Class Availability Report

In a busy rental operation, it can be difficult to determine if you are overbooked for a particular class of vehicle on any given date in the future. This report is designed to give the operator a picture of the anticipated utilization for each vehicle class. From this report, you can forecast your vehicle needs and plan accordingly.

The Class Availability Report works in the following manner:

CARS+ maintains a "Planning Calendar" file for each class of vehicle at every location. Each day on this calendar is divided into time periods, as defined in the Edit Time Periods File.
When multiple locations are geographically close and vehicles can be easily shuttled between the locations, the concept of a "metroplex" can be used. This concept allows you to consider all vehicles at multiple locations as one group on the Planning Calendar.
When certain classes of vehicles can be easily substituted for each other (such as 2 door and 4 door compact and midsize vehicles), they can be set up as a Class Group (in Edit Class Groups on the Fleet Control Files Menu.) The Class Availability Report can be run for a Class Group, an individual Class, or all Classes of vehicles.
When either a rental or reservation is entered, the system blocks out one unit for the appropriate time periods on the days involved. This results in the number of units committed for each date in the future.
The calendar also tracks anticipated fleet size. This can be adjusted with anticipated purchases and sales as explained in the Introductory chapter of this section.
The Class Availability Report is the print-out of this calendar file--the anticipated fleet size as well as the committed number of units (or percentage) for any particular day or date range.

To access the Class Availability Report program, type PRTFUT (RET) at any menu "OPTION:" field or the appropriate line number on the Fleet Planning menu. The screen will then display:

OPTION: __ CLASS AVAILABILITY REPORT

1 Location ALL
2 Class ALL
3 Start date 05-09-08
4 End date LATEST
5 Select %
6 AMT/PCT format AMT
7 Detail/ Summary D
8 Print/Display P
9 Class Summary D
10 Include Assets N

1BEGIN 2 3ERASE 4 5BACKUP 6 7HELP 8

Enter data as follows:

1. LOCATION	Enter up to 6 alphanumeric characters to indicate the Customers Pick-Up Location. Enter: Up to 6 alphanumeric characters to select a single location. A Group Name representing several locations (see the Chapter Edit Group Names for a discussion on location groups). Remember, the first character of a Group Name is the plus sign "+". A Group Name representing a Metroplex. When multiple locations are geographically close and vehicles can be easily shuttled between the locations, the concept of a "metroplex" can be used. In metroplex logic, all the vehicles at the locations belonging to a metroplex are equally available to all locations within that group. This grouping works not only on the Class Availability Report but also is part of the interactive warning and overbooking messages provided when attempting to book a reservation for a date that is overbooked. A Group Name must be created for a metroplex, and the group. A name must be entered in the appropriate field of the Location control record to take advantage of the metroplex logic. (Refer to the Edit Locations chapter for more information about the metroplex concept.) Note: To get a report for the combined group, run the report in "summary" format. Press RETURN to default to ALL locations. EXAMPLE: Type TUS (RET)
2. CLASS	Enter: 1. Up to 4 alphanumeric characters to indicate a single class of vehicle. 2. A Class Group (starts with a + sign followed by up to 5 characters), such as " +MID". 3. or press RET to default to all classes. EXAMPLE: Type E (RET)
3. START DATE	Using your selected date format, enter the Starting Date. Press RET to default to today's date. EXAMPLE: Type 051008 (RET)
4. END DATE	Using your selected date format, enter the Ending Date. Press RET to default to the "LATEST" date through which the Planning Calendar has been extended. EXAMPLE: Type 051608 (RET)
5. SELECT %	Because of the possible volume of future events, this report could be very long. This field allows you to print only those days which have an anticipated utilization greater than a requested percent. This field will accept either of the following two data formats: a. Enter either "1" or "2" to print days which exceed either the Level 1 or Level 2 utilization percentages as defined in the Edit Class Code File or the Change Warning Percentage program. EXAMPLE: Type 1 (RET) b. Enter any utilization percentage desired except 1% or 2%. The report will show all days where anticipated utilization exceeds this value. Note: this field will accept a figure larger than 100%. EXAMPLE: Type 110 (RET)
6. AMT/PCT FORMAT	Data may be displayed in either one of the following two formats, which is selected by entering the appropriate three character code. AMT = Data is displayed with the following two amounts: Expected number of units at this location ----------------------------------------------------- Of those units, the number that will be on-rent PCT = The anticipated utilization percent is shown. EXAMPLE: Type AMT (RET)
7. DETAIL/ SUMMARY	Enter: D = Detail. Provide a separate report for each Location or group name as indicated in field 1. There will be no combined total report. S = Summary. Provide a report for the location or group name as a total. There will not be a separate report for each location in the Group. EXAMPLE: Type D (RET)
8. PRINT/ DISPLAY	Enter: P = Print a hard copy of this report on your terminal's assigned printer. See the Edit Terminal Records Chapter on how to assign printers. D = Display this report on your terminal screen. See the General Data Entry instructions Chapter on how to control the screen display. EXAMPLE: Type P (RET)
9. CLASS SUMMARY	Enter: D = Detail: The report will include individual Classes as requested. S = Summary: Instead of listing each individual Class, the data is reported by Class Groups. EXAMPLE: Type S (RET) User tip: If this report is ran as "S" summary with ALL class the warning percentages will not be accurate. For correct warning percentages this report must be ran in "D" Detail.
10. INCLUDE ASSETS	This field refers to non-vehicle assets (such as GPS units) that are inventoried. Enter: Y = Yes, include non-vehicle assets in the report N = No, do not include non-vehicle assets in the report (include only vehicles) O = Report only non-vehicle assets EXAMPLE: Type Y (RET)

The screen will then display:

OPTION: __ CLASS AVAILABILITY REPORT

1 Location TUS
2 Class E
3 Start date 05-10-08
4 End date 05-16-08
5 Select % 1
6 AMT/PCT format AMT
7 Detail/ Summary D
8 Print/Display P
9 Class Summary S
10 Include Assets Y

1BEGIN 2 3ERASE 4 5BACKUP 6 7HELP 8

PRESS "F1" AT "OPTION:" TO BEGIN PRINTING.

TIPS IN USING THE CLASS AVAILABILITY REPORT

When running the report for a location group, to have the group figures reported (rather than a report for each separate location), run the report in "Summary" format.
When the anticipated utilization exceeds the Level 1 percentage, a period "." will print after the time period's data. If the utilization figure exceeds the Level 2 percentage, an asterisk "*" will print after the data.
Anticipated fleet sales and purchases can be programmed into this report through the Change Class Availability program. This program allows the user to change the anticipated total number of units that will be in the fleet starting at a specific time in the future.
Through the Change Warning Percentage program, the user may change the Level 1 and Level 2 utilization percentages. As an example, even though the Level 1 overbooking warning normally occurs at 85% utilization, it can be reset to 95% for the period December 20 through January 3.
By managing the Class Groups and using the Class Group logic, inactive Classes ( those with zero vehicles) can be eliminated from the report.
Vehicles that are not reported on the Planning Calendar:

The Planning Calendar does not create records for non-valid rental locations. Therefore, any vehicle whose current location is a non-valid rental location will not be counted as part of the total available fleet. Please refer to the chapter Introduction To Fleet Planning for a detailed discussion of this.
Any vehicle currently at an S-type status will not be counted as part of the total available fleet.
Foreign vehicles are not included.

When a reservation is made for a class and there are no units of that class at the location, the report will show zero vehicles in the class and 1 needed. An example (using 'Amounts') is shown below:

Page 0001 C L A S S A V A I L A B I L I T Y R E P O R T
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location: ABC Class: CDAR COMPACT 4 DR AUTO
Date %1 %2 0000 0700 0800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1900 2200 2359
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09-29-10 70 90 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
09-30-10 70 90 0 0 0 0* 0* 0* 0* 0* 0* 0
0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
10-01-10 70 90 * 0* 0* 0* 0* 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
10-02-10 70 90 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1BEGIN 2 3ERASE 4 5BACKUP 6 7HELP 8

If the reservation is a one-way, the count for that class at the renting location will decrease (go negative), and the count at the receiving location will increase (go positive). This is done to advise that vehicles need to be shuttled. (This can be avoided by using the Class Group logic so that inactive Classes ( those with zero vehicles) can be eliminated from the report. )

An example is shown below.

Pick up Location:

Page 0001 C L A S S A V A I L A B I L I T Y R E P O R T
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location: ABC Class: CDAR COMPACT 4 DR AUTO
Date %1 %2 0000 0700 0800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1900 2200 2359
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09-29-10 70 90 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
09-30-10 70 90 0 0 0 0* 0* 0* 0* 0* 0* 0
0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
10-01-10 70 90 * 0* 0* 0* 0* 0 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1
1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
10-02-10 70 90 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1BEGIN 2 3ERASE 4 5BACKUP 6 7HELP 8

Return location:

Page 0002 C L A S S A V A I L A B I L I T Y R E P O R T
SELECTIONS----------
Location: ALL
Vehicle Class: CDAR
Date Range: 09-29-10 to 10-02-10
Select Percentage: 0
'+' AFTER DATE INDICATES A GAP IN DATE ORDER
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location: XYZ Class: CDAR COMPACT
Date %1 %2 0000 1000 1400 1800 2359
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09-29-10 70 90 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
09-30-10 70 90 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
10-01-10 70 90 0 0 1 1 1
0 0 0 0 0
10-02-10 70 90 1 1 1 1 1
0 0 0 0 0

1BEGIN 2 3ERASE 4 5BACKUP 6 7HELP 8

THE CLASS AVAILABILITY FILE SEARCH PROGRAM

Data found on this report may also be displayed on the subwindow of the Reservation and RA Open screens by using the Class Availability File search. This allows the user to examine potential overbooking situations that he has been warned about and make a value judgment as to whether to proceed with the reservation or rental. (Class Groups are not accepted in the search windows.)

The following instructions explain this specialized search program.

a. When accessing the Class Availability File search, the following subwindow appears when no class or location data is in the Main Window:

OPTION: CLASS AVAILABILITY
F1=Start at Date F6=AMT/PCT: PCT F7=Class: F8=Loc:
Cls Date %1. %2* 0000

b. The search parameters are:

Start Date = The Pickup Date for reservations or the Open Date for RAs.

AMT/PCT = PCT (utilization percentage, see the notes on the related field on the Class Availability Report screen).

Class = The class of vehicle requested on the reservation or RA.

Location = The pick-up location for reservations or the Open location for RAs.

These values can be loaded or changed by pressing the appropriate function keys.

c. A completed search looks like this:

OPTION: CLASS AVAILABILITY
F1=Start at Date F6=AMT/PCT: PCT F7=Class: E F8=Loc: TUS
Cls Date %1. %2* 0000 0600 0800 0900 1100 1300 1500 1700 1900
E07-28 85 110 72 72 76 84 84 80 80 80 80
E 07-29 85 110 80 80 88. 92. 88. 88. 88. 80 80
E 07-30 85 110 84 92. 100. 108. 112* 112* 108. 108. 96.
E 07-31 85 110 96. 88. 92. 92. 92. 84 72 72 72
E 08-01 95 120 72 76 88 92 92 96. 96. 88 88

d. If class, location and date fields in the Main Window have values, entering the search program will automatically trigger a report display.

From this screen, the following facts can be discovered:

1. The Level 1 warning will occur when anticipated utilization exceeds 85% and the Level 2 warning when utilization exceeds 110%.

2. On 7/28 between 8:00am and 8:59am, utilization increases from 72% to 76%.

3. On 7/29 between 8:00am and 8:59am, utilization passes the Level 1 percentage. Therefore, a period appears after the 88%.

4. On 7/30 between 11:00am and 12:59pm, utilization passes the Level 2 percentage. Therefore, an asterisk appears after the 112%.

5. Through use of the Change Warning Percentage program, the warning levels have been changed beginning on 8/01 to 95% and 120%.

6. Note that the high Level 2 warning percentage has been set over 100% to compensate for anticipated no-shows. For example, between 7/28 and 7/31 at least 10% of the reservations are expected to be no-shows.

05-08-XX 14:12:40 JOHN   /dev/ttyq5 00   AUTOMOTIVE GROUP RENTALS D/B/A DOLLAR RENT A CAR       PRTFILE     Report #3078   Page 0001 ➊

                                        C L A S S   A V A I L A B I L I T Y   R E P O R T

SELECTIONS----------
Location:           TUS
Vehicle Class:      CDAR
Date range:         05-10-XX to 05-16-XX
Select percentage:    0 ➋
'+' AFTER DATE INDICATES A GAP IN DATE ORDER
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location: TUS     Class: CDAR  COMPACT 4 DR
  Date     %1  %2   0000 0700 0800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2359        Last Update
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

05-10      80 100     62   68   75   75   62   56   56   62   62   68   68       03-09  1656
05-11      80 100     75 . 81 . 81 . 87 . 87 . 93 . 81 . 81   75   75   68       03-09  1656 ➌
05-12      80 100     75 . 87 . 93 *100 *100 *106 *106 . 87   62   56   56       03-09  1643 ➍
05-13      80 100     56   56   56   56   56   56   43   25   31   31   31       03-09  1643
05-14      95 120     31   31   31   31   25   25   25   25   25   25   25       03-09  1248 ➎
05-15      95 120     25   25   25   25   25   25   18   18   18   18   18       03-09  1248
05-16      80 100     15   15   40   50   50   65   65   65   50   45   45       03-09  1248

     7 RECORDS REPORTED

                                                        -- End of report --

NOTES - CLASS AVAILABILITY REPORT, PAGE 1

➊ This report was requested 5-8 at 2:12 p.m. by John. It is a print out of the Planning Calendar. It reports anticipated utilization by class for dates selected based on reservations, open contracts, and open Non-Rev tickets. Each day is broken into time periods which are shown across the top of the report in military time. For each time period of each day a figure is shown representing the percentage of Compact Cars (Class CDAR) that are needed in order to meet commitments. By comparing the open reservations, non-rev tickets, and the existing open RAs to the fleet, the system determines what percentage of this class of vehicle is anticipated to be utilized for each time period of each day.

This report can be used to monitor the build of reservations. Proper interpretation of this report can be used to determine if a blackout should be requested for certain classes of vehicles at a national reservation center or whether to raise or lower rates depending on the amount of fleet anticipated to be available.

➋ The "Selections" show that the following choices were requested:

Location: The report is for the Tustin (TUS) location.
Vehicle Class: This report is for only the "CDAR" (compact) class of vehicle. When run for "ALL" vehicle classes, each class is listed separately.
Date Range: The report was requested for one week: May 10 through 16.
Select Percentage: No specific percentage was requested on this report. If a percentage had been entered, the report would then be limited to only those days where anticipated utilization is greater than the percent entered.

➌ On May 11 between 7 a.m. and 7:59 a.m. utilization passes the Level 1 percentage. Therefore, a period (.) appears before 81 percent.

➍ On May 12 between 10 a.m and 11:59 a.m. utilization passes the Level 2 percentage. This is noted with an asterisk (*) before 100 percent.

➎ For May 14 and 15 note that the warning percentages have been changed to 95 and 120 percent because it is anticipated there will be several no-shows over the weekend. This is done through the Change Warning Percentage program.

05-08-XX  14:12:05 JOHN   /dev/ttyq5 00             CARS+ RENT-A-CAR                         PRTFILE     Report #3077   Page 0001

                                        C L A S S   A V A I L A B I L I T Y   R E P O R T

SELECTIONS----------
Location:           TUS
Vehicle Class:      CDAR
Date range:         05-10-XX to 05-16-XX
Select percentage:    0
'+' AFTER DATE INDICATES A GAP IN DATE ORDER
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location: TUS     Class: CDAR  COMPACT 4 DR
  Date     %1  %2   0000 0700 0800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2359        Last Update
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

05-10      80 100     16   16   16   16   16   16   16   16   16   16   16       03-09  1656
                      10   11   12   12   10    9    9   10   10   11   11 ➊
05-11      80 100     16 . 16 . 16 . 16 . 16 . 16 . 16 . 16   16   16   16       03-09  1656
                      12   13   13   14   14   15   13   13   12   12   11
05-12      80 100     16 . 16 . 16 * 16 * 16 * 16 * 16 . 16   16   16   16       03-09  1643
                      12   14   15   16   16   17   17   14   10    9    9 ➋
05-13      80 100     16   16   16   16   16   16   16   16   16   16   16       03-09  1643
                       9    9    9    9    9    9    7    4    5    5    5
05-14      95 120     16   16   16   16   16   16   16   16   16   16   16       03-09  1248
                       5    5    5    5    4    4    4    4    4    4    4
05-15      95 120     16   16   16   16   16   16   16   16   16   16   16       03-09  1248
                       4    4    4    4    4    4    3    3    3    3    3
05-16      80 100     20   20   20   20   20   20   20   20   20   20   20       03-09  1248
                       3    3    8   10   10   13   13   13   10    9    9 ➌

     7 RECORDS REPORTED

                                                        -- End of report --

This report is for exactly the same dates and class of vehicle. However, it is formatted to show "AMOUNTS" rather than "PERCENTS".

➊ Note that at the start of the day on May 10, there are 16 compact cars in the fleet, and 10 are committed (62 percent shown on the first version of the report.)

➋ May 12 at 7 a.m. (0700), the number committed goes from 12 to 14 (corresponding to a change from 75 to 87 percent as shown on the first version of the report.)

➌ Note that the number of units in the fleet changes from 16 to 20 on May 16 because it is anticipated that 4 new compact cars will be purchased and placed in service by that time. Units can be added or subtracted from the planning calendar ahead of their expected purchase or sale dates by using the Change Class Availability program.

COMPARISON TO THE FLEET AVAILABILITY REPORT

There are two reports in CARS+ that have similar names and perform similar functions: Fleet Availability Report and Class Availability Report.

Although they are both designed to project the future vehicle usage, they do so using different logic and as such CANNOT be compared to each other. The following outlines some of these differences:

Function	Class Availability Report	Fleet Availability Report
Starting Class Count	Includes all non-sold vehicles at a location regardless of current status	Includes only vehicles currently in an "available" status type at the location.
Foreign Owned Vehicles	Excludes foreign owned vehicles currently at the location	Includes foreign owned vehicles currently at the location.
Future Fleet Changes	Applies both positive and negative Class adjustments made through the Change Class Availability program. Ignores Grounding dates of vehicles.	Ignores Class adjustments made through the Change Class Availability program, but is sensitive to the Grounding dates of vehicles.