(CNN) — Here’s what you require to know if you are setting up on a spring crack journey to Orlando upcoming 7 days: Leasing a auto — if you can discover just one — could charge you at least $300 a working day. That is potentially much more than you’ll commit for air fare, hotel rooms or tickets to concept parks.

A yr in the past, air vacation arrived to a near halt, foremost to a glut of rental automobiles. Rental corporations parked their autos in unused loads at ballparks all around the country, and autos ended up rented for a fraction of their regular cost — or marketed as applied cars and trucks. The sector bought off additional than a fifty percent a million vehicles, about a 3rd of their merged fleets, just to deliver dollars they essential to endure the disaster.

Following a calendar year of deep losses, rental auto companies have been unable to rebuild their fleets, primarily with auto vegetation shut by a scarcity of computer chips needed to create autos.

So this spring’s rebound in spring crack tourists has led to a critical scarcity of rental vehicles in holiday vacation hotspots, ensuing in sky-higher prices for vacationers.

Entirely sold out

Past weekend in Florida, 18 of the state’s 20 most significant airports have been absolutely out of vehicles, in accordance to Jonathan Weinberg, the CEO of AutoSlash, a web site that will help auto renters locate the most affordable cost. He stated cars ended up also sold out at the airport in Phoenix and significantly of Hawaii. He expects the same to be the case this coming weekend, and most forthcoming weekends into the summer for all those who hold out to reserve a auto.

“We’re on the lookout at costs of $500 a day in some areas,” he stated. “Last spring we had been observing $5 a working day rentals in Hawaii. You’d never found that. Now you’d eliminate for a car for $300 a working day.”

A lookup of automobile rental web sites Wednesday confirmed a Kia Rio, a sub-compact motor vehicle, likely for $300 a day in Orlando, following 7 days. On Maui, Hawaii, the only rental readily available following week is a Yukon for $500 a day.

The shortage is pronounced in vacation places. It’s however feasible to uncover cars in other places, this kind of as Omaha, for about $300 a 7 days, fairly than a day.

“Rental auto source is generally tight all over spring split, but not like this,” said Chris Woronka, analyst at Deutsche Lender who follows the market. “Normally you have 30% additional automobiles.”

He predicted a number of spikes in journey prices previously mentioned 2019 concentrations as tourists commence to return, particularly for all those who do not book in progress. The vendors — airways, lodges or automobile rental providers — do not want to convey capability back again also quickly only to see journey fall off once more.

“I do feel you are likely to have this period of readjustment,” he said. “During this time period of pent-up desire for travel but not sufficient offer, you should assume costs would be bigger than in the past. The travel providers are testing the waters. We’re in uncharted territory. They’ve all lost a ton dollars in the last 12 months.”

While airlines grounded planes and resorts have shut some flooring or briefly shut in some situations in 2020, it was much easier to provide that potential back on line with rebound in travel.

“Rental autos are an extraordinary case in point,” Woronka said.

Guide way in advance

Car or truck rental providers declined to remark directly on the rates or their source of motor vehicles, but they verified that the predicament is incredibly limited, and endorse that prospects e-book properly in advance of their travel.

“There are worries in new car or truck provide, due in portion to the recent world wide chip scarcity impacting new automobile availability,” claimed Sara Miller, spokesperson for Company Holdings, which consists of the Enterprise, Alamo and Countrywide auto rental manufacturers. “We are working intently with our associates to carry on to increase autos to our fleet … [and moving] motor vehicles the place possible to help regional spikes in desire.”

Hertz, which is in the method of attempting to earn court docket acceptance to arise from bankruptcy, also consists of Dollar and Thrifty rental motor vehicle makes. It sold much more than 200,000 of its US fleet previous yr, about 42% of its offer, leaving it with just less than 300,000 US autos in the fourth quarter. Rival Avis Budget marketed 25% of its fleet. Privately held Enterprise does not report results.

“We’re seeing a surge in need for leisure travel in trip locations across the industry, specially about peak journey periods like spring break. Specified where the marketplace was through this time a yr back, we’re happy to help travelers return to the road safely,” mentioned Lauren Luster, spokesperson for Hertz. “Because of the spike in desire and tighter fleets across the automobile rental sector, availability might be extra minimal.”

The rental car or truck corporations have began getting autos once again, but following losses past 12 months and air vacation however only about half of what it was in 2019, these buys are at a slower tempo than pre-pandemic amounts. Buys of new autos by the rental corporations ended up down a lot more than 90% in May and June as final 12 months. They’ve now bought almost 400,000 automobiles in the final 5 months, but down about 40% from its 12 months previously purchases, in accordance to information from Cox Automotive.

“The vehicle rental providers would relatively not have ample source and see some bigger prices than develop into overfleet yet again because they overestimated the rebound,” claimed Woronka.