Overlaying Put up-Pandemic Tourism: the RV Life

by Scott Bourque March 5, 2021 Photo via Pixabay.com

While the pandemic was devastating to most industries, companies that work with recreational vehicles saw rapid growth in 2020. While many companies in the tourism sector are not conducive to the public health measures needed to contain COVID-19, RVing allows consumers to escape their crowded urban environment into the country’s vast national parks and recreational areas.

There are a few trends to consider when reporting on the role of the RV in tourism after the pandemic.

Socially distant vacations

For the past few decades, RVs have been the province of wealthy families and nomadic retirees who haunted the weather south for the winter. But for much of 2020, and likely for the next few years, international travel will remain difficult for many people. RVs both expand domestic travel options and help travelers stay socially distant.

The RV Industry Association Between January 2020 and January 2021, motorhome sales rose by 40% year-on-year – mainly for towbars. Sales of class B motorhomes also rose by almost 98%.

The club also found that more than 61 million Americans plan to drive RVing sometime this year – up from 46 million in May 2020.

You can easily locate this story: most cities have an RV dealer and they are likely to have a hard time keeping one of their vehicles in the parking lot for long. If you live near a major tourist attraction, investigate possible increases in RV traffic or the crowd at RV campsites.

Commodification of #VanLife

What began as a nomadic lifestyle for lonely introverts is now a major trend: #vanlife has more than 9.3 million tagged posts on Instagram. Photos of smart, self-built mobile homes in picturesque locations; Owners make decent money blogging about lifestyle. Vanlife influencers finance their nomadic lifestyle through advertising postings and digital work.

The business world is also beginning. The owners of the Tempe, Arizona based Boho Camper Vans appeared in ABC’s Shark Tank in early 2020. They left with the assistance of Shark Barbara Corcoran and a valuation of more than $ 1.5 million. As of March 2021, they will have a one-year waiting list for new builds and a full rental calendar for their ever-growing fleet of rental vans.

It’s still an expensive lifestyle: buyers can expect to pay anywhere from $ 70,000 to $ 100,000 for an RV. The average Ram ProMaster or Ford Transit vans can run anywhere from $ 38,000 to well over $ 50,000, depending on the option. And the boho buildout – which makes your van instagrammable – starts at around $ 35,000.

Democratization of RV rental

Many people offset the cost of owning a vacation home by renting it out on platforms like AirBnb or VRBO when they’re not using it. Did you know that there is also such a platform for RV owners?

Outdoorsy – essentially an AirBnB for RVs – saw bookings grow nearly 4,500% in 2020. This democratizes RV life: some people may be more inclined to buy an RV because they know they can make the payments by renting them out. others may have the option to rent something they may not be able to afford with a traditional rental service.

Some entrepreneurs see this as the future of tourism and buy up small fleets of RVs to rent in the market. A savvy business reporter could easily identify one of these local entrepreneurs simply by checking the listings: Much like an AirBnb superhost, the owners of Outdoorsy list the vehicles they own on their profile pages.

This is certainly part of the business of traditional RV rental companies like CruiseAmerica. What do they have to do to adapt – or is interest in renting motorhomes also growing for lifting their boat?