The Year of the RV: Outdoorsy Recreational Vehicle Bookings Surge 4,500 Per Cent

The Year of the RV: Outdoorsy Recreational Vehicle Bookings Surge 4,500 Per Cent

December 16, 2020 ctn_admin

This year was definitely the Year of the RV.

Outdoorsy, a global online RV rental and outdoor travel marketplace, today released its 2020 Travel Trend report, recapping stats from its record year. Despite experiencing a 90 per cent cancellation rate early in the year due to the pandemic, Outdoorsy’s RV bookings surged in 2020, leading to the company’s best year on record, with a more than 4,500% increase in bookings throughout the course of the pandemic. To date, more than 3.1M rental days have been booked on the platform, from a community of nearly 900K owners and renters.

With 200,000+ unique vehicles available to rent in 4,800+ cities across 14 countries, Outdoorsy was well poised as the preferred form of travel for consumers, offering a self-contained mode of transport that allowed travelers to safely hit the road amidst growing concerns around medical safety, while at the same time empowering RV owners to experience life-changing incomes.

Outdoorsy official said one owner, presumably with many RV’s to his name, pulled in nearly $2.4 million USD.

“Roads really do have a way of connecting us all — and we’ve seen those connections, be that with family members or the natural world around us, become one of the top priorities for folks this year,” said Outdoorsy’s Co-Founder and CMO Jen Young. “Those connections that happen when you break away from the traditional modes of travel — the four walls of a hotel, the cramped armrests of a plane — are why we started Outdoorsy six years ago. This year has been a wild, rewarding ride of resilience, and our team eagerly anticipates the unprecedented growth our community and these connections are bound to see in the year ahead.”

2020, a year deemed by many as the year of the RV, marked Outdoorsy’s best year on record for bookings, revenue and new owner and renter sign ups. Beyond it being a strong performance year for the company, 2020 was also filled with milestones and key initiatives for the company including the addition of an Android renter app to its suite of iOS and Android apps for owners and renters. Outdoorsy also kicked off a Healthcare Heroes give back program, through which the company received 1,500+ nominations and awarded 140+ free RV vacations to healthcare workers on the front lines of the pandemic.

Outdoorsy also was the star attraction for celebrities looking to travel this year, with big names safely hitting the road in RVs in 2020, including: Zoey Deutch, who traveled up the Pacific Coast in a stylish campervan; Famed chef Curtis Stone and his family who celebrated Thanksgiving with a socially distanced RV trip; Lily Collins who got engaged while on her Outdoorsy campervan trip to the desert; Molly Sims who used Outdoorsy to set up a Halloween celebration at her home; Rosario Dawson and her quaranteam who traveled to Big Bear for a weekend away; and Rachel Brosnahan, Bella Thorne, Madelaine Pretsch, Camila Mendes, Sophia Boutella, LaLa Anthony, Ashley Greene, Colleen Ballinger, Lance Bass, Brandi Cyrus and Kelly Osbourne, among others.

With the release of its second annual travel trends report, Outdoorsy is showcasing major owner, renter and general travel industry takeaways from the company’s landmark year and predictions for the 2021 rental season.

2020 Outdoorsy Travel Trends

A new audience is getting outdoors. Nearly 90% of Outdoorsy renters in 2020 were first timers.
Summer reigns supreme. July remained the most popular month for trips this year, followed by August and September.
Towable trailers remain popular. Towable trailers, one of the most cost effective vehicle types on the platform, were the most popular vehicle rented from Outdoorsy in 2020, accounting for 46% of bookings. Class C RVs, which are a smaller driveable vehicle that is great for families, were the next popular, accounting for 24% of bookings.
RV rentals increased in value to match their growing popularity, but remain an affordable vacation option. The overall average nightly rate of an Outdoorsy rental in 2020 was $161 USD, up from the $153 average in 2019, which directly correlates with the growing popularity of RV rental vacations.