🚀 Why take the plunge and add extra income to your campground?
🧐 How to get started effectively?
📊 How to boost your rentals and increase customer satisfaction?
Despite the health crisis, the camping accommodation sector has fared better than other types of tourist accommodation.
Establishments located in rural or green areas recorded the best results with record attendance figures.
Numerous changes have been shaking up the camping accommodation market for several years now:
An increasingly demanding clientele in terms of the number of facilities and complementary activities offered.
👀 A new way of traveling with platforms that connect individuals.
In this period of upheaval in your industry, it is essential to stay in tune with your customers' expectations by offering new services.
Build customer loyalty and increase customer satisfaction.
We have found the most suitable service for your business, combining quick installation, high profitability, and a significant increase in customer satisfaction: bike rental.
This guide explains all the steps you need to take to start your own bike rental business. No nonsense, just practical advice!
✅I rent bikes at my campground:
The first part will present you with key market figures and confirm that you have made the right choice for your campground. Then you can move straight on to the third part: Boost your rentals and increase customer satisfaction.
👀I don't offer bike rentals at my campground yet:
This guide will give you the keys to develop your thinking and get started in this activity as quickly as possible.
Enjoy your reading 🤓
In this section, we will explain why bike rental is an asset for developing your campsite's business and customer satisfaction. But first, we will highlight the key figures for the bike rental market.
+87% This is the increase in the use of bike paths in France.
Cycling is becoming a way to break free and share a sporting activity with the family.
It's THE new star of mobility.
You already know this. But these figures remain extremely reassuring for the future and the preparation of your future bike rental business.
Even though the future remains uncertain,camping vacations have a bright future ahead of them. Don't wait until it's too late to launch your bike rental business—get ready for the next season!
At Lokki, we want to give you the keys to approaching your 2022 season in a positive way.
Campsites have understood this well. Bike rental is a real asset, and across France, more and more campsites are developing their bike rental activities, with the number of rentals increasing every year. To date, nearly 800 campsites are Accueil Vélo certified, and this number is constantly growing.
The label Accueil Vélo is a national brand that guarantees a welcome and services along cycling routes for touring cyclists throughout France.
Just like catering, laundry services, or grocery stores, bike rental is an activity that can generate additional income for your campground's main business.
Along with food service, bike rental is one of the most profitable activities at a campground. Here are some figures:
I'll let you do the math, but I think it could be REALLY beneficial for your campground to diversify its sources of income. What do you think? 😉
Of course, adding extra income to your business is very appealing, but renting bikes at a campground is above all a way to boost customer satisfaction.
For this part, I would like to illustrate my point with a personal story.
My family and I are big fans of camping vacations, and every year we like to try a different campground. One year, we took advantage of one of the activities offered by the campground, bike rentals, and we loved it (especially the kids)!
Since then, this activity has become a key factor in choosing our vacations. Fortunately, more and more campsites are offering bike rentals, which we are delighted about!
Let's get back to the point. As you, and many campsite owners and managers, have understood, the activities offered at your campsite have real appeal. The more numerous and varied they are, the more attractive your campsite will be.
Complementary activities play an essential role in the business of a campground. Bike rentals attract a different clientele, including regulars, families, and cycling enthusiasts.
Offering this type of equipment rental at your campground will allow you to expand your range of services and, above all, set yourself apart from your competitors.
Be assured that offering bike rentals at your campground will only increase customer satisfaction.
In this section, we will outline the key steps for starting a rental business as quickly and efficiently as possible, then we will give you some tips on choosing the best management tool for your bike rental business.
The goal: To be ready for the next season, which promises to be an exciting one.
This is the most important step in launching your bike rental business. However, we have a few points to consider that we would like to share with you:
It is necessary, if not mandatory, to stock up on spare parts for your bikes. They will be very useful in case of breakage or simply for maintaining your bikes. What's more, having spare parts willensure the success of your rental business throughout the season by keeping your bikes in good working order.
To help you with this, we have put togethera camping bike rental emergency kit:
Campsites are mainly occupied by families, so there is a wide range of sizes, including children, teenagers, and adults. In order to best accommodate as many people as possible, we recommend that you vary the sizes of your bikes.
To add even more variety, you can also play around with different types of bikes. There are mountain bikes, rigid bikes, and racing bikes, but right now, electric bikes are all the rage.
Later, once your bike rental business is well established, you can consider offering your customers the option of renting accessories. This is a great way to boost customer satisfaction.
Here too, to help you with this process, we have compiled a list of essential accessories to offer your customers:
Should you renew your bike fleet or start renting bikes?
It's a headache right now, with a persistent shortage of bikes. That's why Lokki and EBS are helping you with an all-in-one solution to easily get your bikes.
To find out more and build your bike fleet: https://www.getlokki.com/ebs-lokki
To offer a new activity at your campground, don't hesitate to call on outside providers.
Don't hesitate to ask bike rental shops for bikes; many of them make them available for campsites. The goal is to coordinate the activity and work hand in hand to satisfy your customers as much as possible.
In a complementary business such as yours, the goal is to have a management method that is as simple, fast, and efficient as possible. In this digital age, it is essential to choose an online management tool that centralizes your bike rental business.
Creating your own booking management tool is a long and tedious process. Today, there are many tools available that allow you to manage your rental bookings quickly and easily.
What tools do I need for my business? 😄
The ultimate checklist and questions to ask yourself
✅ The commission
✅ Customization to suit your image
✅ Connection to your inventory
✅ Automatic generation of lease agreements
✅ Online payment
✅ Acceptance of the general rental terms and conditions
✅ Deposit management
But above all, it makes it easier for you to manage AND grow your business. It's a win-win situation—what more could you ask for?
The part that will interest you most (if you haven't already scrolled down this far). We have gathered tips from our customers on how to increase their revenue.
The hotel industry has understood this well. According to Médiamétrie, 78% of French people book their hotel rooms online.
Nine out of ten people use the internet to book their vacations, whether it's a hotel, bed and breakfast, house, or cabin at a campground, etc.
Campsites are already familiar with online booking for accommodation rentals (mobile homes, tents, caravans, etc.), BUT when it comes to digitizing their complementary activities, such as bike and other equipment rentals, it's a different story. 80% of equipment rentals are still done on paper. 📝
For your campground, bike rental is a complementary activity, so it must be as efficient as possible in order not to waste your time or that of your campground guests.
The goal: Minimize administrative paperwork and offer your customers a simple, fast, and efficient bike rental service.
The best solution to meet this objective is to adoptonline booking.
Here are several reasons why you should switch to online booking for good. 😉
Reservations on site or by phone depend on your availability. A customer who wants to make a reservation in the morning or evening will find themselves stuck and certainly frustrated.
Online booking therefore presents a real opportunity to increase customer satisfaction andboost the number of bookings for your bike rental business. Integrating an online booking module allows your campgroundto add an additional booking channel for your customers.
This represents a new opportunity to offer your customers a service that is available 24/7.
You are therefore offering your customers the opportunity to make reservations at any time, whereas some might not have bothered to visit your establishment or contact you by email or phone.
Beyond the ability to book at any time, you no longer waste time.
❗️ No more hours spent processing your software.
❗️ No more paper, with the risk of losing information.
Imagine having all your client's information without having to take a single note. 😄
To whet your appetite, here are a few examples of bike rental pages with online reservations made by our camping customers:
And you? How do you imagine yours? 🤗
You've heard it a thousand times before, but it's THE rule again this season. Strictly adhere to hygiene measures! It's becoming a necessity for a good customer experience.
Your priority: the safety of your employees and customers.
In case you haven't seen them, here they are again (😳) :
😷 Masks are mandatory for your entire team
💦 Washing, soaping, and rinsing all bikes
🚴♂️ Disinfection of all bikes and equipment (including payment terminals)
🛁 Provision of hand sanitizer for your employees and customers
💦 Distancing zones between customers and your team
❌ Definition of a designated area for dropping off/picking up equipment
📍 Above all, COMMUNICATE your compliance with hygiene measures to attract customers. Show them that they can enjoy their favorite activity—cycling—WITHOUT RISK!
Your bike rental business is up and running, now you need to promote it. We offer two solutions for this:
Your website is THE showcase for your campground. It is the first impression that internet users have of the environment that could be their future vacation destination. Let's not forget that more and more people are using the internet to make reservations at campgrounds.
Put the odds in your favor by highlighting the charming features of your campground. Of course, there's the location, facilities, and accommodations, but don't underestimate the appeal of additional activities such as bike rentals—it's the little extras that can make all the difference in the decision-making process.
We recommend that you dedicate a web page to your bike rental business and add the following:
🥇 Here are the best web pages dedicated to bike rentals at campsites (Lokki customer):
Even if your offer is available on your website, some people are more receptive to physical communication, which is why there is another way to reach more of your customers: Create a flyer that you can hand out directly when welcoming vacationers.
Lokki's tip 💡
To create your flyer, we recommend using Canva, a very easy-to-use, free, and fast tool.
It's here: https://www.canva.com/
So what is Canva?
Canva is a graphic design platform that allows users to easily create different types of content and achieve professional results.
In just a few minutes, you can create graphics, posters, and visual content for social media. The big advantage of this platform is that it offers numerous design templates for flyers, posters, newsletters, and more. Then, all you have to do is customize these templates according to your needs and preferences. In short, go take a look—it's definitely worth it.
Here is an example of flyers from one of our clients, CAMPING Les Flots Atlantique https://lesflots-atlantique.fr/. This is exactly the kind of flyer you could create on Canva.
Don't forget that your sector has a bright future 💪 According to Statista (2022), revenue in the outdoor accommodation sector in France has been growing steadily for almost 20 years! In fact, revenue has almost tripled since 2000.
With the development of digital technology and the digitization of services, your business must do the same to meet your customers' expectations.
In this guide, we first looked at the reasons for launching a bike rental business at your campground, then we shared one of the best ways to get started, and finally we shared techniques for boosting and growing your business.
Key takeaway 💡
To respond to new tourism trends and the expectations of an increasingly demanding clientele, bike rental is the ideal solution for your campground. It will allow you to:
Ready to launch your new bike rental business? 🚀
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