Car Rentals
St. Lawrence University has agreements with Enterprise, National and Hertz that provide employees with preferred rental rates. Employees should always obtain the preferred or discounted rate when renting an automobile for business purposes. Employees may also use the preferred rates for personal use.
Conference attendees are not normally expected to rent vehicles. Economy/compact vehicles should be rented unless special circumstances justify otherwise.
Auto Coverage on Rental Vehicle
The University's insurance policies provide coverage for business use of rental vehicles. It is not necessary to elect coverage. If damage should occur to the vehicle, the University will submit a claim through our institutional insurance policy. However, your department may be responsible for covering the deductible of an accepted claim or the cost of the repairs if a claim is denied. If you are in an accident please refer to the "Auto Accidents, Emergencies and Claims" section of the Risk Management website.
The University’s Hertz contract does include insurance in the rate and it cannot be removed. The university will use that insurance ahead of its own when necessary.
Auto Coverage for Personal Use Rentals
The University's policies do not cover employee rentals for personal use, even if the employee rented the car using the University's rental contract and/or negotiated rates.
Due to the way our account is setup with Enterprise and National, insurances cannot be added to rentals, even when renting for personal use. If the employee would like coverage, they will need to use a different National/Enterprise account that has been setup for this scenario. The account number for personal use when employees want to purchase coverage is XZ2900B (Not for University Business Use). Please note the discount rates on this account are 5% off retail. This is much less of a discount than on our main account, and unfortunately there is nothing that can be changed. The employee should choose the account and insurance coverages that they feel they need.
When Renting from Hertz the insurance is not automatically included for personal rentals and must be added if desired. No separate account number is required.
Before your trip, it is best to consult the Risk Management Department if you have insurance related questions.
Personal Accident Insurance (PAI) should not be available and should not be purchased for business rentals. The University's existing coverages cover employees when traveling for the University.
If an accident occurs, immediately take a breath, check your surroundings before exiting the vehicle, and ensure everyone is okay. Call emergency services if necessary. Once everyone is in safe hands, please take pictures of the scene of the accident, as well as the damage to the car, and report to the rental car company. Do not admit fault and do not offer St. Lawrence insurance. Then notify your supervisor, SLU Security (x5555), and SLU Risk Management (x5880). Security will create an internal accident report.
Roadside Assistance
Roadside Assistance should not be purchased. It is more cost effective for the University to pay the rental company for a service call only when needed. If renting with Enterprise or National and assistance is needed they can be contacted at 1-800-307-6666. If assistance is needed when renting from Hertz call 1-800-654-5060 Be sure to have a contact number for other vendors when renting from a company other than Enterprise, National or Hertz.
Use of Other Rental Companies
In the case that Enterprise, National or Hertz are not available at a certain location another company may be used. You should use your Visa Travel Credit Card for the booking.
Fuel
Cars should be returned with a full tank of gas unless the company offers refill guarantees in which the cost is less than that available at gas stations.
National Rental Car
National only offers rentals at airports and should be used when renting from airports. There is also no one-way fee when using National. Employees are encouraged to join the Emerald Club which will allow them to earn points and expedite the rental process.
Enterprise Rental Car
When renting an automobile from Enterprise, employees must use the corporate account and if prompted use the billing number when making their reservation in order to receive the preferred rate.
Employees may make reservations with Enterprise for vehicles in upstate New York by calling the Potsdam office at 265-0700.
Hertz
When renting an automobile from Enterprise, employees must use the corporate account to receive the preferred rate. Hertz rentals should be paid for with your Travel Credit Card and cannot be directly billed to the University.
Employees may make reservations for Hertz vehicles in upstate New York by calling the Ogdensburg Airport location at 315-782-2635.
Enterprise and National Rates
The contracted rates should be reflected online and at pickup locations.The University's travel agency has access to these rates which will be automatically applied to traveler's reservations.
Hertz Rates
The contracted rates should be reflected online and at pickup locations. The University's travel agency has access to these rates which will be automatically applied to traveler's reservations.
Tolls
Due to the new automated toll systems on most interstate highways (including the NYS Thruway), in most cases tolls will be charged after the rental period has concluded, in addition to a processing fee. When renting a car from Enterprise, even if charging to the University’s account, please put your SLU travel card on file with the reservation for toll charges. If you incur toll charges without a card on file, your department will be charged the toll fees directly when the University receives the invoice. Please note the processing fee of $3.95 per day that tolls are incurred is not able to be waived.
Sales Tax
Sales tax should not be charged as the University is tax-exempt. State Tax exemption forms are available here.