You cannot win a price table you did not design
Comparison platforms are built to make rate the deciding variable, because that is what makes them useful to travelers. Every operator on that page is being pushed toward the same outcome.
An independent competing there is fighting on the one dimension where scale wins. Recognition moves the decision off that page entirely, which is the only structural advantage available.
Repeat renters are worth many first bookings
A local who rents four times a year for a decade is worth vastly more than a one-time traveler, and after the first booking costs almost nothing to serve again.
Awareness aimed at that local audience compounds in a way aggregator volume never does, because each relationship keeps producing without repeat acquisition cost.
Trust is the real objection
Renters choose national brands not because they are cheaper but because they feel predictable. The fear is a surprise fee, a rough vehicle, or a deposit dispute.
An independent that has answered those questions publicly and carries recent reviews saying so removes the reason to default to a chain.