*By Carlo Versano*
Avis Budget Group [announced](https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/avis-budget-group-fleet-expands-to-100-000-connected-cars-benefitting-customers-cities-and-the-company-bottom-line-1027453677) this week it has 100,000 connected cars in its global fleet, a milestone that the chief innovation officer said shows the company best-known for airport rentals is poised to become a next-generation mobility provider.
The car rental company that vows "We Try Harder" also announced recently it's adding Waymo, Lyft, and Airbnb to its slate of partners.
The expansion is all part of a strategic effort to appeal to Avis's customers who increasingly view mobility and transportation as a service, said the CIO Arthur Orduna.
"We need to understand how people want to consume their mobility," Orduna said Thursday in an interview on Cheddar.
He said he's divided future Avis customers into two camps: urban commuters, attracted to the company's on-demand services like Zipcar; and travelers who need access to rentals to get around a new place.
The main priorities for building a company that can service both types of customers, he said, are connected cars and the Avis app.
The ability to communicate with a vehicle creates a better experience for users ー finding and unlocking one's car via the app, for example ー Orduna said.
The app also helps Avis to streamline its fleet operations, and, as connected cars produce data on their own movements, Avis can use that data to partner with other companies and smart cities, "based on a digital ecosystem," Orduna said.
Avis, which operates in 11,000 locations in 180 countries, is also betting that the future of mobility means autonomy.
"AV \[autonomous vehicles]\ is not a matter of if ー it's really a matter of when," Orduna said.
To that end, Avis's partnership with Waymo, Alphabet's self-driving car unit, offers short-distance rides to a select group of residents in Arizona, where Waymo is testing its technology. This is in addition to an earlier deal for Avis to service Waymo's autonomous fleet.
For full interview, [click here] (https://cms.cheddar.com/videos/VmlkZW8tMjIyMjI=).
American Express and Nova Credit have partnered the credit passport program aimed at expanding access to credit for immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Nigeria, Kenya, and Brazil. Misha Esipov, co-founder and CEO of Nova Credit, joined Cheddar's Ken Buffa to talk about the program's benefits for immigrants who have to start over in the U.S. and are looking to establish a credit history. "If you were a good borrower in your home country — and you can prove you were a borrower in your home country — when you first arrive here, you can use that information to continue to be a good borrower," he said of the service.
Despite the rising cost of a home in the U.S., sales rose 1.9 percent in November, and according to Zillow, prices are expected to climb even higher in 2022. M. Ryan Gorman, president and CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate, told Cheddar's "Closing Bell" that while median prices are high, demand for a new home is just as high, particularly in "tax and weather favorable" destinations like Florida, Tennessee, and Texas. Gorman also said he sees buyer demand remaining high next year even if interest rates rise somewhat, noting that the already tight housing inventory is expected to slim down even more and foreign purchasers return to the market. "As we get past the holidays and those foreign buyers are able to come back and actually acquire homes and go shopping, I think that may be a bigger driver of some of that increase in buyer demand," he said.
The airline industry says it is contending with staff shortages that threaten to hamper operations amid the COVID resurgence, andDelta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian called on the CDC to revise its guidance for vaccinated workers who test positive from a 10-day quarantine to just five. Chuck Liberman, chief investment officer and managing partner at Advisors Capital Management LLC, joined Cheddar to talk about the current guidance on isolation and why he believes the omicron variant calls for more relaxed guidance given its reportedly mild symptoms.
A new series is looking to advance Black founders who have disruptive ideas and companies. 'Bet on Black' is a new series that allows black entrepreneurs to pitch their businesses in the hopes of securing $200,000 in funding. Revolt TV and Target teamed up to create the show. Detavio Samuels, CEO of Revolt, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Bitcoin's rise to the mainstream has been a wild ride this year. The cryptocurrency is trading a little under $49,000 Wednesday morning and is set to finish the year sharply higher than where it began earlier this year. Ether prices also soared this year, rising from $730 per coin to nearly $4,000. Ben Armstrong, founder of Bitboy Crypto, joins us to discuss what's in store for crypto in 2022.
The fitness industry was one of the most severely impacted at the start of the pandemic. As the omicron variant of COVID-19 threatens fitness centers and gyms, the Global Health and Fitness Association, along with the Community Gyms Coalition, are calling on the federal government to provide pandemic relief before the close of 2021. Crunch Fitness Franchise CEO Ben Midgely joined Cheddar to talk about proactive steps gyms are taking to maximize business as COVID resurges. "It should be a little bit easier," he said. "We hate to have to deal with it again, but it's what businesses in this country have to work with."
According to the FAA, airlines have reported over 5,000 incidents involving unruly passengers this year, with more than 3,600 of those involving people who refused to wear face masks. As a result of all this, airline crews are calling on the federal government to step in to implement protocols to help ensure safety on the ground and while in flight. President of the Association of Flight Attendants- CWA Sara Nelson, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
The NHTSA is investigating Tesla over the potential for crashes and distracted driving due to its front touch screen "Passenger Play" game option. The probe covers 580,000 vehicles for all four models from 2017 to 2022.
Cheddar is looking back at the 12 biggest buzzwords of the year leading up to Christmas. The term for Day 11 is Fundamentals. Definition: (noun) information related to a business' profitability, revenue, assets, liabilities, and growth potential.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai addressed staff about workplace culture concerns after they expressed issues with what they perceived as a lack of honesty, candor, and humility from their executives. Pichai attributed some of the challenges to remote communication during the ongoing pandemic.
