The Outdoorsy Review: Why We’re Recommending Them

Introducing Outdoorsy

We are excited to be joining the Outdoorsy community and extending our service to both campervan owners and those looking to experience a fantastic holiday experience by renting an RV, camper van or motorhome.

If you’ve never had the pleasure of dealing with Outdoorsy before then this article explains just why we think you should.

Outdoorsy is the Airbnb of RVs, Camper Vans and Motorhomes

Whether you are looking to hire a  recreational vehicle, camper van or motorhome near you or have one of your own to rent out to trustworthy drivers, Outdoorsy is the only platform you need.

Outdoorsy originated in the United States but has quickly expanded to become a global peer-to-peer campervan rental phenomenon. Just as Airbnb can guarantee their customers a room in almost any location in the world, camper van enthusiasts will almost certainly find a vehicle ready to hire nearby.

Those with a RV, camper van or motorhome available for hire get to list their vehicle for free and keep at least 80% of the rental price (including add-ons such as generator fees and additional mileage). Outdoorsy is already providing campervan owners around the world with a lucrative second income and you can get on board today via this website. Just visit this link and join the largest and most trusted campervan and motorhome hire platform in the world.

Outdoorsy Understands the Community

The founders of Outdoorsy themselves come from a camping background and are committed to providing the safest and most rewarding experience for everyone who joins their community.

Being part of a community builds trust and that is central to the success of the Outdoorsy model. After every campervan holiday, both the owner and renter have the opportunity to leave a review about their experience. This review system encourages all members of the community to provide the best service possible and makes it easy for new and existing members alike to make an informed decision about whether to agree to a transaction. For example, renters can choose those campervan owners with a reputation for being dependable while owners can decide to only trust their precious vehicle with the most experienced and highly starred renters. For added peace of mind, Outdoorsy provide a DVLA check on all drivers.

Outdoorsy also helps you to find the best campervan holiday resorts so if you’re struggling for inspiration, you will be sure to find plenty of ideas to choose from.

A Wide Range of Vehicles for Hire

Simply put, Outdoorsy offers the widest range of campervans and motorhomes for hire on the planet – and the marketplace just keeps growing. Whatever type of campervan or motorhome you have your heart set on, you will find it represented on the Outdoorsy platform.

For those who are unsure of the difference between a Class A camper and a Fifth Wheel, visit our ‘Understanding Campervan and Motorhome Classes and Types’ page for an introduction.

Alternatively, simply browse the selection of available vehicles and choose what appeals to you. Click this link, type in your location and find your dream campervan hire experience waiting for you. Outdoorsy offers a safe and hassle-free way to experience the great outdoors and make magical memories that will last a lifetime.

Insurance Included as Standard

If only you could forget about insurance when taking a holiday. With Outdoorsy you can. The business owners quickly realised that confusion and stress about insurance provision often detracted from people’s holiday experiences.
Their solution was to partner with leading insurance companies to provide fantastic industry-leading cover with every single hire. For more details about what’s covered under Outdoorsy’s insurance plan visit their dedicated insurance page.

With 24/7 roadside assistance and a dedicated customer support team on the end of the line, Outdoorsy really have done everything to take the risk out of renting.

Getting Started With Outdoorsy

Eligibility Requirements
Almost anyone with an interest in campervans or motorhomes can join Outdoorsy but there are some eligibility requirements for those who plan to rent vehicles from other members. Outdoorsy operates on a safety first basis and so they naturally want to ensure that all drivers are licenced and have sufficient driving experience to minimise the risk of damage or injury.

Therefore, all drivers must be at least 25 years old and have a current, valid (non-temporary) driving licence which they must present to the owner of the campervan or motorhome at the start of the hire period. They must have held this licence for a minimum of three years.

This does not necessarily have to be a UK licence but drivers with a non-UK licence must be able to provide either a photograph of their current licence or a passport and international driver permit.

It is also essential that drivers provide the contact number for a mobile phone they own so that Outdoorsy can communicate with them via SMS text messaging.

The Outdoorsy Application Process

Applying to join Outdoorsy and start your motorhome or campervan adventure takes no time at all and couldn’t be easier. You will be asked for your payment information, personal details and licence information. Any data supplied to a third party (e.g the DVLA) will be strictly used for purposes relating to your application. Checks normally take a matter of seconds.

This is normally enough but Outdoorsy may need to ask for additional information or you may be asked to complete a pre-approval process.

Account Registration

In order to access certain Outdoorsy services, including listing a vehicle or hiring one, you will need to become an Outdoorsy member by registering online. This can be done via the ‘Sign Up’ link on the Outdoorsy website which is accessible via a portal on the campervanhire.com website. You will then have the option to register using your email address ot via a Third Party Account (TPA) such as your Facebook or Google account.

The RV, Campervan and Motorhome Listing Process

When it comes to listing your campervan or motorhome, you will find the process is straightforward but it is worth being prepared by getting all your documents together in advance.

You will need to provide details including your vehicle’s VIN, registration info, value, location, size and amenities (TV, kitchen, air conditioning, etc.). This will generate an estimate price which you can use as a guide when setting your actual pricing. You can set daily, weekly and monthly rates with the idea being that longer commitment will be rewarded with a discount.

You will also have to set availability; specify the number of people your camper van or motorhome can accommodate (if in doubt, go for the lower number) and fill in the ‘Rules & Requirements’ section to help renters use and care for your pride and joy and avoid any misunderstandings about your expectations. If you want, you can specify that prospective hirers must have a photograph and verified telephone number on their profile for added security.

When selling the benefits of hiring your vehicle, be careful not to set expectations too high. It is better to make fewer promises and overdeliver on them.

Part of your listing will involve you agreeing to make the information public (for obvious reasons) and, importantly, to accept that you will need to contact customer services should you want to amend the pricing after receiving a booking request.

For insurance purposes your vehicle must be legally registered, must pass a vehicle requirements certification and be inspected every 90 days.

The Campervan/Motorhome Hiring Process

If you are looking to hire a campervan or motorhome, visit our ‘Search’ section, type in your home location and start browsing. Underneath the search bar, you will see various filters: you can select the dates over which you want to travel, choose to look for a vehicle to drive or to tow and specify a vehicle length.

When you find a vehicle that fits your requirements, you can choose to either book online or call to book. The owner of the campervan or motorhome will then either approve or deny your request. If they approve the request, you will need to pay the reservation deposit and decide whether you want to add Outsoorsy roadside assistance (you can add this at any time up to the pickup date).

You can then negotiate the finer details with the owner, including add-on services, cancellation policy, emergency procedures, generator fees, hire extensions, mileage fees, pet policies and pick up and drop off arrangements.

Even More Benefits of Renting and Listing Through Outdoorsy

Increase Leads with INSTAmatch and INSTABook

To increase their volume of leads, campervan and motorhome owners can toggle on the INSTAmatch option from their Outdoorsy dashboard. This enables them to cast a wider net by matching requested dates of travel and vehicle types with owners offering these options.

While the INSTAmatch feature does mean that the number of incompatible matches will almost always increase, it does maximise exposure, and therefore earning potential, for motorhome and camper van owners. If a match is good, the owner can send a quote and kick off a chat, introducing their vehicle and selling its unique benefits. If a match is unsuitable, the owner can simply respond that they are ‘not interested.’ Even if they don’t respond at all, this won’t negatively impact their response rate.

When an owner activates the INSTAbook feature, a renter can reserve a vehicle immediately without going through the pre-approval process. To make the most of this feature, owners should keep on top of their availability and update details promptly.

No More Cookie-Cutter Campervans

Many campervan and motorhome marketplaces have connections with or favour one make of vehicle over others. For renters, this often results in trawling through endless identical listings with every model offering the same features and interior design.

As Outdoorsy is a peer-to-peer marketplace connecting real campervan enthusiasts, every vehicle is truly unique with its own features, design and history. Rather than hiring a bland machine, Outdoorsy renters become part of a vehicle’s story, sharing in its culture and, in many cases, connecting with the owners and forging lasting friendships.

Whether you’re interested in vintage campers, ultra-modern motorhomes or something inbetween, Outdoorsy is the home for tens of thousands of vehicles and they are aiming to reach 65,000 by the end of 2019.

Rather than wasting time scrolling through repetitive listings, click ‘Browse’ and embark on some real online exploration. Start imagining your next adventure today!

A Mission to Create Value

Outdoorsy have stated that their mission is to ‘create value for people.’ They are clearly devoted to the campervan and motorhome lifestyle and are constantly working to put the customer at the centre of their business.

Outdoorsy are committed to providing high quality customer care and delivering a service that is safe and trustworthy. Often referred to as the Airbnb of the camping world, Outdoorsy are expanding their offering to provide outdoor experiences. Just as Airbnb renters can add everything from city tours, events and activity adventures to their accommodation booking, Outdoorsy members will be able to maximise their holidays with various exciting extras.

As a relatively young company (they were formed just three years ago), Outdoorsy still have that fresh, creative mindset that promises more exciting features to come. No wonder they attracted a fresh investment of $50 million in January 2019.

Location, Location, Location

Outdoorsy’s global size and scale means that they can cater for both renters who want to hire a vehicle close to their home or those who prefer to travel to their destination before sorting out their campervan or motorhome. Some owners will even come to an arrangement whereby they will drop the vehicle off at the renters home or a convenient location such as a campground.

That’s the beauty of the community-driven model that supports the Outdoorsy marketplace.

Why Outdoorsy is Ideal for Campervan Businesses

Although many Outdoorsy members earn a nice second income through renting out their campervans and motorhomes, some choose to use the platform to launch a rental business venture. Here is how Outdoorsy can help with this process:

Increase Confidence and Scale Your Fleet

As a campervan or motorhome owner, once you have cut your teeth by hiring out your vehicle on a number of occasions, you will have a good idea of what is involved and whether you might want to look into increasing your investment.

When the time is right, buying another vehicle and hiring it out via Outdoorsy is likely to increase your income further while giving you invaluable experience of running and maintaining multiple assets. As your fleet scales you will learn how to operate as a business rather than as a private renter, increasing your earning potential accordingly.

And there’s another bonus. The more vehicles you own, the larger percentage of the profits you are allowed to keep.

Adapting to Opportunity

With an active presence on the Outdoorsy platform, you will be in a great position to react to any opportunities in the campervan rental marketplace. There are many factors which can cause a spike in local demand and high levels of utilisation can convince owners to seriously consider obtaining more vehicles to rent out and maximise their earning potential. Some businesses on Outdoorsy have diversified into related fields such as storage, repair, consignment and even selling campervan accessories, gas cylinders and other goods for the camping community.

Reduced Hassle Rental Experience

Part of the appeal of using the Outdoorsy platform as the basis of a camper van or motorhome rental business is that many of the services an owner would normally have to provide themselves are handled by the Outdoorsy team. These include insurance cover, customer support, DVLA driving licence checks and 24/7 roadside assistance.

In most rental businesses, the proprieter would have to plan for all of the above, adding to their overheads and operational demands. With Outdoorsy, the owner barely has to consider these services and can just focus on marketing their assets, securing bookings and keeping their fleet clean and well maintained.

Upgrade your Next Holiday Experience

Of course, campervan and motorhome rental business owners also have the pick of the fleet to take away with them on their next holiday. For those addicted to the camping lifestyle, this bonus is definitely one to think about when deciding whether to evolve from hobbyist to business owner.

Have we Convinced you?

As you can see, we have been truly bitten by the Outdoorsy bug. Whether it’s the huge variety of unique vehicles on offer; the community-centric business ethic; the simplicity of the hiring platform; the industry-leading insurance package or the opportunity to turn a lifestyle you love into a potentially lucrative enterprise we’re convinced that Outdoorsy has something to offer you too.

Outdoorsy Owner Reviews

The Outdoorsy Review: Why We’re Recommending Them

source https://www.campervanhire.com/outdoorsy-review/