I’ve been searching for the best rental business ideas on the net, and honestly, I’ve read them all. But finding the right one for me has proven to be challenging, so I had to sort out what I believe to be the best rental business ideas for me, and I’ve included my analysis and thoughts below to maybe help you, too.
Let’s face the facts. If you are reading this, than more than likely you are looking to start a small business rental side biz to make extra money; or if you’re like me, to break free from the corporate shackles so I can finally run my own business.
But while wondering what rental business can i start, I recognize that I also have some constraints. For one, I don’t have a bunch of money to put down on equipment, especially before I even know if there is a market for the equipment. So in this article I’m not going to talk about how to start a car rental business, or how to get a business for rent. I’ve even seen construction tractor rental businesses, that must costs hundreds of thousands to start. The good news, is I know with certainty that those heavy upfront cost businesses are not for me.
And by scale, I meant that the ideal rental business idea is something that is affordable to start, low overhead, and can therefore be the most profitable rental business as possible without taking up too much time or cost to get going.
Getting a rental business to start has to be seamless for me if its going to work for me. Something I can start while working at my full time job, such as working on it at nights, or on the weekends first, and then I can transition into more and more as it grows.
To make any good rental business work these days, you can’t ignore the full picture of what “up and running” actually means. After all the investment of the best rental equipment to own, the location, the manpower; you can’t open without customers. And marketing ‘know-how’ is a major part of that equation.
These days, online booking tools are available everywhere. But only Rockon’s Activity Booking Software is designed specifically for the rental businesses listed below and also provide free marketing for you.
Free marketing means marketing that is ‘done-for-you’ that will help find customers, and book them too.
Since it is designed with rental businesses in mind, it takes very little to no effort or expertise from you, and it automates booking receipts, reminders, follow-ups and more, so you can focus more on providing 5-star experiences.
I’ve narrowed this list by the ones that seemed most feasible to me. I’ve included the summary of my thoughts and research under each one, so feel free to save yourself time and use my pros and cons analysis. So lets jump in, in alphabetical order. (Sorry about my OCD!)
In the following; I elaborate on the pros cons and general thoughts and internal dialogue associated with each type.
It seems there are AV equipment second-hand stores all over the place. I figured if you can find some really good equipment for a really good price, this could be a fantastic opportunity as an options for a rental business idea. I believe it’s a really good opportunity because of the photo-genic, photographic world that we live in today. Everything online seems to be driven by pictures, and even more so with Airbnb rental listings, and things people put up for sale, all need great photography. This type of equipment is typically expensive to get for a one or two-time use. So an AV equipment rental business seems like something that would have a pretty good demand.
From what I can see, ATV rental businesses are the latest trend in outdoor things to do. Now like I mentioned before, there seems to be quite a bit of cost associated with obtaining a fleet of ATVs that would warrant a good selection for consumers to choose from in order to start this business. So while there is really good demand on the market for an ATV rental business, there is also some considerable cost to start one up. Meanwhile similar to the AV equipment rentals, there are also plenty of used ATV’s available for purchase as well.
However, I recommend caution with using used equipment for other peoples use, as you wouldn’t want to be liable for anything that goes wrong and causes any injuries. Which brings me to my next concern about ATV rental businesses, which is the insurance that may be required. After doing a little poking around I seen that the insurance can be quite high. So before jumping in too much deeper, I left this one on my list of potential candidates that needs further research, and I recommend you doing the same. To read more on this business, check out this article we wrote about starting up an ATV rental business.
Having my own kid, I’ve grown to learn several things about baby equipment. The first one is that getting baby equipment brand new is very expensive. These companies prey on new parents, and squeeze the most out of you that they can. Things such as strollers, car seats, portable cribs, running strollers, and things of that nature come with a hefty price tag these days for the good ones. These could all be a great options for unique rental business ideas. Yet, while it would take some expense to get these items new, I could certainly see where there would be a market where new parents could save a couple bucks by renting strollers and things of the like, without having to invest in the equipment itself especially for just an occasion or two. I think its worth some consideration, there is certainly something here to dig into deeper.
Since there were so many different things that fell into this category I just labeled it backyard activities. But I’m thinking about things such as games that could include cornhole, horse-shoe, maybe even backyard smoker-grilles, and things that don’t get used every single weekend.
Pro Tip:
The sweet spot of a rental business is when the rental item is something that only gets used occasionally or maybe even just once by the user, but the expense for the user to own the equipment is too high to justify the minor usage.
So I was considering a package of backyard games for parties such as the ones listed above, but there can be so much more variety and creativity put into creating different packages for different types of parties.
I think we’ve all been there. Where we are excited to get out on the beach on a hot summer day, and quickly you find out that you were more than miserable after just a few minutes of carrying multiple heavy items such as coolers, towels, toys, carts, bags of sunscreen and lotions all while walking through sand that feels so hot it’s like magma that just came out of a volcano. Not to mention the hot sun flaring at your skin while you break a sweat due to all the heavy lifting. Does it need to be such a hassle just to enjoy the beach?
I thought, maybe not!
While there are the typical beach chair rentals, beach umbrella rentals, and tables; I thought about setting up a beach gear rental package business as an alternative for a rental business idea. This could include all of the essentials that would be delivered on the beach for you and all you would need to do is arrive. A comprehensive service that would be similar to a valet car service at a fancy hotel, that uses well designed carts with wheels built for sand, to swiftly and effortlessly transport peoples equipment onto the beach for them. I’m thinking of it more like a concierge service, where maybe its even connected to a food type truck that can serve food, beer and wine.
I’d def pay a decent amount of money to be able to go to the beach, and not lift a finger, yet have everything you need including hot food, and cold drinks; now THAT’s luxury!
I added this category of curated adventures, because it’s difficult for me to narrow this down, without listing out a whole bunch more different types of businesses in a list that is already sixty ideas long. But in my mind a curated venture is one that is a pre-planned package of adventures, or excursion that could even include an itinerary. The entire business could be based on what happens on the itinerary. Where the curated adventures is simply a planned outing with an instruction manual.
This could be anything, but for example, one could be a date night.
Maybe the date-night starts in the early evening at an ocean-side bar with a pre-reserved table, then leads to some tour around the city or area. Then you are shuttled (or take a limo) to a fancy restaurant with VIP seats and service. Then followed up with a limo ride to a comedian show then brought back home at the end of the night. This was literally just one example of hundreds of possibilities.
Since these types of experiences could be planned once, but could be sold repeatedly, and there is no overhead costs other than to help with the reservations, I thought this would be a fantastic possibilities for the list of small rental business ideas.
Maybe obvious, but bicycle rental rentals are always a great option because once again these are items that are relatively low cost and you can get brand new. Yeah, if you set up your shop at a common riding location such as a beach, a trail, or a popular landmark. I’m sure many people would love to hop on a bike rather than walking around for hours on hours. These days there are many companies that even offer electric bike‘s for sale, with a little electric charge, and the push of a button and your consumers could be gliding around at ease. This would make for a pretty favorable selling point, at a place where people are sick and tired of walking.
How many times have you been to a farmers market, or a local convention and seen the booth set ups that everybody has? I hadn’t known until looking into it but those booths, actually aren’t very cheap. Ranging from a few hundred dollars at the cheapest to upwards of $50,000 on the most elaborate ones. Yet these companies only need these booths for that occasion only or maybe a few times a year at best.
Pulling together a few booths that include the basic set-up, which could or not include a TV with mount, a podium or table with chairs, and some locations where you can stick a company logo; could go a pretty long way. Sure, there would be some initial cost to gain the equipment, but not like buying a car for rent. These booths are easily collapsible and portable. And once they are paid for, it’s all profit, with the exception of the expense of labor to set it up which isn’t much. Also there are ton of upsell‘s, and add-ons that could be considered. From projection screens, to LED lights, back lights, and fancier logo presentations and banners. Considering the profitability behind this model, its not a bad option of rental business ideas at all.
Maybe one of the most common types of rental businesses at least in this area, is the boat rental businesses. However this would still fall into the category for me, as being a pretty big expense to get started. But, if you have an uncle, friend, or family that might let you borrow their boat until you can pay it off, that would be the ideal scenario. For me, the cost to get started on a boat rental business would be tough. There are also smaller boats that can be rented out such as the cat boat tours and rentals.
But you know what they say about investments, the rich get richer. Not to say that you would get rich on a boat rental business, but the point is you need to spend money to make money. Boat rental businesses seem to flourish pretty well, once you can get that equipment paid off. Making several hundred dollars for each hour that you rent the boat, can seem pretty appealing in the long run. You do have to consider the seasonality behind the boat rental business however. But in the warmer states, there may not be as much seasonality swings, however there is certainly a spike during the summer months of people wanting to get out on a boat. And that spike in demand for those few months is so surprisingly steep, that it carry’s the business for the rest of the year.
Somewhat similar to the beach equipment rental business; I was thinking this could be provided for camping equipment as additional consideration of top rental business ideas. Have you ever been to REI, or a similar store that has all variations of equipment just for camping? Imagine having to go in there and spend all that money just for one trip of camping? You’d quickly become poor.
Instead, how about you spend a fraction of that cost and rent the majority of that equipment and have it delivered to the campsite that you choose? To me, this seems like it would be pretty appealing if I was a consumer. But also it’s pretty appealing thought for the list of good rental business ideas, because once again once you have the equipment paid off, the rest is just profit minus the delivery fees. Sure, it would take a little cleanup and organization as well. But if you had a small team you could set up a process that could get this going pretty smoothly.
Now, not everybody owns land. But, let’s say you had a friend or family member that does. Or maybe, you contact a landowner who is not using a property, and profit share with them if they let you use their property as a campsite? These are the thoughts that were in my head as I was thinking of this idea. Not necessarily about the camping equipment, but more about renting out the land for people to come use; as another item to consider for this article of easy rental business ideas.
Especially if this is a profit sharing adventure for you, this could be very profitable since there might not be any set up or equipment cost to get started. Other than a website and some marketing that’s a pretty good business as long as you have, or can build a great relationship with with landowners that own desirable land.
Diving is fascinating to me. And because the most fascinating part is not the expense, it’s the experience that people have and gain from going diving. Yet most people don’t know how to dive, or know where to go diving. So setting up a dive tour business as an idea, seem like a pretty good one. Looking around, it looks like there are quite a few dive tour companies, but they are few and far between. Yet there are coast lines and springs all over the place. With some simple math; you could get some diving equipment, and simply charging for the time that it takes for the tour; it doesn’t seem like a lot of overhead cost. However the experience people get out of it, would be well worth the value that could be charged.
I couldn’t miss putting together a list of rental business ideas without at least considering doing something with drones. Drones are so up-and-coming, and so useful to so many other types of businesses, yet people don’t know where to get them, know how to drive them, or know the rules on flying them. With some quick research you can easily find high-quality, stable, and easy to use drone cameras, and video cameras for less than $2000.
Yet you could easily charge several hundred dollars if not thousands to companies for the movies, and photography that I could take from an aerial perspective. This type of footage is super valuable to real estate agents, property brokers, people selling boats and yachts, and even other businesses that rent out equipment that needs a video from overhead, such as a boat marina, an ATV track, and so much more. Plus, drones are cool. Drones are fun. And drones can be super profitable!
People love wildlife, and one of the coolest things about it, is it occurs naturally and generally in similar locations. Meaning, with a little bit of research if you were able to find where dolphins commonly live, provided some equipment for snorkeling, and a means to get there; you could be easily be up and running with this choice of rental business ideas. Some people even used jetski‘s, to get to the popular spots of where the dolphins generally realm.
But if you think about it, just purchasing a couple jetski‘s that you could pay for monthly, and by owning the snorkel equipment which costs next to nothing; simply giving people the experience by knowing where to find them and the means to go see them, is worth the value that they would pay. Everything from photography with the drones, to swimming with the dolphins, this business sounds like something that you and the guests could really enjoy.
The reason why this one appealed to me, is because it seems like everybody is moving nowadays. And with moving, comes junk. And since I’ve worked with a lot of junk hauling companies, I realize that what they are really offering, is a dumpster rental with the labor to fill it. But at its core, if you just wanted to rent the dumpster, even if it’s just a series of large garbage cans that can be hauled into a pick up truck, this could be useful for the user. People move out of houses, businesses moved to different offices, and all the while, tons of trash is created.
If you can just buy the dumpster cans or equipment, and have a pick-up truck handy, you could service these types of users without a whole bunch of expense.
And I’m not speaking of the dumpsters that you see at large construction sites, that require a dumpster truck to haul them off. I’m thinking a much smaller scale operation, for residential applications, and small business moves where they need to dispose of multiple desks, file cabinets, chairs, etc. And of course there’s always the benefit of being able to recycle some of it for extra cash as well.
This one might seem obvious, or maybe it’s not. But when people want to go fishing, especially when they’re traveling, the last thing they want to do is carry around a bunch of fishy-smelling equipment. Yet renting packages of fishing equipment such as polls, tackle, and even selling live bait; would really appeal to these types of consumers.
These could be offered at any marina, boat rental location, or even fishing docks. You could show up and based on the package that the people purchased you could bring them all the equipment they need, charge them if they lose any of it, but otherwise allow them to enjoy a full fishing experience, and go home with just the fish (or the experience) and not having to worry about any of the equipment!
Boats for fishing are typically very different than other types of cruising boats. Fishing boats such as flat boats, or dinghies with little trolling motors, are designed for the special needs of fishing. As you probably already know, fish can detect the sounds of loud motors, plus big boats aren’t able to access the same small areas where fish hang out and so fishing boats were invented.
There’s a large community of people out there that just love to fish, but once again if they’re traveling, or even visiting, and want to go fishing out on a boat; this would be the best option for them. The good news is that fishing boats aren’t as expensive as typical boats. So the cost to get one would typically be lower and, they are a little less expensive to maintain. You would still need to consider cost of storage and delivery. But beyond that, this could be pretty profitable amongst the other selection rental business ideas.
I’ve always thought that flyboarding was one of the coolest activities. And so this was another one that I just had to look into. Turns out flyboards, and getting the whole set up is quite costly. If you’re not familiar with flyboarding, it’s where it turns water jets into small rockets that literally lift you out of the water and hover you in the air. The water jets are powered by a nozzle connector that connects up to a nearby jetski and there’s a long connecting hose. You can literally jet out of the water from 20 to 30 feet above the surface , and control where you go by turning the jets.
Flyboarding has only been around for the past 10 years or so, and it’s getting more and more popular. But using a fly board take some training. So a flyboard renting business could be based around the training of and the renting of fly boarding equipment. Of course, it also takes a jetskis to propel the flyboard, so you’ll need to add that to the list of things to get to open an operation like this. Probably not a bad set up, and likely would command pretty good fees since there are not a lot of businesses out there like this, but once you get going it will easily be well worth it.
Now who doesn’t love sporting around in a golf cart? These handy little electric propelled mini cars are so cool and easy to use, they are perfect for getting around any attraction and a wonderful idea for rental business ideas. They come in all different sizes from two seaters up to six seaters, and you can rent these bad boys out just about anywhere. I’ve seen them rented out at campgrounds for people to get out of their campsite and cruise around the parks, to people renting them out on the coast line and beach-side so people can go up and down the streets and enjoy access to a much wider array of bars and restaurants.
Have you ever been to Key West?
Key West is mostly traversed with people using scooters, and golf carts. They’re just so easy and simple to hop on and hop off it makes commuting in small towns very easy. While golf carts brand new are pretty expensive, there are several used ones that you can get too. There’s not a lot of risk associated with golf carts as they are either running, or they don’t. But you would obviously need to consider a place to store them, however many golf carts you’re looking to rent, and be able to charge them up. Setting up a contract is going to be important while renting out golf cart rentals since any damage will need to be paid for by the responsible party. Other than that this one will take a little upfront expense, but could be a pretty straightforward rental business if you have the right location.
Now I’ve never hand glided before, but similar to some of the other businesses I mentioned above, I could see a business that just rented out the equipment to go hand gliding including the location and training of how to do so. Hang gliding seems like one of those things that you would only do a few times in your life if any. So purchasing all the equipment and lugging it around doesn’t seem like something that people would want to do a lot.
So with that, I thought it would be worth looking into how much it would be to purchase hand gliding equipment and all the accessories, pulling together some locations of where people could could jump from, and also hiring some trainers to help teach people how to handle it. Once again once you’re up and running, it seems like the rest would be all profit from there.
Hobie cats are such cool little watercraft and make for a strong option amongst the list of rental business ideas. If you don’t know what a Hobie cat is, it’s almost like a paddle or surfboard, with a sail on it. Now for clarity, not everybody can just hop on one of these and start having fun.
This is one of those businesses that would require a little bit of training and guidance before someone could be up and running. That’s all part of the business model, if it was just as easy as purchasing one of these and going out and having fun, frankly a lot more people would be doing it. I could see a business model that includes the rental of the equipment and the associated accessories such as swimsuits and the maintenance of the equipment along with a trainer or two they could help bring people up to speed.
The good news about a business like this is that once people are ready for the sport you could literally sell the Hobie cats to them as well. So you would see a pretty good return on the investment from starting with training, renting the equipment a couple times while they practice, and then maybe even selling them a full set. That’s not a bad gig after all, set up would take some some cost as Hobie cats aren’t cheap, and then of course you would need to find a good trainer unless you are one yourself. But other than that you don’t really need to have a location other than something with water and wind which is pretty much any coastline .
Horseback riding has been here for centuries and I feel confident that it’ll be here for a long time into the future as well. Because horses are natural animals, it’s a very exquisite experience feeling what our ancestries used to get around. However owning a horse comes with a lot of effort, and cost. Starting with owning land for the horses to live in that are zoned properly for that type of animal.
Then there’s the maintenance, grooming, shots, vets, and everything else that goes along with the equestrian lifestyle. This gives it a pretty big barrier of entry, in my opinion. However as unique, and sensational that this type of business is, it seems plausible that you would be able to work with horse owners and perhaps consider a revenue sharing model, where you could market the experience, and they provide the tours. Otherwise for me, this one is a bit challenging due to these requirements.
Everyone’s been to one of those parties where the kids are bouncing around in the inflatable bounce houses, and slides. And believe it or not they charge a pretty penny for these bad boys too. While the cost for these may be several thousand dollars depending on what type of equipment and it’s size, once paid off and with good maintenance, these things could easily earn you several thousand dollars in rental fees on just a weekend.
Perhaps the demand is obvious, but clearly nobody wants to own a 40 foot waterslide in their backyard. But they always want to keep the kids busy on a good party and out of the house from breaking things, or getting bored. The good news of course, is that these inflatable‘s are extremely portable. Even if you had an SUV, or better yet a small trailer, you could tote these things around to anywhere in your nearby cities and service those areas. Getting set up and marketing these should be pretty easy since most people know what they are looking for when they’re shopping for them.
A simple competitive analysis of the pricing of the area will give you a good idea about your entry pricing, and of course if you need to break into that market you could lower it for a short period of time. I think this type of business gives you the most flexibility possible, because you don’t need a location other than a garage or a shed to store these in, you just need to have a vehicle which most people already do and be able to deliver and set them up. After that it’s just about picking them up at the right time and taking the fees.
Hunting excursions are quite interesting to me as well. Why, you ask? Because not everybody knows how to hunt but that shouldn’t prevent people from being able to enjoy the experience. There are so many types of hunting excursions out there. People hunt quail, ducks, iguanas, alligators, deer, hogs, and so much more which make a great selection for rental business ideas.
Yet if I decided today that I wanted to go hunt one of those, I would have no idea where to go, what type of equipment to bring, what type of things to wear, or any of that stuff. So a hunting excursion would be a combination of optional equipment rentals, itineraries along with locations, and if possible, buggies for wheelers, or other means to access the deep woods if needed. I could see a smooth operating business with a few tour guides on staff and the ability to manage them with a simple software and booking system.
Everybody loves jetskis. And for those who haven’t tried it yet, are usually interested in learning. Jet skis are a great rental idea, because they are super easy to use which means anybody can rent it and have a great time. As you know jet skis are the perfect mix of power, water, sun, and breeze. And as a rental business, they are a great mix of more affordable watercraft, a great one to add to the list of low maintenance rental business ideas, and would output lots of happy customers.
Of course setting up a jetski rental business, comes with some obvious costs, but similar to others, you will likely find used equipment that you can purchase for half the price of new, and rent that out until you build enough revenue to get some thing in better shape. No office needed. But a trailer, a place to launch, and a place to store the jetski; and you’re off to the races.
We’ve seen many people start very small, with just one jetski or two, and with some great experiences, happy customers, and well running machines; profit adds up pretty quick.
What’s better and more affordable than setting up a jetski rental business? The clear answer would be a kayak or paddleboard rental business. One might think that because kayaks are cheap, and so are the rental rates, typically ranging from $15-$30 for several hours per person; that you wouldn’t make much profit on it. However, I’ve seen some kayaking companies with just a few employees, and plenty of equipment, make tons of money.
And so on my journey of searching for a good rental business, this one is certainly near the top. The cons to consider however, is that I tend to find that most people like kayak tours. A kayak tour, requires a tour guide typically, and a tour guide requires an extra cost and fee.
And so as long as your rental equipment, cost of the tour guide, cost of the equipment to bring the kayaks and shuttle the customers back once they reach their destination; is less than what you charge for the kayak tour; then you should be in good shape. The math must work, because there are several of these companies out there they seem to be doing fantastic. But with one caveat, is that the kayak companies that I have found, tend to offer multiple types of experiences. From on-your-own kayak rentals, to kayak tours, to paddle boards, canoes, and a variety of each of those.
Also, I noticed that several of them seem to offer paddleboard yoga classes. This apparently is a thing. So it looks to me as if a kayak rental business must include a variety of different experiences to offer if considering it as part of your rental business ideas. And while you don’t profit hugely on any one of them, giving the right variety allows the customer to choose something that works for them, so you can continue serving a wider array of customers.
If you’re into kite boarding, then perhaps kiteboarding rental business might be for you. Kiteboarding seems like one of the coolest things even to watch, nevertheless to actually experience. However there is such a degree of training and technicality with it that is involved that this type of business could go in multiple ways. The first way is that you could be slammed with more revenue than you ever imagined.
My thought behind this is because the sport requires multiple lessons both on the boarding, and the kite boarding side and if you were able to charge a reasonable fee for both of those, in addition to multiple lessons to get somebody up and running; then also charging them for renting the equipment during the lessons, this could make out to be a pretty good deal. Then from there on out they could continue renting equipment from you, or perhaps maybe you sell them their own kit with a markup from a manufactures standard price.
That’s the scenario where I believe this model could be very successful. There wouldn’t be much overhead required, so after the equipment is paid off, then you’re just simply paying for the labor involved with the training lessons. But I think alternate number two, is that this business could really struggle to bring in revenue. Here’s how I came up with that conclusion.
With the amount of commitment that it takes, both monetarily, and with time; people may not be willing to dive into that type of expense just to enjoy some recreation. Sure, some people may be fascinated with the sport and make it into it, but the general masses? I tend to doubt it. And so for those reasons while I could see the upside being quite well, I would really need to see that there is a demand in a particular market for this type of activity, before jumping in to this as a selection of rental business ideas.
I added this category because there is so many other types of land rentals, that I had to put all the minor ones into a general category. This category could include table rentals, chair rentals, other party rentals such as canopies and things of that nature. Perhaps it also includes things such as sporting equipment that you could bring to a party and use. By land rentals, I’m somewhat using this for a catch-all for anything else that I haven’t mentioned in this article, but that you can do on land.
And when I saw a sign rental business for the first time, I kind of chuckled, and then I paused, and thought to myself that it might not be such a bad idea! How often have you driven around your neighborhood and seen signs in the yards? No, I’m not just talking about political signs, but there are many types of lawn signs that (could) exist.
Lawn signs can include political types or advertisements, but if it was accessible to more businesses, perhaps it could included some sort of elaborate array of lawn signs that made up a celebration of somebody’s birthday party. Or perhaps for a holiday. Maybe the lawn signs could glow in the dark, it could be used for Halloween as well. I don’t think that the signs themselves cost that much in materials. But if somebody were to take the time and add some creativity, including means to perhaps customize a design, and have them printed, perhaps these could be reused into future signs as well to lower the cost of overhead of equipment.
Maybe it’s not just signs for personal ones, but perhaps there is an offering for lawn signs in front of businesses as well. It could be a grand opening, it could be a sale, or anything else. Either way, it’s something that is rentable to businesses that display a message or a design, that can be removed or replaced with little to no cost. I feel like this is somewhat of an untapped market amongst these other rental business ideas and if you have a some creativity or artistic ability you may be able to make something unique, and be very successful with this one.
Do you have knowledge of something unique? If so, perhaps you can turn it into a lesson. You may ask what does this have to do with rentals, but if you truly think about it, a lesson at its core is a rental of your time. And if you want to get efficient with it or if your type a lesson is capable of it, you could record this and then people could rent the ability to watch your videos. We don’t realize it but we gain specialize knowledge throughout our lives that other people could make use of. Training somebody one on one, gives them the ability to accomplish what they want by paying you for your knowledge and time. Flex that knowledge muscle, and gain some profit off of it with this rental business idea.
Manatee experiences such as swimming with the manatees, glass bottom kayak boat tours, or even just manatee tours on a boat are all options that people crave. It’s amazing how many people love to see these creatures in the wild. And obviously aside from a dock to park your boat at, and the boat itself, there really isn’t much overhead, unless you have tours and tour guides.
The manatees themselves will stay around forever, but keep in mind there’s some pretty good competition on this one. Trying to get found first in the results is going to be a challenge as well. But if you’re able to exercise some good SEO, and maybe even paid ads, it will more than likely pay off very well.
Wait! Before you go assuming that this is talking about buildings that are stacked full of storage units, that is not what I’m speaking of on this one. Moving and storage rentals is what I refer to as storage bins such as the ones people use in their garage.
Most people are so used to using cardboard boxes, but they hate it, they’re not sturdy, they break after a while, they aren’t cheap, and once you buy them there’s no getting your money back. After doing some digging I found some really cool solutions on the market for this as a great consideration of rental business ideas.
One idea is for someone to buy plastic stackable bins and rent them out for moving and storage. Obviously you could rent the bins out for a specific time period and charge more for the longer that they need them.
This works your advantage in multiple ways. Number one bins are pretty cheap if you buy them at wholesale. Number two, not everybody unloads everything the first day that they move in. Number 3, don’t get me started about all the upsells associated with moving, from blankets, to dollies, and so, so much more.
I love the idea about paddleboard rentals. Mostly because of my own selfish endeavors, it seems like such a fun time to be on the waters on a paddleboard all the time, and making money while doing it. As a rental business idea however, it’s just as appealing as well.
The equipment itself is pretty low cost especially if you find it used to get started. There’s practically no overhead, with the exception of a place to store the boards and a way to deliver them. Paddleboard Rentals are typically rented out to customers on an hourly, or daily basis. Or as an alternative can be rented in the form of a tour. Paddleboard Rentals also seem to be a big thing with the yoga community.
Plus, they are fantastic for sightseeing because the view into the water while standing on a paddleboard is very cool. While there seems to be paddleboard rentals businesses scattered around lakes and coast lines, bringing innovation to the market in the form of how people can use the paddle board, or the things they can do or see such as tours or exercise classes, and convenience of launch location; all seem to be areas that you can bring innovation in order to enter a market.
I added parasailing, because it is such a unique experience, I knew that people would pay a pretty decent price to enjoy it. Knowing good and well that parasailing would certainly be one of those that would take some upfront cost to get going. Parasailing is not something that you want to cheap out on.
Yeah, the boat that is used to pull the parasail could be. Of course in any endeavor, safety should be first, even if it means not doing the business because of the expense of the cost of safety. That’s my own opinion at least. So while I have this one on the list, I do recognize the upside, advantages, and profitability behind it; but this would take a little more exploring in terms of the upfront costs of the parasail and accessory equipment in order to get it going.
Let’s face it, we live in a society who loves to celebrate. From holidays, to birthdays, even simple wins such as job promotions are all opportunities to get together with friends, good food, and good music. However, most of us are ill prepared when it comes to having what’s needed for a great party in the outdoors.
So I added the party tent rental as one of the options, but in the following subsections I talk about other items that could be included as part of this business as well. The party tent is typically bigger than a 10 x 10 canopy, or the ones you see on the beach. Party tents are a little bit larger, but are made more for shade, than they are to block the rain. Typically party tents will have vents at the top to allow good air circulation, and sometimes they have fabric walls with zip featured doors and windows to keep the occupants dry. They also usually help to keep the bugs out, and the kids in.
My vision for this idea, was to be able to take the basics of a party tent, and package it up with a deal that would also include, for example, LED lighting, that could be color changing, or really just light up the event. The party tent rental business, would be the main commodity. In other words, it would be intended to sell as low as possible to cover the cost of delivery, labor and equipment; but the primary point would be able to sell the upgrades.
Upgrades could be anything related to the party rental, and can include tables, chairs, linens, backers, food trays and covers, stereos, balloons, consulting DJs, games such as horseshoe, and the like.
While there is certainly more than one option for a business like this available, you could come to market with some unique ideas, such as packaging them up for different types of parties, and giving them themes. For example you could rent a Mexican theme, that would come with piñata‘s, a mariachi band, Mexican food, and Mexican decorations. This would be a lot of fun, and would take a lot of headache out of making a fun party, that is also another one of many unique party rental ideas.
Wow there is so many things that you can offer to rent for a party, I think the most innovative strategy is the one about selling it in themes. The theme could even extend all the way down to the decoration on the plasticware, paper plates, napkins, cups, and more. It’s one of the best ways that I can think to tie everything together, and get upsell‘s along with it.
We are in such a sharing economy, everybody wants to publish a good picture of fun and fancy, to make their friends and family jealous. Photo booths seem to nail this market on the head. Photo booths are sold as units, and can be rented by the hour.
Sure the cost would have to take care of the film and other things that it would be needed in order to run it; along with delivery. However the unit is typically warranted, and runs itself. With just a means for pick up and delivery, these are hot items that anybody wouldn’t mind being at a party, to make it more memorable. Plus people tend to get even more advertising, by printing the name of your company on the film that gets printed with peoples picture on it. Very little overhead, and almost always happy customers, this is certainly one to consider amongst the other great rental business ideas.
I had no idea how many pontoon boat rental operators that exist in the market today. Pontoon boats make sense to rent out mostly because of the type of people that are renting them. Most of the time people renting boats are in groups of families, with kids. Pontoon boats are perfect for this type of crowd, because of the railings and seating that exist all the way around the boat.
This makes for a very safe environment for the occupants. In addition they’re very easy to control, and commonly come with a canopy for shade. While these boats can cost a pretty penny to get your hands on, you also need to consider where to launch the boats, and where to store them. This could be a showstopper for some. However thinking outside the box, you could pay another boat rental operator to store your boat at their marina, and share the revenue with them.
Or, you could speak to a boat owner, who lives close to a lake and see if you can propose a revenue sharing model with them. This would help remove some of those barriers such as a place to store it, the cost to buy it, and the means of delivery and pick up. If you can figure that piece out, it seems like pontoon boats go for a few hundred dollars for just a half a day. On the weekends especially in the summer, all the pontoons seem to be booked up. This could bring in some pretty good revenue north of several hundred thousand dollars a year. Not a bad gig for mostly just a weekend job.
Now, I just had to throw this one in there, because a list of rental business ideas wouldn’t be complete without property rentals. I use the term property rentals as a vague category, that could be anything from renting your house or home to services such as Airbnb‘s, or VRBO‘s. Or, it could be renting out commodities of the property of the things that you own, such as saws, tools, or other items you own. While this is certainly a profitable rental business idea for some, it is slightly outside of what I personally was looking for. But for the readers, I wanted to make sure that there was a place in this list for your own consideration of these types of items.
Everybody’s getting outdoors, renting RVs, and will continue to be a great item for rentals. RVs are expensive. And they are hard to store. For that reason people love renting these items out, because they command high rental fees, they keep them off of your property, and they keep them in good use. RVs are a great way to combine a place to stay with a means of travel. It also provides people with the freedom to check out different campsites, and nature trails throughout America.
RVs range from small to super huge, and if you have a budget to get into this market, there is plenty of demand out there to keep your RV busy when you are not using it.
Sailboats are so cool, everybody knows that. But not everybody knows that you can rent sailboats and make a pretty good living off of it. For this reason, I wanted to make sure that this item got on the list. However it would certainly take some research so that you could find a used sailboat in good shape, that you could rent out.
Once again there’s always the opportunity for a revenue sharing model with an owner of a sailboat rental, if you are comfortable pitching that sort of deal. In this scenario you would just be responsible for bringing the customers and sharing the rental fee. The owner may even ask you to chip in on some of the maintenance cost, but beyond that sailboats are fantastic because they are used for multiple days if not weeks, and command some pretty good fees in order to to use them.
The trend of scooter rentals has gone off the charts lately. Especially in the e-scooter rental business. Companies such as bird, and many others have purchased a bunch of scooters and linked them together on a network, where people can pay with their credit card to rent them and drop them off wherever they want. Your scooter rental business may not have to be as sophisticated, however the demand is certainly there, and even large companies can come in and make a good profit off of them.
Certainly smaller venues where these bigger companies don’t exist such a smaller downtown‘s and especially along coastlines, and scenic routes would be fantastic opportunities to launch a scooter rental business. Scooters are easy, and anybody can hop on and learn to ride them. Most people rent them by the hour, and even by the minute. While some of them are electronic, some of them run off gas. Either way for short trips and even for tours, these are great options to consider.
The underwater world is always mysterious and wonderful, but in order to access it you need to have the right equipment. The good news, is that most people don’t own this type of equipment. This is where a scuba rental business could come in to play.
Most scuba rental businesses that I know of or found, also offer the means to obtain a scuba license. Nowadays scuba licenses can be obtained using a three day course, partially online partially in person. But if you are able to provide the means to offer that course, and that people can also rent your equipment in order to take the course. Here you can double up the fees that you charge, and even sell the equipment to the people who obtain their license at the end of the day for a pretty good payoff.
Scuba rentals are a fantastic option also for people that are already licensed but don’t travel with their equipment. Purchasing scuba gear, isn’t all that expensive, and after just a few rentals you could probably have it paid off.
Similar to the above, scuba lessons are a fantastic way to connect your community to the underwater world. Scuba lessons don’t take much to get started, of course you will need the equipment, and you will need a certification from scuba lesson boards; but after you obtain those items as a one time purchase, you’re off to provide as many lessons as you want.
One of my favorite things that I like about a scuba lessons business, is that it can be on a schedule that I create. I can set the days and times when people can book with me, and then I just show up when bookings are there. It’s not like a store that you have to show up at and be there all day long, hoping that a customer walks in. Lessons are also great and that you get to meet your community, and be a resource and guide for them.
Some of the coolest tours I’ve been on, have been on a Segway. Segways are fun, they’re adventurous, and fast! Yeah sure there are some costs around purchasing the equipment, but once you get a small fleet, you’ll also see the rental bookings increase, because most people want to go in groups. Find a great route and learn about the history of an area and offer tours to people on your segways.
This is a real booming business, because people love to learn more about certain areas especially from a tour guide and without the hassle of walking for miles upon miles. Segways accomplish this very nicely by giving people the ability to do something fun and unique, learn something new, and enjoy the outdoors all at the same time. Segway and Segway tours typically bring in pretty good fees, and you get to book the tours at your convenience. Consider one of these if you’re a real expert in an area, or want to become one, and your knowledge will certainly pay off.
OK so not everybody owns a plane, or sky diving equipment. I get that, but I didn’t want to leave this option out just yet. Not sure if you knew this, but you can rent planes and pilots to take you in a crew up to do sky diving excursions. Sure, you would probably need to get a group of skydivers together in order to accumulate enough cost to pay for the plane and the driver, but once you do you could certainly make some good profit off it as well. Especially if your business was bringing in enough revenue, eventually you may be able to get that pilot and his plane to dedicate more time slots to your company.
Skydiving is one of those things that people who are brave enough to do it, just absolutely love it. And as you probably know, it is required to jump tandem the first 10 times, afterwards people are able to jump on their own. This serves as one of those types of models where you get a lot of repeat business because of people trying to obtain that minimum of 10 jumps in order to be more independent with their jumps. It’s not a bad idea, there may be a lot to it, but once you’re up and running, the sky is the limit! (See what I did there?)
Well, I’ve never been on a snorkeling excursion just yet, I’ve always been fascinated with the possibility of doing one. That’s how this one and ended up on this list. Snorkeling excursions, in my mind, is a tour guide led snorkeling adventure. Brings me a peace of mind knowing that an expert is with us at all times, guiding the way, and there just in case anything comes as a surprise.
There is so much exploration to be done within the open sea, from shipwrecks, to coral reefs, and so much more. This is such a great option if you’re one for the waters, and want to know a bit more about some of the major landmarks of the sea.
Slightly different than the above, is snorkeling equipment rental. These types of businesses I would imagine, would simply rent out snorkeling equipment and maybe some of the accessory items. I could certainly see how this type of equipment could enhance anybody’s enjoyment of the ocean, sea, golfs or lakes.
Exploring the underwater world looking for lobsters, scallops, or just collectible shells always makes for snorkeling adventures to be highly rated. Snorkel equipment is super cheap, even for some of the really good ones. Yet they’re large, and a pain in the neck to travel around with. That makes for a good rental opportunity even if you partner up at a dock, marina, or other locations where people are near and around water and that may want to consider the wonders and experiences of the underwater world by renting snorkeling equipment.
OK this one might sound obvious, but snow snowmobiles are just plain fun. Similar to a jetski rental for water, they probably would have around the same cost of acquiring the equipment, unless you are considering a revenue sharing model such as those discussed above.
However I wanted to make sure this one got on the list, in case you have some snowmobile‘s stored in your garage, that are underutilized.
By sporting good rentals, I envision setting up shop, or at least a truck full of different packages of sporting goods. This could serve local teams that don’t want to purchase, or own all the equipment involved with having a full game of equipment. Think, for example, a baseball package; that would include baseballs, bats, home plates, base plates, helmets, catchers facemask and other equipment.
While most teams already have some of the equipment, this is always a burden for the team because somebody has to put up the upfront cost to purchase this equipment.
If there was a service where you could rent packages of this type of equipment, imagine if it was being rented on a seasonal basis. That would make for fantastic revenue on a long-term basis, with the same leagues or teams.
Or maybe packages like this would want to be rented by companies who are doing team building activities, they wouldn’t want to go buy all the equipment.
Sure, you may be responsible for taking care of the equipment, and storing it all. But in the end I’m sure the revenue or fees would be worth it.
People love being romantic, and sunset cruises hit the nail on the head. Sunset cruises could be done with almost any type of boat, kayak, or any other sort of flotation device.
Typically needing a tour guide, for guidance, these packages always seem to be a hit with the lovebirds and would make for a great rental business idea.
Who doesn’t want to catch a wave on a surfboard? Surfboarding can be such a thrill, but why is there not more people doing it? Because they don’t have a guide, or the equipment! This is where I thought there could be a great opportunity here. Surfboards are relatively cheap, and even if you go for easy-to-use longboards; its not like the expence of buying a boat.
I could see a service that rents out the surfboards and all the accessory equipment and gear, along with lessons as well. Again, another model that includes lessons (by your self or hired experts) to give means to renting your equipment. Of course as people develop their skill, they may end up buying some of that equipment from you too!
Are you like me, that has a tent sitting in a garage collecting dust, but only gets one or two uses every few years? Imagine if you didn’t have to hold on to that equipment, and just rented the one you wanted when you needed it….then get to give it back?
Similar to the party rental tent business, I could see an opportunity to rent out the tents for a pretty competitive price, then offer a whole slew of upsells and cross sells. Everyone knows how much equipment, and little knick knacks are needed in order to have an enjoyable camping experience. These could all be sold in packages for good prices, and maybe even include delivery, setup, and pickup. Some great opportunity here with not much cost to get started, and can go anywhere.
I always liked this idea for the plain simplicity of it. Power tools are tough and rugged and are hard to break. Yet, they come with cost that most of the time don’t warrant one time projects that people might be self performing at their house. This is where a tool truck could come in. Imagine a truck full of tools that you can rent by the hour, that has almost every tool in it that you could ever want.
The truck stays as long is as needed, then moves on to the next dispatched location making hourly fees every step along the way. Maybe its not a tool truck, but certainly you could rent the equipment on an hourly basis and probably make for a great side income.
Might sound obvious, but if you, or someone you know has a truck or two that isn’t being used; there is a great market out there for used truck rentals. Everything from help moving, to just pickup and drop off of equipment for people who don’t own trucks.
I wasn’t sure if this might be something that could appeal to you, but as a reminder this isn’t a bad option if you have the means to do so. For me, the purchase of trucks would be too costly to get going, despite the understood profits that could follow..
Ahhh…tubing! Tubes are cheap. Springs are free, and act like huge lazy rivers. Setting up shop at one of many Florida springs, or elsewhere, could mean getting a business name, buying some floatation tubes, and pocketing cash.
There is not much complication to this business model, and certainly the labor can remain low as these are easy to pickup and store. If you happen to live close to an area where there are springs, this might be a perfect model for you.
Sure, go Airbnb, or vrbo style; and rent out a room, couch or house. Or maybe, like some, offer the vacation rental place to stay, along with other experience packages such as tube rentals if you are on a river! Lots to consider here, for me I would love to dig in further, but I don’t have a place to rent out.
By venue, I mean a place to hold an event. That could mean land next to a beautiful waterfront, it could mean a fancy she-shed, or just a pergola area in a vast backyard. I think this is an underserved market where people can rent underutilized venues and scenic properties for party’s of all types.
If you happen to know of, or own some property or structures yourself that you could rent out as a venue, this might be your diamond in the rough.
While we mentioned tubing above, any sort of water activity could be rentable. Think water skis, water tubing for getting pulled behind a boat, or anything other types of gear or equipment that can be used for water recreation and fun. Check in your garage, or look on craigslist and similar items for equipment such as this can be repurposed, and rented out for easy fees.
Windsurfing has a big following, and similar to others it takes learning the skill to do it well. But that’s the opportunity. Renting the windsurfing equipment, along with the lessons would be a fantastic business model to add to the list of rental business ideas.
Especially if you live near the ocean, this is something you could offer to allow more convenient for beginners from having to purchase all the equipment and find a means of transportation. You could offer this in one or two packages that offers convenience and simplicity in the pursuit of learning and mastering windsurfing.
Last but certainly not least, yacht rentals are a huge thing. And brokering those rentals is also not uncommon. That’s right, you don’t even need to own a yacht, which most of us don’t. But there are so many yacht owners out there that don’t use their yachts, but need to keep them in the water.
So they rent them out in packages of charters that allow groups of people to split up payments, and go on excursions that they would have never been able to do before. Use your resources, do you know anyone with a boat, or yacht that you could revenue share with them if you handle all the hassle for them? If so, this could open the doors to a fantastic option on the list of rental business ideas.
It’s true. Everyone has different resources, different budgets, and different passions. You need plenty of each of these in order to make something happen that you’ll love. Hopefully this article and brainstorming helps you like it did for me, in giving deep consideration of each type of rental business ideas business model, hurdles, and advantages.
Just know, that no matter what you choose to rent, teach, tour, or charter; that Rockon is the perfect place to experiment with your market. Allow Rockon’s marketing engine, SEO, and marketplace bring customers right to your front door.
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