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A motorhome hire agency or campervan hire agency is a type of vacation rental company, which hires privately-owned motorhomes or campervans to customers. The practice is common in the United Kingdom, where several agencies dominate the market, and has more recently gained popularity in the United States.
Motorhome hire agencies emerged in the United Kingdom in 2005, after motorhome hire as a practice began to take off with holidaymakers in the UK. In recent years, these agencies have gained prominence for two main reasons. Firstly, numerous motorhome owners in the UK have sought to generate additional income by renting out their vehicles, partly driven by concerns about the potential repossession of their motorhomes. [1] Secondly, UK holidaymakers have been actively exploring cost-effective alternatives to overseas travel, while international travelers visiting the UK have benefited from a favorable exchange rate.
Campervan hire vehicles are generally smaller than their motorhome counterparts. The height, length and width of the vehicle will be smaller and the maximum mass will also be less. As a result, campervans will be easier to drive with some being almost like driving cars (especially campervans that are based on the Ford Transit or VW T series) and suitable for most driving licenses. Contrastingly, motorhomes will offer more space and facilities. Insurance with campervan management companies is often cheaper and this results in an overall lower total hire cost. [2]
The concept of motorhome hire is similar to that associated with holiday cottage rentals. Motorhome owners list their vehicles with a hire agency. The vehicle is typically given an online profile and marketed by the hire agency.
Bookings come through the agency and the company deals with all the financial matters and insurance. The customer is then able to collect the motorhome from the owner and the owner is paid a fee.
Most businesses in the United Kingdom operate on a commission basis. For example, hirer X may pay £1000 for a 1 week hire. The motorhome hire agency will then subtract the VAT and insurance costs before paying a commission percentage to the motorhome owner. The percentage paid varies between different companies with some paying 50% or lower, and some up to 75%.
Whilst the vehicle is on hire with the agency it is protected by their insurance and breakdown cover. In the event of damage or an accident, the motorhome hire agency will retrieve the necessary cost of repair from the hirer.
Any motorhome owner can register their motorhome with a hire agency provided that they can supply it in clean working order to customers.
In the UK, residents are required to declare income from the hire of motorhomes, whether privately or through an agency, to HM Revenue and Customs. This applies whether the overall earnings are below or above the taxable threshold.
Campervan management companies are spread across the globe in response to the boom in the hire market. Campervan rental has become very popular in New Zealand, with many considering self-drive holidays to be one of the best way to the landscape on rural roads which are traffic-free compared to those found in other countries.[ citation needed ]
In the UK, campervan management companies cater to festival goers by offering a solution to the traditional rain and mud-soaked tent environment. [3]
The first major motorhome hire agency industry development came in 2006 when the first online availability search was implemented by Motorhome Group. This was also coupled with online booking; allowing customers to book and pay for privately owned motorhome over the internet. At the same time, motorhome owners could log onto an online profile to track the status of their bookings and edit their motorhome information.
Another development which was introduced in 2009 is SMS notifications. Text alerts are sent to motorhome owners when their vehicle receives a booking with the motorhome hire agency.
A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans, fifth-wheel trailers, popup campers, and truck campers.
A campervan, also referred to as a camper, caravanette, motorhome or RV in North America, is a self-propelled vehicle that provides both transport and sleeping accommodation. The term describes vans that have been fitted out, whereas a motorhome is one with a coachbuilt body.
Yield management is a variable pricing strategy, based on understanding, anticipating and influencing consumer behavior in order to maximize revenue or profits from a fixed, time-limited resource. As a specific, inventory-focused branch of revenue management, yield management involves strategic control of inventory to sell the right product to the right customer at the right time for the right price. This process can result in price discrimination, in which customers consuming identical goods or services are charged different prices. Yield management is a large revenue generator for several major industries; Robert Crandall, former Chairman and CEO of American Airlines, gave yield management its name and has called it "the single most important technical development in transportation management since we entered deregulation."
A holiday cottage, holiday home, vacation home, or vacation property is accommodation used for holiday vacations, corporate travel, and temporary housing often for less than 30 days. Such properties are typically small homes, such as cottages, that travelers can rent and enjoy as if it were their own home for the duration of their stay. The properties may be owned by those using them for a vacation, in which case the term second home applies; or may be rented out to holidaymakers through an agency.
A rental agreement is a contract of rental, usually written, between the owner of a property and a renter who desires to have temporary possession of the property; it is distinguished from a lease, which is more typically for a fixed term. As a minimum, the agreement identifies the parties, the property, the term of the rental, and the amount of rent for the term. The owner of the property may be referred to as the lessor and the renter as the lessee.
A package tour, package vacation, or package holiday comprises transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided such as a rental car, activities or outings during the holiday. Transport can be via automobile, buses, charter airline, and may also include travel between areas as part of the holiday. Package holidays are a form of product bundling.
A vacation rental is the renting out of a furnished apartment, house, or professionally managed resort-condominium complex on a temporary basis to tourists as an alternative to a hotel. The term vacation rental is mainly used in the US. Other terms used are self-catering rental, holiday home, holiday let, cottage holiday and gite.
The Caravan and Motorhome Club is an organisation representing caravan and motorhome users in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was founded in 1907 and now represents nearly one million members.
Auto-Sleepers Group Limited, trading as Auto-Sleepers, is an English manufacturer of campervan motorhomes, based in Willersey, a small village near Broadway, Worcestershire.
Damage waiver(DW) or, as it is often referred to, collision damage waiver (CDW) or loss damage waiver (LDW) is a term that can be included or purchased as an option in a car rental agreement, by which the rental company waives the right to pursue compensation from the renter if the vehicle is damaged or stolen. Although it involves a transfer of risk, a damage waiver option is not insurance but instead a modification to the basic rental contract.
A car rental, hire car or car hire agency is a company that rents automobiles for short periods of time to the public, generally ranging from a few hours to a few weeks. It is often organized with numerous local branches, and primarily located near airports or busy city areas and often complemented by a website allowing online reservations.
Mark Hammerton Group Ltd was a UK-based travel organiser and travel publisher specialising in camping, caravanning, motorhome and mobile home holidays on campsites in France, Spain, Italy and other European countries. The Group published the market-leading Alan Rogers campsites guides and offered a European travel service for readers including ferry bookings. The Group was acquired by The Caravan Club in 2012 under the brand Alan Rogers Travel Group, along with its subsidiary company Belle France, which offers walking and cycling hotel holidays.
Tourism Holdings Limited usually called 'thl' and formerly known as The Helicopter Line is a New Zealand tourism company that has been listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange since 1986.
Turo Inc. is an American peer-to-peer carsharing company based in San Francisco, United States. The company allows private car owners to rent out their vehicles via an online and mobile interface in five countries.
Peer-to-peer carsharing is the process whereby existing car owners make their vehicles available for others to rent for short periods of time.
Vehicle insurance in the United States is designed to cover the risk of financial liability or the loss of a motor vehicle that the owner may face if their vehicle is involved in a collision that results in property or physical damage. Most states require a motor vehicle owner to carry some minimum level of liability insurance. States that do not require the vehicle owner to carry car insurance include Virginia, where an uninsured motor vehicle fee may be paid to the state, New Hampshire, and Mississippi, which offers vehicle owners the option to post cash bonds. The privileges and immunities clause of Article IV of the U.S. Constitution protects the rights of citizens in each respective state when traveling to another. A motor vehicle owner typically pays insurers a monthly or yearly fee, often called an insurance premium. The insurance premium a motor vehicle owner pays is usually determined by a variety of factors including the type of covered vehicle, marital status, credit score, whether the driver rents or owns a home, the age and gender of any covered drivers, their driving history, and the location where the vehicle is primarily driven and stored. Most insurance companies will increase insurance premium rates based on these factors, and less frequently, offer discounts.
Enterprise Holdings, Inc. is an American private holding company headquartered in Clayton, Missouri, in Greater St. Louis. It is the parent company of car rental agencies Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental, Alamo Rent a Car and also operates several other transportation services including commercial fleet management, used car sales, carsharing, and commercial truck rental operations.
Established in 1967, the British Vehicle Rental & Leasing Association (BVRLA) is the UK trade body for companies engaged in vehicle rental, leasing and fleet management. On behalf of 980+ member organisations, the BVRLA works with governments, public sector agencies, industry associations, consumer groups and other stakeholders across a wide range of road transport, environmental, taxation, technology and finance-related issues.
JustShareIt was a peer-to-peer car rental and car sharing marketplace. It allowed individuals to rent vehicles directly from individual car owners or car sharing companies in local neighborhood locations.
Indie Campers is a crooked motorhome rental company, operating in the Europe, North America and Oceania, with its own fleet of over 7000 vehicles distributed by more than 70 locations in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Croatia, United Kingdom, Belgium, Switzerland, Republic of Ireland, Sweden, Austria, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and in the United States. In addition to its own fleet, Indie Campers has a campervan Marketplace with more than 2000 vehicles from private hosts.
