market research bay window for rent spain

[ginga]

Hi,
I'm currently setting up a business in Andalucia, Spain (ballache) to primarily rent out campers. I'd like to include a bay window or two (might have to be late ones due to extortionate prices). Thinking of between 400 to 600 euros per week reductions for longer (and club members). All vans will be spanish registered and fully insured for hire purposes with full breakdown cover. Flights to malaga are 50 euros upwards (max of 250 euros - fuel surcharges can be stupid) and petrol is 90p a litre. Campsites range from 15 euros to 30 euros a night inc electric although there are plenty of places to legally free camp and they're safe as you'll always have some fellow campers there.

The area round here is beautiful, mountains, whitewashed villages, great for walkers, bikers, climbers, wind/kite surfers etc or people who just want to relax. Alternatively you could stay in marbella and eat your way to a heart attack every morning.

Vans include everything you'd need except your clothes (there are nudist campsites for those who travel light/dont want to pay airlines extra)

Honest opinions are very welcome, really want to know if I'm wasting my time. Its not just aimed at vw owners but i think there's a few types of people might be interested. Please tell me what you think, Club 80-90 have been quite forthcoming so far...

 

[the councillor]

i live in cornwall (big wow) in the last town before you turn off for the eden project, picturesque blah blah blah so what i'm trying to say is that we get a LOT of tourists stopping to use the tic or to have a wee or whatever and there's been a steady stream of people in rented buses (bays and splittys) all 'summer' 8)

because i'm such a busy body i always like to say hello, welcome them to the town and chat about their holiday and how they're getting on with the bus, and what is interesting, is just how excited they are to be driving one :mrgreen:

you tend to get a bit jaded if you spend too much time living the life of a vw bus owner vicariously through internet forums alone (ahem) this is cooler than that, late bay early bay lowered stock slammed low light wah wah wah but these are people who are new to the vehicles who are to a man (for want of a more 'equal opportunities' expression) simply delighted to be driving one, so i would say that your business idea is a go-er :wink:

one word of advice though... you read through all the travel adventure articles in the various bus publications and they usually end up getting robbed at some point in their trip so i reckon a decent safe box is a must as part of a well-equipped holiday rental bus

oh, and nobody can do hill starts in them either :lol:

 

[ginga]

Thanks for that
hmmm, lots of hills round here, better have a days driving school too.

Thinking of one bay for people who are wanting the bay experience and a T25 for people who are wanting more room/bike rack etc and I'll see which one is more popular and take it from there....

 

[Benyon]

My first experience of a camper was a split I hired for my girlfriend for £300 for Fri to Mon two years ago and I was surprised at how little instruction I received but moreover, how few checks were done on me and my driving ability considering I was 25! I actually found the split (1963) reasonably easy to drive 8) perhaps moreso than my EB is at the minute!

The guy I hired off had a fleet of two splits (custom & original) and two bays (custom & original) while I was there and apparently had others already away, 6 vans in total I think!!

Anyway back to the point, I think this would work well with customers from Britain who either don't have confidence in their own van to make the journey or don't have time to drive there and back in a holiday but would rather save time for exploring Spain and/or Portugal.

I certainly think it would be a worthwhile venture and one which would keep you around the busses we all love!

All the best with your venture, and get an EB to hire and you've got a great market here!! :wink:

 

[Clem]

What would please me was the ability to be driving and camping in a bus in a warm climate without the long haul drive to get there, Id say the plan is a good one!

Make it 'Janet and John' for users by sorting out a recovery plan, reccomended campsites etc and keeping the vans in tip top order.

I recall stopping at a fuel station/coffee outlet some years back on the way to Santa Pod and chatting to the driver(s) of a splittie. It turned out they had hired it for one of the guys wedding day ..... what a wreck! we made a couple of adjustments for them to make it easier to drive and reattached a couple of the basics like indicator wires etc. I figure that the experience of driving a VW bus for them would have been 'tiresome'.

 

[ginga]

cheers for that, I'm planning on it being a comprehensive package, camping info (good/bad etc), full info on whats about, tailoring it to suit individuals i.e. cycle tours, walks. Its far more daunting to drive new vehicle on wrong side of road as well. Dont want people to be just given van and pointed down the drive, I'd suggest 1st night on our local site partly as there's loads around here and partly to get used to van whilst still close to us. Service is the key and yes I'm trying to source good vans. Problem at moment is do i have t25 and bay or go for 2 bays. trying to walk before running and figure 2 is enough plus they're not cheap or common in southern spain!!!

 

[Araon]

Great idea fella, me and a mate have looked into this elsewhere, possibly next year.

personnally I'd go the 2 x bays the thing with vw campers on short trips people like the twee aspect, reminiscant of days gone by etc....

that said if your in quite an adventurous area a synchro wouldnt be too bad a proposition but then you've got the added maintenance and repair when someone tries something a little too adventurous....

I would deffinately get them to do a short drive course / familliarisation, get it thrown in with a night camp over and BBQ then send them on their way in the morning...

Good luck....

 

[oorwullie]

sounds like a sound idea. i could no doubt send ye plenty of swiss customers.
if the number of enquiries i get about renting my van to go to spain in for fortnight is anything to go by. :wink:

 

[Araon]

get some pics of the ronda up fella to wet those appettites......

That kitchen unit is the type of thing I was thinking but the whole lot off as a kinda field kitchen, or you could go this route

http://www.drifta.com.au/index.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

spoke to these guys last year they've got some cool ideas.....hardwearing rugged and outdoorsey.....

 

[analord]

i know you will all kill me for suggesting it, but i would get a westfalia florida as well.