Location: Grand Salon Foyer

Sponsored By:
PurCo

Location: Bronze 2-4

Learn how to make the most of International Car Rental Show with an insider’s look into the event’s highlights, and meet fellow attendees to form new connections that will last during the expo and beyond!

Location: Gold Ballroom

Speakers:
Joni Owens, Auto Rental News/Bobit
Sharon Faulkner, ACRA

Sponsor: Sofiac

Location: Platinum & Gold Ballrooms

Speaker: Chris Brown, Bobit

In today’s world, we are constantly under pressure to hire the right people, create a cohesive team, and perform at a high level… to do more with less. However, true success hinges on each team member’s ability to be bold and expand their comfort zone.

As leaders, we can continuously reinforce this with our teams. Yet, sometimes, seeing this struggle from a new perspective is just what an audience needs as the catalyst for change. Recognizing that even those who may seem unflappable have overcome the same doubts and the same obstacles suddenly makes success seem within reach.

In this 45-minute keynote, Michelle, also known as Mace, takes her audience on a surprising and compelling journey through her career as a Fighter Pilot, culminating in her role as the Lead Solo Pilot for the Air Force Thunderbirds.

Most will struggle with self-doubt and imposter syndrome at some point. Mace battled these obstacles while attempting to find her identity in a high-performance, type-A culture. Her evolution from struggling with a crippling fear of failure to flying inverted only inches from other aircraft at 500 mph will inspire audiences to get comfortable being uncomfortable. Drawing on over a decade in high-performance aviation and her own transformation, Mace teaches audiences what they are capable of when they let go of fear, lean into vulnerability, and make bold choices.

Are you ready to take flight and overcome your fears?

Location: Platinum & Gold Ballrooms

Emcee:
Chris Brown, Bobit

Speaker: Michelle “Mace” Curran, United States Air Force (Ret.)

Sponsor: 1st Source Bank

ACRA President Sharky Laguana presents this year's Impact Award, provides an update on ACRA progress over the past year, and discusses the year ahead in a fireside chat with Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Director, Strategic Planning, for Cox Automotive.

Location: Platinum & Gold Ballrooms

Speakers:
Sharky Laguana, Bandago Van & ACRA President
Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox Automotive

Location: Event Center

Lunch Served 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Lunch Sponsored By:
Rently Software, LLC

You were inspired by Michelle “Mace” Curran’s extraordinary opening keynote on overcoming adversity and fostering personal growth. Join this seminar to bring those themes into your car rental operation to develop the leadership potential of your team. Using firsthand experiences, this diverse panel will discuss how attendees can support their team members to overcome self-limiting beliefs, create trust, and build teamwork. This will set the stage for attendees to discover strategies to increase employee engagement, enable high-performance execution, empower decision making, and instill positive accountability throughout your organization. Attendees will also take away specific guidance on building leaders in the next generation workforce.

Location: Platinum Ballroom

Moderator:
Chris Craft, 1st Source Bank

Panelists:
Jim Wilcox, Wilcox Associates
Rick Eddy, GSP Transportation
Sharky Laguana, Bandago Van Rental & ACRA President

Panelists will discuss car rental and other travel dynamics in various Latin American markets.

Location: Gold Ballroom

Moderator:
Eddie Crespo, Green Motion / U-Save

Panelists:
Jorge Pontual, Fenaloc
Kawish Miser, Aruba Top Drive
Luis Mejia, Mex Rent a Car
María José Zúniga, GEC

Sponsored By:
Green Motion
U-Save

Generative AI did NOT write this description — or maybe it did? This seminar will explore the potential for AI to transform car rental, with an opening discussion of general theories leading to specific use cases. Attendees will then be able to interact with a live chatbot to understand how AI can handle sophisticated customer service interactions, with opportunities for 24/7 access, improved CSI, and more efficient use of your team.

Location: Silver Ballroom

Moderator:
Martin Romjue, Bobit

Panelists:
Vassilis Devletoglou, Wheels Car Rental System

Sponsored By:
Discount Tire

Attendees will have a chance to interact with Chris Brown and Martin Romjue of Auto Rental News to share their views on car rental today and how together we can create a strong agenda for the LATAM meeting for 2025

Location: Gold Ballroom

Hosts:
Chris Brown, Bobit
Martin Romjue, Bobit

Join this seminar for a primer on how to spot a high-risk rental transaction in all steps of the process to prevent fraudulent rentals — including employee use. Attendees will learn how to spot erratic behaviors during the booking process and at the counter. They’ll learn how telematics can be used to identify driving behaviors that can generate red flags for misuse. Finally, panelists will share how to work with a recovery company for repossessions.

Location: Platinum Ballroom

Moderator:
Phil Spink, Sixt Rent a Car & Tom Wood Automotive Group

Panelist
Mark Novak, Zubie

What are the new expectations of the inbound international traveler and how can your rental company prepare to meet their needs?

Location: Gold Ballroom

Moderator:
Eddie Crespo, Green Motion / U-Save

Panelists:
Israel Alvarez, Frontline Performance Group
Julian Gritsch, JGCorp

Sponsored By:
Green Motion
U-Save

Like all industries throughout North America, the “silver tsunami” has reached auto rental too. If you are an owner, shareholder, executive, or manager needing clarity on who will run your business in a decade — or how to eventually sell it — this seminar is for you. Panelists from two major-brand / multi-generational licensees will deliver strategic structuring advice that can apply to any stage of business along with insider strategies for succession planning. Attendees will then learn how to value their business to better position it for sale.

Location: Silver Ballroom

Moderator:
David Blaskey, The Blaskey Group

Panelists:
Carrigan Grigsby, Avis Alaska
Michael Robortaccio, The Blaskey Group
Solomon Cramer, Avis Budget Payless Licensee Association

As the wholesale market returns to a more stable state, what does the new normal look like? Black Book’s Data Scientist Alex Yurchenko will present an overview of the current wholesale and used retail market with a closer look at inventory and pricing. Next, he’ll turn to the future for a view on the market in the next 12 to 36 months and identify the emerging trends on the horizon.

Location: Platinum Ballroom

Moderator:
Martin Romjue, Bobit

Panelists:
Dr. Alex Yurchenko, Black Book

Self-service and “contactless” became car rental buzzwords during the pandemic, though the industry was nonetheless slow to adapt. Yet with new technologies and processes, you can make self-service rentals work! This seminar will outline ways to open new markets and operate virtually 24/7 without additional labor or infrastructure. You’ll hear from systems providers and interact with an independent rental operation running a successful self-service program today.

Location: Gold Ballroom

Moderator:
Julian Espiritu, Abrams Mobility

Panelists:
Alex Aryfar, Rent-Centric
Cesar Leyva, Airport Van Rental

Join this seminar to understand the building blocks for success as a non-major car rental operation in the new era. This diverse panel of longtime industry experts will provide tactics to help you to better allocate your existing resources, identify the red flags in your operating expenses, improve your relationship with your bank(s), buy, sell, and manage fleet based on today’s market conditions, and more. Stop yearning for the pre-pandemic years because they’re never coming back. But you can still win in this new environment!

Location: Silver Ballroom

Moderator:
Mark Eckhaus, Eckhaus Fleet

Panelists:
Cindy Trenerry, 1st Source Bank, Auto & Light Truck Division
Paige Eckhaus, Eckhaus Fleet
Tom Guy, Mike Albert Rental

Enjoy a drink and light bites, mingle with the movers and shakers in car rental. The opening Evening Reception give ICRS attendees a deep dive into the latest in car rental services and technologies.

Location: Event Center

Sponsor: Rental Recovery

Location: PurCo Booth #135

Entertainment: Sharky Laguana, ACRA

Sponsored By: PurCo