I rent cars from a rental company that seems to have a pricing mistake and the prices are $0 for a week's car rental. Sometimes at busy periods, the price goes up to $0.25.
I've been doing it for 3 years now, and every time the member of staff at the desk looks at the price and goes "whoa - that's a good deal!".
There's no fake names, hacking, or free trials involved - anyone can get the deal by clicking the right buttons on their website. I would guess they have a very complex pricing database, and the boss said "we aren't competitive, reduce all prices by $10 per day", and that left some prices at or below zero...
Is it morally wrong? How is it different from my neighbour lending me a car for free?
Itβs very different. The rental company knows that you do this, you have showed employees this, and they chose not to change the falling price algorithm.
The difference is that it is not an obvious error, but a strategy.
Rental car companies frequently resort to personalized pricing. I've been in situations where just by using a different country TLD to make your reservation you could get a 2x price difference. Same car, same options, everything. So, good for you that you get a good deal out of this.
I've been doing it for 3 years now, and every time the member of staff at the desk looks at the price and goes "whoa - that's a good deal!".
There's no fake names, hacking, or free trials involved - anyone can get the deal by clicking the right buttons on their website. I would guess they have a very complex pricing database, and the boss said "we aren't competitive, reduce all prices by $10 per day", and that left some prices at or below zero...
Is it morally wrong? How is it different from my neighbour lending me a car for free?