Hertz follows airlines and cuts travel agent commissions for some corporate rentals

NEWARK, N.J. - Blaming a downturn in business after Sept. 11, Hertz Corp. has become the first U.S. car rental agency to eliminate travel agent commissions for government and corporate rentals. <br> <br> The world&#39;s largest car rental agency eliminated the average 5 percent fee for agents who handle U.S. and Canadian business and government accounts. The last commissions were granted Thursday, Hertz said. <br> <br> Industry analysts expected most other car rental agencies to do the same. <br> <br> The company that owns the Alamo and National rental agencies said Thursday it would re-evaluate its commission policy. <br> <br> Richard Broome, Hertz vice president for corporate affairs, said travel has dropped since the third quarter in 2000, and &#34;we haven&#39;t recovered all the way back.&#34; Business travel was hit particularly hard, he said. <br> <br> Hertz cut less than 10 percent of its staff of 30,000 and reduced its fleet before dropping the commission fees, Broome said. <br> <br> The change does not apply to agents&#39; commissions for leisure car rentals or for business rentals with companies that do not have corporate accounts with Hertz. <br> <br> The number of accounts affected was not dislosed. <br> <br> Most major airlines last month said they would no longer pay per-ticket commissions to travel agents for tickets booked in the United States and <br>

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