Renting Out Your RV? Here’s How to Make it a Success

As a Harvest Host member, chances are you are already budget-savvy. Staying at our network of vineyards and farms offers a unique camping experience, of course, but it also helps you save money on costly per-night RV park rates.

While is it awesome to save money, it is also possible to use your RV to earn more of it — which can build your savings, help fund future adventures, or even go towards your monthly RV payments!

More RV owners are turning to peer-to-peer rental markets to put their beloved vacation vehicles to work.  Since many of us started as renters ourselves, this lucrative option has another great benefit: you get to introduce new campers to the magic of this unique travel lifestyle; which can be quite fulfilling, indeed. 

Even when you use a large peer-to-peer RV rental platform like RVshare, it’s not necessarily as simple as just grabbing some quick pictures (though great RV photos are important) and handing over the keys. By following a few key tips and tricks, you can keep your customers happy, boost your earnings, and build a thriving RV rental business, right in your own (literal) backyard.

How to Make Sure Your RV Renters are Happy Campers

Think back to the first time you rented an RV. What was the experience like?

For most of us, chances are your experience was fine.  After all, you eventually purchased your own rigs and made RV’ing a major part of your life.  But if you rented from a large, commercial dealership, you probably drove away in an anonymous Class A or Class C model straight off the factory floor, pretty much devoid of character, curiosity, or coziness. 

Perhaps, you picked up that rig from a sprawling asphalt lot,  and dealt with a corporate customer service team who may — or may not — have really cared about your vacation. 

By renting your RV on the peer-to-peer market, you have the opportunity to offer your renters something totally different: an authentic taste of the RV lifestyle you’ve come to know and love.

Instead of visiting a big box franchise location, your renters will get to meet you in person.  You’ll be the one to walk them through your RV; going over what they need to know about how everything works. In fact, many renters (and rentees!) say they make lifelong friends through the process. After all, you already know you have something in common. 

As a peer-to-peer renter, you have lots of opportunities to make your renters feel extra comfortable and at-home in your rig, which can help you gain repeat business and build a loyal customer base.

Here are some of the easiest ways to make your rental RV into a welcoming home-away-from-home for your renters.

• Add a welcome basket.  As a Harvest Host member, you know all about great wine, right? Add a nice bottle of wine and perhaps some cheese into a wicker basket for your guests, topped off with a bar of dark chocolate to savor afterward.
• Write a short handbook or guide. Many RV renters are beginners and a motor home or travel trailer can be kind of overwhelming when you first start. Writing a short user handbook or guide can help keep your renters oriented throughout the length of their rental period, while also making you feel more at-ease about how they’ll get along on their trip. Bonus: add in fun extras, like suggested destinations, fun things to do in your area, or extra equipment inclusion like bicycles, kayaks, or a portable grill!

• Be available. It can be an uncomfortable scenario for any RV renter to find themselves with a question or concern and no one to talk to about it.  Although RVshare, and similar platforms, offer customer service through the site itself, it is best when the RV’s owners are also a quick phone call away. It’ll put your renters’ minds at ease… and yours, too!

RV Renovations for Rental-By-Owner

Maybe you’ve already rented out your RV a time or two and you’re looking to take your business to the next level. There are some simple additions and renovations that can help make your rig into a more ideal rental vehicle, without negatively affecting your own comfort and use.

• Give your interior a fresh look. A beautiful and comforting atmosphere goes a long way toward making any camper feel at home, but especially someone who’s brand-new to the lifestyle. A quick coat of paint on your kitchen cabinets can do wonders as far as opening up the interior space is concerned. Peel-and-stick backsplash makes a more significant RV facelift easy. Here are more ideas for: RV kitchen remodeling. 
• Don’t skimp on decor. It may seem like a small thing, but throw pillows, matching curtains, scented candles, and other little touches can go a long way toward turning your rig from a mobile home to a mobile home. These minor accessories don’t cost a lot, but they add a lot of value to your rental!  Here’s some simple ways to update your RV window treatments and decorating for the holidays. 
• Consider bunk beds. If you’re serious about increasing your RV’s rental value, adding sleeping capacity can really help. You may want to think about taking out your dinette set or living room couch to add in bunk beds, which can make your RV more attractive to families looking for a vacation vehicle.

Ready to Put Your RV to Work?

If you’ve got some reservations about handing over the keys to your precious RV, that’s understandable. Along with being a sizable investment, your motor home or travel trailer is your beloved vacation vehicle.  It can be tough to trust perfect strangers with such an important thing!

Which is exactly why peer-to-peer rental marketplaces are the perfect way to build and grow your online RV rental business. RVshare, which is the largest marketplace of its type in America, offers a wide range of protections and benefits to make RV renting easy on owners. For one thing, you won’t have to worry about advertising or marketing; just build a great listing and we’ll make sure it gets in front of the right sets of eyes.

RVshare also adds a layer of security to protect your sensitive information, since all communicative and monetary transactions are performed through the platform itself. Finally, RVshare offers top-of-the-line insurance coverage for every qualified RV rental period, and even have 24/7 roadside assistance available. 

Turning your RV into an earning machine is easier than you think and when you choose RVshare, you’ll have professionals by your side to walk you through every step. Depending on what kind of RV you have and how often you put it on the market, you might earn as much as $40,000 per year! It is possible.

Learn more about this lucrative opportunity today: Learn more about listing my RV

 

Check out this Awesome Harvest Hosts Blog to Renting out your own RV Here!