Rentals Are
It has finally happened: The dealers who said that they would never get into the rental business are now joining the rental world. We saw it last year in '98, but this year has been even more unbelievable. Right from the end of the '98 season, dealer inquiries and sign ups have been phenomenal. Of course, we can only hope that all rental operators are successful. Being successful in the RV rental business requires that a whole bunch of little things be done properly. As in every business, it is the little things that break your back. If you are willing to do a lot of the little things, the big things will take care of themselves. The little things start right from the initial contact with the potential customer and continue straight through until the end. 1. Sell The Rental Just as you sell any other product you must sell your rental and your service sell yourself. Please do not just quote a price, time and mileage, and then hang up expecting business to come your way. The fact is that you and/or your staff must sell the reservation -- close 'em. "Sell" the vacation experience and the lifestyle experience being offered. Sell the quality that your business offers to the customer; be professional: sell the product. Sell the sizzle and the steak, your customers want both. If your rental people are not sales oriented then you are losing customers to other dealers or alternative vacation choices. 2. Check 'Em Out You have every right (and obligation to yourself) to accept and/or reject individual customers. You get a feel for people, right, and if the people or situation feels wrong don't go there. A bad rental is never good business. Call employers, make certain that your renter has not just quit his job and maybe is "renting" your RV to skip town. Call their insurance agent you may learn a lot from an agent who has been writing their auto coverage, especially when you ask if they have insurance coverage. To Mr. Agent, "Oh, by the way, Mr. X is renting a motorhome from us and I just wanted to confirm insurance coverage". That will wake him up, see what the ol' agent has to say about that. Now with the changes in personal insurance policies that are written by the State Farms, All States and eventually all the other companies, your customer's insurance coverage regarding your rented motorhome is going to be affected. Auto insurance companies are no longer necessarily going to cover physical damage and/or liability on rented motorhomes and trailers. If you rely on your customer's insurance to protect your property in any way, then you had better be taking further precautions. Check out their credit card is it good? Is there room on it? Run a TRW report, get some credit history. 3. Never Make A Same Day Rental Require a waiting period between reservation and release of vehicle; make it a firm policy. The guy who comes in Saturday, lays down cash, and wants a vehicle that same day may just be faking you out of your motorhome it's gone. We have seen it happen too many times. Don't do it! 4. Clean Clean Clean The vehicle that you rent out must be clean. You know how you feel when you rent a car and the service people have not done a good job cleaning windows, ashtrays, the interior, or have not wiped down the exterior water spots after a recent wash. You do not respect the rental company or the equipment as much. You have the feeling that the rental company does not care and you end up feeling that way too you don't care as much I know because I feel the same way. Do not allow your customers to feel indifferent towards your motorhome. They should know and understand that this is a valuable piece of equipment, that you want and expect that they will respect and care for it as though it were their own. A clean motorhome will help produce the proper attitude in your customers. A good attitude is a happy customer. A happy customer is a repeat customer and one who shares his good experience with others. 5. Problems Do Occur Try as you may, your customers are going to have problems out on the road. You and/or your rental staff need to be prepared mentally to assist the renter with problems such as breakdowns, appliance repairs and the general functioning of the vehicle. Realize that calls will come in any time of the day or night. It is part of the business plan for it. There are Roadside Assistance programs out there that you can use with customers, 800 numbers 24 hours a day to call for help. 6. Vehicle Returns Depending on the size of your fleet, schedule or at least know when your renters are returning so that you are prepared to receive and examine the rented vehicle. It takes time and your staff is going to need time to check for damage inside and out. You must determine as much as is possible that the vehicle is in good condition: nothing broken, dented or missing. If you have a quick turn around the cleaning staff needs to be ready to go. A system needs to be in place to regulate the flow of vehicles and work. Your staff must be ready, willing and able to handle disputes, claims and/or complaints that may arise with customers regarding their vacation. Hopefully you have done your paperwork properly up front and can now verify and validate your position. 7. Make Money As obvious as that sounds, many rental dealers do their pricing by finding out what the competition charges and then charge the same or less. Before you make that little mistake consider: How old and in what condition are their vehicles? What are their overhead factors? Who is their rental program aimed at? You must know your costs, be in rentals for a profit, don't necessarily be cheapest. Those who are cheapest may be on their way out, you don't know. The cheapest will be booked up earliest fine. They are done for the year. Who shops early? Bargain Hunters. Those customers who will come along and book later will pay more because they were not out "deal" shopping. They know it and expect to pay more just like with the airlines. It is supply and demand. Every rental dealer will tell you that in the summer he could rent twice as many vehicles as he owns. So, why not wait a little longer to book up tight and take some cream off the top with those later bookings? Little things make the difference on the bottom line. MBA insures over 900 rental dealers, we hear from them every day. Those dealers who are doing the little things are growing their fleets. Those who are not seem to be having problems or they are getting out of the business. 8. RVRA As Chairman of the RVRA (Recreation Vehicle Rental Association), I might also suggest that you join the RVRA and that you come to the RVDA convention/ expo to attend the rental training seminars. The RVRA staff does an amazing job of providing worthwhile topical information on rental operations. If you are not attending, you are missing out and falling behind. Comments received by the staff gave the RVRA classes high marks last year. RVRA can, to a degree, stop you from having to "reinvent the wheel" in your rental business by providing proper training and management ideas. Lastly, if you have any questions or would like to discuss rental operations in further detail or if you would like information regarding joining the RVRA give me a call at MBA (800) 622-2201.
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