We all remember catastrophic Hurricane Irma, which devastated our little island St. Maarten / St. Martin on September 5, 2017. Leisure Car Rental suffered 90% damage, with losses to the tune of almost US$1,000,000- in uncompensated damages! We have finally gathered the strength to speak publicly about it and share some of what we went through after the storm, where we now stand, and the hope for a brighter future.
The weeks after the hurricane shut down both the French and Dutch sides of the island, we worked tirelessly to try to salvage what we could and start rebuilding. While at the same time, struggling to maintain our sanity, and put some kind of plan(s) in place for an unknown future. Internet access was very limited at that time, so we mostly used it to let friends and family know that we were alive and well. Which was very important. Besides dealing with the effects of a category five hurricane, there were so many other things we had to deal with at the same time, including a completely ridiculous trademark infringement situation, which we successfully overcame.
When we finally got kinda, sorta stable internet connection, we checked our emails to find out we had won the 2017 Award for St. Maarten’s Leading Car Rental Company, presented by World Travel Awards. We were extremely excited about this win, but at the same time, had bigger issues to deal with. So, we did what any borderline sane person would do. Popped a bottle of wine, congratulated each other, and simply continued working! SXM Airport was closed, so going anywhere was practically impossible! We later found out that the Award Ceremony was eventually canceled because of the hurricane. The award ceremony was originally scheduled to be held on September 16, 2017 in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
So, we fixed what we could, sold what we couldn't fix, and dumped what we couldn't fix/sell. And added some new cars! Now, almost a year later, Leisure Car Rental is operational at 50% capacity. Our plan was to meet and/or exceed 100% capacity by the same month of the following year. So book your next rental car with us, and see why Leisure Car Rental is simply the Best Place to Rent a Car in St. Maarten / St. Martin. Oh, and by the way, did I mention we are once again nominated for not one, not two, but THREE prestigious International Awards this year:
-St. Maarten’s Leading Car Rental Company 2018
-St. Martin’s Leading Car Rental Company 2018
-Caribbean’s Leading Independent Car Rental Company 2018
So, like everyone else, we are hoping for no hurricanes this year! We are also hoping to win BIG at the 2018 World Travel Awards. We thank Almighty God for life, health, strength, determination, and guidance! We thank everyone who voted for us at the 2018 World Travel Awards! We appreciate it very much. We cannot close without thanking all of our friends and family who supported us in one way or another after the hurricane! It would have been quite impossible for us to be here today without you. And we look forward to seeing every single one of you very very soon. Love You All.
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