No-shows are a persistent challenge for the vehicle rental industry, leading to lost revenue, poor fleet management, and logistical headaches. For companies like Pace Van Hire, ensuring that bookings are secure and customers are committed is vital in maintaining a profitable and efficient rental operation.
No-shows or cancellations can result in lost revenue and underutilised vehicles, directly impacting the business’s bottom line. By integrating Opayo’s secure payment gateway with Prohire’s Proweb booking widget, Pace Van Hire has found a solution that minimises no-shows and enhances the overall booking experience. This seamless integration allows customers to make secure payments online while booking, adding confidence and commitment to their bookings.
Additionally, this setup provides Pace Van Hire with real-time payment tracking and instant booking confirmations, streamlining operations by reducing manual processes. The automated nature of the system reduces administrative overhead, ensures upfront payment, and ultimately helps the company optimise its fleet management by knowing strictly which vehicles are reserved and for how long. This improves operational efficiency, lowers the risk of last-minute cancellations, and increases overall customer satisfaction.
To hear more about Pace Van Hire’s experience with Proweb, we spoke to Company Director Louis Verrico.
Company History
Pace Van Hire is a third-generation family business that began as a vehicle sales company in 1954 on Pomeroy Street, London. Like many rental companies, it started in sales before gradually evolving. By 2008, the business had transitioned into van rentals under ‘Ace Rent a Van’, continuing to operate from the original location. Expansion followed with a new branch in Croydon in 2018 and another in Eltham in 2023. The name change to ‘Pace Van Hire’ was introduced to create a more distinctive brand and secure a trademark in the competitive rental market.
After a career as a pilot, Louis joined the family business in 2013 and took on the role of company director in 2016. Under his leadership, the company has been heavily invested in and has grown steadily. Today, Pace Van Hire operates a fleet of 270 vehicles, with plans for continued expansion and innovation within the rental industry.
The Cost of No-Shows in the Rental Industry
No-shows are more than just an inconvenience; they significantly drain resources. Vehicles that are reserved but never collected result in lost opportunities to rent those vehicles to other customers.
Louis adds, “It is frustrating to have a vehicle sat there that should otherwise be out earning money.”
This leads to inefficiencies in fleet utilisation, frustrated customers who might otherwise have secured a booking, and ultimately, lost revenue. Louis reveals that it is particularly frustrating “when we turn away other customers who eventually go to another provider with the vehicle available. It doesn’t allow you to capture as much business as you should.”
For Pace Van Hire, it was particularly important to implement a system where no-shows could no longer use the chargeback process to retrieve their funds because, as Louis points out, “chargebacks were extremely difficult to win until we adopted Proweb. This, therefore, prevents a significant financial loss.”
Opayo: Securing Payments and Reducing Booking Abandonment
Opayo’s payment gateway is pivotal in securing bookings at Pace Van Hire. Requiring upfront deposits or full payment when booking makes customers more committed to following through. Louis believes that “it has helped with chargeback challenges.”
Opayo provides a secure, reliable, and easy-to-use platform that integrates seamlessly with Proweb, allowing customers to make payments quickly and confidently.
Louis adds, “Opayo is a recognised brand, so people pay with confidence. We often have people call on the phone but decide to put their faith in the Opayo system rather than give us their details over the phone.”
For customers, paying through a trusted, secure gateway like Opayo enhances trust in the booking process. With increasing concerns about online fraud, Opayo’s robust security features—such as PCI DSS compliance and 3D Secure authentication—provide customers peace of mind and ensure that their payments are safe.
This security, combined with Proweb’s transparency, strengthens the customer relationship and encourages repeat bookings, reducing no-shows and booking abandonment in the long term.
This approach also drastically reduces the likelihood of no-shows by ensuring customers have made a financial commitment when booking their vehicles. Prohire clients will be offered preferential rates when signing up with Opayo, so it is worth considering if you are not using Opayo already.
Integration with Proweb: A Seamless Booking and Payment Process
Proweb’s intuitive and user-friendly interface ensures that customers experience a frictionless booking journey, from selecting their van to finalising their payment via Opayo. The integration allows customers to see vehicle availability, pricing, and payment options without leaving the platform, creating a unified experience. This reduces booking abandonment, as the process feels seamless and secure, and Louis highlights that this means “we have seen a year-on-year increase in bookings”.
Louis says that Pace Van Hire has felt the benefits of Proweb. “Before Proweb, I had no real online offering; all we had was a web form in which we would have to call the customer back to confirm the booking. Now the customer understands everything without us even having to pick up the phone, and they have an immediate confirmation of their booking in most cases.”
With Proweb, customers can easily choose their preferred van, view the total cost, including any deposits, and pay securely through Opayo with one smooth flow. By offering real-time booking confirmation tied directly to payment completion, Pace Van Hire eliminates the uncertainty surrounding customer commitment and ensures that their fleet is being utilised efficiently.
Louis also highlights the efficiency of real-time availability updates, which make Proweb “every bit as good as picking up the phone,” and the 24/7 booking system. Louis feels the latter is particularly beneficial because “many bookings come in overnight when the customer is home from work and thinking of planning their week. These times mean you can capture a customer even when closed, which is extremely important.”
So when asked if this integrated system is one he’d recommend to other rental businesses, Louis said, “Absolutely. It is seamless, easy to use, and most importantly, increases profitability.”
A Win-Win for Pace Van Hire and Customers
By integrating Opayo with Proweb, Pace Van Hire has addressed a critical issue in the rental industry—no-shows. “Fleet utilisation is up in general since using Prohire’s system as a whole. Both in terms of being able to use the allocation chart and in terms of more bookings.”
Additionally, Proweb has greatly improved Pace Van Hire’s operational efficiency. Previously, bookings over the phone “would often take an average of 7 minutes,” which, as Louis points out, “is a lot of time not only for the customer but also put a strain on staff who were also dealing with customers in the office.”
The combination of secure payment methods and a seamless booking experience ensures customer commitment and streamlines the rental process. This integration has proven to be a win-win solution, boosting customer satisfaction while protecting Pace Van Hire from the costly effects of no-shows.
“[Prohire] changed our business completely. We had countless cupboards of arch-lever folders with paperwork, and our garage looked like a library! We reduced our administration time by around 75% by adopting Prohire. Prohire were very good at implementing our payment structure, which is not complicated but certainly unconventional, and they were very helpful with the onboarding process.”
Proweb simplifies your operations, helping to avoid no-shows and increase efficiency. Combining Proweb’s online booking widget and Opayo’s secure payment gateway enhances the customer booking journey and ensures their satisfaction.
