15 December 2023 By: Brendan Batty
When you look at the multitudes of caravans parked in driveways 50 weeks of each year it’s apparent just how much downtime those caravans, campervans, and camper trailers collectively have. Most of us don't need a caravan; we just need a holiday.
There are roughly 110,000 caravans and campervans registered in Western Australia, and even if every single one was involved in the 7.9 million visitor nights in Western Australia's campsites and caravan parks, that still means they're only used for ten weeks of each year.
That's 42 weeks (at least) that each caravan, campervan, motorhome or camper trailer sits idle.
In a 2020 submission to parliament, the Caravan Industry Association estimated RVs are used, on average, just 41 days a year. Most of us only get 30 days leave each year (including public holidays) and don't spend it all camping, so, probably, many of us are below-average users, and our caravans sit idle the rest of the time. What if there was some way to make our caravans more useful?
Caravan sharing platforms in Australia
The share economy is very familiar to most of us, especially because of the success of platforms like Airbnb and Uber. But although they're the poster children for the industry, there are so many more like them - Spacer connects people who want storage with people who have space. Mad Paws does pet sitting, and Upwork, Fiver, Freelancer and Airtasker all trade skills for cash. And if you want a caravan or motorhome for your next holiday, platforms like Camplify, Private Caravan Hire, and Caravan and Camping Hire are all marketplaces of (mostly) privately owned caravans for rent.
The peer-to-peer caravan hire market has grown massively over the last few years. At around the same time Camplify got off the ground, US company Outdoorsy and German company PaulCamper all launched, and each has sparked, and benefitted massively from, a boom in caravan and camping travel.
Camplify, as Australia's largest caravan share platform, now has an ASX listed value of around $140 million. And because it's ASX-listed and has a general monopoly on the market, we can get quite a detailed insight into caravan sharing in Australia.
Camplify alone connected around 46,000 travellers with caravans in Australia in FY23 (and 88,000 worldwide), and peer-to-peer caravan hire's popularity has nearly doubled yearly, at least since before COVID lockdowns. It's expected to grow another 30 per cent in the next 12 months.
It's becoming so big that third-party companies can manage your caravan and listing, and some manufacturers are building hire-specific caravans, much like the traditional caravan or even yacht manufacturers have been doing for decades to satisfy the needs of the conventional hire or charter market.
How does peer-to-peer caravan hire work?
If you’re familiar with Airbnb, the caravan share economy idea isn't too different. Each platform allows individual owners to list their caravan, motorhome, campervan or camper trailer amongst a database of others.
People who want to hire a caravan can then peruse the various options and pick the one that best suits their needs and availability. As an owner, you can set your own prices and add-ons, block out the calendar when it suits you, and customise your own listing to set yourself apart from the rest. Each platform has slightly different levels of customisability, but in general, you, as the owner, have control over what is listed, when it's listed, and even who can or can't hire your caravan and under what conditions. You can even restrict who can tow your caravan, or guests may ask if you can tow it to a caravan park for them (for a fee, of course).
In most cases, when someone requests to book, you get an email or text message with the details, and then you can ask more questions of the potential hirer, answer any queries they have, and ultimately accept or reject the request.
The peer-to-peer provider handles all the payment processing, takes its cut, and remits the money to you.
How much money can I make putting my caravan on a sharing service?
There are some wild claims made by various interested parties about how much money you can make from a caravan-sharing service. Some clearly make a lot of money, but we can look to the reported statistics and general realities to clarify how that really plays out.
Because there are around 11,000 caravans available on Camplify, compared to a few hundred each on the other platforms, let’s look at the average amounts paid out for hire on that platform.
In its FY23 report to investors, Camplify said its average booking value amounted to $1,733, of which Camplify kept $437, meaning owners get an average of $1,296. That’s not a bad windfall if your camper is just sitting idle 48 weeks of the year.
That'll cover rego and a service, probably. With 46,000 bookings spread across 11,000 listings, you could expect to get four bookings a year on average (maybe you'll get less, perhaps you'll get more) for an average income of around $5,000. That's probably not enough to make you rich, but it's more than just pocket change, so nothing to be sneezed at.
As you decide whether to list your caravan, consider that last financial year, Camplify's fleet grew by 45 per cent, but its bookings only grew by 30 per cent. It's becoming increasingly competitive as more people (and companies) list caravans and motorhomes.
Peer-to-peer caravan sharing works best when you can stack the cards in your favour. If you spend time and effort using high-quality, appealing, informative photos with a highly descriptive bio, you'll be more likely to attract hires.
If you work hard early on to get a good customer rating and reviews, that will also help. And particularly if you can make your caravan available to the most people by not travelling in it during peak times (i.e., school holidays), you'll probably do better than average.
But that last one is always the kicker - if you want the best hires, you can't use your caravan at the best, most convenient time to use it.
How much work do I have to do if I share my caravan?
How much effort you'll have to put in to hire out your caravan could depend a lot on what you're trying to get out of it.
It might not take much effort if you're happy to pick up a booking or two each year to help pay rego and maintenance. You’ll have to manage a listing and, if you get a hire, show someone how everything works, then clean it at the end. It's probably more of an investment in time than anything else.
There will be more work if you’re looking at caravan sharing as a side hustle or second (or primary) income. Regular hires will mean regular cleaning, possible increased maintenance, and more time spent showing people how your caravan or motorhome works. It could be worth it if you've got the flexibility and spare time.
Of course, there are businesses that will manage the process for you, storing, cleaning and handing over the caravan to hirers on your behalf. They take their cut, and you (hopefully) reap the rewards of profit, if there is any. Of course, you still pay the fixed costs (storage, loan repayments, etc) whether it's hired or not.
Will I get taxed on money I make hiring out my caravan?
Yes, but generally only if you make a profit. The Australian Tax Office has detailed information about how it views income earned by hiring out your caravan. Essentially, you do need to declare any income you make, and you can claim expenses incurred proportionate to how often it's classified as being used personally or on a hire.
For example, if your caravan is hired out 36 days per year, 10 per cent of things like registration, insurance and storage may be able to be claimed. The other 90 per cent of the year, when it's not actively being hired, it may be considered personal use, so you may be unable to deduct the other 90 per cent of your expenses. There are exceptions, of course, so if in doubt, check out the information on the ATO's website or speak with your accountant.
What if someone damages my caravan?
Accidents happen, so it's essential to be prepared. All of the hire platforms in Australia require participating caravans to be comprehensively covered for hire use while they're being hired. Many insurance providers don't provide coverage for hire use, but top-up cover is available as part of some share platform’s offerings to cover any period that it’s hired out.
So, is peer-to-peer caravan rental worth it?
There are some excellent reasons to list your caravan on a sharing platform, number one being the money you can make. Of course, nothing in life is guaranteed, but as most platforms don't charge a fee to list, there's minimal risk, apart from your time to get everything set up.
Of course, hiring out your caravan does come with challenges. If you really want it to make money, you may not have the use of it when you really want to use it. It may get damaged, and a lot of organisation and admin can be involved in keeping it presentable and profitable. You may find that you'd just prefer your caravan to be your caravan.
