Poster said she was not comfortable driving. Have to respect that and the drive from MCO is not for the faint of heart mostly around the construction area if traveling the toll pike. You could ask the maps to avoid the tolls which is a lot of traffic lights but maybe a better option than the tolls pike.

Just call Kim Kims Cab the next day to take you to Hertz.

you're better off picking up at MCO and returning here (if you'd like) same rate , and MCO works as long as flights are coming in.

Not true. There is a $9 per day CFC. Besides a CFC, an airport car rental includes several additional fees like a Concession Recovery Fee, Energy Recovery Fee, Florida Surcharge, Vehicle License Fee and Waste Tire & Battery Fee.

Fees alone for a weeklong rental of an SUV from MCO can total more than $150.

The hertz office in Spanish springs is a mess. 20 min minimum to pick up a car and hertz corporate doesn’t care. ( they have enough issues)

Try Avis-Budget at Leesburg on 441. UBER 18 dollars or so from Linden. They are fantastic. Rented a mystery vehicle from a Delta flight because Groome was going to drop me off at Brownwood. Drove the Ram truck back home for 56 dollars. Would have been 42 if I had my toll device that was stiil at our Maryland Home. I use them all the time. Cheaper than my Amazon discount. I had to get a SUV on short notice and was given the lowest rate for an economy car. Try them, great guys.

You don’t need to talk to them. Go on the Hertz website and just choose what location you want to reserve a car.

rent from Enterprise!

Avoid Hertz
 

Avoid HERTZ at all costs. Terrible company. You may rent a car from them, the police pull you over and arrest you for a stolen rental car even though you have a valid contract. You get jail time for 2-3 days until Hertz tells the police "Oh, the car is not stolen, we forgot to cancel the 'wanted notice' when that car came back late on a previous rental."
Many other horror stories like, renter being charged $70 for filling up the gas tank on the return. The car was a Tesla, returned fully charged too.
Just Google: "HERTZ Steve Lehto" to see many legal videos of actual problems. The company is nearing bankruptcy too from all the class action suits filed.

Skip

Yes - a good idea. I will look at alternate routes on Google maps.
Some responders to this thread have been very quick to imply it's a no-brainer to just rent from the airport. But bear in mind.. The Villages is an over 55 community. That means that some of us, even over 75, still drive very well but try to avoid the nerve-rattling drive to and from MCO. That's why the Groome bus has passengers. We've awakened at dawn, taken a bus to the airport, then the flight for 3 - 5 hrs. By landing in MCO, we're willing to pay to relax on the bus and let the driver take the rest of the way.

I'm pretty sure that the employees who should be answering the phone aren't reading TOTV.

If they're not comfortable driving, then they should do EVERYONE ELSE a HUGE favor and -

not drive. At all. Nervous drivers put everyone at risk.

To wind up this discussion---

Most people responded to this thread to say it's cheaper to rent cars at the airport and drive yourself.

That may be true, but I prefer relaxing on the Groome bus and renting from the local Hertz. I have rented from them many times, it's been very good and I'll continue to do so. It's important for The Villages to offer transportation options.

My suggestion (to make them more competitive) is that they possibly change their hours to 10 am to 6 pm, or make arrangements for off-hours pickup or drop-off similar to what other rental agencies do.

The Villages doesn't offer anything. The Villages is owned by a holding company that has no relation with Groome, Uber, Lyft, any taxi service, other public transportation, or any car rental company.

However, there are LOTS of options. You've just chosen to limit YOUR options by choosing to take a bus in to the Villages from the airport, at a time when the only rental companies that do business IN the Villages area are closed for the night. That is your CHOICE. That is the option YOU chose.

call a different location, they will help

Call the res center
 

800-654-3131