WVXU: CVG unveils new rental car center, featuring two new rental companies and 'meditative' art
10/14/2021
91.7 WVXU Cincinnati Public Radio / Ann Thompson / October 12, 2021
The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport's new $175 million rental car center opens Oct. 20.
Picking up a rental car at the Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport just got a lot easier. All eleven companies are just steps away from the baggage claim and their cars are right outside. No shuttles.
In the airline industry this configuration is known as a CONRAC-consolidated rental car center. “The rental car companies are over the moon happy to have this connected walkable solution," CVG CEO Candace McGraw says. "It’s very unique. I don’t know how many are out, there but very few.”
Customers check in at the counter and then take an elevator to their car, all in a building that’s on the site of the old terminals 1 and 2.
There are two new rental car companies at CVG: Sixt and Zipcar.
Ground transportation is also different
There are also changes for ground transportation. Down a ramp, travelers can take a bus to ValuPark, the Economy Lot and catch a shuttle to off-airport sites and hotels. By the beginning of next year, McGraw says the airport will be back to full parking options.
On the other side of baggage claim will be rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft.
The airport will pay for this $175 million, 9.2-acre facility and 2,710 parking spaces with a car rental tax.
While you wait, there is cool art to look at
CVG and Artworks commissioned geometric abstractionist Adrienne Gaither to design the art above the rental car counter.
Gaither is from Cincinnati and now lives in Washington, D.C. She says travel can be stressful. “So, I wanted it to be meditative and also just bright in case you have to wait. You know, something you can just get lost in.”
Another mural on a different floor of the five-story building is underway. It’s designed by Northern Kentuckian Christian Dallas.
The rental car facility opens Oct. 20.