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What: RVshare allows RV owners to list and rent out their vehicles
Expected pay: you set it
Husl$core: $$$
Commissions & fees: 25% on “anything charged for profit”
Where: Nationwide
Requirements: An RV to rent
Want to try RV share?
Click here to search for an RV to rent
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Click here to list your RV
RVShare Review:
RVshare is one of the biggest national rental firms for recreational vehicles. It encourages owners to list their RV for rent, setting their own rates, terms and cancellation policies. When a consumer books your RV, the site collects payment, a deposit (that you set), and remits the rental proceeds — minus site fees — to you on the day after the customer takes possession of your vehicle.
The site maintains that the typical RV owner can generate $30,000 to $40,000 in annual revenue by making their camper available through the site, which boasts millions of visitors each month.
For owners of recreational vehicles and trailers, there is definitely money to be made here. RVshare has roughly twice the web traffic of its nearest competitor, Outdoorsy.
(Click here to list with RVshare today)
But the site is also the subject of extensive complaints filed with Better Business Bureau. Complaints from RV owners fall into three categories. Namely, the fees are high and levied on almost everything; the site’s insurance has some major holes; and customer support leaves much to be desired.
Fees
Let’s start with the fees. RVshare charges owners 25% of the rental rate, plus 25% of any other charges “made for profit.” What does that mean? If you charge a cleaning fee, but don’t submit a cleaner’s invoice for the same amount, RV Share will assume you’ve done the work yourself. In that case, your cleaning fee is subject to the site’s 25% fee. If you charge a penalty for renters who bring the home back without refilling the propane tank and gas, that penalty is also subject to RVshare fees.
Reimbursed costs are not subject to the 25% fee levied on owners. But they are subject to a 10% fee levied against renters.
In addition, the site charges renters’ a site fee, plus a daily premium for the site’s insurance policy and roadside assistance. On a recent test, these charges added about 30% to the consumer’s cost of the rental. If renters cancel within the window for free cancellations, RV Share still charges a cancellation fee.
Insurance
Technically, the insurance charge is not a fee. It’s much like a car rental coverage — a costly form of daily insurance coverage. The insurance should make both renters and owners feel a bit more secure knowing that they’re covered. But dozens of complaints lodged with the Better Business Bureau tell another story.
There is a $1,500 deductible with the standard policy. Several owners said that the insurer attempted to impose that deductible multiple times for the same loss, claiming that the damage that happened during one rental was actually several separate incidents. Or that the damage to the front of the vehicle was one claim; the damage to the back, another.
In other instances, RV owners say the insurer denied claims based on the notion that they were caused by “normal wear and tear” on a nearly-new RV.
Customer service
Owners also complain that when there is a problem with a renter or claim, customer service is AWOL.
Recommendations
If you rent an RV through this platform, consider buying your own commercial insurance coverage. You should be able to add this to your standard RV policy. This ensures that if significant damage is done to your RV, your insurer will deal with RVshare’s insurer and ultimately get your motor home back in proper shape. You can also list your RV through Outdoorsy, which is a younger platform but has far fewer complaints.
You may also want to try listing with RVnGo, which doesn’t currently charge owners a platform fee. The site also doesn’t have a significant complaint history, but it’s just two years old and also doesn’t appear to have much web traffic.
If you have camping equipment, you can also rent that out through other sites, such as Fat Lama and Rentnotbuy.
What their owners say (from the Better Business Bureau):
“Definitely do not recommend RV Share.. They do not support the people/companies that list their units with them. We closed our account and are staying with Outdoorsy.”
“I have been renting through RVshare since summer 2017. For the first year, RVshare worked great. But time passed and their customer service started failing. I had renters complaining that roadside assistance was unresponsive. As an owner, i feel that their commission fees should be based on the rental rate only and whatever fees we have to charge renters (cleaning, mileage, etc) should be out of any commission. They also did an upgrade in their system that blocked a lot of communication methods owners were using to contact renters. Their fees are too high for such a poor service.”
“RVshare does pretty much nothing for the 25% they keep and now have added on a service fee of $30 or higher per rental and you can’t even get a hold of anyone when you need help. As far as the customers, I do love renting and seeing other families and couples having great memories instead of it sitting in my driveway.”
Insurance woes
“Their insurance doesn’t pay for anything. We rented our RV this past summer and did have a small incident. Very small. We are now paying over $3,500.00 for repairs. RV share has said that this is “multiple incidents” and therefore multiple deductibles. So everything is paid by us.”
“They are not out to help the RV owners with anything. I had a renter use my camper, admit to opening up fuse panels, and then the furnace quit working. RVshare is claiming “normal wear and tear.” It’s a 2 year old camper with the furnace being used maybe 5 times.”
“The idea is great, and it works when nothing happens. However, you have absolutely zero protection from RV Share or National General Insurance Company if it does. The insurer couldn’t get a statement of what caused all the damage, so instead of being subject to one deductible…the insurer speculates that they will file 5 claims, one for the front, one for the back, one for the right, one for the left, and one for the inside. And 4 of the 5 claims fall under the deductible. So the insurance company only paid me $3600 of the $30,000 worth of damage.”
“RV owners beware! I was assured my trailer was fully insured. After it was damaged by a renter, the insurance company valued the cost of repair at $600 less than the actual cost to repair. Despite providing a copy of the estimate and bill to the insurance company, they refused to adjust the claim amount. And RV Share refused to advocate on my behalf or make up the difference. So, as the result of renting through RV share, I am out of pocket $600 for damages.”
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Very premature business model. Try to swindle both sides renters and owners, while claiming to act as independent mediator when disputes arise. In our case the owner switched the RV on us from the day we booked to the day we picked up. He had installed an external generator on a cargo carrier two days prior to the pickup date. He claimed that we had damaged this rack and RVShare too held us fully responsible for the damage. In spite of repeated requests for a fair repair they tried to swindle us for full replacement. Their only evidence was the photo taken by the owner a several minutes prior and in a complete different geographic location than where the pickup point was.
We let them know that it is a breach of original contract to switch the RV or its features than what was advertised; willful withholding of critical information that made the features on the RV different than the original listing; bait-and-switching of an RV with an advertised feature that was extremely different than the one we were delivered; unfair retribution – all of these were in violation of the consumer rights.
We also questioned their authority and training in fair mediation or arbitration practices, as well as as expertise in digital/ cyber fraud by either parties.
I have now come to see that RVShare sides the owners in all such disputes since the the owners will switch platforms. There is clear incentives given to owners for making an RV available on their platform, and no such offers to renters.
Renters usually sign up for Terms and Conditions and usually do not go to the extent of disputing it any further and accept the penalty out of distraught and inability to deal with it legally, since RVshare is incorporated in Delaware; has offices in Ohio; legally registered in Texas and has no information on their website pertaining to any dispute that arises with their services. The Terms and Conditions are also in fully in favor of the owner, since it says the rental begins from the start of the day of rental rather than the time of pickup, so all insurance claims start just after midnight and end one day prior to the end of the rental agreement. The terms and conditions are also vague in saying that any modifications to the RV by the owner is full responsibility of the renter. The renter only has a chance to reject and ask for replacement RV at the time of pickup only and that RVShare will do their best to find an alternate, with the catch that they will offer full refund and cancel the trip without prejudice.
Hi I had a rental listed on rvshare and it got damaged inside and outside by the renter. Just found out rvshare insurance does not cover damages inside your rv. So if someone steals your tv’s, stoves, microwave, furniture, just gut it out you are out of luck because you only get the deposit to cover it. And as far as the outside if they dont see any impact you are out of luck as well. I told the representative if i rented a rv and stole everything out of it and took all the glass windows out and returned just a wooden shell with bald tires from another rv i the owner only gets my deposit. He stated well they will contact you and try to get more money from you but in other words you are out of luck. Its going on 2 months and still waiting on rvshare and claims department to do something and they keep pointing fingers at each other and no one gives me answers.