Boatbound is the nation’s largest and fastest growing boat rental marketplace. With headquarters in San Francisco and boats for rent all over the country, Boatbound is getting ready to expand into the Gulf Coast market.
Founder Aaron Hall came up with the idea while visiting family in Texas in 2012 after trying to rent a boat and all the marina’s inventory was booked, yet many boats sat unused. Following a close examination of the market, Hall found that boat owners only use their boats 8% of the year and they spend more than $10 billion in storage and maintenance fees a year with no means to offset these costs.
A year later, Boatbound was launched.
Boatbound is similar to Airbnb in primarily two ways, says Chris Fox, a market specialist at Boatbound who lives in New Orleans. “First, they apply the same sharing economy principles just geared towards different goods. Both services allow people to make money through renting underutilized goods, boats and apartments. Second, each company is the leader within their respective markets.”
There are other similar companies out there, but none as large or growing as fast. The platform now has over 13 million registered users, all insured for up to $3 million for every rental.
Boatbound typically looks for regions to expand to that have a large number of 18-25 foot boats, their most common rentals, which range from $200 to $500 per day. In addition to number of boats and size, the company also looks at markets where there are people who like being on the water explains Fox. “I think Boatbound has a great opportunity to grow throughout the Gulf Coast as boating is part of the culture.”
The 2015 goal is making Boatbound accessible wherever boating is possible in across the U.S., which is accomplished through regional development programs, says Fox.
Enter code “cfox” at boatbound.co to get $50 off your first rental.