You've got that dirt bike in the garage, and you love it when you get the chance to take it out in the hills, but life is hectic and you don't get out nearly as often as you wish you could. Meanwhile, there's a chunk of money sitting there in that bike. Wouldn't it be nice if there were some way you could defray a bit of that cost?
There is. You can list it on Fun2Rent.com and rent it out to someone who wants to go dirt riding but doesn't have a bike. It won't cost you anything to list it because Fun2Rent only gets paid when you do. Your bike will be fully insured and even though the stranger you're renting it to is, in fact, a total stranger, they're not an unknown because Fun2Rent has vetted them.
Welcome to the world of peer-to-peer rentals. Peer-to-peer rentals have drawn a lot of attention recently as people rent out their cars, their homes, and other things to people who need those things at a time when the owner does not. Shawn Gardner, who launched Fun2Rent at the end of July last year, figured it was time to do the same for the motorsports industry. His site offers boats, ATVs, snowmobiles, personal watercraft, and dirt bikes.
So far the site is operating in beta just in California, but expansion is definitely in the works as all the details are worked through. For someone looking to rent, says Gardner, Fun2Rent offers two important things: lower rental cost and insurance.
"One of our unique selling positions for the site is the insurance for the renters. What we found is that most of these rental companies do not provide insurance to the renters. They cover their end through the waiver of liability and their company has insurance, but renters put a deposit down and sign a waiver of liability and off they go. It's kind of a scary thing."
The rental fee is set by the owner.
"Generally we try to advise owners on our site to list at about half of what other rental companies are charging. And that's one of the key reasons I got into the off-road vehicles and vessels, because these are really expensive to rent from rental companies. Because they're fairly small outfits and seasonal operations, located in tourist areas. They're charging big bucks for this kind of equipment."
Gardner said the first transaction consummated through the site involved the owner of a $30,000 boat and a renter who took the boat for three days. The rental was $350 a day, which compares to $760 being asked at the marina in the area. The result: The renter saved more than $1,000 on the rental and the owner earned nearly $800 and, of course, Fun2Rent pocketed its 25 percent commission.
As new as the site is, Fun2Rent does not yet have a lot of listings, but Gardner and his partners are working to change that. They're going to expos, talking to clubs, and generally engaging in guerrilla marketing to get the word out.
And Gardner is promoting another approach as well: Don't be surprised the next time you're in a shop considering buying a dirt bike if the salesman suggests to you that you could defer some of the purchase price by renting it out on Fun2Rent. When that happens you'll know peer-to-peer motorcycle rentals is a successful concept.
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