Solid, budget oriented rental car company. Shares booth at DSM with sister company National. Employees at DSM are always friendly, regardless of rental car company, and Alamo is no exception. I've had issues at other Alamo locations in the past, so the company is never my first choice, but they often pop up as a provider of cheap prepaid rentals (Hotwire). No problems in DSM and a great value purchased this way. All DSM rental car companies are conveniently located by the baggage claim. read more

Alamo Rent A Car - Car Rental Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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We filled up the gas tank across the street at Casey's just before returning the car. Upon pulling into the Alamo return lot, a lady was hurriedly ushering us into the parking spot as if we suddenly forgot how to drive. The moment my husband got out of the car, she jumped in right next to me while I'm still trying to gather my items and starts turning on the car and collecting all her data for the return. At this moment while she was invading my space, she would have noticed that we had a full tank of gas. When we landed for our layover, we were ecstatic to notice a $60 charge for gasoline! On top of this charge, we were also taxed a convenience fee since they had to pretend to fill the tank with gas. After spending our layover calling Alamo, we were able to have the gas refunded, but the guy on the phone was unable to refund or explain the reasoning for the other fee. More phone calls for us to make in the middle of stressful travel. The new shuttle experience at the DSM Airport is also a disaster & don't expect to find anyone running the Alamo desk, you'll wait 20 minutes to even speak with anyone when you arrive to pick up your car. Highly suggest not renting with Alamo, but if you do have to, take pictures, keep receipts and keep an eye out for their scams. read more

0 stars if I could. I was discriminated against. I would not recommend anyone who is a minority to use this company. Dante (I'm not sure if that was his name because he wasn't wearing a name badge), literally looked me up and down and told me that I had a fake license and he wouldn't help "someone like me". I am an Executive Director in OR, my head is shaved, and a grown ass man, on the job, told me he would not help me based on my looks. I will not work with this company again. OH! And I got an email back from Customer Service... to reconcile the situation, they offered me 1 day of a basic rental........... WOW. read more

I very recently rented a car through this location. My complaint w/this particular branch was with the return process. I returned the car during its off-hours @ 6:30am & placed the keys into the off-hours key slot. When I landed home that same day I had received a call from the branch manager regarding as to when the car would be returned. I immediately called back & got a voice mail. I left a message & then called Alamo directly to close out the contract. I was told by the corporate 888 phone# that the DSM branch has to end/close out the rental agreement. Long story short, I made multiple calls only to reach the same answering machine & never received any kind of final invoice. In the end, I called Alamo 888# directly to get my invoice & to verify the rental agreement had been finalized. This was a waste of time & energy. Not to mention very frustrating. My recommendation is opening up the DSM branch @ 6am & not 7am. Most other rental car facilities airports across the US are open around that time, if not earlier. read more

I picked up a car at the Des Moines airport on Friday, October 29. Was so pleased to have Evan take care of all the paperwork. Not only was he pleasant and helpful he was lots of fun. Shout out to Evan. The rental was seamless and the car was great. read more

I've landed in Des Moines! Too bad you can get from Denver to Des Moines faster than you can a freaking rental car. This place is an absolute joke! 22 people in line with one agent. We all have reservations! Get your ish together. read more

Rented a car here last month and the staff are so welcoming, pleasant and easy to work with. They answered any questions I had about the rental, and when I brought my car back, the two men waiting at the rental return were so very pleasant and patient. I should have got their names. It was an easy breezy experience for me! I paid with debit and just needed proof of my round trip tickets. I was happy with my experience! They don't answer their phone though when I try to get through before my trip, however I left a voicemail and someone got back to me. That is the only down side of this location, is they don't answer when you call, it rings and goes to voicemail, and you have to wait for them to get back to you. I find it a bit odd but I'm lucky they called me back. So they get 5 stars! read more

me oh my, I love a lot of things but not Alamo in Des Moines. Arrive 11:30 pm with Alamo counter closing at midnight. What, oh what does a body want to do at this hour? I know, let's stand at the counter for 30 MINUTES waiting for someone...ANYONE...to show up. When McDonalds closes and Ms. M decides to grace us with her presence (after all, who needs sleep?) it is gently suggested to her that an upgrade of ANY magnitude would go far in soothing the ill will we all felt at the 30 minute wait time for her to do whatever, wherever she was. No way, we are told, and told in an irritated, brutish manner. Wait a minute...aren't we the ones that should be acting that way? You just had an egg mcmuffin and a 30 minute break? If no one is going to work the counter let's just take the "counter open til midnight" language out of your warranty. read more

This Alamo desk and the associated foreign-based call center inconvenienced me terribly. All other things being equal, I would have given a favorable rating due to an affordable and mostly clean car. However, this branch's employees do not answer their phone, and do not return voice mails. Four days into my attempts I have yet to speak to anyone here. The call center, by the way, could not solve my issue (it's a pretty simple issue, I might add), and told me to call the desk. Eventually, I just called up Enterprise, and asked if there was someone at the Alamo desk. They said there was (so obviously Alamo simply ignores their phone), and said they'd ask the Alamo rep to call me back. Of course, I received no call. read more

The service through Alamo was awesome! The guy who helped me was friendly and kind. Getting my car went with out a problem at all. Returning my car was a breeze. The gentlemen was quick and ready for me when I arrived! I would for sure rent with them again! read more

Great Service. No waiting! I rented a car for the long weekend on September 1, 2017. My flight was at 10 pm and I got into a car within 5 minutes of checking in at the Alamo counter. read more

I fly into Des Moines a lot because I have elderly family in the area that can't drive, so I have to get a car. I scheduled to fly in arriving on a Saturday at 11:35 pm, but was having difficulties renting a car. What I found is that Alamo and Enterprise are open until mid-night every night EXCEPT Saturdays, when they close at 11:00. How frustrating. I have three choices, sleep in the airport until the next morning (no), get a hotel near the airport so I can pick up a car the next morning (no$$$$), or change my flight. Really sucks for me. So thankful I booked with Southwest and won't have a change fee. It's odd to me that you don't stay open for the last arrivals on Saturday, but you do every other day. Aargh. read more

Arrived on schedule with reservation in hand. The counter attendant advises me they have NO CARS, NONE! I was supposed to drive to Mason City (2 hours away). I had to get a hotel in Des Moines and return the next morning tio get a car, I was assured that "they would make it right" when I returned the car. I returned the car Friday and there was no Manager to "make it right". Had to pay full price. I left my business card and cel number. It has been 4+ days and still no communication. Sorry Alamo, epic fail! PS- I am a frequent renter with Alamo and this is how I was treated. NOT GOOD. read more

I rent lots of vehicles from lots of vendors and USUALLY Alamo\National is a favorite. Recently tried Alamo in DSM -- vehicle was OK (not clean) and airport staff was initially helpful -- I was extremely disappointed in the complete LACK of furtherservice from the DSM staff. I had to change vehicles immediately after arriving (faulty charger), and inadvertently left an expensive pair of eyeware in the first car. I noticed it about 60 minutes later (ablout 75 miles) and tried to call DSM -- going straight to voicemail. Then I called the 800 number and gave them the story, still hoping to get my glasses back. Long story short -- after 4 days and 8-10 calls to Emerald desk & every number I could find -- I was neverable to reach ANYONE on site or get a return call despite repeated messages on voicemail. Even their Emerald\corporate Helpdesk could not get thru to a live person. Maybe this is the new policy of Alamo\National & they do have a decent 800 staff -- but if you have a problem, you'd better NOT need to TALK to a LIVE person -- it just ain't ahppening. read more

We had brought a team of 14 people from Las Vegas to compete in a World Muay Thai tournament this past weekend. Unfortunately there was a hiccup in the system and we couldn't rent the vehicles we wanted... after a few phone calls and about 45 minutes, the problem was resolved and we were on our way. The best thing i loved about the experience was the professionalism and customer care these guys went through to keep us as satisfies customers. Thanks guys, for being the best rental agency in Des Moines! Sean read more

Recently went to the Alamo Rent a Car in Des Moines, IA. When we went to pick up our car reservation we were told by a very unfriendly associate named Melissa that the car we had reserved was not there and that we would have to wait for a car to be returned. We arrived at the car rental close to midnight, had a 40 minute drive a head of us and an 8am meeting the following morning. After about an hour and a half we again inquired about a car and we were told that the car was in the cleaning facility. After another 30 or 40 minutes which now meant we were waiting over two hours for a car we were told the car was ready. The car was covered in snow so I am highly doubting that it had been in any cleaning facility. Another issue is that while we were waiting over two hours to get a car we heard them offering other guests car upgrades or rental discounts. All they offered us for waiting over two hours is we were told to not worry about topping off the gas tank. This was a very unpleasant experience made more unpleasant by the fact that Melissa was nasty and in no way tried to go even remotely above and beyond to try and make our experience less horrible. I do not recommend that anyone use this service if they are ever in Iowa. read more

Easy to use rental car located in terminal, car across street, gas option probably best bet as calculated at same as gas stations, easily located across from airport, pretty much this airport is SUV country. Call ahead if you want something different, careful heading out onto freeways, noticed radar cars posted each and every time I've been here. Counter staff limited but extremely helpful. read more

I verified online and at the counter that I could utilize my CC hold during my rental, then put the purchase on my DC. This didn't happen. I called customer care, was told (after she verified the 2 cards) it was handled. It wasn't. I chatted with Alamo via Twitter, Chris M has left repeated requests to take care of this. No one has reached out. I'll spread the word at my office, which has locations accross the globe, to discontinue any use of Alamo or National and any other business associated with them. read more

I want to take minute to describe my Alamo experience. I booked my rental in advance with my airline tickets. Alamo took the money from my account immediately. No problem. I arrived at my destination and went to check in. The young woman at the counter was rude and acted like my business was an inconvenience. I was then told the total was double what I had originally paid. So I gave them my card expecting another 175 dollar charge for insurance and fees. I checked by bank account later that afternoon. No. They took another 345 on top of the original 175! So I have been charged over 500 bucks for a week's worth of car rental. What a rip off. I called the customer service line and was told that was a little steep, but that was the way it was. Good bye Alamo. You won't be getting any more of my money. read more

Have previously rented from another car rental and always had a good experience but this time saw an excellent rate through Priceline for Alamo, so I tried it to see how Alamo would do. Arrived at the Des Moines, Iowa Airport Alamo counter and waited for an attendant. When he finally did, he looked at me then looked away, no smile, no hello, no introduction or name, nothing. He was sweaty and seemed agitated. He went right to his computer, looking down and not making eye contact, and said "I can help you over here". I was already standing right at the counter so I wasn't sure what he meant by "over here". Next he said "license and credit card". I handed them over, he looked down at them, and then he looked back up and stared right at me and repeated sternly "I CAN HELP YOU OVER HERE". I took one step to the left and aligned myself directly in front of him. This encounter very weird. He next said "do you want standard or upgraded insurance". I hesitated for a moment because I wanted neither, so I said "I already have insurance, so neither". Then he barked at me "THAT'S WHAT I WAS ASKING". At this point I am so lost not understanding why he is being so belligerent. He next said "we have no standard car for you". Then he looked at me and paused like he was waiting for me to say something. Then he looked back down at his computer for a while, not saying a word, or communicating to me what was next. Finally he said very condescendingly "It's your lucky day, I can give you an upgrade". He said he could give me an Impala. Then he looked at me angrily and said "is that ok"? I said "sure". Then he repeated me and said "sure?". Not wanting to say anything wrong, I said "yes". Then he asked me if something was wrong. My thought was that yes something's wrong, you're bullying me, you're treating me very poorly, and my last thought was you're discriminating against me because I'm Hispanic. But I responded with "No, I didn't say anything". He would not accept my answer because he pressed me and while he held the keys in his hand ready to hand them to me he said "WHAT'S WRONG?", like he was daring me to say something. I responding to his question and did as he asked, and told him that this experience has been weird, it was strange how he made me take a step over, that he only gave me two options for insurance like I didn't have a choice to choose neither. I said that confused me, and I told him I just wanted my car to be on my way. Then he looked at his computer for a while, finally handed me back my license and credit card and said "go get your car somewhere else". I asked if there was someone else I could talk to and he said "NO, I represent both companies at this counter". Then he told me, as if I did something wrong, to be nicer to the next agent. My wife and I looked at each other in shock as she witnessed the whole thing. I had to rent another vehicle at another rental company for an additional cost of $178. I've contacted both Priceline and Alamo. Neither company will offer any help and have only given me the run around for a month as I have asked for help. I'm currently seeking advice and other options to escalate and correct this from happening to others, and get Alamo to pay the difference. read more

I rented one way from DSM to MCI. It was expensive. I forgot my GPS in the car and realized it in the plane. I called them after landing in PHX and they helped me track it and shipped it to me the same day. Very helpful. Thank you Janet and Sally :) read more

The check in/check out process was quick and easy. The car was just fine - clean, etc. I did experience a low tire on the second morning I had the car, but that was easily fixeable at a local gas station. I would definitely rent from Alamo in the furture and in fact, already have done so for an upcoming trip to Austin. read more

At DSM once I got my keys it was quick and easy. The car was almost new and the return was a cinch. I wish all car rentals were that easy. The only improvement would be more people at the front desk to expedite getting the keys. read more

Flight came in 8 pm, we rented a car through airline package for Alamo. This was a last minute trip as my mom had passed away. Needed the car to drive to Cedar Rapids to make a 10 am appointment in Cedar Rapids the next morning. We didn't have a credit card but had a return flight out in five days from same airport and a debit card. Attendant was not helpful didn't have any alternative. We ended up taking an Uber to a hotel and back the next morning. There were 3 adults, a 4 year old and a 3 month old. Rented a car through Alamo the next morning without the credit card by showing the return flight the same as we did the previous night. Missed the appointment since they didn't open in time. Only reason I am giving 2 stars is because they did reduce the new rental by the amount we had already paid through the airline. Definitely no empathy or customer service from Friday night attendant on 2/23/18. Will not be using Alamo in the future. read more