April 6, 2025 • 18 mins
Welcome back to the RV Rental Secrets Podcast! In this episode, your hosts Stacy Maxon and Garr Russell dive into the essentials of prepping your RV rental business for the busy summer season. Whether you're just starting out or already have a growing fleet, this episode is packed with insights to help you simplify operations, increase profitability, and approach the upcoming season with confidence.
As the weather warms up, it’s time to go back to basics—like de-winterizing your RVs, inspecting seals and roofs, deep cleaning each unit, and addressing any lingering repairs from last season. Stacy shares her own process, with help from her certified RV tech husband, while Garr emphasizes the importance of mindset and preparation. They also explore a key strategy that many owners overlook: setting higher nightly minimums. Instead of filling your calendar with short, two-night bookings that lead to more work and potential for damage, Stacy and Garr explain why focusing on longer stays can actually reduce your workload and boost your revenue.
Another big focus of this episode is the creative use of add-ons. From chairs and grills to airport pickups, craft kits, and even extra-clean packages, the possibilities for additional income are endless. The duo shares clever ideas for how to test what renters really want—without overspending or overcomplicating your offerings. Garr even throws in out-of-the-box ideas like offering next year’s booking in exchange for a small gift or bonus, such as a pizza night or letting guests keep the camping chairs they rented.
Finally, Stacy and Garr remind us that every renter is a potential repeat customer—and your goal should be to create an experience that brings them back year after year. From strategic follow-ups to converting platform customers into direct repeat bookings, they offer simple but powerful ways to think long-term. Plus, they give a special shoutout to Katie Reeder in Las Vegas for building a collaborative RV rental community that’s raising the bar for everyone.
This episode is full of real-life tips, inspiration, and practical strategies that will set you up for a successful 2025 rental season—and beyond. Don’t forget to leave a review, share with a friend in the industry, and let’s continue to grow this amazing RV rental community together!
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(00:00):
Welcome to the RV Rental Secrets Podcast.
.999I'm your host, Stacey Maxson, and I'm thrilled to guide you through the journey of launching, growing, and managing a profitable RV rental business. 3 00:00:13,240.997732426 --> 00:00:14,170.997732426 All right everybody. 4 00:00:14,170.997732426 --> 00:00:18,430.997732426 Welcome to another episode of RV Rental Secrets podcast. 5 00:00:18,940.997732426 --> 00:00:23,820.997732426 I am your co-host Scar Russell with my co-host, Stacy. 6 00:00:25,50.997732426 --> 00:00:26,280.997732426 It's almost summer. 7 00:00:26,340.997732426 --> 00:00:29,190.997732426 Are you excited Max in? Yes. 8 00:00:30,510.997732426 --> 00:00:43,140.997732426 I mean, who's not excited for summer? Yeah, you just went back to New York and stepped into, is it like rainy and cold? Is there snow on the ground? No, not currently, but we did have freezing temperatures last night. 9 00:00:43,210.997732426 --> 00:00:45,430.997732426 So not fun when you're in an rv. 10 00:00:46,780.997732426 --> 00:00:47,740.997732426 Oh my gosh, yes. 11 00:00:47,740.997732426 --> 00:00:49,180.997732426 All right, let's just stop right now. 12 00:00:49,420.997732426 --> 00:00:49,720.997732426 Lord. 13 00:00:49,720.997732426 --> 00:00:56,530.997732426 I just prayed for Stacey and everybody that's in cold weather make the sun shine upon them, and I'm thankful summer's coming. 14 00:00:56,560.997732426 --> 00:00:56,860.997732426 Amen. 15 00:00:57,745.997732426 --> 00:00:58,195.997732426 Yeah. 16 00:00:58,285.997732426 --> 00:00:58,645.997732426 Oof. 17 00:00:59,335.997732426 --> 00:00:59,845.997732426 Not fun. 18 00:01:00,25.997732426 --> 00:01:11,475.997732426 So we were talking about what should we talk about today? And we're talking about this change of seasons, right? So we thought, let's talk about just the basics, right? Especially if you're Harvey Rental. 19 00:01:12,40.997732426 --> 00:01:14,170.997732426 You're running RV rentals in a seasonal location. 20 00:01:14,170.997732426 --> 00:01:14,980.997732426 Sometimes you can. 21 00:01:15,730.997732426 --> 00:01:25,0.997732426 Forgets like, oh man, I gotta start thinking de winterization and charging the battery and flushing out antifreeze or all the different things inspecting the roof and the seals. 22 00:01:25,0.997732426 --> 00:01:27,970.997732426 And so we thought, let's go back to the basics. 23 00:01:28,300.997732426 --> 00:01:30,130.997732426 So Stacy, I'll, I'll start with you. 24 00:01:30,130.997732426 --> 00:01:47,70.99773243 What's, what's a top basic that you would say is important to remember looking into your 2025 rental season? Yeah, well I know you just mentioned a lot of maintenance things My husband, he's a certified RV tech, so he handles all of that when we had our fleet. 25 00:01:47,100.99773243 --> 00:01:54,290.99773243 But yeah, that's definitely important is making sure, like when we first started our season of course we would do winter rides. 26 00:01:54,290.99773243 --> 00:01:59,660.99773243 He would handle the maintenance and really just do like a deep clean of the unit. 27 00:01:59,690.99773243 --> 00:02:01,570.99773243 And also just. 28 00:02:02,35.99773243 --> 00:02:13,335.99773243 Kind of doing like a, a walkthrough and seeing like if any repairs needed to be done, if if there was anything that we kinda left from last season just to get it ready for the rental. 29 00:02:13,845.99773243 --> 00:02:21,525.99773243 So I think that's really important to just do, you know, a really good walkthrough of each unit and see what existing issues there might be. 30 00:02:22,425.99773243 --> 00:02:23,835.99773243 Yeah, that's a really good point. 31 00:02:24,15.99773243 --> 00:02:24,255.99773243 Okay. 32 00:02:24,255.99773243 --> 00:02:30,645.99773243 Stacy, I want you to guess what I'm gonna say is the top thing that you should be doing looking into your summer season. 33 00:02:31,245.99773243 --> 00:02:33,15.99773243 Knowing your mindset. 34 00:02:33,15.99773243 --> 00:02:34,365.99773243 I'm gonna guess Hiring. 35 00:02:35,295.99773243 --> 00:02:36,195.99773243 Hiring, okay. 36 00:02:36,195.99773243 --> 00:02:36,975.99773243 That's a good one. 37 00:02:37,245.99773243 --> 00:02:45,415.99773243 Yeah, it's definitely, if you're scaling, I'm all about building a team and you not doing all the things, so that, that is a good one. 38 00:02:45,415.99773243 --> 00:02:49,705.99773243 But no, my top thing I'm gonna say is your nightly minimums. 39 00:02:50,920.99773243 --> 00:02:56,980.99773243 That is the biggest thing I feel like I see in outta my soapbox of the RV rental world is right. 40 00:02:56,980.99773243 --> 00:02:57,910.99773243 Especially now. 41 00:02:58,360.99773243 --> 00:02:59,590.99773243 You're getting excited. 42 00:02:59,590.99773243 --> 00:03:00,640.99773243 Summer's coming. 43 00:03:00,760.99773243 --> 00:03:09,580.99773243 So what part of excitement is like anticipation? The opposite of anticipation is anxiousness of not knowing what's gonna happen. 44 00:03:09,820.99773243 --> 00:03:15,490.99773243 And so what do a lot of people do? They're like, oh my gosh, it's April 2nd and I'm not fully booked for the summer yet. 45 00:03:15,835.99773243 --> 00:03:20,365.99773243 And people start to freak out and they start to take every single inquiry that comes their way. 46 00:03:20,920.99773243 --> 00:03:24,850.99773243 And they start to load their calendar with all these, I call 'em weekend warriors. 47 00:03:25,210.99773243 --> 00:03:26,110.99773243 And now sweet. 48 00:03:26,110.99773243 --> 00:03:33,70.99773243 You can rest assured you are booked every single weekend, all summer long and now you have a bunch of open spots on your calendar. 49 00:03:33,400.99773243 --> 00:03:38,920.99773243 So one of the things that I'm always on my soapbox about is you've gotta have high nightly minimums. 50 00:03:39,260.99773243 --> 00:03:49,720.99773243 Here at Fireside, I just looked at this the other day for 2024 out of the thousands of rentals that we did, our average rental is six nights. 51 00:03:50,500.99773243 --> 00:03:51,10.99773243 Okay. 52 00:03:51,370.99773243 --> 00:03:58,270.99773243 So that there should be proof in the pudding, that you can demand a higher minimum and you can get them. 53 00:03:59,290.99773243 --> 00:04:04,270.99773243 Stacy, what's your thoughts on that? Do you wanna share your story of years ago when you first started with me? Yeah. 54 00:04:04,270.99773243 --> 00:04:09,70.99773243 I remember the first year that we started that's, you kept saying that over and over. 55 00:04:09,70.99773243 --> 00:04:10,300.99773243 You're like, do a week minimum. 56 00:04:10,300.99773243 --> 00:04:11,140.99773243 Do a week minimum. 57 00:04:11,140.99773243 --> 00:04:12,940.99773243 And I'm like, no, I'm not doing that. 58 00:04:13,180.99773243 --> 00:04:15,310.99773243 So I got up to five nights. 59 00:04:15,520.99773243 --> 00:04:19,60.99773243 Well, for, for drivable units I did do the seven nights. 60 00:04:19,310.99773243 --> 00:04:24,770.99773243 But for my travel trailers and fifth wheels, we did five nights. 61 00:04:24,880.99773243 --> 00:04:32,890.99773243 And yeah, we would have people book that only needed it for one night and would pay for the five nights and you know, people are still renting 'em. 62 00:04:33,370.99773243 --> 00:04:52,390.99773243 And it's funny 'cause you had said about, you know, people just taking any, any reservations that come in and I had a franchise that I spoke with yesterday and they were actually like kind of concerned because, you know, being April and they only have 20 bookings for this coming season. 63 00:04:52,990.99773243 --> 00:05:00,130.99773243 And I was like, there's gonna be so many last minute rentals that are gonna fill your calendar. 64 00:05:00,190.99773243 --> 00:05:02,530.99773243 I'm like, that's not anything to worry about. 65 00:05:02,740.99773243 --> 00:05:18,70.99773243 So yeah, you wanna take those long bookings now and get what you can and then, you know, you can even, I've used this strategy in the past, like as it gets to that month, you could lower your minimum and possibly take less nights. 66 00:05:18,100.99773243 --> 00:05:23,290.99773243 You know, so if you wanna do a, three day weekend or something like that on last minute rentals. 67 00:05:23,740.99773243 --> 00:05:25,450.99773243 But those rentals will come. 68 00:05:26,500.99773243 --> 00:05:27,760.99773243 Yeah, they most definitely will. 69 00:05:28,0.99773243 --> 00:05:31,730.99773243 And, and let me encourage you on why they will come for several reasons. 70 00:05:32,0.99773243 --> 00:05:40,910.99773243 One, everybody who has a two night minimum, which unfortunately the platforms are kind of promote that, you know, when the emails they send out and how they're trying to educate you. 71 00:05:41,765.99773243 --> 00:05:44,45.99773243 That's because that's a large part of their audience. 72 00:05:44,135.99773243 --> 00:05:48,905.99773243 But just because that's a large part of their audience, that doesn't mean that's the audience we're looking to serve. 73 00:05:49,535.99773243 --> 00:05:54,65.99773243 Typically, the shorter rentals are where you're gonna get the damage, it's where you're gonna get the complaints. 74 00:05:54,65.99773243 --> 00:05:57,635.99773243 It's where people are trying to cram a lot into a short amount of time. 75 00:05:58,35.99773243 --> 00:06:04,665.99773243 So with that being said, a lot of your competitors are gonna be booked up for those who are looking for the longer rentals. 76 00:06:05,245.99773243 --> 00:06:08,335.99773243 Second is last minute rentals, like Stacy said. 77 00:06:08,725.99773243 --> 00:06:13,675.99773243 People are gonna reach out to you, freaking out, oh my gosh, I had this camper booked for a year, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 78 00:06:13,765.99773243 --> 00:06:17,95.99773243 And then the awning just got ripped off, and now the people just canceled it on me. 79 00:06:17,695.99773243 --> 00:06:19,285.99773243 That's gonna be a customer for you. 80 00:06:19,565.99773243 --> 00:06:21,455.99773243 Also look at it from this standpoint. 81 00:06:21,635.99773243 --> 00:06:22,835.99773243 Oh wait, let me back up once. 82 00:06:23,45.99773243 --> 00:06:27,245.99773243 Don't ever cancel a rental because the awning got ripped off people. 83 00:06:27,425.99773243 --> 00:06:29,45.99773243 I'm about to, I'm gonna preach here for a minute. 84 00:06:29,45.99773243 --> 00:06:30,20.99773243 Is that all right, Stacy? Yeah. 85 00:06:30,980.99773243 --> 00:06:31,220.99773243 Okay. 86 00:06:31,220.99773243 --> 00:06:32,180.99773243 I'm gonna go off here for a minute. 87 00:06:32,420.99773243 --> 00:06:39,700.99773243 I had a warehouse full of pop-up canopies, dorm refrigerators vent out window AC units. 88 00:06:39,700.99773243 --> 00:06:41,290.99773243 The list goes on and on and on. 89 00:06:41,800.99773243 --> 00:06:48,790.99773243 People would much rather you have a solution to what is, isn't even their problem than canceling on them. 90 00:06:49,90.99773243 --> 00:06:53,440.99773243 So you can reach, you can actually frame a problem in a way that, where. 91 00:06:54,145.99773243 --> 00:06:56,515.99773243 They almost feel like it was their problem that you fixed for them. 92 00:06:56,785.99773243 --> 00:06:59,275.99773243 Hey, I just wanna reach out to let to let you know. 93 00:06:59,275.99773243 --> 00:07:00,415.99773243 No need to worry. 94 00:07:00,565.99773243 --> 00:07:02,905.99773243 But the last renter actually ripped off the awning. 95 00:07:03,85.99773243 --> 00:07:04,705.99773243 But don't worry, I saved your trip. 96 00:07:04,705.99773243 --> 00:07:09,115.99773243 I actually went to Walmart and I bought you a 10 by 10 canopy so that your trip can continue. 97 00:07:09,535.99773243 --> 00:07:12,265.99773243 So you just told the renter that the RV is damaged. 98 00:07:12,265.99773243 --> 00:07:14,635.99773243 Don't worry, you're still gonna send them out with it and they're happy. 99 00:07:14,995.99773243 --> 00:07:18,415.99773243 So there's a way you can frame things to where you can come in as the hero. 100 00:07:18,725.99773243 --> 00:07:28,445.99773243 And there's no need to cancel the reservation because of something like that, because honestly, there's so many good, you, y'all know that our campers, right? Most of us got into this to make memories. 101 00:07:29,365.99773243 --> 00:07:34,975.99773243 You can still go camping without an awning or you can throw up the, the, the 10 by 10 popup, stuff like that. 102 00:07:34,975.99773243 --> 00:07:38,275.99773243 So don't cancel a reservation because of stuff like that. 103 00:07:38,515.99773243 --> 00:07:45,925.99773243 That's, that's you responding emotionally to something that once the emotions have subsided, you can figure out a solution, do logically. 104 00:07:46,195.99773243 --> 00:07:47,245.99773243 So don't do that. 105 00:07:47,575.99773243 --> 00:07:50,5.99773243 And then, what was I gonna say next? I got so excited. 106 00:07:50,285.99773243 --> 00:07:51,620.99773243 Oh, that's what I was gonna say next. 107 00:07:52,425.99773243 --> 00:07:56,210.99773243 Well, Stacy, you wanna comment on that all first because I just, I get so excited here sometimes. 108 00:07:56,470.99773243 --> 00:07:57,615.99773243 No, I think that's great. 109 00:07:57,645.99773243 --> 00:07:58,815.99773243 I, we did the same thing. 110 00:07:58,815.99773243 --> 00:08:05,375.99773243 We had, you know, the portable air conditioners, the tents, to replace the awnings. 111 00:08:05,375.99773243 --> 00:08:09,755.99773243 And like you said, they're, they're not going to be upset about it. 112 00:08:09,785.99773243 --> 00:08:12,185.99773243 They're just happy they can still continue their vacation. 113 00:08:13,300.99773243 --> 00:08:14,230.99773243 Yeah, exactly. 114 00:08:14,410.99773243 --> 00:08:19,390.99773243 So the next thing I was gonna say in regards to minimums is let's say you do have a two night minimum. 115 00:08:19,480.99773243 --> 00:08:22,0.99773243 And let's say you're booked up every weekend for the month. 116 00:08:22,300.99773243 --> 00:08:22,780.99773243 Sweet. 117 00:08:22,810.99773243 --> 00:08:24,190.99773243 You booked eight days. 118 00:08:24,550.99773243 --> 00:08:30,220.99773243 You booked eight days for the month, right? Four weekends, two days a weekend, Friday to Sunday. 119 00:08:30,520.99773243 --> 00:08:31,600.99773243 So that's eight days. 120 00:08:31,840.99773243 --> 00:08:39,880.99773243 Think of it this way, think of even if you only had a fortnight minimum, okay? And you did only two bookings a month. 121 00:08:40,270.99773243 --> 00:08:43,300.99773243 You still are doing eight days and now you're doing half the work. 122 00:08:44,140.99773243 --> 00:08:48,310.99773243 Take that up to five night minimum, and you do two bookings a month. 123 00:08:48,880.99773243 --> 00:08:53,950.99773243 You're doing two extra days instead of the eight and you're doing half the work. 124 00:08:53,950.99773243 --> 00:09:02,60.99773243 Say you go up to my bold seven night minimum that I recommend or even a six night minimum, and you do one booking a month. 125 00:09:02,360.99773243 --> 00:09:07,160.99773243 Say you do one booking a month at a seven night minimum, you're actually only doing one night less. 126 00:09:07,760.99773243 --> 00:09:10,160.99773243 You're doing 75% less work. 127 00:09:10,750.99773243 --> 00:09:13,450.99773243 That's one thing that people don't put a value on is their time. 128 00:09:13,750.99773243 --> 00:09:16,510.99773243 You have to put a, a, a value to your time. 129 00:09:16,720.99773243 --> 00:09:23,290.99773243 So if you're only doing seven nights instead of eight, but you're only doing one delivery a month instead of four. 130 00:09:23,575.99773243 --> 00:09:27,835.99773243 That's a huge win, but guess what? You're not gonna just do one rental per month. 131 00:09:28,165.99773243 --> 00:09:30,575.99773243 You're still gonna end up booking more. 132 00:09:30,575.99773243 --> 00:09:36,155.99773243 You're actually gonna have more nights booked if you have a higher night minimum because you're gonna fill that slot. 133 00:09:36,485.99773243 --> 00:09:39,875.99773243 And we know that mid-June to Midgut when kids are outta school. 134 00:09:40,185.99773243 --> 00:09:44,865.99773243 If you actually have the higher night minimums, you're actually gonna be booked solid all summer long. 135 00:09:46,215.99773243 --> 00:09:48,45.99773243 Yeah, we definitely saw that. 136 00:09:48,525.99773243 --> 00:09:49,65.99773243 And. 137 00:09:49,800.99773243 --> 00:09:58,740.99773243 You know, when you have multiple units too, like you said, it's not gonna matter if you even just have that one booking per month on that unit. 138 00:09:59,90.99773243 --> 00:10:06,650.99773243 You know, we had on average 20 units, so it's like right there you would have at least 20 bookings and Exactly. 139 00:10:06,740.99773243 --> 00:10:09,20.99773243 We were always busy, especially Yeah. 140 00:10:09,20.99773243 --> 00:10:13,580.99773243 During July and August, it was just all units were fully booked out. 141 00:10:14,510.99773243 --> 00:10:14,990.99773243 Yeah. 142 00:10:15,200.99773243 --> 00:10:15,560.99773243 Yep. 143 00:10:15,980.99773243 --> 00:10:17,395.99773243 Okay, so next, let's talk about. 144 00:10:18,545.99773243 --> 00:10:18,815.99773243 Right. 145 00:10:18,815.99773243 --> 00:10:20,765.99773243 This is RV Rental Secrets. 146 00:10:21,575.99773243 --> 00:10:23,525.99773243 We're running an RV rental business. 147 00:10:24,15.99773243 --> 00:10:26,415.99773243 The reason why we run a business is to make money. 148 00:10:26,745.99773243 --> 00:10:37,585.99773243 We're either making money to try and profit a bunch off our, our camper, or if we're running it as like a fleet to, to generate revenue, or we're trying to pay off our camper as quick as possible. 149 00:10:37,825.99773243 --> 00:10:41,485.99773243 So, at the end of the day, for a business, there's two things you can do. 150 00:10:42,175.99773243 --> 00:10:45,895.99773243 You can increase your amount of revenue, you can lower your amount of overhead. 151 00:10:46,225.99773243 --> 00:10:54,245.99773243 So one thing that one of my mentors has taught me in regards to finances is there's only so much you can do to lower overhead. 152 00:10:54,485.99773243 --> 00:11:02,525.99773243 There comes a point, right? Even your personal budgets like, okay, we're, we're down to eating ramen noodles and this and that, and we're walking and Right. 153 00:11:02,525.99773243 --> 00:11:05,975.99773243 There's only so much you can do to lower your overhead and still like, enjoy life. 154 00:11:06,395.99773243 --> 00:11:08,975.99773243 But there's an unlimited amount of things you can do. 155 00:11:09,395.99773243 --> 00:11:11,15.99773243 To increase your revenue. 156 00:11:11,345.99773243 --> 00:11:23,195.99773243 So let's talk a little bit about that, right? We've talked about nightly minimums, but what else can you do to increase your revenue for your RV rental business? Yeah, I mean, I, the first thing that comes to mind is add-ons. 157 00:11:23,855.99773243 --> 00:11:29,885.99773243 We have some of our franchises that make more an add-ons than they do for the nightly rentals. 158 00:11:30,465.99773243 --> 00:11:35,95.99773243 you can offer basically anything you know, pick people up from the airport. 159 00:11:35,440.99773243 --> 00:11:41,380.99773243 You can have linens, people have campers package where they have grills and chairs. 160 00:11:42,330.99773243 --> 00:11:44,280.99773243 I've seen game packages. 161 00:11:44,880.99773243 --> 00:11:46,470.99773243 I mean, there's just everything. 162 00:11:47,445.99773243 --> 00:11:48,675.99773243 Yeah, there's so many. 163 00:11:48,675.99773243 --> 00:11:50,325.99773243 And that's exactly where my head was going too. 164 00:11:50,325.99773243 --> 00:11:53,775.99773243 Stacy, add-ons and just a couple other out of the box ideas. 165 00:11:54,195.99773243 --> 00:12:09,75.99773243 Think of a hotel, right? You go to a hotel like Stacy, we were in Vegas there a couple months ago for that, for that conference, and in your hotel room there was a weighted tray where you could take that bottle of water off and then it bills your room $15. 166 00:12:09,495.99773243 --> 00:12:11,805.99773243 Did you do any of those by the way? I didn't check the credit card statement. 167 00:12:12,735.99773243 --> 00:12:16,425.99773243 I think I did one time, I grabbed a bottle of water out of destination. 168 00:12:18,375.99773243 --> 00:12:30,705.99773243 So what you could do, obviously you don't have a weighted tray that's all that technology, but what you could do is you could put together like a craft package that you could shrink wrap and put a QR code on it that maybe leads to your PayPal. 169 00:12:31,35.99773243 --> 00:12:37,335.99773243 Okay? Or you could have a statement on there that says, Hey, scan this QR code to buy this craft package for $25. 170 00:12:37,845.99773243 --> 00:12:50,65.99773243 Or you know, when we check the camper back in after the rental, if this package is opened or removed, then we'll just simply bill you, you know, $25 instead of the $20 if you scan the QR code. 171 00:12:50,425.99773243 --> 00:12:51,985.99773243 So that's one thing you can do. 172 00:12:52,315.99773243 --> 00:13:00,385.99773243 I have a franchisee who has an extra clean package and people that are just weird about cleanliness, pay for it. 173 00:13:01,165.99773243 --> 00:13:12,55.99773243 Another out of the box idea is, you know, with increasing revenue, but keeping overhead low is don't go out, like buy like 50 sets of camping chairs and then have them up for rent. 174 00:13:12,445.99773243 --> 00:13:14,605.99773243 Have a picture of a camping chair. 175 00:13:15,40.99773243 --> 00:13:15,400.99773243 Right. 176 00:13:15,400.99773243 --> 00:13:24,980.99773243 And then in the description, you know, chair may be this, or similar to this, have your price which you should be able, except for like, maybe like a generator or something like that. 177 00:13:24,980.99773243 --> 00:13:28,370.99773243 A lot of your items, you should be able to actually cover the cost of that item. 178 00:13:28,370.99773243 --> 00:13:37,460.99773243 So if you have just a regular folding camping chair, you could put $20 for that camping chair, knowing that you can go to Walmart and pick it up for 15, 20 bucks. 179 00:13:37,880.99773243 --> 00:13:42,210.99773243 Have it as an add-on item when the renter purchases that item. 180 00:13:42,710.99773243 --> 00:13:44,840.99773243 Then go ahead and pick it up from Walmart. 181 00:13:45,20.99773243 --> 00:13:56,240.99773243 So now you've just bought that item, the first renter paid for the cost to have it, and you haven't added a bunch of overhead, and now you just added really an asset into your inventory that you could turn around and rent for the next time. 182 00:13:57,110.99773243 --> 00:14:06,20.99773243 Yeah, I think a great idea for that too is that's really how you can test the add-ons and see what people are gonna want in your area. 183 00:14:06,300.99773243 --> 00:14:08,910.99773243 So you can put anything on there as an add-on. 184 00:14:09,210.99773243 --> 00:14:14,970.99773243 And the ones that are actually being reserved, then those are the items that you go out and buy. 185 00:14:15,0.99773243 --> 00:14:18,480.99773243 And then you can start, you know, getting rid of the ones that people don't seem to like. 186 00:14:19,890.99773243 --> 00:14:20,490.99773243 Exactly. 187 00:14:20,490.99773243 --> 00:14:20,880.99773243 Yeah. 188 00:14:21,210.99773243 --> 00:14:32,280.99773243 And then one final thought is, you know, one thing that we don't do is we don't think about, so we're talking about 2025 right now, right? Is anybody thinking about 2026? Most likely not. 189 00:14:32,580.99773243 --> 00:14:36,720.99773243 We think about, you know, the day that's ahead of us, or the week that's ahead of us. 190 00:14:36,870.99773243 --> 00:14:39,210.99773243 Some of us we're, we're just thinking about the next hour. 191 00:14:39,600.99773243 --> 00:14:42,480.99773243 But think about this in regards to your renter. 192 00:14:42,755.99773243 --> 00:14:42,935.99773243 Okay. 193 00:14:42,935.99773243 --> 00:14:44,915.99773243 Look at your renter as an asset. 194 00:14:45,335.99773243 --> 00:14:53,765.99773243 Look at your renter and say, Hey, what am I doing while that renter is on their rental to get them to leave a review. 195 00:14:54,195.99773243 --> 00:14:54,555.99773243 Right. 196 00:14:54,615.99773243 --> 00:14:55,875.99773243 You can ask them for a review. 197 00:14:55,875.99773243 --> 00:14:58,755.99773243 As soon as they book, you can ask them for a review. 198 00:14:58,755.99773243 --> 00:15:03,645.99773243 Two days in the rental, you can ask 'em for a review when they're returning it, then let's take it a step further. 199 00:15:03,645.99773243 --> 00:15:09,555.99773243 If we're thinking about increasing revenue and lowering overhead while that rental is on their rental. 200 00:15:10,40.99773243 --> 00:15:15,630.99773243 Ask them about, Hey do you guys, you know, typically go to the same place every year? Oh, you do. 201 00:15:15,630.99773243 --> 00:15:16,140.99773243 Great. 202 00:15:16,140.99773243 --> 00:15:25,530.99773243 Tell you what, if you wanna go ahead and book this camper right now for next year, what I'm gonna do is, most people would think is percentage of discount, because that's what stores do. 203 00:15:25,530.99773243 --> 00:15:27,600.99773243 I'm gonna give you a 10% discount to book right now. 204 00:15:27,960.99773243 --> 00:15:30,300.99773243 You really don't have to work that hard to get the business. 205 00:15:30,540.99773243 --> 00:15:31,170.99773243 You could say, Hey. 206 00:15:31,665.99773243 --> 00:15:44,520.99773243 If you wanna go ahead and book that right now, what I'm gonna do is those camping chairs that you guys rented, I'm gonna give those to you for free next year or do this, Hey, the camping chair that you guys rented, tell you what you guys wanna book right now for next year. 207 00:15:44,520.99773243 --> 00:15:45,720.99773243 Go ahead and take those with you. 208 00:15:45,870.99773243 --> 00:15:46,710.99773243 I wanna give 'em to you. 209 00:15:47,100.99773243 --> 00:15:52,890.99773243 You can have 'em as a gift or I wanna give you a s'mores kit, or you guys wanna book right now for next. 210 00:15:52,920.99773243 --> 00:15:55,230.99773243 I love marketing, as y'all can tell, so I can just go on and on. 211 00:15:55,230.99773243 --> 00:15:56,850.99773243 A, my mind is just going crazy right now. 212 00:15:57,240.99773243 --> 00:16:00,750.99773243 Or you could say, Hey, if y'all wanna go ahead and book for next year right now. 213 00:16:01,135.99773243 --> 00:16:02,605.99773243 I'll order y'all pizza tonight. 214 00:16:02,665.99773243 --> 00:16:04,735.99773243 $25 to for Domino's. 215 00:16:05,515.99773243 --> 00:16:08,485.99773243 Stacy, that was good stuff, wasn't it? Yeah, I like it. 216 00:16:08,485.99773243 --> 00:16:28,860.99773243 And one of the things I learned too from when I went to the RVDA conference is when they would come back and return the unit, they would say, oh, well, instead of giving back your security deposit, what if we just use that towards next year's rental? So that can be a, another good way to rebook. 217 00:16:29,855.99773243 --> 00:16:30,395.99773243 Oh, nice. 218 00:16:30,395.99773243 --> 00:16:30,905.99773243 I like that. 219 00:16:30,905.99773243 --> 00:16:31,265.99773243 Yeah. 220 00:16:31,925.99773243 --> 00:16:32,795.99773243 Yeah, exactly. 221 00:16:33,215.99773243 --> 00:16:35,15.99773243 So yeah, the point is. 222 00:16:36,305.99773243 --> 00:16:42,935.9977324 Think creatively, think how do you increase revenue? How do you lower overhead? That's at the end of the day, that's what you're doing with the business. 223 00:16:43,265.9977324 --> 00:16:51,215.9977324 And we gotta look at our customer as an asset, right? We, yes, it's great that the platforms generate us business. 224 00:16:51,215.9977324 --> 00:16:52,595.9977324 We love the platforms. 225 00:16:52,895.9977324 --> 00:16:57,735.9977324 We love RV share, we love outdoorsy we love our reps, all those things. 226 00:16:57,735.9977324 --> 00:17:04,605.9977324 But we don't love the platform fees, right? So if you have a customer, I do the same with my Airbnb. 227 00:17:04,820.9977324 --> 00:17:14,610.9977324 While they're at the rental, I'm trying to get them my contact information so that they have my email and my phone number and they're friends with me on Facebook and they're following my page. 228 00:17:14,610.9977324 --> 00:17:21,390.9977324 So next time around, they know to reach out to me directly so I can save money on those platform fees. 229 00:17:21,390.9977324 --> 00:17:23,610.9977324 So I think we'll call that a wrap for today. 230 00:17:23,610.9977324 --> 00:17:25,470.9977324 Lots of good advice in there, man. 231 00:17:26,165.9977324 --> 00:17:29,375.9977324 This would be like a masterclass that we could sell for a hundred dollars, y'all. 232 00:17:29,375.9977324 --> 00:17:33,235.9977324 So I'm just saying leave a review or a comment or whatever. 233 00:17:33,415.9977324 --> 00:17:36,535.9977324 Share this with a friend that you know that's renting your, their rv. 234 00:17:36,965.9977324 --> 00:17:38,715.9977324 And yeah, let's just share the value. 235 00:17:38,715.9977324 --> 00:17:39,675.9977324 Let's have a great year. 236 00:17:39,915.9977324 --> 00:17:46,575.9977324 The cool thing too, when I say share this, if we're educating even our competition, right? Think about it like this. 237 00:17:46,905.9977324 --> 00:17:50,625.9977324 Say you've got a half a dozen people in your area that are renting their RV as well. 238 00:17:50,835.9977324 --> 00:17:59,365.9977324 If we're educating them the way that we're educating you, and all of a sudden everybody's nightly minimums is going up, then guess what you can do next. 239 00:17:59,395.9977324 --> 00:18:07,525.9977324 Now you can all start to slowly increase your prices together, and instead of it being erased to the bottom, you're actually all working together. 240 00:18:08,5.9977324 --> 00:18:10,745.9977324 To have a race to the top I wanna throw a shout out. 241 00:18:10,745.9977324 --> 00:18:14,195.9977324 Shout out actually to Katie Reader in Las Vegas. 242 00:18:14,195.9977324 --> 00:18:17,135.9977324 She has this Las Vegas RV rental Facebook group. 243 00:18:17,675.9977324 --> 00:18:19,775.9977324 If y'all are in Las Vegas, join her Facebook group. 244 00:18:19,775.9977324 --> 00:18:26,645.9977324 Katie has done a phenomenal job in her area of creating this unity and community and everybody working together. 245 00:18:27,225.9977324 --> 00:18:31,155.9977324 To really service the customers, make the industry great. 246 00:18:31,155.9977324 --> 00:18:33,885.9977324 And just so anyway, shout out to Katie Reeder. 247 00:18:33,885.9977324 --> 00:18:36,615.9977324 I don't know if you listened to our podcast, but shout out to you on that. 248 00:18:36,615.9977324 --> 00:18:42,435.9977324 So, all right, Stacy, does this conclude our podcast? Yeah, I think it was a great one. 249 00:18:42,735.9977324 --> 00:18:43,995.9977324 We'll see y'all next week. 250 00:18:44,565.9977324 --> 00:18:45,45.9977324 All right, y'all. 251 00:18:45,45.9977324 --> 00:18:45,765.9977324 We'll see you next week. 252 00:18:45,765.9977324 --> 00:18:46,5.9977324 Thank you.
Welcome to the RV Rental Secrets Podcast.
.999I'm your host, Stacey Maxson, and I'm thrilled to guide you through the journey of launching, growing, and managing a profitable RV rental business. 3 00:00:13,240.997732426 --> 00:00:14,170.997732426 All right everybody. 4 00:00:14,170.997732426 --> 00:00:18,430.997732426 Welcome to another episode of RV Rental Secrets podcast. 5 00:00:18,940.997732426 --> 00:00:23,820.997732426 I am your co-host Scar Russell with my co-host, Stacy. 6 00:00:25,50.997732426 --> 00:00:26,280.997732426 It's almost summer. 7 00:00:26,340.997732426 --> 00:00:29,190.997732426 Are you excited Max in? Yes. 8 00:00:30,510.997732426 --> 00:00:43,140.997732426 I mean, who's not excited for summer? Yeah, you just went back to New York and stepped into, is it like rainy and cold? Is there snow on the ground? No, not currently, but we did have freezing temperatures last night. 9 00:00:43,210.997732426 --> 00:00:45,430.997732426 So not fun when you're in an rv. 10 00:00:46,780.997732426 --> 00:00:47,740.997732426 Oh my gosh, yes. 11 00:00:47,740.997732426 --> 00:00:49,180.997732426 All right, let's just stop right now. 12 00:00:49,420.997732426 --> 00:00:49,720.997732426 Lord. 13 00:00:49,720.997732426 --> 00:00:56,530.997732426 I just prayed for Stacey and everybody that's in cold weather make the sun shine upon them, and I'm thankful summer's coming. 14 00:00:56,560.997732426 --> 00:00:56,860.997732426 Amen. 15 00:00:57,745.997732426 --> 00:00:58,195.997732426 Yeah. 16 00:00:58,285.997732426 --> 00:00:58,645.997732426 Oof. 17 00:00:59,335.997732426 --> 00:00:59,845.997732426 Not fun. 18 00:01:00,25.997732426 --> 00:01:11,475.997732426 So we were talking about what should we talk about today? And we're talking about this change of seasons, right? So we thought, let's talk about just the basics, right? Especially if you're Harvey Rental. 19 00:01:12,40.997732426 --> 00:01:14,170.997732426 You're running RV rentals in a seasonal location. 20 00:01:14,170.997732426 --> 00:01:14,980.997732426 Sometimes you can. 21 00:01:15,730.997732426 --> 00:01:25,0.997732426 Forgets like, oh man, I gotta start thinking de winterization and charging the battery and flushing out antifreeze or all the different things inspecting the roof and the seals. 22 00:01:25,0.997732426 --> 00:01:27,970.997732426 And so we thought, let's go back to the basics. 23 00:01:28,300.997732426 --> 00:01:30,130.997732426 So Stacy, I'll, I'll start with you. 24 00:01:30,130.997732426 --> 00:01:47,70.99773243 What's, what's a top basic that you would say is important to remember looking into your 2025 rental season? Yeah, well I know you just mentioned a lot of maintenance things My husband, he's a certified RV tech, so he handles all of that when we had our fleet. 25 00:01:47,100.99773243 --> 00:01:54,290.99773243 But yeah, that's definitely important is making sure, like when we first started our season of course we would do winter rides. 26 00:01:54,290.99773243 --> 00:01:59,660.99773243 He would handle the maintenance and really just do like a deep clean of the unit. 27 00:01:59,690.99773243 --> 00:02:01,570.99773243 And also just. 28 00:02:02,35.99773243 --> 00:02:13,335.99773243 Kind of doing like a, a walkthrough and seeing like if any repairs needed to be done, if if there was anything that we kinda left from last season just to get it ready for the rental. 29 00:02:13,845.99773243 --> 00:02:21,525.99773243 So I think that's really important to just do, you know, a really good walkthrough of each unit and see what existing issues there might be. 30 00:02:22,425.99773243 --> 00:02:23,835.99773243 Yeah, that's a really good point. 31 00:02:24,15.99773243 --> 00:02:24,255.99773243 Okay. 32 00:02:24,255.99773243 --> 00:02:30,645.99773243 Stacy, I want you to guess what I'm gonna say is the top thing that you should be doing looking into your summer season. 33 00:02:31,245.99773243 --> 00:02:33,15.99773243 Knowing your mindset. 34 00:02:33,15.99773243 --> 00:02:34,365.99773243 I'm gonna guess Hiring. 35 00:02:35,295.99773243 --> 00:02:36,195.99773243 Hiring, okay. 36 00:02:36,195.99773243 --> 00:02:36,975.99773243 That's a good one. 37 00:02:37,245.99773243 --> 00:02:45,415.99773243 Yeah, it's definitely, if you're scaling, I'm all about building a team and you not doing all the things, so that, that is a good one. 38 00:02:45,415.99773243 --> 00:02:49,705.99773243 But no, my top thing I'm gonna say is your nightly minimums. 39 00:02:50,920.99773243 --> 00:02:56,980.99773243 That is the biggest thing I feel like I see in outta my soapbox of the RV rental world is right. 40 00:02:56,980.99773243 --> 00:02:57,910.99773243 Especially now. 41 00:02:58,360.99773243 --> 00:02:59,590.99773243 You're getting excited. 42 00:02:59,590.99773243 --> 00:03:00,640.99773243 Summer's coming. 43 00:03:00,760.99773243 --> 00:03:09,580.99773243 So what part of excitement is like anticipation? The opposite of anticipation is anxiousness of not knowing what's gonna happen. 44 00:03:09,820.99773243 --> 00:03:15,490.99773243 And so what do a lot of people do? They're like, oh my gosh, it's April 2nd and I'm not fully booked for the summer yet. 45 00:03:15,835.99773243 --> 00:03:20,365.99773243 And people start to freak out and they start to take every single inquiry that comes their way. 46 00:03:20,920.99773243 --> 00:03:24,850.99773243 And they start to load their calendar with all these, I call 'em weekend warriors. 47 00:03:25,210.99773243 --> 00:03:26,110.99773243 And now sweet. 48 00:03:26,110.99773243 --> 00:03:33,70.99773243 You can rest assured you are booked every single weekend, all summer long and now you have a bunch of open spots on your calendar. 49 00:03:33,400.99773243 --> 00:03:38,920.99773243 So one of the things that I'm always on my soapbox about is you've gotta have high nightly minimums. 50 00:03:39,260.99773243 --> 00:03:49,720.99773243 Here at Fireside, I just looked at this the other day for 2024 out of the thousands of rentals that we did, our average rental is six nights. 51 00:03:50,500.99773243 --> 00:03:51,10.99773243 Okay. 52 00:03:51,370.99773243 --> 00:03:58,270.99773243 So that there should be proof in the pudding, that you can demand a higher minimum and you can get them. 53 00:03:59,290.99773243 --> 00:04:04,270.99773243 Stacy, what's your thoughts on that? Do you wanna share your story of years ago when you first started with me? Yeah. 54 00:04:04,270.99773243 --> 00:04:09,70.99773243 I remember the first year that we started that's, you kept saying that over and over. 55 00:04:09,70.99773243 --> 00:04:10,300.99773243 You're like, do a week minimum. 56 00:04:10,300.99773243 --> 00:04:11,140.99773243 Do a week minimum. 57 00:04:11,140.99773243 --> 00:04:12,940.99773243 And I'm like, no, I'm not doing that. 58 00:04:13,180.99773243 --> 00:04:15,310.99773243 So I got up to five nights. 59 00:04:15,520.99773243 --> 00:04:19,60.99773243 Well, for, for drivable units I did do the seven nights. 60 00:04:19,310.99773243 --> 00:04:24,770.99773243 But for my travel trailers and fifth wheels, we did five nights. 61 00:04:24,880.99773243 --> 00:04:32,890.99773243 And yeah, we would have people book that only needed it for one night and would pay for the five nights and you know, people are still renting 'em. 62 00:04:33,370.99773243 --> 00:04:52,390.99773243 And it's funny 'cause you had said about, you know, people just taking any, any reservations that come in and I had a franchise that I spoke with yesterday and they were actually like kind of concerned because, you know, being April and they only have 20 bookings for this coming season. 63 00:04:52,990.99773243 --> 00:05:00,130.99773243 And I was like, there's gonna be so many last minute rentals that are gonna fill your calendar. 64 00:05:00,190.99773243 --> 00:05:02,530.99773243 I'm like, that's not anything to worry about. 65 00:05:02,740.99773243 --> 00:05:18,70.99773243 So yeah, you wanna take those long bookings now and get what you can and then, you know, you can even, I've used this strategy in the past, like as it gets to that month, you could lower your minimum and possibly take less nights. 66 00:05:18,100.99773243 --> 00:05:23,290.99773243 You know, so if you wanna do a, three day weekend or something like that on last minute rentals. 67 00:05:23,740.99773243 --> 00:05:25,450.99773243 But those rentals will come. 68 00:05:26,500.99773243 --> 00:05:27,760.99773243 Yeah, they most definitely will. 69 00:05:28,0.99773243 --> 00:05:31,730.99773243 And, and let me encourage you on why they will come for several reasons. 70 00:05:32,0.99773243 --> 00:05:40,910.99773243 One, everybody who has a two night minimum, which unfortunately the platforms are kind of promote that, you know, when the emails they send out and how they're trying to educate you. 71 00:05:41,765.99773243 --> 00:05:44,45.99773243 That's because that's a large part of their audience. 72 00:05:44,135.99773243 --> 00:05:48,905.99773243 But just because that's a large part of their audience, that doesn't mean that's the audience we're looking to serve. 73 00:05:49,535.99773243 --> 00:05:54,65.99773243 Typically, the shorter rentals are where you're gonna get the damage, it's where you're gonna get the complaints. 74 00:05:54,65.99773243 --> 00:05:57,635.99773243 It's where people are trying to cram a lot into a short amount of time. 75 00:05:58,35.99773243 --> 00:06:04,665.99773243 So with that being said, a lot of your competitors are gonna be booked up for those who are looking for the longer rentals. 76 00:06:05,245.99773243 --> 00:06:08,335.99773243 Second is last minute rentals, like Stacy said. 77 00:06:08,725.99773243 --> 00:06:13,675.99773243 People are gonna reach out to you, freaking out, oh my gosh, I had this camper booked for a year, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 78 00:06:13,765.99773243 --> 00:06:17,95.99773243 And then the awning just got ripped off, and now the people just canceled it on me. 79 00:06:17,695.99773243 --> 00:06:19,285.99773243 That's gonna be a customer for you. 80 00:06:19,565.99773243 --> 00:06:21,455.99773243 Also look at it from this standpoint. 81 00:06:21,635.99773243 --> 00:06:22,835.99773243 Oh wait, let me back up once. 82 00:06:23,45.99773243 --> 00:06:27,245.99773243 Don't ever cancel a rental because the awning got ripped off people. 83 00:06:27,425.99773243 --> 00:06:29,45.99773243 I'm about to, I'm gonna preach here for a minute. 84 00:06:29,45.99773243 --> 00:06:30,20.99773243 Is that all right, Stacy? Yeah. 85 00:06:30,980.99773243 --> 00:06:31,220.99773243 Okay. 86 00:06:31,220.99773243 --> 00:06:32,180.99773243 I'm gonna go off here for a minute. 87 00:06:32,420.99773243 --> 00:06:39,700.99773243 I had a warehouse full of pop-up canopies, dorm refrigerators vent out window AC units. 88 00:06:39,700.99773243 --> 00:06:41,290.99773243 The list goes on and on and on. 89 00:06:41,800.99773243 --> 00:06:48,790.99773243 People would much rather you have a solution to what is, isn't even their problem than canceling on them. 90 00:06:49,90.99773243 --> 00:06:53,440.99773243 So you can reach, you can actually frame a problem in a way that, where. 91 00:06:54,145.99773243 --> 00:06:56,515.99773243 They almost feel like it was their problem that you fixed for them. 92 00:06:56,785.99773243 --> 00:06:59,275.99773243 Hey, I just wanna reach out to let to let you know. 93 00:06:59,275.99773243 --> 00:07:00,415.99773243 No need to worry. 94 00:07:00,565.99773243 --> 00:07:02,905.99773243 But the last renter actually ripped off the awning. 95 00:07:03,85.99773243 --> 00:07:04,705.99773243 But don't worry, I saved your trip. 96 00:07:04,705.99773243 --> 00:07:09,115.99773243 I actually went to Walmart and I bought you a 10 by 10 canopy so that your trip can continue. 97 00:07:09,535.99773243 --> 00:07:12,265.99773243 So you just told the renter that the RV is damaged. 98 00:07:12,265.99773243 --> 00:07:14,635.99773243 Don't worry, you're still gonna send them out with it and they're happy. 99 00:07:14,995.99773243 --> 00:07:18,415.99773243 So there's a way you can frame things to where you can come in as the hero. 100 00:07:18,725.99773243 --> 00:07:28,445.99773243 And there's no need to cancel the reservation because of something like that, because honestly, there's so many good, you, y'all know that our campers, right? Most of us got into this to make memories. 101 00:07:29,365.99773243 --> 00:07:34,975.99773243 You can still go camping without an awning or you can throw up the, the, the 10 by 10 popup, stuff like that. 102 00:07:34,975.99773243 --> 00:07:38,275.99773243 So don't cancel a reservation because of stuff like that. 103 00:07:38,515.99773243 --> 00:07:45,925.99773243 That's, that's you responding emotionally to something that once the emotions have subsided, you can figure out a solution, do logically. 104 00:07:46,195.99773243 --> 00:07:47,245.99773243 So don't do that. 105 00:07:47,575.99773243 --> 00:07:50,5.99773243 And then, what was I gonna say next? I got so excited. 106 00:07:50,285.99773243 --> 00:07:51,620.99773243 Oh, that's what I was gonna say next. 107 00:07:52,425.99773243 --> 00:07:56,210.99773243 Well, Stacy, you wanna comment on that all first because I just, I get so excited here sometimes. 108 00:07:56,470.99773243 --> 00:07:57,615.99773243 No, I think that's great. 109 00:07:57,645.99773243 --> 00:07:58,815.99773243 I, we did the same thing. 110 00:07:58,815.99773243 --> 00:08:05,375.99773243 We had, you know, the portable air conditioners, the tents, to replace the awnings. 111 00:08:05,375.99773243 --> 00:08:09,755.99773243 And like you said, they're, they're not going to be upset about it. 112 00:08:09,785.99773243 --> 00:08:12,185.99773243 They're just happy they can still continue their vacation. 113 00:08:13,300.99773243 --> 00:08:14,230.99773243 Yeah, exactly. 114 00:08:14,410.99773243 --> 00:08:19,390.99773243 So the next thing I was gonna say in regards to minimums is let's say you do have a two night minimum. 115 00:08:19,480.99773243 --> 00:08:22,0.99773243 And let's say you're booked up every weekend for the month. 116 00:08:22,300.99773243 --> 00:08:22,780.99773243 Sweet. 117 00:08:22,810.99773243 --> 00:08:24,190.99773243 You booked eight days. 118 00:08:24,550.99773243 --> 00:08:30,220.99773243 You booked eight days for the month, right? Four weekends, two days a weekend, Friday to Sunday. 119 00:08:30,520.99773243 --> 00:08:31,600.99773243 So that's eight days. 120 00:08:31,840.99773243 --> 00:08:39,880.99773243 Think of it this way, think of even if you only had a fortnight minimum, okay? And you did only two bookings a month. 121 00:08:40,270.99773243 --> 00:08:43,300.99773243 You still are doing eight days and now you're doing half the work. 122 00:08:44,140.99773243 --> 00:08:48,310.99773243 Take that up to five night minimum, and you do two bookings a month. 123 00:08:48,880.99773243 --> 00:08:53,950.99773243 You're doing two extra days instead of the eight and you're doing half the work. 124 00:08:53,950.99773243 --> 00:09:02,60.99773243 Say you go up to my bold seven night minimum that I recommend or even a six night minimum, and you do one booking a month. 125 00:09:02,360.99773243 --> 00:09:07,160.99773243 Say you do one booking a month at a seven night minimum, you're actually only doing one night less. 126 00:09:07,760.99773243 --> 00:09:10,160.99773243 You're doing 75% less work. 127 00:09:10,750.99773243 --> 00:09:13,450.99773243 That's one thing that people don't put a value on is their time. 128 00:09:13,750.99773243 --> 00:09:16,510.99773243 You have to put a, a, a value to your time. 129 00:09:16,720.99773243 --> 00:09:23,290.99773243 So if you're only doing seven nights instead of eight, but you're only doing one delivery a month instead of four. 130 00:09:23,575.99773243 --> 00:09:27,835.99773243 That's a huge win, but guess what? You're not gonna just do one rental per month. 131 00:09:28,165.99773243 --> 00:09:30,575.99773243 You're still gonna end up booking more. 132 00:09:30,575.99773243 --> 00:09:36,155.99773243 You're actually gonna have more nights booked if you have a higher night minimum because you're gonna fill that slot. 133 00:09:36,485.99773243 --> 00:09:39,875.99773243 And we know that mid-June to Midgut when kids are outta school. 134 00:09:40,185.99773243 --> 00:09:44,865.99773243 If you actually have the higher night minimums, you're actually gonna be booked solid all summer long. 135 00:09:46,215.99773243 --> 00:09:48,45.99773243 Yeah, we definitely saw that. 136 00:09:48,525.99773243 --> 00:09:49,65.99773243 And. 137 00:09:49,800.99773243 --> 00:09:58,740.99773243 You know, when you have multiple units too, like you said, it's not gonna matter if you even just have that one booking per month on that unit. 138 00:09:59,90.99773243 --> 00:10:06,650.99773243 You know, we had on average 20 units, so it's like right there you would have at least 20 bookings and Exactly. 139 00:10:06,740.99773243 --> 00:10:09,20.99773243 We were always busy, especially Yeah. 140 00:10:09,20.99773243 --> 00:10:13,580.99773243 During July and August, it was just all units were fully booked out. 141 00:10:14,510.99773243 --> 00:10:14,990.99773243 Yeah. 142 00:10:15,200.99773243 --> 00:10:15,560.99773243 Yep. 143 00:10:15,980.99773243 --> 00:10:17,395.99773243 Okay, so next, let's talk about. 144 00:10:18,545.99773243 --> 00:10:18,815.99773243 Right. 145 00:10:18,815.99773243 --> 00:10:20,765.99773243 This is RV Rental Secrets. 146 00:10:21,575.99773243 --> 00:10:23,525.99773243 We're running an RV rental business. 147 00:10:24,15.99773243 --> 00:10:26,415.99773243 The reason why we run a business is to make money. 148 00:10:26,745.99773243 --> 00:10:37,585.99773243 We're either making money to try and profit a bunch off our, our camper, or if we're running it as like a fleet to, to generate revenue, or we're trying to pay off our camper as quick as possible. 149 00:10:37,825.99773243 --> 00:10:41,485.99773243 So, at the end of the day, for a business, there's two things you can do. 150 00:10:42,175.99773243 --> 00:10:45,895.99773243 You can increase your amount of revenue, you can lower your amount of overhead. 151 00:10:46,225.99773243 --> 00:10:54,245.99773243 So one thing that one of my mentors has taught me in regards to finances is there's only so much you can do to lower overhead. 152 00:10:54,485.99773243 --> 00:11:02,525.99773243 There comes a point, right? Even your personal budgets like, okay, we're, we're down to eating ramen noodles and this and that, and we're walking and Right. 153 00:11:02,525.99773243 --> 00:11:05,975.99773243 There's only so much you can do to lower your overhead and still like, enjoy life. 154 00:11:06,395.99773243 --> 00:11:08,975.99773243 But there's an unlimited amount of things you can do. 155 00:11:09,395.99773243 --> 00:11:11,15.99773243 To increase your revenue. 156 00:11:11,345.99773243 --> 00:11:23,195.99773243 So let's talk a little bit about that, right? We've talked about nightly minimums, but what else can you do to increase your revenue for your RV rental business? Yeah, I mean, I, the first thing that comes to mind is add-ons. 157 00:11:23,855.99773243 --> 00:11:29,885.99773243 We have some of our franchises that make more an add-ons than they do for the nightly rentals. 158 00:11:30,465.99773243 --> 00:11:35,95.99773243 you can offer basically anything you know, pick people up from the airport. 159 00:11:35,440.99773243 --> 00:11:41,380.99773243 You can have linens, people have campers package where they have grills and chairs. 160 00:11:42,330.99773243 --> 00:11:44,280.99773243 I've seen game packages. 161 00:11:44,880.99773243 --> 00:11:46,470.99773243 I mean, there's just everything. 162 00:11:47,445.99773243 --> 00:11:48,675.99773243 Yeah, there's so many. 163 00:11:48,675.99773243 --> 00:11:50,325.99773243 And that's exactly where my head was going too. 164 00:11:50,325.99773243 --> 00:11:53,775.99773243 Stacy, add-ons and just a couple other out of the box ideas. 165 00:11:54,195.99773243 --> 00:12:09,75.99773243 Think of a hotel, right? You go to a hotel like Stacy, we were in Vegas there a couple months ago for that, for that conference, and in your hotel room there was a weighted tray where you could take that bottle of water off and then it bills your room $15. 166 00:12:09,495.99773243 --> 00:12:11,805.99773243 Did you do any of those by the way? I didn't check the credit card statement. 167 00:12:12,735.99773243 --> 00:12:16,425.99773243 I think I did one time, I grabbed a bottle of water out of destination. 168 00:12:18,375.99773243 --> 00:12:30,705.99773243 So what you could do, obviously you don't have a weighted tray that's all that technology, but what you could do is you could put together like a craft package that you could shrink wrap and put a QR code on it that maybe leads to your PayPal. 169 00:12:31,35.99773243 --> 00:12:37,335.99773243 Okay? Or you could have a statement on there that says, Hey, scan this QR code to buy this craft package for $25. 170 00:12:37,845.99773243 --> 00:12:50,65.99773243 Or you know, when we check the camper back in after the rental, if this package is opened or removed, then we'll just simply bill you, you know, $25 instead of the $20 if you scan the QR code. 171 00:12:50,425.99773243 --> 00:12:51,985.99773243 So that's one thing you can do. 172 00:12:52,315.99773243 --> 00:13:00,385.99773243 I have a franchisee who has an extra clean package and people that are just weird about cleanliness, pay for it. 173 00:13:01,165.99773243 --> 00:13:12,55.99773243 Another out of the box idea is, you know, with increasing revenue, but keeping overhead low is don't go out, like buy like 50 sets of camping chairs and then have them up for rent. 174 00:13:12,445.99773243 --> 00:13:14,605.99773243 Have a picture of a camping chair. 175 00:13:15,40.99773243 --> 00:13:15,400.99773243 Right. 176 00:13:15,400.99773243 --> 00:13:24,980.99773243 And then in the description, you know, chair may be this, or similar to this, have your price which you should be able, except for like, maybe like a generator or something like that. 177 00:13:24,980.99773243 --> 00:13:28,370.99773243 A lot of your items, you should be able to actually cover the cost of that item. 178 00:13:28,370.99773243 --> 00:13:37,460.99773243 So if you have just a regular folding camping chair, you could put $20 for that camping chair, knowing that you can go to Walmart and pick it up for 15, 20 bucks. 179 00:13:37,880.99773243 --> 00:13:42,210.99773243 Have it as an add-on item when the renter purchases that item. 180 00:13:42,710.99773243 --> 00:13:44,840.99773243 Then go ahead and pick it up from Walmart. 181 00:13:45,20.99773243 --> 00:13:56,240.99773243 So now you've just bought that item, the first renter paid for the cost to have it, and you haven't added a bunch of overhead, and now you just added really an asset into your inventory that you could turn around and rent for the next time. 182 00:13:57,110.99773243 --> 00:14:06,20.99773243 Yeah, I think a great idea for that too is that's really how you can test the add-ons and see what people are gonna want in your area. 183 00:14:06,300.99773243 --> 00:14:08,910.99773243 So you can put anything on there as an add-on. 184 00:14:09,210.99773243 --> 00:14:14,970.99773243 And the ones that are actually being reserved, then those are the items that you go out and buy. 185 00:14:15,0.99773243 --> 00:14:18,480.99773243 And then you can start, you know, getting rid of the ones that people don't seem to like. 186 00:14:19,890.99773243 --> 00:14:20,490.99773243 Exactly. 187 00:14:20,490.99773243 --> 00:14:20,880.99773243 Yeah. 188 00:14:21,210.99773243 --> 00:14:32,280.99773243 And then one final thought is, you know, one thing that we don't do is we don't think about, so we're talking about 2025 right now, right? Is anybody thinking about 2026? Most likely not. 189 00:14:32,580.99773243 --> 00:14:36,720.99773243 We think about, you know, the day that's ahead of us, or the week that's ahead of us. 190 00:14:36,870.99773243 --> 00:14:39,210.99773243 Some of us we're, we're just thinking about the next hour. 191 00:14:39,600.99773243 --> 00:14:42,480.99773243 But think about this in regards to your renter. 192 00:14:42,755.99773243 --> 00:14:42,935.99773243 Okay. 193 00:14:42,935.99773243 --> 00:14:44,915.99773243 Look at your renter as an asset. 194 00:14:45,335.99773243 --> 00:14:53,765.99773243 Look at your renter and say, Hey, what am I doing while that renter is on their rental to get them to leave a review. 195 00:14:54,195.99773243 --> 00:14:54,555.99773243 Right. 196 00:14:54,615.99773243 --> 00:14:55,875.99773243 You can ask them for a review. 197 00:14:55,875.99773243 --> 00:14:58,755.99773243 As soon as they book, you can ask them for a review. 198 00:14:58,755.99773243 --> 00:15:03,645.99773243 Two days in the rental, you can ask 'em for a review when they're returning it, then let's take it a step further. 199 00:15:03,645.99773243 --> 00:15:09,555.99773243 If we're thinking about increasing revenue and lowering overhead while that rental is on their rental. 200 00:15:10,40.99773243 --> 00:15:15,630.99773243 Ask them about, Hey do you guys, you know, typically go to the same place every year? Oh, you do. 201 00:15:15,630.99773243 --> 00:15:16,140.99773243 Great. 202 00:15:16,140.99773243 --> 00:15:25,530.99773243 Tell you what, if you wanna go ahead and book this camper right now for next year, what I'm gonna do is, most people would think is percentage of discount, because that's what stores do. 203 00:15:25,530.99773243 --> 00:15:27,600.99773243 I'm gonna give you a 10% discount to book right now. 204 00:15:27,960.99773243 --> 00:15:30,300.99773243 You really don't have to work that hard to get the business. 205 00:15:30,540.99773243 --> 00:15:31,170.99773243 You could say, Hey. 206 00:15:31,665.99773243 --> 00:15:44,520.99773243 If you wanna go ahead and book that right now, what I'm gonna do is those camping chairs that you guys rented, I'm gonna give those to you for free next year or do this, Hey, the camping chair that you guys rented, tell you what you guys wanna book right now for next year. 207 00:15:44,520.99773243 --> 00:15:45,720.99773243 Go ahead and take those with you. 208 00:15:45,870.99773243 --> 00:15:46,710.99773243 I wanna give 'em to you. 209 00:15:47,100.99773243 --> 00:15:52,890.99773243 You can have 'em as a gift or I wanna give you a s'mores kit, or you guys wanna book right now for next. 210 00:15:52,920.99773243 --> 00:15:55,230.99773243 I love marketing, as y'all can tell, so I can just go on and on. 211 00:15:55,230.99773243 --> 00:15:56,850.99773243 A, my mind is just going crazy right now. 212 00:15:57,240.99773243 --> 00:16:00,750.99773243 Or you could say, Hey, if y'all wanna go ahead and book for next year right now. 213 00:16:01,135.99773243 --> 00:16:02,605.99773243 I'll order y'all pizza tonight. 214 00:16:02,665.99773243 --> 00:16:04,735.99773243 $25 to for Domino's. 215 00:16:05,515.99773243 --> 00:16:08,485.99773243 Stacy, that was good stuff, wasn't it? Yeah, I like it. 216 00:16:08,485.99773243 --> 00:16:28,860.99773243 And one of the things I learned too from when I went to the RVDA conference is when they would come back and return the unit, they would say, oh, well, instead of giving back your security deposit, what if we just use that towards next year's rental? So that can be a, another good way to rebook. 217 00:16:29,855.99773243 --> 00:16:30,395.99773243 Oh, nice. 218 00:16:30,395.99773243 --> 00:16:30,905.99773243 I like that. 219 00:16:30,905.99773243 --> 00:16:31,265.99773243 Yeah. 220 00:16:31,925.99773243 --> 00:16:32,795.99773243 Yeah, exactly. 221 00:16:33,215.99773243 --> 00:16:35,15.99773243 So yeah, the point is. 222 00:16:36,305.99773243 --> 00:16:42,935.9977324 Think creatively, think how do you increase revenue? How do you lower overhead? That's at the end of the day, that's what you're doing with the business. 223 00:16:43,265.9977324 --> 00:16:51,215.9977324 And we gotta look at our customer as an asset, right? We, yes, it's great that the platforms generate us business. 224 00:16:51,215.9977324 --> 00:16:52,595.9977324 We love the platforms. 225 00:16:52,895.9977324 --> 00:16:57,735.9977324 We love RV share, we love outdoorsy we love our reps, all those things. 226 00:16:57,735.9977324 --> 00:17:04,605.9977324 But we don't love the platform fees, right? So if you have a customer, I do the same with my Airbnb. 227 00:17:04,820.9977324 --> 00:17:14,610.9977324 While they're at the rental, I'm trying to get them my contact information so that they have my email and my phone number and they're friends with me on Facebook and they're following my page. 228 00:17:14,610.9977324 --> 00:17:21,390.9977324 So next time around, they know to reach out to me directly so I can save money on those platform fees. 229 00:17:21,390.9977324 --> 00:17:23,610.9977324 So I think we'll call that a wrap for today. 230 00:17:23,610.9977324 --> 00:17:25,470.9977324 Lots of good advice in there, man. 231 00:17:26,165.9977324 --> 00:17:29,375.9977324 This would be like a masterclass that we could sell for a hundred dollars, y'all. 232 00:17:29,375.9977324 --> 00:17:33,235.9977324 So I'm just saying leave a review or a comment or whatever. 233 00:17:33,415.9977324 --> 00:17:36,535.9977324 Share this with a friend that you know that's renting your, their rv. 234 00:17:36,965.9977324 --> 00:17:38,715.9977324 And yeah, let's just share the value. 235 00:17:38,715.9977324 --> 00:17:39,675.9977324 Let's have a great year. 236 00:17:39,915.9977324 --> 00:17:46,575.9977324 The cool thing too, when I say share this, if we're educating even our competition, right? Think about it like this. 237 00:17:46,905.9977324 --> 00:17:50,625.9977324 Say you've got a half a dozen people in your area that are renting their RV as well. 238 00:17:50,835.9977324 --> 00:17:59,365.9977324 If we're educating them the way that we're educating you, and all of a sudden everybody's nightly minimums is going up, then guess what you can do next. 239 00:17:59,395.9977324 --> 00:18:07,525.9977324 Now you can all start to slowly increase your prices together, and instead of it being erased to the bottom, you're actually all working together. 240 00:18:08,5.9977324 --> 00:18:10,745.9977324 To have a race to the top I wanna throw a shout out. 241 00:18:10,745.9977324 --> 00:18:14,195.9977324 Shout out actually to Katie Reader in Las Vegas. 242 00:18:14,195.9977324 --> 00:18:17,135.9977324 She has this Las Vegas RV rental Facebook group. 243 00:18:17,675.9977324 --> 00:18:19,775.9977324 If y'all are in Las Vegas, join her Facebook group. 244 00:18:19,775.9977324 --> 00:18:26,645.9977324 Katie has done a phenomenal job in her area of creating this unity and community and everybody working together. 245 00:18:27,225.9977324 --> 00:18:31,155.9977324 To really service the customers, make the industry great. 246 00:18:31,155.9977324 --> 00:18:33,885.9977324 And just so anyway, shout out to Katie Reeder. 247 00:18:33,885.9977324 --> 00:18:36,615.9977324 I don't know if you listened to our podcast, but shout out to you on that. 248 00:18:36,615.9977324 --> 00:18:42,435.9977324 So, all right, Stacy, does this conclude our podcast? Yeah, I think it was a great one. 249 00:18:42,735.9977324 --> 00:18:43,995.9977324 We'll see y'all next week. 250 00:18:44,565.9977324 --> 00:18:45,45.9977324 All right, y'all. 251 00:18:45,45.9977324 --> 00:18:45,765.9977324 We'll see you next week. 252 00:18:45,765.9977324 --> 00:18:46,5.9977324 Thank you.
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