More inquiries, fewer people: how a hybrid car rental company works over a long weekend

At a car rental company, the busiest days are the days when the fewest people are in the office. Inquiries pile up on Thursday night, on Friday before people hit the road, and on Sunday on the way back. Almost all of them come in through WhatsApp, and almost all of them look alike: how much it costs, whether there's availability, what I need to pick up the car.

A hybrid car rental company splits that work. An AI employee handles the conversation, and the team takes care of the cars and the cases that need a person. This is what a long weekend with a Friday holiday looks like.

Thursday, 11:40 p.m.

A couple from São Paulo arriving in Mendoza on Friday at noon writes in Portuguese. They want an automatic car for four days and ask whether they can cross into Chile.

The AI employee replies in Portuguese. It checks availability in the system, sends them the rate with insurance included, and explains that crossing the border requires an authorization that has to be processed before pickup. It asks for their details to start it. The booking is in the system before midnight.

Friday, 8:15 a.m.

A customer lets them know their flight is three hours late. Before, that message would sit on the phone of someone on the team, who had to remember to tell the airport counter. The AI employee updates the pickup time on the booking and confirms the car will be waiting.

Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The day of repeat questions: what documents are needed, what the minimum age is, whether they take debit for the deposit, whether the car can be returned in another city. Dozens of conversations with the same answers. The AI employee answers them using the company's policy and takes each one through to a booking. Meanwhile, the team hands over cars at the counter without looking at the phone.

Saturday, 10:30 a.m.

A customer writes in, angry about a cleaning fee they don't understand. That case isn't one the AI resolves: it identifies it as a complaint, gathers the booking details, and hands it to a person on the team with all the context. The customer doesn't have to tell the story twice.

Sunday, 5:00 p.m.

The AI employee sends a reminder to everyone returning on Monday: time, branch, and that the tank has to come back full. Customers arrive knowing what to expect.

Monday, 9:00 a.m.

The team opens the office and finds the weekend's bookings entered, the time changes recorded, and a short list of cases to review: Saturday's complaint, a request from a company that wants three cars for March, and an inquiry about a pickup truck that wasn't in the fleet. Everything else is already resolved.

What it takes to make it work

First, the AI employee has to be connected to the booking system and the real rates. If it only answers FAQs, the customer is still left waiting for someone to confirm the price.

Second, the policies have to be written down: deposit, deductible, minimum age, border crossing, returns at another branch. What the team knows by heart today has to live somewhere the AI can use it.

Finally, it has to be clear when the conversation goes to a person. Complaints, accidents, and corporate customers go to the team from the first message.

At Laburen, we deploy AI employees for car rental companies with Forward Deployed Engineers who connect them to your systems and train them on your policies.