Running a water sport or boat rental business means you have a lot of moving parts that make your business successful. One key aspect of your business is how to easily manage your rental inventory and pricing. The biggest thing to consider when deciding on rental rules and pricing is simplicity.
Yes, Keep it Simple and do not over complicate things. This will be key as you’ll want to make your rental management effortless and give your customers an efficient way to book with you.
Let’s review ways to to achieve this.
Pricing – Choose a pricing structure that doesn’t include a lot of variables. Simple pricing will assist your customers in quickly figuring out how much they are going to pay as soon as they book. 2 excellent examples are:
- Hourly Pricing – Customer can select their start and end times. Pricing is based on a set price X the number of hours. A variation of this would be to decrease the set price as the hours increase. The idea is to offer a small discount for renters that want to go out on the water for a longer period of time.
- Fixed Lengths Pricing – Customer selects from a list of lengths such as Half Day, Full Day, or Multi-Day. Set up straightforward pricing which includes a fixed price for half day (usually 4 hours), full day (usually 8 hours), and multi-day (vary 2 – 7 days). This renting model is great for booking as the customer selects their start date, then can choose their length from a drop down list. It makes for a quick and easy booking.
Booking Rules – Less is more. The less rules you place on your rentals, the more customers you will get. The reason is because customers all have different needs, so while some may want to book in advance others may want to book the same day. Some may want to book for a longer length, but others may want shorter lengths. Giving options without many restrictions can be key to ensure more bookings for you.
Inventory – Managing your inventory can be challenging, but it’s essential to come up with a simple way to keep track of your rentals. Knowing what’s out and what rentals are returning can turn into a logistical nightmare if you don’t manage it well. The good news is that you can help yourself and your employees by getting a management system that allows you to easily keep track of your rentals. No need to rely on pen/paper or even spreadsheets where human error can occur. An excellent system to choose is WebReserv’s latest booking platform, BookingCentral. It tracks your rentals automatically when they are booked, and shows you in a neat, visual way what’s available. It even allows you the flexibility to take rentals out of inventory for maintenance if needed.
And for the best part? The BookingCentral booking system not only includes a top of the line inventory management system, it also offers all these options for pricing and booking rules for your rentals. The cherry on top is that a system like this comes with a booking widget that you can add to your website so your renters can book online. The Keep it Simple philosophy for managing your rental business is achieved when using BookingCentral.
Contact a friendly team member today to learn more.
We’re passionate about all things water sports, and we’re dedicated to providing our customers with top-of-the-line equipment that will enhance their time on the water.