Experiences renting out your Airstream on Outdoorsy or RVShare

[kish-me]

Just like the title says: Does anyone rent their Airstream on Outdoorsy or RVShare?

I'd like to subsidize the cost of buying a new(ish) AS by renting it out on a share site. I'll charge a cleaning fee with all rentals and an option to tow and set up within close parks (California Bay Area). These sites both carry insurance options, and I'll be personally insured as well (or create LLC).

Is anyone doing this that would be interested in sharing your experiences?

[bweybright]

A first question...do you currently own an Airstream???? That would help clarify where you are coming from in your question.

[kish-me]

Originally Posted by bweybright

A first question...do you currently own an Airstream???? That would help clarify where you are coming from in your question.

Nope, I do not! I have extensive trailer and tent camping experience, but not Airstream specifically. It's always been a dream.

I am wanting experiences from folks who are currently sharing out their rig. A friend and I wanting to go in on this together with similar goals in mind. We'll have contracts in place and practice good old-fashioned trust and looking out for each other. This will be a side project for us both.

We have been researching for a few months. We believe the most cost-effective (and suitable for us) model is a 3-6 year old AS Sport 22, since more cars and SUVs can tow it. He has a TV, but I will need to get my own TV as we'll be sharing the rig. We each plan to camp in the AS only occassionally and when not rented. Both of us are more weekend-warrior types.

- In getting a slightly used AS, I can hope several "issues" have worked themselves out and hopefully will still be 5 years or so off of a very large repair. Minor repairs are expected and fine.

- Outdoorsy and RVShare include $1M in liability insurance, but we might LLC anyway and get commercial insurance (quoted at $3K/year)

- We will charge renters a cleaning fee, a towing fee if requested, and we'll likely hire both of those out to trusted help for the cost we charge.

- I did find older threads on this forum with folks absolutely aghast at the thought of sharing their silver babes. But I think things have changed. We're in a sharing economy that accounts for insurances and I think the renters are actually more likely to have a harder time when an issue goes awry than the owners. I'm realistic. I'm sure small repairs will need to happen, things will come up, and eventually, something will go wrong. But as someone who has Airbnb'ed, Uber'ed, and Turo'ed quite a bit in the last few years, as well as renting rooms in my home, I have some faith in all of this, and we can also decline rental requests if we don't think the renter is a good fit. We're also not emotionally attached to the AS, and it won't be vintage, although we'll likely love her and making memories with our small families.

- If things don't end up being how we hope, we'll enjoy the lifestyle for a few years and maybe move on. We won't be financing to purchase.

- Our #1 goal is to own an Airstream and enjoy her occassionally at a discounted cost, and our #2 goal would be a profitable side hustle.

[Philip Jones]

You will find that most people spending all of those dollars on a beautiful Airstream will be very unlikely to “share” their rig. For us, we wouldn’t even consider lending to a family member unless they had extensive RV experience. Never mind a perfect stranger. There are simply too many things to be damaged and it is highly unlikely that others will take care of your trailer as well as you will take care of it. Insurance is great, but we all know it is a major hassle to claim.

[overlander63]

One "miss" with the trailer key, leaving a scratch on the main door, and you're out $4k.
One lawn chair left against the side of the trailer while the renter goes inside for the night, damaging the side sheet, and you're out $6k.
One time of a renter pulling the curtains closed the wrong way, and you're out $400 for a replacement curtain.
Legitimately, one person renting your Airstream over the course of a single weekend could cause all this damage, without even trying.

[matthewsx]

I haven't done it yet but I'm considering Air B&B behind our house. I suspect you'll do quite well with your business focused approach, if you do it right you and your buddy may end up with several rigs. I know there are dealers who rent out Airstreams and for sure there's a market with people who want to try it out without spending big bucks. Being from the Bay Area I'm just curious what parks you'll find close enough for a drop-off service. For experiences on the sharing sites I would just send messages to other folks using them to rent their rigs. Definitely interested in what you're doing, would love to chat about it next time I'm visiting my dad in Santa Cruz.


Cheers,

John

[Isuzusweet]

The problem with having plans like this.....is that it hardly ever works out perfectly.

I guess you're going to have to discover your "AHH, FUDGE" capacity, as things do happen, especially to people that show up claiming they've towed a trailer many times before, only to find out it was a pop-up, and now you have a six foot crease, or worse, across the front end cap from a shopping mall max height beam.

Now you have to buy another trailer to rent to the people next in line, so you can get the first one fixed......because if a person pays large money to rent an Airstream, they don't want to rent one that's damaged. You could also be sued for destroying someones precious holiday plans should you NOT be able to provide them with "their" perfect Airstream

This is a quagmire, (putting it nicely), that I wouldn't want to step in.

Cheers
Sidekick Tony

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by Isuzusweet

The problem with having plans like this.....is that it hardly ever works out perfectly.
. . .
This is a quagmire, (putting it nicely), that I wouldn't want to step in.
. . .

Ditto.

OP you might want to read this recent thread, as but one example of an expensive "oops" moment in renting out an AS to inexperienced folks:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f164...re-183257.html

Good luck,

Peter

[steverino]

Putting aside the concerns of possible damage to the rig by un-knowledgeable guests, snagging a California state park campsite usually requires a reservation 6 months in advance, sometimes to the minute. Try getting into Seacliff State Beach sometime. So, satisfying a rental request might be tricky.

Commercial RV parks are easier on short notice, but I’m not sure that’s the experience you want to provide. Forest service sites are often walk-up, but that tosses an uncertainty into the situation as well.

[kish-me]

Thank you for all of the feedback!

For any damage that may be incurred, the renter will be held liable. But, I will do my best to set up the renter for success including a thorough walkthrough in advance, along with printed materials, and my cell phone number (depending on who is on call for that renter). Deposits are also held as a credit card charge in advance, and the deposit could be equal to the $1500 deductible, although likely I'd just hold $500 in deposit. These share companies also run DMV checks on renters. I am chatting with a few people who are currently doing this and none have incurred any major damage that resulted in an insurance claim, but they also charge quite a bit for their rentals which thins the careless crowd.

That's a good point regarding, what happens to a renter if your rig is being repaired. I've sent an email to Outdoorsy to inquire. I'll follow up here once I hear back.

For California parks, I live in Santa Cruz. Big Basin, Henry Cowell, Monterey parks, and Big Sur are all in my backyard, not to mention half a dozen beach campsites. Competition to get the sites is stiff, but there are still open sites towards the end of the camping season, and likely folks who would be looking already booked their sites at the beginning of the year.

[Rgentum]

I'd suggest that you have a long conversation with Mona Heath and reflect on her experiences renting Airstreams to the public. Mona is the Manager of airstream2go.com, an Airstream rental business that has recently quit renting Airstreams to the general public, now restricting its clientele exclusively to ongoing businesses. Mona was also the President of the Oregon chapter of the Airstream owners association and the President of the Northwest chapter of the Airstream owners association, and is now something like the First VP of the National Airstream owners association, soon to be its President, so she has some experience not only with Airstreams in general but also with a business that has rented them to others.

https://airstream2go.com/our-team/mona-heath

[chugchug]

The problem is mixing business with pleasure.

Looking at what people charge for renting out, you are not getting much more for an Airstream than for a smaller conventional trailer. So if you want to make it a business, get the cheapest, most durable, less appointed trailer and rent it out. Keep the Airstream to yourself.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by kish-me

. . .
For California parks, I live in Santa Cruz. Big Basin, Henry Cowell, Monterey parks, and Big Sur are all in my backyard, not to mention half a dozen beach campsites. Competition to get the sites is stiff, but there are still open sites towards the end of the camping season, and likely folks who would be looking already booked their sites at the beginning of the year.

If you are planning on reserving the campsites for your renters, my guess would be that most municipal parks have rules that require the owner of the trailer to occupy the trailer at the campsite. Commercial rental operations are usually prohibited or closely regulated.

Could the person renting your AS reserve the campsite? Sure, but most renters will not want, or be able, to do this easily, especially if they are traveling a distance for a vacation IMO.

This entire plan may "seem" like a good idea, but the devil will be in the details like the above.

[mammothmama]

Hi, @kish-me.

I have a handful of vacation home rentals and some long-term rentals as well. Based on that, it made sense to add my Sport 22 to the mix, since I'm a superhost on Airbnb and do a pretty thriving business.

So far I've rejected every request to book I've gotten.

Here are some things to consider:
-- In California from what Ive seen, many publicly owned (state, fed, local gov't) campgrounds have REQUIRED providers for camper rentals. You can't just up and deliver unless you are the CONTRACTED company. Or unless you are willing to risk doing it illegally.
-- as others have said, damages would be difficult, costly, and time-consuming to repair
-- I see the stupid things my own friends and family do, because they dont understand the subtleties of caring for an Airstream ... things like washing coffee grounds down the sink. leaning a fishing pole against the aluminum. using too much toilet paper. taking a 10 minute shower that backs up the systems. leaving the awning down in high wind. and one million more things.
-- it took my dealer several hours to explain the systems; although I'm sure you would give guests a great intro, I'm not sure how useful it would be in light of the excitement the guests would have about the new location and being on vacation
-- when people go on vacation they lose about 80% of their usual logic and self control
--I know the damage that my very high-end guests do to my stick-built homes, accidentally through thoughtlessness and vacation level drinking.

This doesn't even begin to consider how much and how hard I've fallen in love with this little slice of heaven. I bought it intending to rent it out and in only a few months my husband and I are really not sure we can imagine people using it. This is coming from someone who rents my vacation homes and previous primary residences out without a second thought.

I do still have my Airsream listing up on ABB, but for now I've decided to only rent it in place at my home where I can be annoyingly present. That said, I just rejected 2 requests even to rent it here, in my own yard.

If you do this, set up an LLC for sure. And also read the fine print on insurances offered by the OTAs. Their insurances are notoriously inadequate.

In regard to your choice, I think the 22 is the best choice for rentals because of the lower investment outlay and relative simplicity. I bought mine slightly used and out of state. I suggest you FLEE California because you'll pay 25% more here. It'll take a lot of nightly rentals to cover that cost.

In case you want to look, here's my listing:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/24134998

[markdoane]

Loaned mine out twice. Family both times.

First time I hauled it to the campground and hooked it up. They sent a "flushable" baby wipe down the hole. Jammed up the macerator pump.

Second time was my dear daughter. Daughter has three oil burner pickups, hauls a gooseneck horse trailer all over. Trust her completely. But her boyfriend forget to deadbolt the suicide door.

None were incompetent or inebriated or intentional. Would I rent my Airstream? No way!

[SilverHouseDreams]

We have been toying with the idea of renting out our 22FB, we actually get pestered a lot by neighbors that would "love" to rent it from us. My wife is more keen on it than I, as I am the one that would have to repair anything that went wrong with it. There are some nightmare stories about both Rusher and Outdoorsy from people with higher value RVs (aka Airtream trailers and class-Bs). One issue is that you have zero human contacts with either company, if you have a problem (e.g. damage by a renter) you still get no human contact. They sit between you and the insurance company, you still get no human contact. Their SLA for responding to you during the entire claims/repair process is likely far slower than your tolerance/patience will allow when your baby is damaged preventing you from renting it to others or perhaps forcing you to cancel your own plans.

Our unit has the MicroPulse tank sensors, which aren't even remotely accurate at this point...so one easy to foresee disaster is someone overfilling the gray tank, it bubbles out of the shower and floods the trailer. This could be due to a variety of reasons, them failing to turn the pump off and the fold down kitchen faucet "opens itself" while driving...or just the fact that the crappy tank system told them it was only 3/8 full 5 minutes before it overflowed out of the shower. If I can't find a way to get the tank sensors to be more accurate it is a show stopper to renting it out.

We still may rent it (assuming the tank sensor can be fixed), as it would be nice to recover the storage costs if nothing else...and a good long weekend would cover that for most of the year. I have friends that do this with SOBs, in fact one now has 3 RVs as the first one was so booked that they couldn't turn the money down...so they bought another with the revenue, then a 3rd. I do think that with the only slight increase in cost over an SOB it is harder to pull that off with an AS.

One thing to look at is that Airstream of LA just started offering rentals: https://online.ewebrenter.com/935/Airstream/1

[kendrick.l.j]

Just out of curiosity, I was looking at Outdoorsy last night to see if or how many Airstreams were available to rent in my area. I found one. A 2017 Classic. $500.00 a night, yikes! Apparently the Airstream is set up on a lake, the renters can not move it to another location. Lots of restrictions, no pets, not kids, no one under 21 which makes sense to me.
i would second the suggestion to contact Airstreams2go and ask what worked what didn’t work. They were at the for several years and would have actual data.

[Daquenzer]

The only way I would rent an AS out to someone:
1). The person has previously owned an AS and could walk in and tell me about the systems on the AS and how to run it safely.
2). The person has an adequate tow vehicle.

Personally I would think of a cheaper TT for something like this.

[AtomicNo13]

Mona is the place to go for the good bad and ugly. She is a very approachable person. She will set you straight.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by Daquenzer

The only way I would rent an AS out to someone:
1). The person has previously owned an AS and could walk in and tell me about the systems on the AS and how to run it safely.
2). The person has an adequate tow vehicle.

Personally I would think of a cheaper TT for something like this.

Good advice, plus this?

3.) Will supply their own insurance for AS plus personal liability coverage incl large umbrella, and give you an insurance certificate one week before the rental starts.

Originally Posted by AtomicNo13

Mona is the place to go for the good bad and ugly. She is a very approachable person. She will set you straight.

Ditto.