Thinking of listing your rig for rent on RVshare?
Becoming part of our trusted network of owners is a great way to put some extra money in your pocket to help fund your own adventures, or pay off the loan you’ve got on that rig extra quick. But, of course, it can also be nerve-wracking — your RV is your baby, and you’re going to hand the keys over to total strangers?!
Fortunately, our secure platform and verification methods make it easy to rent your motorhome or travel trailer worry-free… yes, even if you consider yourself a worry wart at heart.
In this post, we’ll tackle some of the frequently asked questions we hear from RV owners about listing your RV, from insurance coverage to commissions to service fees and more.
RV Owner FAQ
Without further ado, here’s our RV owner Q&A checklist.
1. How do I get started with RVshare?
Getting started with RVshare is quick and easy! All it takes is a few snapped pics, a few quick clicks, and you’re ready to start earning extra money in a flash.
Our step-by-step on-screen prompts make it simple to get started, and you’ll have full control over everything about your RV rental listing, including how strict you want your cancellation policy to be, how much you want to charge per night, and whether or not to enable Instant Book. (More on that in just a moment, but we highly recommend you do!)
Of course, the RVshare rental market is competitive, and in order to make your rig stand out from the crowd and earn you as much extra moolah as possible, it’s important to take the time and effort to make your listing shine! Here are some posts we’ve published on the RVshare blog to help RVshare owners get the most out of their cottage RV rental business.
- Attention Owners! Our Tips for Boosting Rentals
- RVshare is a Real Business Opportunity for RV Owners
- Attention Travel Trailer Owners: You CAN Tow your Vehicle for Renters!
- How to Ensure Renters Wind up Happy Campers in your RV
- 7 Tips for Getting Repeat Renters
- Delight and Surprise Your RV Renters by Stocking These 6 Things
- Tips for Getting Your RV Listing in Tip Top Shape Before Summer Kicks Off!
2. What is Instant Book and why should I use it?
Instant Book is a unique feature we’re proud to offer for our owners! It can help you earn more RV rental business by making it easier for your renters to solidify their plans — and since you have control over how soon before a rental period an Instant Book reservation can be made, you still maintain total control over who rents your rig and when. Furthermore, Instant Book-enabled rigs get priority treatment on our search sorting algorithms, so enabling the option can put your RV rental listing in front of more eyeballs.
Enabling Instant Book on your listing is simple! Just log in to your RVshare dashboard, navigate to the listing in question, and click “Edit Listing.” Under the “Listing Info” box, you’ll see an option for “Instant Book.” Click the little switch over to the “on” position, which will display green, in order to enable the feature.
Still want to know more about Lightning Book? Check out this RVshare blog post on the topic!
3. How does RVshare commission work?
Hey, you’re in this thing to earn money, right? So how exactly does that work?
RVshare doesn’t charge a fee to create a rental listing. Instead, you’ll only pay a small commission fee when your rig is actually booked, which helps us keep the lights on here and provide the secure platform and service that makes this whole RV rental business thing so much easier.
Commission is calculated as a percentage of the rental price and fees that are charged at time of booking (not including tax), as well as any overages or fees that are not direct out-of-pocket expenses to you as the owner. These may include mileage overages or cleaning and dumping fees — but out-of-pocket expenses, such as damages, gas, or missing items, are not charged commission, and instead, the renter is charged an additional 10% processing fee.
Curious what your commission fee pays for? Here’s a short list!
- Access to the RVshare platform
- Secure payment processing and direct deposit
- Marketing your RV on Google, Bing, Yahoo, Facebook, and more
- Phone and email support for owners and renters
4. What is the RVshare service fee?
The RVshare service fee is a small charge that’s billed to the renters in order to cover the cost of maintaining our site and providing our services. It does not affect your reservation charge or commission fee, and is instead charged solely on the renter side.
5. How does RVshare’s insurance coverage work?
Want some great news? Our RV rental owner insurance is offered at no cost to you and carries a $1,500 deductible that’s payable from the renter’s security deposit.
Our A-rated policies offer $1,000,000 in liability coverage, as well as comprehensive and collision coverage for the value of their RV up to $300,000.
Your renters will be covered in all 50 states as well as Canada, and the coverage also includes “Acts of God,” such as hailstorms, earthquakes, floods, vandalism, fire. And best of all, once again: this coverage is offered at *no* cost to you, the owner, but is instead assessed to the renter as a part of the fee they pay upon reservation. It’s automatically included in your RV rental price quotes!
6. What happens if a renter gets a ticket or has a toll?
Your renters agree to be charged for any traffic violations or tolls as part of the Rental Agreement they sign in order to confirm their reservation, which means you don’t have to worry about paying auxiliary costs of travel like tickets or road fees. If you receive an invoice for a violation within the 72 hour period following the end of the reservation, you may include the fee with a photo of the invoice to the Checkout Form.
We understand that you may not receive the invoice until several weeks after the end of the reservation, and do accept requests for reimbursement if submitted in a timely manner after the receipt of the initial invoice. These requests can be emailed with the Reservation ID, photo of the violation, and the amount that needs charged.
7. How do taxes work?
As a general matter, taxing authorities have introduced laws that require “marketplace facilitators” and similar intermediaries to collect and remit tax on behalf of sellers making sales through an online platform. For purposes of these laws, “marketplace” refers to a platform where buyers and sellers find each other to buy and sell goods or services. RVshare is considered a “marketplace” or similar intermediary under some of these laws. These laws change how tax on your rental transactions is handled on the RVshare platform. Instead of you collecting tax, RVshare is now required to calculate, collect, and remit taxes and/or fees on the taxable amount charged to the Renter unless you’re exempt from sales tax. RVshare collects and remits to the proper taxing authority the following taxes on behalf of each Owner.
In states where RVshare is not required to collect tax on your behalf, you’ll be able to set your own tax rate — and choose whether or not to collect taxes at all as part of your rental fee. We recommend consulting with a tax specialist to determine the appropriate rates and whether you should collect tax on your rentals.
When it comes time for you to file your taxes for the year, we recommend consulting a tax professional for proper treatment of your RVshare-related earnings. You will receive a 1099 from us if you earn over $20,000.00 and have over 200 completed reservations through us in a single year.
8. How do I manage my notification preferences?
As an RVshare owner, you’ll be kept constantly up-to-date about bookings, renter contact requests, and more — but you maintain control over how and when those notifications come through!
To change your personal notification preferences, log into your RVshare dashboard and navigate to “Account” and then “Notifications.” Once there, you’ll see a few different options with boxes next to them which you can check or uncheck to note whether or not you would like to receive an email or text.
9. How can I reach RVshare?
Still have questions? Don’t worry — we’re here to help! Our support team is always standing by to make your RV rental experience easy-breezy.
RVshare Customer support is available 24/7 by:
- Email – fill out the online form here.
- Live chat option – this is available on our Help Center, How It Works, and Insurance pages.
- Phone – 1-888-482-0234
Becoming an RVshare owner is an exciting business venture, and in many cases, the start of some beautiful friendships. We can’t wait to count you among our network of trusted RVshare owners soon!
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