Here's why you might miss the chance to rent a car for the holidays.

With the holiday season kicking off in less than a week in the U.S., if you’re hoping to secure a rental car for Thanksgiving in New York City, it may be too late for that.

Finding last-minute holiday deals can be tough, especially for rental cars, which have become increasingly scarce this year due to a national rental car shortage, rising prices, and long wait times.

TPG has covered this extensively, even labeling it a "car rental apocalypse" back in June.

Your chances of renting a car this holiday season will vary by location. Even in NYC, there’s still hope; rentals for Christmas are available, and there are alternative options to traditional rental companies that might work for you.

No traditional rental cars are available in NYC for Thanksgiving.

During my test search for this article, I tried to book a last-minute rental car in Manhattan from November 24, just before Thanksgiving, through Sunday, November 28.

I started with Enterprise Rent-A-Car, but there were no rental cars at any of their 40 locations in or around New York City. Additionally, over half of these centers were closed on Sunday, so returning a car that day wouldn’t be possible.

When I changed the return date to Monday, November 29, I found a few cars available outside the city (in Brooklyn, Ridgewood, Middle Village, etc.). However, I didn’t want to deal with parking a rental car in the city overnight, so I decided to check out National Car Rental instead.

The 12 National locations across NYC returned no results for the Wednesday to Sunday period, and many of these locations were closed on that Sunday.

Noticing a pattern, I confidently turned to Alamo Rent A Car, only to find out that there were no vehicles available in the entire New York City area for my chosen dates. This situation was the same for Avis, Budget, Dollar, and Thrifty rental car companies as well.

It seems particularly inconvenient that rental car companies close on Sundays, as this is a popular time for returning cars after weekend trips, especially outside of holiday weekends.

Christmas rental options

Realizing it was too late to secure a traditional rental car in NYC just a week before Thanksgiving, I decided to check availability for Christmas, hoping for better luck since it’s still about a month away.

I expanded my search to a week-long rental from 8 a.m. on December 23 to 12 p.m. on December 29.

The only cars available from National in this timeframe were in Jersey City, with prices ranging from just under $700 for an economy vehicle like a Mitsubishi Mirage to $1750 for a premium elite SUV, such as a BMW X3.

Alamo offered more options, available in Jersey City, as well as at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The lowest rates at JFK ranged from $825 to $1025.

Avis, Budget, Dollar, and Thrifty all provided economy and compact cars for around $600 for the desired week in December. Unlike my Thanksgiving search, cars were accessible at both city locations and airports.

A similar search conducted in other cities.

If you're located elsewhere in the country, like Chicago, you might have better luck finding a rental car for Thanksgiving. Kayak showed plenty of full-size vehicles available for under $550.

In Miami, prices for smaller cars were comparable to those of full-sized vehicles in Chicago for the dates of November 24 to November 28.

Cars were also available for the same dates in San Francisco, although most options were departing from Oakland International Airport (OAK).

Alternatives to traditional car rentals

Even if you're not looking to rent a car this holiday season, there are several alternatives worth considering throughout the year.

Turo

Turo was the first peer-to-peer carsharing platform to launch in the U.S. in 2010, allowing users to borrow cars from locals in over 5,500 cities across the U.S., Canada, and the UK.

It's now available in all 50 states. However, in New York, users can only book through "Commercial Hosts" due to a legal issue with the company and the New York Department of Financial Services. These hosts operate as independent rental companies, providing their own insurance and being registered with the state.

"New York is the only state in the U.S. where peer-to-peer car sharing is not available," Turo has stated to TPG, but NYC users looking to go this route can still do so by crossing into New Jersey.

Check out our guide to Turo here.

Kyte

I discovered Kyte this summer while searching for an affordable rental car for a trip from Boston to Maine in July, and it turned out to be the cheapest option available. The convenience of having a car delivered right in the heart of Boston's Back Bay made the experience seamless.

This app-based car rental delivery service offers door-to-door service by sourcing vehicles from various professional fleet suppliers, which they maintain themselves. Their focus on "doorstep car delivery" allows users to pick up and drop off cars almost anywhere and anytime in select U.S. cities, including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C.

In summary, Kyte essentially delivers the car right to your location.

Final thoughts

The impact of limited vehicle availability and staffing challenges at rental car companies is expected to continue into 2022, meaning securing rental cars might remain challenging. It's advisable to book as early as possible and explore alternative options.