Should you share your caravan?

We chat with the boss of Camplify, the self-proclaimed Airbnb for caravans, to get some answers

Airbnb and Uber are the hero brands of the new sharing economy, but did you know there’s an RV equivalent in Australia?

Offering a peer-to-peer platform (that’s jargon for a website that connects RV owners with potential hirers), Camplify kicked off in 2015 with the backing of NRMA and now Apollo Motorhomes and, with 1800-plus members, claims to be the fastest growing business of its type down under.

But is lending out your shiny caravan, camper trailer or motorhome to a complete stranger for a few extra bucks the way of the future, or just another techno-fad? We sat down with Camplify founder and CEO Justin Hales at the Queensland Caravan Supershow to get the low-down…

Caravancampingsales.com.au: RV sharing platforms are available overseas but the concept is pretty new to Australia. How did Camplify get started?

Justin Hales: We were one of the first to do it in Australia. My wife and I were looking to hire a caravan and there just wasn’t anything available; there were plenty of small businesses but nobody was doing it at scale. We were sharing economy fans and consumers of AirBnb, and we thought, ‘Why don’t we create something that brings together those people who want to hire a van with those people who have a van but don’t use it enough’?

We applied to the NRMA Innovation program in December 2014 and through that program we built the product from there, launching our first platform in August 2015.

CCS: What is it like having Apollo, one of Australia’s biggest traditional RV rental providers, buy a 25 per cent stake in Camplify?

JH: When they became 25 per cent shareholders in the business in February, essentially they were looking at a good business opportunity. They’ve obviously been renting out motorhomes for a long time, but see this as a different sort of space to be in.

The majority of our rentals are caravans, not motorhomes, though we still have a percentage of motorhomes, and we offer a different sort of product. The majority of our customers are domestic travellers, looking for something in their local neighbourhood they can take away on a holiday.

CCS: Have you learnt anything from the experiences of the other RV sharing platforms that operate in Europe and the US?

JH: They’ve had a similar experience to what we’ve had, in that people love the fact that they can engage with those platforms, and talk to some-one who is an expert in their field -- a private owner who knows their RV inside and out and is able to give that knowledge. And also try many different types and varieties of RVs and different brands, whatever it may be…

CCS: How quickly has your membership grown in two years?

JH: Our fleet is now at 1800 vehicles, which to put in perspective I think Apollo is around 3000 RVs, and we grow at about 120-150 a month. We should be the same size of them in terms of fleet probably by the end of the year.

CCS: How does it all work then?

JH: It’s free to list online. All enquiries go direct to the owner, and the owner has a chat to the hirer. If it’s the right hire for them, they approve the person and the transaction occurs. We take a five percent (commission) from the owner.

There are two different types of hires: the set-up, where they will drop it off in a holiday park for some-one who doesn’t want to tow it but still wants to go on that type of holiday. We get that for events as well, such as festivals or sporting events.

For the people who want to tow, the owner will set it up with pretty much everything the person needs to come and take it away. That includes making sure it’s the right vehicle with the right towing capacity, and that the person has some experience and is confident towing.

They might supply sway bars and towing mirrors if required, and we have also partnered with a company to create a new brake controller that goes onto the caravan rather than inside the vehicle.

CCS: What about if there’s an accident, or the van comes back with excessive wear and tear or is filthy?

JH: Everything that’s hired by us is covered by insurance, which we can provide through one of our partners on a per-day, casual rental basis. That means the owner can be insured comprehensively with whoever they like, and then they just pay per day for the days it’s out on hire, starting from as low as $5.84 per day.

There’s also a $1000 bond in every instance, and any difference between the two goes on insurance; if it’s above the $1000. It’s taken off a credit card, like a hotel.

CCS: And what type of owners are listing their RVs?

JH: We’re getting lots of different types of people (join up). Lots of families who only use their caravan six weeks of the year, and are looking to make some extra income on it, or even help pay for it. It might also allow them to trade up to a new one.

We also have lots of people who buy a new van but keep the old one and hire it out. Then there are retirees seeking an extra revenue stream, and it’s a great way to utilise that asset when they don’t want to use it, which is often the school holidays, so it’s a good fit.

CCS: In your advertising you claim up to $980 per week is achievable for caravans and $2100 per week for motorhomes. How did you come up with those figures, as I imagine some owners earn very little if anything, while others might do quite well?

JH: It obviously depends on your location, but pretty much every school holidays most things are booked out. So you have 128 days a year (where the hiring rate is high), and other days in the year which also do well. We have an example of a guy in Brisbane who started out with one camper trailer, and it was being hired so much it was fully paid off very quickly and now he’s up to 13.

He’s quit his job, and he’s now hiring through us full-time. So it can certainly be a quite lucrative income for some people if they want to do it in a more professional manner. In that example he put $12,000 into his pocket over the Easter period.

Over the busy holiday periods an average caravan might go out for $120 per night, and a motorhome up to $200 a night, so there’s plenty of opportunity to use those assets that might be sitting there otherwise.

CCS: So where are the hot spots in Australia, so to speak, where the most hiring takes place? If you wanted to set it up like a business, where would be the best place?

JH: Anywhere where there is a high level of tourism, so anywhere along the coast is great. In NSW we get people either in Sydney hiring something in Sydney, or going to a location and picking something up and going away. So all up and down the east coast is always busy. And also some of the regional centres where there aren’t many options in the way of commercial hire operators, they can do well too.

CCS: What have been some of the teething issues or problems you’ve had to overcome?

JH: Early on it was the (lack of a brake controller on the tow vehicles) and being able to find a solution to that. It took a long time, and we had to go to a manufacturer (ElecBrakes in NSW) to get something made. It’s basically a unit that goes onto the A-frame of the van, and you download the app on your phone. It then sends a Bluetooth signal between your phone and brake controller so you can control the brake controller from your phone, in the car.

It costs $650, but it pays for itself before the first hire, and then they’re set up so anyone can use it as long as their tow vehicle has a seven pin trailer plug.

CCS: We’ve seen sharing platform Uber have a dramatic effect on the traditional taxi business. Do you think Camplify could do the same to the big-name RV rental operators?

JH: What we’re able to do is have large scale distribution. We’re able to provide a lot more options to people and we’re also allowing the market to set their rates and provide different options. Like Airbnb, we do have smaller (traditional) operators who utilise our platform and do really well out of it. We’ve found that nothing can replace good customer service and for those people who want to use us to distribute their product, it’s really effective.

People these days want to have all the information at their fingertips; we have a very fast moving society and people want to be able to book in during their lunch break at work, on their phone. That means that traditional businesses that don’t have that type of technology and don’t have the ability to engage like we do with people, will struggle moving forward.

CCS: Do you offer nationwide coverage?

JH: Yes, we touch every state and territory, although we’re still building stock in the Northern Territory, with only a couple there at the moment.

CCS: And are most of the RVs listed used? I can’t imagine too many people want to share their often expensive new caravan with a complete stranger?

JH: We get all different types of vans go out; one reason is because people say I bought this six months ago and haven’t been using it as much as I thought. And some people are buying them, just to hire out.

Another interesting segment is renovated vans. We know of a guy in Perth who spent $5000 buying an older van and renovating it, so it’s quite nice inside. In four months he made $6000, so he’s fully paid it off and now everything he makes is profit.

Another segment is the ‘try before you buy’ market. It’s great to come to a caravan show and see everything, but even better to be able to take something away for a week-end and find out what’s right for you. You find a lot of people are interested but their partner is on the fence, so it’s a great way to see what’s right for you and to help you buy the right van.

CCS: You’re at 1800 RVs listed, but that’s just a drop in the ocean in relation to the 600,000-plus RVs registered in Australia. How big can Camplify get?

JH: Certainly in Australia we think we can definitely get to the 5000 mark in the short term. Realistically this could be a huge market in Australia, but we’ll take it one step at a time. We think around 33 per cent (of all registered RVs) is the right stock for us, including the people who own them, so that’s roughly 200,000.

Should you share your caravan?

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