By now you’ve heard some of the biggest benefits of renting your van. The opportunity to earn some passive income quickly and easily using your RV, the reliable customer service agent at the end of the phone line and the free roadside assistance are just a few great reasons to consider.
Maybe you’re put off by endless official paperwork or sick of waiting on hold for insurance quotes you can’t afford to pay anyway? Not the Outdoorsy way!
Renting your rig has never been this easy. Check out the four, yes, ONLY FOUR, easy steps to make some cash by renting out your RV!
1) Create Your Listing
There are just a few boxes to fill in with official details like the make and model of your rig, your location and personal information to start your listing.
Now for the fun part!
By far your best chance of attracting those bookings is building a brilliant profile. You want to stand out amongst the other listings, highlight the best parts of van life and provide enough information to answer any renter's questions. A killer description on your profile will sell a campervan on first read, but how to achieve all this without being too wordy or too technical?
Some aspects of renting a van are quite practical. Include as much information as possible about the van, the capabilities of the engine, the solar output, number of sockets and even MPG. The volume of water and waste tanks are important to know, especially if the renter is planning on off gridding. Think about what you asked when you bought or built your rig and try to answer those questions.
So, what does it take to make a person fall in love with your little home on wheels and decide to try it out for themselves? Look at profile building as a lesson in marketing! Use your creativity to build your owner profile. Don’t be afraid to add your personality to your listing. There are sales tactics designed to set yourself out from the crowd so learn from the experts.
Decorate your van's interior and take a range of great quality photographs. Use bright colors and fabrics to enhance any wood paneling, keep the van neat and tidy and set up a truly aspirational scene to woo your renters. If you are a content creator, vlogger, or blogger you’ll likely be great at this kind of staging already! Turn an ordinary van life scene into an extraordinary van life possibility for the kind of adventurer who doesn’t own a van yet but dreams of their future. 15-20 photographs should suffice, keep the pictures diverse in nature and don’t forget to include the other aspects of your offering too.
Show the dining set up, the bedroom and any extra beds and highlight the awning in use. If you rent bikes, include them in the set-up, ditto barbecues, kayaks, and generators. You can attract more attention to your listing by sharing on social media so make sure the photographs are social media ready.
Listing your van for rent is selling the coveted van life dream: freedom, tiny home living and the open road. Keep this in mind when you select your images!
After all, a picture tells a thousand words!
2) Accept New Bookings
Once your listing is ready, the next step is marketing your product. The beauty of Outdoorsy is that browsers have already made a few decisions before they clicked this far: they are interested in RVs and van life; they are open to the thoughts of renting a van and they are checking out what is on offer. Outdoorsy gathers the browsers together, and ultimately, the listing will do the selling!
An individualized manual for your van can be an extremely useful tool to supply your renters. Not only will it negate the need for the renter to contact you with ordinary questions about the facilities and their functions, you’ll avoid miscommunication and misunderstanding during the handover and all of the technical information will be perfectly transparent. Type up a PDF to share in advance of the rental to ease your renters mind, or print out a physical booklet with pictures too. Things to include in the manual range from an introduction to yourself, a short history of the RV, a table of contents directing the renter to specific technical and an overview of the various systems such as pumps, wiring, reading meters and hot water.
Respond quickly and kindly to all requests from browsers. Imagine you’re a shop and the van is your product, the best customer service you can provide will lead to the best outcomes for your business. Don’t forget the power of personal reviews, they can transform a profile entirely. Even though Outdoorsy’s systems are web-based, they know that people love to buy from people, and they mostly buy from people whose personality best fits theirs.
Of course, you don’t need to accept every booking you receive, and common sense tells us it's best to do a little vetting. Ask a couple of fundamental questions to determine what kind of renter you are dealing with. Finding out how many are in the renting group, where they plan to go and if they have any RV experience is vital, as is information about their plans for overnighting, in campgrounds or wild. These answers will guide you to a decision as to whether the renter fits your business style or not. The most important question to verify, after payment has been received, is have the drivers passed their driver verification test?
Outdoorsy Driver Verification Test is a mandatory 2 step risk assessment process which all drivers undergo, beginning with the authentication of their personal ID documents. Once payment has been received, the second step carried out by Outdoorsy (not you) is risk assessment. Should another driver wish to be added to the insurance, they will undergo the same process, thus keeping Outdoorsy as safe and secure for all!
3) Pre Arrival checks and Key Handoff
So, you’ve created the listing, captivated the renters and secured your first booking. Well done! Just a couple more steps stand between you and your first rental.
It's essential to undergo some pre arrival checks on the RV before you hand over the keys. Here at Outdoorsy we liken this to the process of preparing a hotel room for the next guest to stay in. There are things to clean, items to restock and technical tasks to confirm. In addition to interior and exterior cleaning, there are tyres, fluid checks, signals and systems to be tested. Ideally, you should take the vehicle for a test drive the day of the rental but provided you have been keeping up with the regular routine maintenance required, your vehicle should be in tip top shape anyway. Printing off and running through a pre arrival checklist will provide you with extra peace of mind during the rental term.
The Handover:
Remember that peace of mind you felt thanks to the pre arrival checklist? Outdoorsy also provides a printable RV Departure Form, designed to ensure the renter is informed of the maintenance plan, any pre-existing interior or exterior damage, any extra equipment and a thorough condition check. This form is essentially your contract, indicating the renter is aware, has been trained in the nuances of your make and model, has had a driving lesson and understands their responsibilities as renter. Keeping this document safe is important, it also records the levels of fuel, propane, and waste. You could make a quick video for extra ease of mind. With such a through hand over, the understanding between parties is clear and the process is smooth!
4) Earn Cash!
Step four must be everyone’s favourite step. You’ve put a lot of time and thought into listing your beloved RV and designing a cool, quirky profile, so when the first security deposit hits your bank, you can relax and celebrate. Alternatively, Outdoorsy will retain this deposit and take care of the refund for you once the van returns from its rental unscathed, which most of our rentals do.
When you do get paid for your RV rental, remember it is always best business practise to put a little cash aside for necessary upgrades, additional rental equipment, and general upkeep of the RV. That way you can always charge a little more the next time as your rig will be kitted out a little better. Whether it's extra bikes, a new battery or updated soft furnishings, upgrades not only keep your van fresh, they provide opportunities for more photographs and a profile update! Win win!
Outdoorsy strives to streamline our processes, making listing, renting, and upkeeping your van as simple as possible. Our thorough printable checklists, dedicated customer service and online database of help and advice means you have access to answers every step of the way. Outdoorsy arms you with the tools you need to create and maintain a successful RV rental business and to keep those renters returning for more!
So that’s our 4-step process to renting out your home on wheels via Outdoorsy.
See?
We told you it was easy
Find out more in Getting Your First Renter