Introduction
Alamo Rent A Car (est. 1974) is part of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Group, operator of the largest rental car company in North America, who are also owners of National Car Rental.
The beginning
Alamo advertised in The Advocate as early as 1997, as the first car rental company to advertise to the market.
The first ad was a shared effort between the North American and European divisions of the company. Despite its lack of gay-specific art, the older ad encouraged readers to “remember Alamo” when planning to go the the Gay Games in Amsterdam for 1998.
Sister rental agency National Car Rental System distributed brochures for same-sex couples the previous year.
A 2006 ad showed two men, casually leaning against each other with the slogan “Relax! Enjoy Europe your way”. A year later, a “family” consisting of four men made a road trip – with a 10% discount.
Their charges vary, but often any additional driver brings an extra charge.
The National Gay Pilots Association (NGPA) was pleased to announce exclusive discounts for their members with Alamo and National in 2016.
In 2016, activists called “LGBT Against the NRA” tried to organize a boycott of Enterprise (and Alamo and National), because they offered discounts to members of the National Rifle Association. They said: “we feel that Enterprise can NO longer support the LGBT community and support the NRA in anyway”. This campaign did not gain much traction.
Alamo’s staff training may yet need to be improved: early 2019, a transgender woman got into a heated altercation with Alamo Rental Car employees, who XXX “I’m Not A Sir, I’m A Ma’am”
Misunderstanding?
While the Alamo incident could be construed as a misunderstanding, a National employee went overboard in 2009, when he called a trans woman a “screwed-up man faggot” – and more unsavory terms. After a complaint at the Little Rock Police Department, the woman reported that the officer “looked at me crying, and said he could not do anything since the man did not physically hit me”. Apparently physical abuse is needed before action can be taken.
Enterprise scores 95 on the HRC Corporate Equality Index. There is no separate rating for Alamo.