thrifty and Dollar, separate profit centers or separate posting companies should be used.
Field 39: Valid Rental Location - Enter a lowercase "y" in this field to designate it for Thrifty Marketing Link transmissions. (Dollar locations use an uppercase "Y" in this field to designate them for Data Warehouse transmissions.)
Page 2, Field 33: EDRB Lag Time (in days) - Enter a single numeric character to indicate the number of days the system should wait after a RA is closed before it is transmitted to Tulsa via Marketing Link. Through this field you can schedule auditing time before RAs are transmitted. RAs are transmitted whether or not they are posted. Generally, this field should be set to 2 or 3 days.
D. EDIT MISCELLANEOUS FIELDS
Page 1, Field 33: EDRB Start Date – Enter the date that the system will be live. It is this field that controls whether or not RAs are queued up for Marketing Link transmission.
Page 5, Field 4: Cross Loc Rentals - This field is for a dual branded operation where the locations serve the same airport. Use this field to prevent reservations for Thrifty being used by the Dollar location or vice versa.
E. VEHICLE CLASS CODES
Dollar uses the industry standard 4-letter SIPP Class Codes. Thrifty uses numeric and alphanumeric codes. Because the fleet in shared by both operations, the 4-letter Class Codes (used by Dollar) are used within CARS+. In order to receive the Thrifty reservations correctly, the Thrifty Class Codes need to be converted to the Class Codes used by Dollar. In a similar manner, in order to transmit data via Marketing Link, conversion records need to be created to covert the 4-letter Class Codes back to the Thrifty numeric codes.
EDIT CONVERSION RECORDS (RESCODES)
For Reservation Interface:
Field 1: Enter the CARS+ Location Code for the Thrifty Location.
Field 2: Enter the Class Code number used by Thrifty.
Field 3: Enter "C" for Class.
Field 4: Enter the 4 letter Class Code (SIPP Codes) used by the Dollar location.
Field 5: Enter a comment as appropriate.
An example is shown below converting Class 1 to ECAR for reservation interface.
OPTION: __ EDIT CONVERSION RECORDS
1 Location ABC1
2 Convert From 1
3 Convert Type C
4 Convert To ECAR
5 Comment CONVERT CLASS 1 TO ECAR
Note: A conversion record must be set up for each Class Code.
For Marketing Link:In order to transmit data to Thrifty via Marketing Link, conversion records need to be created to convert the 4-letter Class Code back to the Thrifty codes.
Field 1: Enter the CARS+ Location Code for the Thrifty Location.
Field 2: Enter the 4-letter Class Code (SIPP Codes) used by the Dollar location.
Field 3: Enter "C" for Class.
Field 4: Enter the Thrifty Class Code.
Field 5: Enter a comment as appropriate.
An example is shown below converting ECAR back to Class 1.
OPTION: __ EDIT CONVERSION RECORDS
1 Location ABC1
2 Convert From ECAR
3 Convert Type C
4 Convert To 1
5 Comment CONVERT CLASS ECAR TO 1
Note: A conversion record must be set up for each Class Code.
At the time of this writing (August 2004 ), the following correlation of Class Codes was obtained:
(Updated July, 2005)
DOLLAR CLASS CODES -
THRIFTY CLASS CODES -
ECAR
1
EDAR
1D
CCAR
2
CDAR
2D
ICAR
3
IDAR
3D
SCAR
4
SDAR
4D
FCAR
5
FDAR
5D
FPAR
5P
PCAR
6
LCAR
7 OR 8
MVAR
90
EVAR
91
IFAR
87
SFAR
98
STAR
71
SVAR
94
FVAR
95
SPAR
99
XVAR
96
EPMR
1S
SPMR
4S
ECMR
1J
EDMR
1I
CCMR
2J
ICMR
3J
SCMR
4J
MVMR
9B
FVMR
O9
EFMR
C7
IFRM
L7
SFMR
Q7
FFMR
Y7
PFMR
U7
LFMR
37
XFMR
77
F. RESERVATION TEMPLATE RATES
The reservation interface program validates the Rate Quoted against information in your Rate Code File. The validation sequence proceeds as follows:
The program first looks for a Rate Product Code which matches the RQ Code sent. If a matching Rate Product is found, the Rules record and the Rate Record for the requested vehicle class are loaded into the new reservation. Next any rates (daily, weekly, etc.) sent from the Reservation Center are inserted. For example, if your standard daily rate for a compact car is $59.95 but the reservation sent has a daily rate of $56.95, the Res Merge program will insert $56.95 into the reservation. Rate information not sent from the Reservation Center will remain as shown in your rate tables.
Next, the free miles information sent with the reservation is compared to that in the Rules Record. If the data does not match, the program searches through the Free Miles Table for a mileage plan which does match. If a match is found, the Free Miles Code is written to the new reservation and the mileage data is changed appropriately.
If the merge program cannot match the transmitted RQ Code to a code in your file, it will look for the appropriate Conversion Record. (Refer to the previous section.)
If the merge program cannot match the Conversion Record, it will look for the appropriate Rate Template. A Rate Template is a default Rules Record that is used when a matching Rate Product does not exist on your system. Reservation Interface requires the following templates:
Rate Product Code
Used when:
RES-D
Daily rental
RES-W
Weekly rental
RES-M
Monthly rental
RES-E
Weekend rental
RES-X
Period rate
The Rate Rules for these templates should be defined in accordance with the rental period that they cover. As an example, the rules for templates RES-E must include your weekend rules and RES-X should have the period rate logic turned on. All of these templates should be defined as "Editable" so that corrections, if any, can be made at the time of rental.
The dollar amounts entered on the second page of the Rates screen should be your regular retail rates. As stated earlier, these dollar amounts will be overlaid with the data sent from the Reservation Center.
G. MERGE CORPORATE DISCOUNT PLAN DATA
Periodically Thrifty furnishes Thermeon with updates to its corporate plans. When an update is received, it is automatically merged into your system.
EDIT RENTAL RULES/RATES (EDITRATE)
In order for the program to perform properly, a "template rate" must be set up in the Edit Rules/Rates File for each Rate Set used by Thrifty locations in your system. Only the rules portion, page 1, should be created. Do not enter any rates on pages 3 and 4. A sample template rate product is illustrated below.
Note that Field 32, Corporate Standard, must be set to "C" to identify these rates as ones created by corporate headquarters.
OPTION: __ EDIT RENTAL RULES/RATES
1 Rate set A 28 Period Max Days 47 Note Seamless
2 Product TEMP 29 Days per month
3 Date 01-01-04 30 Comm Y/N Comm Cat
4 Time 0000 31 Deflt RA Type
5 Termination Date 32 Corp Std C
6 Comment CDP TEMPLATE
7 Rate type N 33 Searchable N
(unused) Miles Meth34 Hide?
Dy: 8 9 10 35 No Invoice
Wk: 11 12 13 36 Incl Opt Set
Mn: 14 15 16 37 Addon Opt Set
XW: 17 18 19 38 FPO Inc/Man
20 Free miles/hour 39 One way Miles
21 Grace minutes 59 40 Alt Rate 1 2
22 Charge for grace Y 41 Currency
23 Discountable N 42 Calendar Day Calc
24 Editable N 43 Status Flag
25 Incl Cvg1 N Cvg2 N 44 Hours Pct
26 Incl Cvg3 N Cvg4 N 45 Yield pcts 1 2 3 4 5
27 Min days for week 46 Tier Pcts 2 3 4
1SAVE 2NEXT 3ERASE 4PREV 5 6 7HELP 8NEXT PG
H. VEHICLE STATUS CODES (EDITSTA)
Status codes in CARS+ are single character alpha codes such as "A" for Available and "O" for On Rent. Thrifty status codes are 2 character alpha codes such as "RR" for Available and "OR" for on Rent.
In order to transfer data correctly to Thrifty's Rate Management System, Thrifty's codes must be cross-referenced by the CARS+ Codes. This is done by entering the Thrifty Code in Field 13 of each record in the Edit Vehicle Status Codes program.
The screen illustrated below shows the Available code:
OPTION: __ EDIT VEHICLE STATUS CODES
1 Status code A
2 Description AVAILABLE
3 Status type A (A=available, N=not available, O=on rent, S=sold)
4 Note 1
5 Note 2
6 Note 3
7 Note 4
8 Security level 99
9 Hist Svc Code
10 Correctable by Physical Inventory Y
11 Depreciation Flag Y
12 Thrifty Status Cd RR
1SAVE 2NEXT 3ERASE 4DELETE 5BACKUP 6 7HELP 8
At the time of this writing (August 2004), the following Thrifty Status Codes were in effect:
STATUS CODE
DESCRIPTION
RR
AVAILABLE; CLEAN AND READY TO GO
OR
ON RENT
OS
OUT OF SERVICE
FS
FOR SALE; LIMITED AVAILABILITY
SD
SOLD; NOT AVAILABLE
ST
STOLEN; NOT AVAILABLE
MI
MISSING; WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN
TP
GROUNDED FOR TURN BACK
TB
TURN-BACK; UNAVAILABLE
CI
CHECK IN - AVAILABLE BUT NOT CLEAN
BL
BACK LOT; AVAILABLE BUT NOT CLEAN; STORED ON OVERFLOW LOT
PM
PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE; AVAILABLE FOR RESERVATION
SL
SALVAGE UNIT; UNAVAILABLE
AU
AT AUCTION WAITING FOR SALE
CC
COURTESY COACH OR SERVICE VEHICLES
FD
FOREIGN DROP; AT FOREIGN LOCATION UNAVAILABLE
LH
LEGAL HOLD; UNAVAILABLE
I. BLUECHIP - FREQUENT FLIER SET UP (EDITFT) & PROGRAM DATES (EDITFF)
In addition to the normal frequent flier records, a record must be set up for Bluechip rewards using the code "BC". At the time of this writing (August 2004) it is not known if the number of digits are defined for a Bluechip number. The code is set up in Edit Frequent Traveler Codes and the effective date range must be set up in Edit FF Program Dates.
J. BLUECHIP CUSTOMER TYPE
In order for Thrifty Bluechip customers to be merged into the Customer File, it is necessary to set up the Customer Type Code "TBC" for Bluechip customers. (Updates from Thrifty to the Bluechip customer records will be merged automatically into your system.)
EDIT CUSTOMER TYPE CODES (EDITCUST)
Create a record for customer type "TBC". Other than Fields 1 and 2, all other fields are optional.
K. GARS SURCHARGE
In order for GARS to be automatically applied to RAs using government rates, the following items must be set up.
- GARS must be set up as an Option in Edit Optional Items and have a rate in Edit Option Rates.
- An Option Set must be created that lists GARS as the only option in the set.
EDIT OPTION SETS.
Create an Option Set that has GARS as its only option. An example (with a partial screen) is shown below:
OPTION: EDIT OPTION SET CODES
# *Code Item Eff Date Term Date
01 G GARS 08-01-04
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
3. EDIT RENTAL RULES/RATES
Place the Option Set on every government rate product to which it applies. Enter the Option Set Code in Field 69. An example (with a partial screen) is shown below:
OPTION: __ EDIT RENTAL RULES/RATES
1 Rate set A 28 Period Max Days 47 Note Seamless
2 Product 200 29 Days per month
3 Date 01-01-04 30 Comm Y/N Comm Cat
4 Time 0000 31 Deflt RA Type
5 Termination Date 32 Corp Std
6 Comment GOVT RATE
7 Rate type 33 Searchable
(unused) Miles Meth34 Hide?
Dy: 8 9 10 35 No Invoice
Wk: 11 12 13 36 Incl Opt Set G
Mn: 14 15 16 37 Addon Opt Set
XW: 17 18 19 38 FPO Inc/Man
At the time of this writing (Sept. 2004), Thrifty has supplied a list of the following government rate codes which need to be set up in this manner:
200
201
275
1200
When rates that are set up in this manner are used on a RA, the GARS charge will be automatically added to the RA.
User tip: When the first merge of corporate rates is performed on your system, you will need to add the Option Set for GARS to the appropriate government Rates/Rules records. Once that is done, all subsequent updates to government rates will have the Option Set on them and will not require editing.
L. SOURCE CODES AND GENDER REQUIRED
In order for Marketing Link transmissions to be accepted, the Main Control record must be configured to require that a Source Code and the customer's Gender be entered on each RA.
EDIT MAIN CONTROL RECORD
Field 16 Source Required?
Enter: Y
Field 20 Gender Required?
Enter: Y
Note: Because the Main Control Record must be configured to require that Source Code and Gender be entered, both will be required for ALL contracts for both Dollar and Thrifty.
EDIT SOURCE CODESThe following Source Codes must be set up and used for all Thrifty contracts.
SCOURCE CODE
DESCRIPTION
100
NATIONAL RES CENTER
200
WALK UP
201
IN TERMINAL CALL BOARD PHONE
300
FIXED BASE OPERATOR
400
INSURANCE REPLACEMENT
401
BODY SHOP
500
HOTEL REFERRAL
600
DEALERSHIP
700
YELLOW PAGES
701
LOCAL REPEAT CUSTOMER
800
LOCAL ADVERTISING
900
CONVENTION/GROUP
III. COUNTER AGENT INSTRUCTIONS
Most transactions for the Thrifty Location will be similar to those for the Dollar Location. Therefore, only the unique procedures for Thrifty are addressed.
A. SOURCE CODES
The following Source Codes must be set up and used for all Thrifty contracts.
SCOURCE CODE
DESCRIPTION
100
NATIONAL RES CENTER
200
WALK UP
201
IN TERMINAL CALL BOARD PHONE
300
FIXED BASE OPERATOR
400
INSURANCE REPLACEMENT
401
BODY SHOP
500
HOTEL REFERRAL
600
DEALERSHIP
700
YELLOW PAGES
701
LOCAL REPEAT CUSTOMER
800
LOCAL ADVERTISING
900
CONVENTION/GROUP
B. GENDER
The Gender “M” or “F” must be entered in Field 4c on each RA.
OPTION: ______________
1 Name(L/F/T) */*/*
2 Address *
3 C/S/Z */*/*
4 Ph/DOB/Gen */*/*
5 Locl Cnt *
C. BLUECHIP FREQUENT TRAVELER NUMBERS
Corporate Discount rentals billed through Tulsa's national account billing.
Two Customer records have been set up in order to process corporate rentals for accounts that are approved by Tulsa for national account billing. These codes will be used as the direct bill account numbers:
1. CB - Central Bill. Corporate accounts that fall under this category require the renter to present a voucher at the time of the rental. As long as the customer's corporate discount information indicates that they are a Central Bill customer, the RA can be set up as a direct bill rental using "CB" as the bill-to company in Field 1 of the Direct Bill subwindow. The amount due on the RA will be invoiced through Tulsa's national account billing.
On reservations received from the national res. center, Central Billing is indicated in the "Notes" field (which prints on the Reservation Manifest). Central Billings RAs can also be created from local reservations or can be walk up rentals.
RA OPEN - Main Window
9c. ID #
Enter the renter's corporate ID number.
EXAMPLE: Type 123456 (RET)
RA OPEN - Direct Bill Subwindow
1. BILL-TO #
Enter the code for Central Billing:
EXAMPLE: Type CB (RET)
If the corporate discount number is removed from the RA, the bill-to customer "CB" will also be removed from the RA.
2. AB - Authorized Bill. Corporate accounts that fall under this category do NOT require the renter to present a voucher. As long as the customer's corporate discount information indicates that they are an Authorized Bill customer, the RA will be automatically set up as a direct bill rental with "AB" as the bill-to company in the Direct Bill Subwindow. The amount due on the RA will be invoiced through Tulsa's national account billing. These RAs can be created only from reservations received from the reservation center.
RA OPEN - Main Window
9c. ID #
The renter's corporate ID number will already be entered in this field.
RA OPEN - Direct Bill Subwindow
1. BILL-TO #
"AB" will already be entered in this field and cannot be removed.
Manual entry of "AB" in the direct bill field is not allowed, nor can it be removed from the RA.
Note: Because the Main Control Record must be configured to require that Source Code and Gender be entered, both will be required for ALL contracts: both Dollar and Thrifty.
IV. MANAGEMENT INSTRUCTIONS
A. Merging Corporate Discount Plan Data
As mentioned earlier in this chapter, periodically Thrifty furnishes Thermeon with updates to its corporate plans. When an update is received, we will send you an e-mail message advising you that new corporate discount plan data is ready to merge.
The merge program reads the updates to the corporate discount plans and merges the data in to your files. Please refer to the chapter of this manual titled Thrifty - Merge Corporate Datafor detailed instructions on how to run the merge program.
B. Corporate Contracts and Privilege Codes
In order to allow special rates and privileges to corporate accounts, records must be set up in the following files:
Corporate Accounts create account records and point to Corporate Contract records. Refer to the chapter titled Edit Corporate Accounts.
Corporate Contracts reference rates, discounts and privileges that are granted to specific corporate customers. Refer to the chapter titled Edit Corporate Contracts.
Privilege Codes define special perks that corporate customers receive such as being exempt from airport fees, underage fees, drop charges, or other fees normally required. In addition, special rates for other options and coverages can be set up. Refer to the chapter titled Edit Privilege Codes.
C. Marketing Link (MRKLNK)
Similar to the Data Warehouse for Dollar, Marketing Link is used to transmit data from your system to Thrifty's data center.
When an Accounting DBR is run and records are posted, a file is created for later transmission to Tulsa. On a periodic basis (as required by Thrifty) you will need to transmit the file using the Marketing Link program.