Denver International Airport (DEN) has announced the site location for the consolidated rental car facility (ConRAC). The rental car companies at DEN have outgrown their current leasehold spaces and need more room to meet Vision 100 and Operation 2045 growth projections to serve 120+ million passengers in the future.
DEN has five rental car brand families on-site (Avis, Enterprise, Fox, Hertz and Sixt), and several others operate off-site. The existing sites have not had significant improvement since DEN opened. The current rental car program uses 12,760 parking spaces. With the influx of passengers, DEN will need 16,130 parking spaces, a 26 percent increase.
Currently at DEN, a customer must take an individual car rental company shuttle to a surface parking lot, where customers are exposed to the elements. A ConRAC provides a one-stop shop for all car rental companies that is covered and more easily accessible for the customers. Additionally, because the facility will have multiple levels, DEN won’t need as much land to accommodate the demand.
DEN evaluated three different sites and has determined the current employee lot located along 78th Avenue, north of Peña Boulevard and east of Jackson Gap, provides DEN with the most benefits for future growth. That lot will be relocated to a nearby location. A major benefit of this location is the potential to extend an Automated People Mover (APM) along 78th Avenue to serve additional public or employee parking, additional transportation modes, as well as commercial development as the current sites are redeveloped.
“Having a ConRAC will provide much-needed room for growth, a better customer experience and a more sustainable program, especially if coupled with a people-moving solution to eliminate rental car shuttles,” DEN CEO Phil Washington said. “Introducing the ConRAC concept to DEN is a better operational system for managing industry changes.”
DEN has been working with the rental car industry to update the rental car master plan as the airport is the only airport in the top ten busiest airports in the nation that does not have a consolidated facility for its rental car program. The ConRAC also benefits DEN by eventually releasing the 160-acre “rental car row” along 78th Avenue and the West portion of the Worldport building for other DEN uses.
The updated Rental Car Master Plan addresses the need to provide a convenient car rental solution that will support the airport’s projected Vision 100 passenger levels, reduce DEN’s carbon footprint, and stabilize a significant program contributing to airport non-aeronautical rents and revenues.
Funding for the ConRAC project is supported through user fees paid by customers who rent cars at DEN. In February 2023, DEN increased the Customer Facility Fee (CFC), a fee paid by rental car users and travelers who arrive at the airport. The rate is currently $6 per car per day, the mid-point of the fee charged at large U.S. airports.
DEN is assessing the most effective financing and delivery methods for the project and is working to finalize cost estimates. An industry forum will be held in early 2024 with additional information. This will follow with a Request for Proposals (RFP) or similar process in late 2024.
