I am surprised to see so many poor ratings. I have used Kyte about 10 times since I learned about the company, and overall I am extremely happy with the service, and SO GLAD it exists. It used to be such a huge hassle getting to the closest car rental company, hoping they actually HAD a car available, and waiting, waiting, waiting in some austere lobby. I have so many horror stories from rental companies like Hertz, Avis, Budget, Enterprise, etc. There was one trip where the kyte drop off was an hour late. Otherwise, it's always been relatively punctual and SO CONVENIENT to wait IN YOUR HOME instead of in some horrible tiny cramped car rental facility lobby. Yes, be aware of the fuel policy. They will charge you allegedly market rates to refill the tank, but it's way over market rate. So just fill it yourself and avoid that. Cars have EZ passes and toll charges are passed onto you at the rate of the toll, no extra fees. You can add a second driver FOR FREE. This service kicks the butt of traditional car rental companies. Keep up the good work, Kyte. read more

Kyte was founded to help the poor rental car experience- only to offer yet another poor rental car experience! I contacted Kyte to let them know I was delayed and then my flight took off. They had my contact information including flight information, and yet when I landed, I found out my rental was cancelled because I didn't respond or show up. Just trying to figure out how I could have called to cancel or responded any further than saying my flight was delayed. It's really frustrating because now all the cars are sold out and I have to wait another day or so if I want to get a car from them (which at this point, is not gonna happen, because I had such an awful experience). I ended up trying to rent from DCA and they were completely sold out of the cars and had people waiting three hours. So I just ended up in a rideshare and going to another rental car place outside the airport a couple days later, which was still very inconvenient. I did contact customer service, and the best they could do is offer me a credit, but the conversation kept timing out, because "I was not responding in time". I think this may be a good car rental place if you are local and your flights not late. But if you have any changes to your reservation, or if you happen to be running late and unable to get to a phone text, just know that you'll be screwed. I really hope this is able to improve their policies or just communicate a little better with folks, especially those flying into places that are actually in need of rental cars that they may have in their fleet. read more

I'm shocked at the reviews here (and must be lucky?) -- I've used KYTE a handful of times and have had great experiences every time so far. So convenient, easy to use and is well priced. The one time a car in the class I chose wasn't available the morning of my trip they sent a more expensive car at my same rate and credited my account for the 30 minute delay it caused. This service (especially the drop off/pick up) is such a game changer for us car-less folks in DC! read more

I would give this less than one star if possible. It is the worst customer service experience I have ever encountered. We rented the car for two days and paid to have it picked up and delivered. The website guarantees timely delivery and pick up. What a joke.! The first day we waited for 45 minutes after guaranteed pick up time. The second day I received a text indicating they would not be able to pick it up and we needed to deliver it. Had to drive 5 miles to deliver it . When I asked for a credit for the pick up fee, I was told they could only issue a future credit. Stay the hell away from this company!!! read more

Drop off and pick up so convenient. In most instances, beats paying a Uber/Lyft to take you to a rental car facility. ($12 pickup, $12 drop off). Had rental from 3/24-3/29. Had an issue with my rental. Didn't have a sedan, so they gave me an SUV. SUV needed oil change in about 420 miles. On the day of delivery I messaged them and they said I could swap it out and they'd follow up via email to confirm for that Sunday at 9am. Sunday 9am came and gone, heard nothing. I reached out Tuesday and I was told " don't worry, we have our work maintenance interval". But this wasn't what I was told from the representative on Saturday. This inconvenienced me because I paid to drive up to 300 miles per day, but I wasn't able to because I didn't want to drive a car that would need an oil change, that would be neglectful. I expressed this and no solution was given. I also gassed it back up before giving it back and thank god I did. Received a text saying gas in DC was $5.33 and that couldn't be more false. I got gas the night before for $3.14/gal. If I'm not mistaken they said they used city averages so don't worry about filling up. Don't trust it. I might try them again because of the convenience, little disappointed though. read more

Kyte - I gassed up for $3.14/gal the night before. - Car Rental Near Me

DO NOT USE. I have been a manager in the rental car industry for 3 years and i had some of the worst service of my life with KYTE. I am currently have a rental that i am trying to return, Kyte owes me $300, but they say that I have to pay more just to return the car. There is no lot to drop it off, very limited support (Thank god I did not need any type of vehicle exchange), and all contact runs through a chat app. There are better options out there namely Turo, Enterprise, Free2Move, ect. These people will take your money then not be able to help when anything at all arises. I have a car, i want to return it, but no one will come take it from me and they want to keep charging me until they do. how is that fair? read more

What a disaster of logistics. Was cheaper than others, turns out they have no presence at airport. I had to get on Metro. Drop off guy was trying to be helpful to blue line to just stop, but it's not on the map and bo blue line train forever. I finally figured out online where to go. The return was the worst. It says you can change drop off time if it's not within 2 hours. It was 4 hours and no option to move my time forward so had to go to garage. The address was the front of union station. No instructions provided until working it forever through their chat it to get to a live person.... I think. A 6 year old could draw a better map of how to return in rental garage. Their are zero signs anywhere for Kyte. I asked 3 random rental car employees and they all gave me different instruction. What a shyte show. Stick with the known players, the 10% you save you lose in hours off your life. read more

Be warned!!! This place practices discriminatory practices!! And liquidity grab!! I submitted all documents required and paid in full upfront to later be denied because of a "verification" process. read more

Hi Emily, that simply was not the case. Your surfer had a terrible attitude the moment I met her. She called 35 min earlier than my schedule am pick up time slot when I mentioned the time difference she offered to come back which I agreed would be helpful. She then stated I can come downstairs and bring her the key and she would get the car, when I came down to do so she had a change of heart. I believe this was only done because she did not want to have to come back so she lied then lured me downstairs. The truth is I did not feel comfortable being around this woman. I offered many time for me to get the car so it would be over but she would not give me back the keys. I say this to say STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!! horrible customer service the cars are a hit or miss never again! And your only "good" review sounds like a paid advertisement. BEWARE GUYS!!! read more

This company needs a lot of work. They take a very long time to respond to customer service questions if you use anything other than their bot "ai" chat system. They repeatedly message you that you can ask for extensions only to repeatedly find they don't actually have any. A review on another website said they were fined $250 (cleaning fee) for leaving a straw wrapper and receipt in the car when they returned it. The concept of meeting you with a rental is great until you find they only deliver to certain areas, particularly NOT directly to an airport which increases the cost of the rental by having to Uber or Lyft to pick up the vehicle at their recommendation. The company also gives themselves a 30 minute window to drop the car off to you, but does not do the same for customers returning the car. If you are looking for a reliable company focused on customer service this doesn't appear to be the one you're looking for. read more

The last two times I rented a Kyte car the delivery was late and not the car I expected. They used to be so good but now they are unreliable. read more

I highly advise against using Kyte, regardless of how much money you might save vs. a traditional rental company. I've used Kyte twice and each time I have received a vehicle with expired registration and tags...not legal to drive. In my most recent experience it took 4 hours to receive a replacement vehicle. It takes at least 20 minutes to reach customer service. I've learned my lesson. Pay $50 extra and go directly to a rental car company. read more

I would put a negative star if possible. This company is complete nonsense. They took a deposit from me two weeks before the confirmed rental date, 45 minutes before they were supposed to drop off the car they left me a message indicating that 'they wanted to be transparent and let me know they did not have a car for me'. I told them how angry I was and they offered to bring a car half an hour later that the original time. When the new time arrived, still no car and a phone call saying it would be an hour. No rental car, collecting lots of personal information that is unnecessary, pressure to buy their insurance even after you decline it, and they are holding on to my deposit for another five to 10days. Nonsense as I said. read more

I'm giving this one star because I can't give zero. Worst experience we have ever had. Pick up was in a sketchy location and the driver was late. The car reeked of weed. Do what you do, but it was overwhelming. Then for the drop off we were told our driver was running late. We arrive at the location-again super sketchy spot and are then informed THERE WAS NO DRIVER ASSIGNED TO GET OUR CAR. We were told it could be up to two hours before someone could show up. We should be boarding a flight in an hour. Kyte's answer to this is "No worries, place the keys behind the front tire and leave the vehicle. However, you're responsible for the car until someone collects it." So in other words- Kyte messed up multiple times, was late, and then completely didn't show AND NOW if someone takes the car-we're completely screwed. Pissed beyond words. read more

WORST RENTAL CAR EXPERIENCE I HAVE EVER HAD. One star is more than Kyte earned or deserves. When my car arrived the first morning, I opened the door to find it absolutely filthy inside - food crumbs, dirt, hair, and garbage. I had to try to clean it with a napkin. The exterior was covered in dirt, mud and bird poop. I also had to clean the windshield - inside and out. Next day: Started to actually drive it for the first time and one of the rear tires was nearly flat. I contacted Kyte to ask for help. What was their response??? Change the tire myself and take it to a tire service shop to be repaired. Seriously? While I'm on vacation??? Wait, did I just pay to rent this car? I drove to find an air pump, filled the tire and went on my way. Next day: Woke to low tire again. Contacted Kyte to ask to swap out the car - for the third time. They replied - very slowly over chat, that they had no cars to swap and asked me to take it to the shop - again! They swore they would reimburse me! Lol!!! Finally, a different car arrived the night before we were scheduled to travel home - a clean, operating vehicle at last. Wow. I continue to be shocked at what an absolutely awful product and service Kyte provided. Upon arriving home, I requested a full refund. In the two weeks since requesting the refund, I've only received responses that they would get back to me. Mind you, they never have. To put the nail in the coffin, I have been watching my credit card, and also realized they never returned my rental deposit of $300! My lord. Kyte is a relatively new company. I cannot imagine they will be in business even five years from now operating in this capacity. Kyte is unresponsive, provides a drastically inferior product compared to other car rental companies, and the customer service is the worst I have experienced. Kyte bites! read more

Zero Stars. Booked a car one month in advance and on the day of, I had to call THEM at the time they were supposed to deliver (9 AM) and find out where the car was- only to be told they would not be able to deliver one until 5 PM that day. While they did refund my money, I had to scramble to find an Uber, etc., to take us. I asked that they pay for the ubers- they refused and gave me a credit on their site- which I will NEVER use again. PLEASE avoid at all cost. read more

Denied ID verification with no explanation, cancelled my reservation. This company does not have its act together and has unhelpful customer service. read more

Overall good experience, but my deposit was never returned and no one seemed to care. Was sent a screenshot of the reversal and the banking institution never received anything from the company. I am out of $500. Definitely not worth the trouble. read more

Pros: - Car comes to you. - Seemingly lower rate than traditional rental car services. - pretty easy to get in touch with a human on the phone. Cons: - the vehicles are not well maintained... from lacking critical services like oil changes to not having functional USB ports and wireless capabilities. -the interiors are dirty and are not detailed - the service is NOT very flexible. Not possible to add something as simple as a time extension. - overall, the company does not seem to be customer-centric. My experience has been pretty rocky from the start to this point. First, my bank kept declining the transaction. I received a message saying my reservation was on hold because my payment was incomplete, and I needed to call customer service. I had a meeting, so I figured I'd try booking later or just go to Hertz. But you my surprise, the confirmation email was sent later while I was in a meeting with no action on my end, and a car delivery was attempted when I was unaware that I had even completed the booking. I was able to get in contact with the surfer before he returned the car, but that did not stop Kyte from charging me two drop-off fees ($50). After getting in the car (no walk-thru or inspection, as Surfers are simply gig workers) and driving for nearly two hours, the oil change light comes on. I also discover that no ports in the car work, and my phone is about to die (Kyte doesn't guarantee the features of the car work). I call and get someone on the phone and drive back home to receive another car ($26 fuel charge, another $25 Surfer charge, time wasted =priceless). I hit the road 5 hours later than planned and managed to rack up $100 extra in charges before leaving. The second car was clean on the outside, but the interior was filthy! Riddled with dirt, dust, and animal hair. No service lights or nonfunctional features, though. Lastly, I accidentally scheduled my drop-off for 7 am. You will receive a notification saying you can extend your reservation, which is false. I tried hours in advance, and no vehicles were available. I was able to call again and get an extension to 2 pm. Still not going to make that, so I'll have another charge. All in all, I could have gotten a luxury rental from Enterprise or Hertz with what I'm paying. In the future, I will go with one of the companies that prioritize customer experience and have better quality controls/standards. Kyte could work for a short day trip. Anything other than that, pay and get a better service! read more

Surfer was late on both ends. Communication was late. Did not allow me to revise drop off time even starting 6 hours ahead of time. Adjoining businesses at Seattle Sea-Tac drop off stopped working with them and would not allow drop off. Never again! Should be zero stars. read more

Does the car smell like weed, yes. Does the car already have 30,000 miles, yes. Is customer support a little lacking, yes. Is it 50% cheaper than any competitor and therefore I use it again and again, YES. read more

I rarely write reviews, but the customer service from Kyte was so bad that I feel compelled. I was denied "Verification" while trying to rent with Kyte, which resulted in the cancellation of my booking. I have a clean driving record, no credit issues, and easily meet all of their criteria for verification. I have rented cars in dozens of states and countries with a wide range of rental car companies, and have never had an issue. When I contacted Kyte customer service for support, they repeatedly refused to make any effort to understand why my verification didn't work, stating only that a third party (Onfido) handles their verification process and encouraging me to contact them for help. When I contacted Onfido, they immediately told me that Kyte has all the tools necessary to investigate and troubleshoot the verification process. I returned to Kyte customer service and was again directed to Onfido and told there was nothing they can do, no one at Kyte can help, and I can't rent with them. They made zero effort to investigate the issue, even after I politely asked them to help, to escalate the issue, etc. One of the most frustrating customer service experiences I've had in a while. I can only imagine what it would be like to deal with them if you had an actual problem with your rental. read more

I was quite pleased with Kyte in DC. It sounded too good to be true, to be honest. It really does work like it says though. Not having to get a ride to and from a rental company was so nice. I had a nice new car and it was clean (unlike Zipcar). How it works: A "surfer" (aka driver) drops the car off at the address you specify and then the car is yours. When your reservation is over, a "surfer" picks it up at the address you specify. You change the pick up address id need be too. Things I'd point out: In my case, they came about 10 min early to drop it off and picked it up an hour early! Thankfully I could accommodate it. I read somewhere to make sure you return it clean. I did to be safe. You only get a set number of miles a day but can pay an extra fee, per day, for unlimited miles. Like a regular car company, you can pay extra for insurance. They don't cover flat tires though. There is no formal car inspection when they drop it. It's literally "here sign". You pay a rate per 24 hours like a normal car company. You can cancel up to 2 hours before but they dock $25 from your refund. (Clearly stated on their site). read more

Pick up was easy and right off a metro stop. However, drop off was a bad experience. The person was 1.25 hrs late to pick up the car, which meant that we had a very tight schedule to catch our flights (we buffered jn wait time but not 1.25 hrs of it). If i had known that they would not pick up on time i would not have chosen Kyte. In addition, BEWARE the "no need to refill the car" phrasing, as they add in a surcharge per gallon (nearly $2/gal extra for me). So, while there is not a refill fee necessarily, its essentially baked in to the $/gal that they quote you. This needs to be much more clearly laid out in their messaging to customers. Will not use again. Disappointing. read more

they are a nightmare! I booked a 7-seater a month in advance. I got contacted by customer service 15min before delivery to notify they were sending a 5-seater. I told the agent that was not what I reserved (and got confirmation for) and that I refused to accept delivery of the car (the driver was on his way already when I was told the "update"). I told the agent I was willing to wait up to 2 hours to get a 7-seater delivered. She told me they had no 7-seater available for the entire day in my area. She was very apologetic and, upon my request, processed a full refund and esclated the issue to a manager. I got contacted by the manager via email about a week later with just an apology and a minimal discount for q future reservation. I asked them to covering the additional money I had to pay to get a 7-seater in a regular car rental the same day they chose not to comply with the service I paid for in advance. A month later, I have not received an answer. To me, Kyte is just a scam: they offer services they can't provide and they will only tell you after paying for the car rental AND puting an additional $300 hold in your credit card. Stay away from them! just use a regular car rental agency read more

While cleaning out our care at the end of our trip, our Kyte surfer observed us and informed us that we did not have to finish cleaning the car because Kyte would take care of it. I said I was cleaning to avoid getting a fee for excessive cleaning due to pet hair, but the surfer told me not to worry about it and Kyte would do the cleaning. I trusted my Surfer and handed in the car. Two hours later I was charged $100 for excessive cleaning.Very dishonest company and lost a long time Washington DC customer over this exchange. read more

The concept of having a rental car delivered to your door is really wonderful. The delivery person showed up right on time...and couldn't have been less interested in whether the car was in good shape. Still, I get it, they're getting paid peanuts to deliver the car, so I gave it a quick look, it was in good shape inside and out, and I signed for the car. When I got back, over a week later, I got a text that the return driver (they call them "surfers") had arrived at my home. I went out to hand over the keys and...no one. Bueller. Bueller. After standing in my front yard for 10 minutes looking for someone, he finally gets out of a car parked a few doors up and says "sorry, I was a bit early and didn't want to disturb you." The pickup guy was really friendly, so I didn't count that against him (I mean, he should have seen the car he was supposed to pick up and someone standing in their yard looking around for someone and reacted, but it wasn't a huge deal). HOWEVER, less than 45 minutes later, I got a text that I was being charged $250 for "excessive cleaning" with a picture of the front seat of the car with a few scraps of debris on it (it was the wrapper of a straw from stopping by a fast food drive thru, a receipt that had dropped between the seats, and an empty snack bag that had gotten under the front seat). Kyte holds themselves out as an intermediary between regular rental companies and consumers, so the standards of "regular" rental companies would apply...no "regular" rental company would DARE charge their customers for less than a handful of rubbish left in the car! When I called after getting this picture of less than an ounce of trash, they then said that the charge was for excessive pet hair in the car. Um...you sent me a picture of less than a handful of trash, but the charge is for pet hair??? So far, they've refunded the $250 and instead charged me $50 for the excessive pet hair, which was just what me and passengers in my car shed onto the seats because we were in homes with pets. The rep said he's still trying to get the $50 refunded because "it does seem incidental." We shall see what the final result is, but I probably should have sucked it up and rented directly from a rental agency. By the time my trip approached, Kyte was a smidgen more than Metroing down to Union Station, but I was willing to pay a *little* bit more to not spend an hour round-trip picking up and dropping off the car. Well, now that I'm spending an extra $50 for something a normal company would never charge me for (a regular vacuum of the car), it probably would have been better to just roll down to Union Station and get a car from there... read more

customer support is useless and can't even help!! please avoid this small startup!!! can't even verify my legit license and what a horrible experience and had to cancel it!! read more

The pickup location was in Downtown bethesda at 6:30pm. The car didnt how up until 7:50pm so i was left sitting on the side of the road all that time. The app doesnt give accurate time estimates for driver arrival and it ended up feeling like a shady drug deal read more

I have only used Kyte a few times and have been overcharged twice while they were unable to provide documents supporting the charges upon my repeated requests for over a week. In January this year, they charged me almost $20 for filling up 1/8 of the tank. I repeatedly asked to see the receipt, which was never provided after a week. They eventually refunded me at my request because they were unable to provide the receipt, but they charged my card within an hour after the car was returned. On July 4, they charged me $180 for "cleaning pet hairs", but I've already carefully cleaned the seat with sanitary wipes and lint roller. In fact, I even cleaned the white stains on the driver's door and seat that were there when I received the car. I emailed the customer service, called twice, and texted every day to request photo evidence and the invoice. When they finally provided them after over a week, the handwritten invoice shows only $150, one photo shows barely any hairs on the mat and the back of the seat that could be easily wiped or vacuumed off, and the two other photos show no hairs whatsoever. They still haven't provided any refund or a satisfactory explanation. A friend experienced a similar situation, although Kyte cited a different reason for charging the cleaning fee without providing supporting docs. It seems they just take advantage of their customers to do the routine detailing of the entire cars. The customer service is unhelpful and nonresponsive at best. I will not use this company again. read more

These people are incompetent. There technology is flawed, kept denying a clear picture of my drivers license. Customer service was not helpful at all. I will not be using this service again. read more

Really the best option for traveling in the time of COVID. I avoided busy rental offices at the airport rental shops, the car was clean, and on time. Ultimately, my family felt much safer avoiding public transit. Thanks for making it a good trip to our nation's capital! read more

I just used this service 6/23-6/26. With me not being from the area, Having a pick up LOCATION instead of a building was a first. The pick up was smooth for the most part. I needed to return the car earlier than expected which created an issue due to their earliest pick up time being 7 am. Called the customer service number, and we were able to resolve my issue. The car was picked up , my deposit was returned immediately and all was well. read more

My experience with Kyte is awesome awesome, agents were very responsive by phone and via text. Great service!!! Jennifer read more

After seeing some recent Twitter threads about nightmare experiences with traditional rental car companies, I felt the need to express how good my experience with Kyte was by comparison. It could not have been easier. We made the reservation online for a mid size SUV, and it was about the same price as a rental from a traditional rental company. Our car was dropped off at our house and picked up exactly on time, with each interaction being less than 5 mins. The process went super smoothly and was way easier than going to an airport or other rental outlet. Highly recommend! read more

I had a great experience with Kyte. Both surfers were a bit early but were very nice and communicated that they would wait until the designated time. The car was clean and everything worked great. I wasn't charged a cleaning fee even though some sand had made its way into the back seats. Overall, I was very happy with this experience! read more

Worked great for me. Delivery driver was on time for everything, good car. Very happy. Note: This concept makes more sense for local drivers or someone at a hotel than it does for airport rentals. read more

GREAT and convenient service! They are timely, polite, relatively affordable, and good quality vehicles! The only thing that could make it better is a discount for repeat or often users! read more

I made and subsequently quickly canceled a Kyte rental in early February. I promptly received an email from Kyte that they had refunded the charge to my credit card. However, that refund was not receieved. Their customer support responded by re-sending the orginal email in which they claimed to have refunded the charge. In the meanwhile, Kyte also made two "temporary authorization" charges of $300 each to my credit card for the previously canceled rental. I have desputed the orginal, unrefunded charge with the credit card bank and am awating resolution. But this experience makes me very hesitant to use or recommend Kyte as I suspect their precarious status has them hanging on to customer money as long as possible and longer than is ethical. read more

We ordered a one day car rental. It was supposed to arrive at 7:30am. I started texting the guy who confirmed my reservation the night before around 7am to see if the surfer was on the way. He said that he did not have any surfers available to deliver the car. This continued until 9:30am, 2 hours after the car should have been delivered. We had to walk to 2 car rental places before finding a car last minute, cancel the kyte service, and change our reservations in Gettysburg. The only reason I gave kyte 2 stars was that he did communicate well, I was not left guessing and he did seem very apologetic. He did say that he canceled and refunded my credit card immediately, that was 2 days ago and I have yet to see a refund on the credit card. I went through my cc company to dispute payment and explain what happened. Beware that using kyte may ruin your plans, reservations, and leave you running around looking for alternatives and changing your plans when they are unable to deliver the car. read more