In a time like the one we are living at the moment, it is nice to remember and to send encouragement to everyone as we think about what we have achieved throughout our lives, experiences that will allow us to move forward and conquer our streets and roads again soon.
After 24 years in the sector, we can say that the typical Spanish phrase “you make the road as you go” is real.
Well, we have proven this throughout our career, starting from the most humble and working hard to help our dear customers enjoy their holidays.
It all started on May 6, 1996 when we bet on entering the Rent a Car sector, something that was beginning to be explored, we did it with our appreciated first operations manager Roberto Joya.
So we talked to him to remember with his words how those moments were, starting under the name of Rent a Car Costa, which later derived to Autos Bahía, however the coincidence of having the name as another company located in the province of Cádiz made that finally was born “Bahia Sexi Rent a Car” to get away from the bad criticism that the company from Cádiz received and that affected us wrongly.
Little anecdotes like that everything started with a fleet of only 10 cars that Roberto still remembers:
- Two Seat Marbella
- Four Renault Twingo
- A Renault Clio
- Two Seat Ibiza
- A Megan
And a furnished office with a borrowed chair and table located on Avenida Europa in Almuñécar, plus all the work was done with an electric typewriter. At that time computers were still not that accessible to businesses!
At that time advertising was also something else, Roberto tells us how many times they had thought about how to create the promotional brochures with the drawings, letters and some indications so that the printer’s designer could have an idea of what they needed.
Also about the days when we had our cars parked with their Bahia Sexi Rent a Car posters on them so that people could see our business as they passed by, when we opened our current office located at the entrance to Almuñecar on Avenida Blas Infante.
And especially from the big walks to the car wash! Since at that time we did not have one of our own.
Being only a team of two people, both Roberto and Manolo (our CEO) were constantly coming and going between Malaga and Almuñecar to receive clients. And not only learning to manage in English or any other language they were presented with, but also meeting and approaching neighbours who at that time needed a rental car to go and see their children’s swearing-in ceremony.
This shows how the beginnings are always hard but with illusion and a lot of effort you can achieve the things you dream of.
And thanks to those small steps we were able to open our office in La Herradura, in Roberto’s words: giving it many hours and having the patience to move forward day by day accepting that there can be better moments and other more difficult ones.
After Roberto, Raymon Brenan continued with the management of Rent a Car, who accompanied the company in what could be the years of greatest growth in Bahi Sexi.
One of the things that our second operations manager remembers most is seeing how the number of cars in our fleet was increasing, he explains that for him this was a source of pride because it was synonymous with business growth.
Raymon came from the rental car world, so his experience and effort influenced a lot Bahia Sexi to evolve in a city where competition was latent and great brands.
After getting to improve the office and also acquiring our own car wash, Raymon reminds us of the importance of taking care of the citizen and how that familiarity with our company has made Bahia what it is today.
At present our operations manager is Tomás Martos and he tells us how when he arrived at Bahia Sexi Rent a Car, he was surprised by the type of car we had.
We have been working with the brand Skoda for many years, but at the beginning in Spain this brand was not so well known or used by the competition. Therefore Tomas thought that maybe it could be a drawback. Something that over the years has been denied because today they are among the most efficient cars.
Something that our manager is proud of is the quality that we have in cars, renewing them annually so that customers can enjoy the best conditions in their vacation. Tomás tells us that this is a great step forward for a Rent a Car that started with only two employees and hardly any cars to rent.
And of course, our arrival at Malaga airport, where after years of work we managed to open a warehouse to be able to deliver cars at the arrival of customers’ flights.
As well as the work we do with large tour operators in the area, with whom we work every day during the season to combine our services and manage to create the perfect holiday for those people who are looking for it.
Hand in hand with the tour operators we have been able to open up a market in the area of Torremolinos, Benalmadena, up to Estepona. An area in which we hope to grow over time.
Little by little, the competition in the area decreased due to the crisis and fortunately, thanks to the efforts of our workers and the trust of our customers, we were able to keep up with the difficult period of time.
We want to send everyone, through this story that is ours, a message of positivity in times of change and adaptation, another phase of life that makes us be brave, patient and above all want more of our own.
We have only words of gratitude for our employees, those who have been with us and those who are with us today, who with their efforts and charisma have made Bahia what it is today, a family.
There have been many years that have united us and the experiences that we have shared, always grateful to have them by our side and to see the love that they have for the business, the clients and the Costa del Sol.
Let’s keep building memories together for many more years, we wish all our clients to be safe and to have a lot of strength to return to our hobbies, routines, jobs and those trips that are waiting for us.
Thank you and here’s to another year!
