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Weekly UpdatesAvis Alaska is celebrating its 50-year anniversary. It has been family owned and operated since Robert Halcro and his wife, Barbara, came to Anchorage from San Francisco on their honeymoon in 1955 and started a car-leasing business before returning to the Lower 48. About a year later, they got the exclusive Avis franchise for the state of Alaska.
The Halcro family moved to Anchorage in the mid-1960s, according to Andrew Halcro, CEO, president and the founder's son. Prior to that, a local manager attended to the day-today operations at their original office, which was located at 13th Avenue and L Street in what is now Inlet Tower Hotel & Suites.
"Over the past 50 years, we have grown from two employees to more than 100," said Halcro from his current headquarters at the corner of Aircraft Drive and International Airport Road, near the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. "And, we've also expanded our fleet of cars from 20 to more than 1,500 vehicles."
THEIR ROOTS
Proud of what his parents started, Halcro says they currently have offices in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Kenai, Kodiak, Juneau, Sitka and Petersburg, and on a seasonal basis in Skagway and Whittier.
"It's always been a close-knit family business," Halcro said. "While I'm the CEO, we are still a family business, and when we get together, our family dinners can become quite eventful."
The history of Avis Corp. (the parent company) started about a decade earlier when the founder, Warren Avis, opened his car-leasing business at Willow Run Airport in Detroit. Avis started a trend with his $85,000 investment; he opened the country's first car-rental company at an airport. It was not long afterward that Avis opened his second rental office at Miami Airport in Florida. In 1953, he began franchise operations in Europe, Canada and Mexico. That same year, he sold the company for $8 million. Since then it has changed hands more than a dozen times.
OVER THE YEARS
The biggest changes over the years in Alaska, according to Halcro, are the costs of doing business and the changes in the attitudes of the consumers.
He says one example of the increasing expenses is the rise in the cost of new cars. Over the past 10 years, cars have doubled in price.
The Internet also has made major changes for Avis Alaska. Halcor says while it is easier for customers to make reservations, people are under the opinion that the longer they wait the better price they will receive. For a company that does about 60 percent of its business in a four- or five-month period, it becomes difficult to make plans.
"It is an increasingly difficult challenge to balance the cost of vehicles with yield and profitability," said Halcro. "This is a very high seasonal marketplace. So the challenges with doing business in that kind of environment continue to grow.
"If you think back 10 years ago, there was no Priceline.com, Travelosity or Orbits. And now with these Internet booking engines, people are waiting longer to make reservations. That flies in the face of travel to Alaska.
TWO-WEEK WINDOW
"If I look at our reservation logs from 10 or 15 years ago, by February or March I'd have a pretty good idea of what the summer was going to look like; people made reservations much earlier. Today, we are basically down to a two-week window."
He said that since travelers are becoming more mobile and able to make last-minute decisions, it puts a lot of pressure on his business when it comes to ordering new vehicles. This is especially true when it takes from 90 to 120 days to receive new cars. So to get them in time for the tourist season, they have to be ordered by February, three months before the first summer visitor arrives.
While there are frustrations that come with owning and operating any type of business, Avis must be doing something right to survive, grow and prosper for 50 years. According to Halcro, it's his employees and the customer service they provide.
THE BOTTOM LINE
"The bottom line is that our customers can get the same car anywhere," Halcro said. "What separates us is our service and attention to the customers' needs. Also, our availability and location helps, too, plus the fact that we're statewide has helped us dramatically. We can offer customers consistent service and products whether they are in Anchorage or Fairbanks today and Petersburg tomorrow.
"But overall we've been incredibly fortunate to get and keep such good employees. The last time I checked, the average time of service for our managers is bordering 15 years."
To celebrate the occasion, Halcro said they are offering things to show appreciation to the many customers who have made Avis so successful over the years. One favor will be free upgrades to some members of the Alaska Preferred Customer program.
"We'll also be renewing the Preferred Customer program to make it similar to frequent-flyer programs, so after you rent a car so many times, you'll get free days, "he said. "The rest of the year is going to be very exciting for us at Avis Alaska."
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