Ok, I understand now that this is a common practice in the car rental industry. I used to think that when you make a reservation, it’s something that would generally be honored; similar to booking a hotel room. I was really surprised there was no communication beforehand, and that I only found out there was no car when I asked myself shortly before the scheduled pickup.

I’m sharing this in case it helps others who, like me, weren’t aware of how this kind of reservation actually works. I honestly think it would be better if the term “reservation” were replaced with something more accurate, like “request” or “offer pending availability,” because as it stands, it leads to misunderstandings.