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Rick talks with Jason Carlson of Wallabing, about providing RV enthusiasts an open road to revenue, adventure, and peace of mind.
With life on the open road remaining as popular and alluring as ever, one innovative company, Wallabing, is seeking to transform this growing lifestyle trend by streamlining the recreational vehicle experience for owners and renters.
“Owners make more, renters pay less” is the simple but powerful concept at the core of the Plano, Texas-based company’s forward-thinking business model. Wallabing is a peer-to-peer RV rental marketplace and mobile app connecting RV owners, renters, travelers, and wandering adventurers alike.
Bringing owners and renters together in a platform providing value for each has fueled Wallabing’s rapid growth since launching in 2021. Through leveraging its unique team of 164 independent consultants able to assist owners and renters in 32 states, the company has increased its inventory by 682% in six months.
It’s a dilemma faced by many RV owners for years – how to get the most out of their RVs even though they only use their vehicles for a few weeks each year. A recent survey by Verified Market Research found the average RV owner uses their RV an average of 20 days each year leaving 345 days to rent to others. Despite the growing popularity of RVs and outdoor travel, industry experts cite there are more than 54 million idle RVs at any given time, worldwide.
Meanwhile, in recent years, the rental market for RVs has been on the rise. In 2020, the RV rental market size was valued at $546 million. It is projected to reach $810 million by 2028, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.31% from 2021-2028, according to Verified Market Research.
Demand for RV ownership, which is already at 11.2 million U.S. households, is growing by 500,000 to 1 million annually. Market research predicts that 20.5 million households intend to purchase an RV in the coming years.
Looking ahead, Wallabing’s five-year plan is to have 150K RVs featured on its site and on the road. To further build out its marketplace and increase inventory, Wallabing has developed a responsive business model and lowered its service fee, while keeping modest customer acquisition costs.
Wallabing is planning to launch an upcoming crowdfunding campaign to expand awareness about their company’s platform and mobile app among RV owners, renters, and potential investors.
A great option to try an RV and a new experience.
Jason Carlson
Founder and CEO, Wallabing
I’ve been interested in outdoor recreation for as long as I can remember. My family spent at least one weekend a month camping when I was a young boy and we had an annual reunion at a national forest each August. Between hiking, fishing, boating, and anything else I could get up to out there, I was always taught to appreciate all the wonders our world held for us and was encouraged to explore.
After earning a degree in finance at Southern Methodist University, and working in asset management and consulting, I realized I wanted to get back to that spirit of adventure that was instilled in me by my parents. When I started my own family, I was eager to show them the wonders that an RV adventure could bring. They fell in love just as I did and that was the true foundation of Wallabing. From there it took a few years to marry my expertise and educational background with the desire I had to instill that same sense of curiosity and exploration in each client to create the product we have today. Every day since then has been a different and challenging adventure on its own.
