Introduction
May long has come and gone. June is here - bring on the busy season!!
A lot of chatter about inflation in 2022, thought we’d kick off with some interesting tidbits from an this article (How to Account for Inflation in Your 2022 Travel Budget - nerdwallet.com)
Prices (overall) rose on average 8.5% from April 1st, 2021 - March 31st, 2022 The greatest travel related cost increase? Rentals cars by a long shot (38.6% more expensive in February, 2022 vs. February, 2020). Rentals chariots followed by ‘going out for’ food (10.7%) and lodging (6.9%)
According to surveys held in late November last year - by Expedia Traveler Value Index & Destination Analysts’ (market research firm) - Americans planned to spend $2353 on their next trip, and had an average leisure travel budget of $3797 for 2022
Given all of above, we don’t blame anyone for charging a little bit more to rent your rigs this year. Even with a 10%-15% increase, adventurers would still spending less than they would for a vacation involving rental cars and fancy food/hotels!
Pro tips
Driver Verification (yellow ribbon status - what does it mean?)
We’ve mentioned in here a few times the importance of prioritizing/completing driver verification as soon as booking is finalized. With so many questions on ‘pending’ drivers, thought it would be useful to share the most common reasons on what exactly can cause this yellow status;
a) renter tried to complete the steps with incorrect or ineligible/expired id
b) renter did not ensure clear images were captured (hoooold steady to avoid blurry images!)
c) renter is registered in the system more than once (multiple user id’s confuse the system!)
d) renter creates the booking, followed by 3rd party (intended driver) completing the steps outlined in booking confirmation link (this also confuses the system, make sure to ‘add a new driver’ in cases where someone aside from the person who booked is looking to drive)
e) additional/invited driver has not yet accepted invitation
Lastly, keep in mind that the renter has a maximum of 5 attempts. After that, we need to send a fresh link before they can try again.
Delivery - Trending Up (for so many reasons...let us count the ways)
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Business expansion - There are many potential customers out there who might love the idea of RV camping, but not the idea of RV driving. Offering delivery opens your door to these new customers. **2. **Customer service - Some of the best stories and most glowing reviews come from renters who’ve just had an owner pull up to camp with a ready-to-roll rig. By offering delivery and setup to your customers, you’re in a great position to ensure their trip gets off to a convenient and magical start.
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Increased earnings - You can charge either a flat fee or a per-mile fee for delivery and pick up. Ancillary revenue, anyone?
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Peace of mind - When your renter wants a stationary delivery, you’ll know where your RV is the whole time and you won’t have to worry about what might happen to it over the road.
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20% more leads are generated from having ‘delivery’ option in place
Updates & Quick Hits
Renter Credits (you can now delete balance) With a recent system enhancement, you now have the ability to delete credit amount for renters that have booked with you directly.
**Coming Soon! **Billing address now required when sending a quote (and as part of booking flow) **Billing/mailing address is now a requirement on wheelbase; a) when sending a quote, you will now be required to enter billing/mailing address to proceed b) renters will now be required to enter this information as part of the booking flow (videos to illustrate/help centre article content?)
New Owner Handbook (refreshed version) The Owner Handbook is a great resource to brush up on info/best practices. Click on link below if you’re up for a refresh.