The option of renting an RV for a trip is hardly a new one… It’s been around since at least 1972, when Robert Smalley, Sr., a former CEO at Hertz, created a company in Miami to rent RVs to the growing hordes of visitors coming to see the spanking new Disney World. That company, which grew into Cruise America, was a pioneer in the field and remains a major player, but with the peer-to-peer economy sparked by AirBnB spreading rapidly into the RV rental industry, dealer-based rental locations face stiff competition for customers.
The attraction of peer-to-peer networks is easy to figure out… For owners, it’s a way to monetize that big investment that sits in the driveway unused up to 95 percent of the time, according to industry studies. Various estimates say owners can clear from $5K up to as much as $86K a year renting their RVs. For renters, peer-to-peer systems offer the option to shop online to find just the RV they want, with a wide choice of sizes, accessories, and price points.
“It is an interesting time in the world of RV rentals,” Dan Wulfman, founder of Tracks & Trails, a company which arranges self-drive RV camping vacations, told the Washington Post. “The recent advent of peer-to-peer networks is shaking things up.”
Outdoorsy: Peer-To-Peer Pioneer
One of the fastest growers in peer-to-peer rentals is Outdoorsy, founded by two “escapees” from Silicon Valley. Jeff Cavins and his partner Jennifer Young, having sold three publicly traded tech companies, decided to start a business related to the outdoors.
“We were done with sitting under neon lights,” Cavins told MobileRVing.com. The couple sold their homes and “everything else,” and hit the road in a 27-ft. Eddie Bauer. “When you get out of Silicon Valley, you discover Americans are in love with outdoor travel.”
Cavins and Young saw an opportunity to bring a shared economic model to the RV industry. “Millenials were renting their campervans to each other through Craigslist and with flyers,” Cavins explained. “The marketplace was out there, but most of the peer-to-peer rentals were uninsured. We met with underwriters for a year… most showed us the door. Finally, we met with the original insurer of Uber, who owned a fifth wheel. He believed there should be a marketplace and created a one-click insurance for people who use our platform.”
Outdoorsy offers a free $1 million liability insurance plus $250K of collision and comprehensive on rental RVs in the United States, and more in other countries where insurance requirements are higher. Since its move to Austin in 2018, the company has expanded beyond the U.S. and Canada, offering rentals in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Germany and France this year, with more to come. “We’re looking at Spain, Japan, Portugal, even China,” CEO Cavins said.
Outdoorsy launched nationwide in 2015, billed as “the AirBnB of RVs” in Time Magazine and other publications. “It grew very fast,” Cavins admitted. “We tripled in size over the last year. We have over a half-million users on our platform and have already booked over 150,000 rentals in 2018.”
Cavins has extended Outdoorsy’s available vehicles through strategic partnerships with dealers and manufacturers, so-called “pro partners” who list their available rental units on his online marketplace. Most notable of these is the deal Cavins inked in June with the REV Group. “They’ll use our platform to offer brand-new, pristine models from Forest River and their other brands,” he said. “It’s a new format for the industry that by-passes the dealer model.”
Outdoorsy sweetens the pot for renters with a 24/7 multilingual help desk and a network of 40,000 mobile mechanics ready to respond to breakdowns. Owners gain confidence through a cloud-based GPS system in every RV that keeps track of where it is, and a DMV check that turns up “bad actors” before they can rent a unit.
“We fervently believe that online communities exist on trust,” Cavins said. “And that’s what we are building.”
Family of four rents RV for vacation from Outdoorsy. [Photo/Outdoorsy]
Cruise America: Rent-A-Tent On Wheels
As opposed to the almost unlimited choice in vehicle type offered by peer-to-peer networks, Cruise America sticks with the concept that has made it hugely successful over the past 45 years - simplicity.
“We only rent our own RVs,” Sean Dickason, the company’s National Dealer Manager, told MobileRVing. “They are built to our own specifications in Elkhart. Every vehicle is designed for us, not a retail model, and reflects our 46 years of experience. We keep it as simple as possible, and make it as bullet-proof as we can... so stout that it won’t give renters problems on the road.” A 24/7 traveler assistance line and a dedicated smartphone app provide backup.
The units built in Elkhart are all Class C cab-overs in three sizes: 19, 25 and 30 feet, built on a Ford chassis by a division of Thor. “The 19-foot model is ideal for our international clients,” Dickason said. “The smaller vehicle is more familiar, and easier to drive, for most Europeans.” He says that at any given time about half of Cruise America’s fleet is rented to clients from overseas.
Now based in Mesa, AZ, Cruise America recently added customized Lance-built truck campers to its fleet, available in the western U.S. and Canada. “The higher road clearance of these vehicles make them especially good for travel in the north,” Dickason said.
Over the years, the company has developed long term relationships with travel agents based both in North America and in Europe, and is expanding into South American and Far East markets. “Our agents sell a full service package,” Dickason said. “Not only the rental RV, but trip planning to help people meet their vacation goals.”
Cruise America and sister company Cruise Canada currently have over 5,000 rental vehicles in their inventories, available for pickup at more than 130 locations across the U.S. and Canada. No matter what size rig a customer chooses, it will have all the essentials for RV living - generator, air conditioner, heater, hitch, radio, kitchen and bath - but none of the frills.
“We don’t believe in adding a lot of extras,” Dickason said. “All the features are easy to use, and don’t require a lot of experience. No awnings for example, because they can be tricky. No slideouts. And we are wholly against putting a TV in an RV. If want to watch TV, you can stay home.
“Our customers are traveling by RV to experience nature,” he said. “They aren’t looking to spend a lot of time in the vehicle or a lot of time setting up camp. What we rent is basically a tent on wheels.”
Best Time RV: Fly-And-Camp
A relative newcomer in the RV rental field, Best Time RV launched its operation in Las Vegas in 2015, although it’s based on a model started by original owner Ernst Daehler in 1985. “We started with 120 units, and are over 500 now,” Neal Klass, VP of the U.S. operation, told MobileRVing.com. “In three years, we’ve done a lot.”
Best Time quickly expanded beyond its Las Vegas base, opening locations near San Francisco’s SFO and LAX in Los Angeles. These were followed by Mesa, AZ (near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport), and Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto in Canada, with more on the horizon.
“We concentrate on major international airports,” Klass said. “Most of our customers are coming in from Europe, South America and, now, China, and don’t want to have to take a second plane to get to their RV rental. We even send shuttles to pick them up and take them back to their airport or hotel.”
Another distinguishing feature of the Best Time RV model is the company’s emphasis on Class B vans, the fastest growing segment of the RV industry. Although a few Class Cs are available, Klass says they have over 250 vans in six different models in the fleet. “The biggest we have is 24 feet,” he said. Some are the popular Minnie Winnie’s from Winnebago, but the majority is Roadtrek vans.
Best Time’s Class B lineup is aided by its association with Hymer, the German company that is the largest RV manufacturer and RV rental company in Europe. “Our company is half-owned by Irwin Hymer,” Klass said. “Hymer owns Roadtrek in Canada.” Best Time recently added a Jeep Wrangler 4x4 paired with a feather-light Hymer Touring Caravan to its offerings, for renters looking for off-road options.
Vehicles in Best Time’s fleet are likely to be some of the lowest mileage RVs available for rent, thanks to the company’s resale policy which leads to quick turn-over. “Once a unit has been rented once, it’s available for sale as used,” Klass explained. “The top mileage on our vehicles rarely reaches 40,000 miles. We sell them as soon as there’s a buyer.”
Neal Klass of Best Time RV showing off some of their fleet [Photo/Best Time RV]
Mighway: Kiwi-Style Goes International
In 2015, about the same time that Outdoorsy launched in the United States, Dave Simmons, a former exec at Air New Zealand, was working on a similar peer-to-peer rental concept in New Zealand aimed at making his country easier for foreign tourists to explore. Jason Nockels, now Head of Marketing and one of the founding team, says getting Mighway started was slow going at first.
“Originally, people had a hard time grasping the concept,” he told MobileRVing.com. “But we’re at the point now that we have owners lining up to register their RVs. It’s a lot less difficult to get them on board now that the word is out that people are making good money.”
The company has paid out $3 million to New Zealanders so far, a real boost to the local economy. In 2017, the peer-to-peer launched in California and is currently rolling out across the U.S.
Mighway is a unit of Tourism Holdings Ltd. (thl), a major player in the RV rental industry in New Zealand and Australia, and with the 2016 acquisition of El Monte RV Rentals and Sales, in the United States as well. In early 2018, thl teamed up with industry giant Thor to form TH2, bringing the immense resources of both companies to bear to benefit RVers around the world.
The new partnership aims to improve every aspect of RV ownership with trip planning and booking, remote monitoring, roadside assistance, theft tracking, and peer-to-peer RV and campsite rental. Similar programs will benefit RV dealers, manufacturers and rental operators to increase efficiency in product pricing, service, and fleet management.
For Mighway, TH2 has taken its business model a step beyond peer-to-peer. While RV owners who list with them continue to have complete “hands on” control over who they rent to, when and for how much, they can also now opt to use the Mighway Managed Service. In addition to handling insurance, driver vetting and payments, available to every owner, the Managed option lets owners be “hands off” letting them handle rentals remotely.
“With the managed service, we work for the owners,” Nockels said. “We help them decide how much to charge for maximum benefit. We pick the RV up and drop it off. We can even store the RV in one of our facilities.” The service also includes basic maintenance, pre- and post- rental cleaning, marketing and all interactions with renters.
The Future: Tech-Savvy And Booming
Without doubt, the RV rental industry has changed mightily in the past three years since the first peer-to-peer services started getting a foothold.
“The RV rental market is interesting right now,” said Sean Dickason of Cruise America, which enjoys a 52 percent share of the rental market. “There’s a big resurgence of interest in RV travel and new entities are emerging. At Cruise America, we have an established customer base and plan on continuing our successful market plan. We feel our rates are the most competitive in the market and that we’re offering the best possible product at the lowest possible price.”
Online services, including Outdoorsy and Mighway, take RV rentals into the 21st century where consumers expect access to all the possible choices, available instantly with a few clicks. Partnerships between all segments of the industry, from commercial rental operators and manufacturers to RV parks and RV booking providers, offer consumers better service and expand the RV business in ways never imagined a few years ago.
Dave Simmons, CEO of Mighway, summed up the current situation in an interview with RV Pro: “Right now, the RV industry is at a crossroads, where peer-to-peer platforms are often seen as competitors rather than what they are – a chance to grow its future. Peer-to-peers are introducing a new and gigantic generation of consumers who are tech savvy and trust their peers more than traditional marketing.”
In the end, Jeff Cavins says, competition between rental companies isn’t the problem. “More than 40 million consumers from around the world try to rent an RV in the U.S. every year,” the CEO of Outdoorsy told MobileRVing. “There aren’t enough rentals available to go around.”