RVshare noted heightened financial expectations and a continuing 2021 surge for RV owner’s rental businesses in its inaugural Owner’s Report.
The survey’s results, released Dec. 9, found a surge in rental activity this spring and early summer caused many RV owners to capitalize on travelers who preferred a road trip over a hotel, RVshare stated.
Twenty percent began renting their vehicles specifically because of the Covid pandemic.
“After all of our reservations were initially cancelled at the start of the pandemic, we began to receive an unprecedented amount of bookings in the late spring and summer,” RV Camping Rental’s Karla Atherton stated. “We have been so grateful to provide a safe travel experience for so many families in this challenging time.”
The report showed 75 percent of RV owners garnered more rental income than in 2019, with a quarter citing substantially higher income this year despite travel restrictions and shutdowns.
Backed by RVIA’s record sale projection in 2021, RVshare’s survey showed 14 percent of RV owners purchased a vehicle with an intention to rent.
“RVs are tailor-made for a socially distanced vacation, and many travelers discovered the appeal of RVs this year,” CEO Jon Gray stated. “The owners of those RVs have capitalized on the ability to earn money from an asset that typically is only being used a few weeks out of the year, many of which are paying off their vehicles entirely.”
The report found a 35 percent increase in owners who pay their RV’s financing via renting. Half the newly surveyed owners credited rental income with the ability to pay RV financing costs, RVshare stated.
The report found that average RV owners garner $16,000 per year in rental income, with frequently rented vehicles in ideal locations generating up to $60,000 annually in income.
RV renters’ top choice is the Type C. Type C vehicles have a $45,000 per year earning potential in rental income, RVshare stated.
Type B camper vans are rising in popularity because they are easily driveable, the survey found, and could earn the owner up to $40,000 in rental income.
“Rentals have shown no sign of slowing down for the foreseeable future as 60 percent of owners said they have more bookings this fall and winter season than in 2019,” RVshare stated.
Additionally, more than 26 percent of owners are booked six months in advance, which is unusual during what is traditionally a slower season, RVshare stated.
