Top 3 Drivers to Consider in Choosing Software for Rental Company

Its no wonder that software for rental company’s help power Florida’s outdoor recreation businesses. With excellent weather almost year-round Florida’s outdoor recreation is some of the best in the world; and with the world as crazy as it is it’s more vital than ever to have options for blowing off steam while getting some fresh air. If you are a vendor of outdoor recreation rentals, your focus as an entrepreneur is on ways to grow your business and attract more and more customers to your spot. But how? It’s true there are many ways to grow a business; but for small to medium sized recreation rental businesses the #1 most valuable tool available is software for rental company’s.

Using Comparisons to Choose the Right Software for Me

While there are many software’s solutions to choose from; today we will focus on three software for rental company platforms available today: Company A, Competitor B, and Company C “Rockon Recreation Rentals”. The first two are some of the most popular platforms available on the internet, while Rockon is the newcomer in the space. The reason I chose Rockon to compare is they have raised the bar in terms of the service and support they offer to small businesses. They’ve been labelled as the Largest Directory of Outdoor Recreation Rentals in Florida.

While there are a vast array of outdoor rental activities, the main questions each vendor asks are roughly the same:

“How will this software help my staff to better serve our customers more reliably, and more efficiently?”

“How will it save me time? How will it grow my business and increase profits? ” And of course, the all-important question: “Which is the best software for my rental company?”

The Voice of Previous Software Users

In order to answer these questions, and to find the best software for your rental company for vendors and customers; I did a deep dive into the publicly available reviews on each of these three companies. I also spoke with a number of vendors and tried out the software for myself on a demo basis. A bit of a spoiler before I begin: all three of these software platforms are great options for booking services online. In addition, all three get mostly glowing reviews.  There are, however, a number of key differences in what these businesses offer that will be highlighted in order to help you make that all-important decision for your business: “Which is the best software for rental company for us?”

Let’s dive in:

1. First Question: How does each software help me and my staff to better serve our customers?

When searching for a software for rental company, it’s natural to think first of your own experience and that of your employees.  After all, the customer is happy as long as their outdoor recreation needs are met with excellent customer service. Plus, as an Owner you always going to want to generate income from idle rental equipment. There’s plenty of ways to do that with or without software. So in this section, we will look at the ways that these three different online booking systems meant to simplify the reservation process.

Competitor Comparisons

Think of Competitor A as a worldwide booking service, with software capable to serve all types of companies well, but not any particular industry with excellence. They could be called, the Jack of All Trades. Competitor B is similar in that it is a nationwide company. The difference is that Competitor B provides a marketplace that covers all sorts of bookable items extending from laser tag, to soap making classes; and some of those might cover outdoor activities but not with much depth.

For perspective, Competitor C or Rockon Recreation Rentals is an activity booking software designed specifically for tour and rental operators in Florida, with a marketplace solely designed for outdoor recreation tours and rentals. This makes the dedication, customization, and specialization in the outdoor industry much more refined. Now, to continue on with the features associated with the software for rental company’s.

How Easy is the Software to Learn and Use?

Personally, I’m a firm believer in the idea that technology should be relatively intuitive and easy to use right out of the box, and same goes for any tour operator software. Unfortunately, because the larger software companies have so many different types of businesses that they serve, getting up and running efficiently and effectively with Competitor A or Competitor B was found by many vendors to be a huge task. Of the three, only Rockon Recreation had zero complaints online about the setup process or customer service during setup and implementation. Rockon advertises same-day setup and launch which cannot be said for the larger companies that seem to have a burdening complex systems, tools, and features, that “takes over a year to learn”; one user reported.

Software for Competitor A

While Competitor A has mostly glowing reviews of it’s software, there were also a number of their customers who gave some concerning reviews worth mentioning. There were numerous complaints about 3rd party waiver software. One unhappy camper even called it a “work in progress” as recently as late 2019. I also spoke with a vendor who said that when something needed to be changed and they couldn’t do it themselves, they had to schedule a customer service appointment weeks out and only had 30 minutes to resolve the issue. If the issue couldn’t be resolved, they had to wait another few weeks to get another 30 minute crack at it.

Software for Competitor B

Competitor B is very similar to Competitor A in that Competitor B also had a number of complaints about the setup process taking a while. Some said they were still learning the software after using it for months. There were also a number of complaints centered around Competitor B’s customer service.  However, both Competitor A and Competitor B were favorably reviewed by the majority of their customers, and there were more compliments on the customer service than there were complaints. Competitor B is also easy to use and works well on a demo basis, which means once the software is up and running it will be easy for most vendors to navigate.

Software for Competitor C – Rockon Recreation Rentals

Now Rockon, being newer in the space, has fewer reviews to comment on, but the total lack of complaints regarding the onboarding process tells us that their promise of same-day setup and launch has so far been a success. Upon further inspection, I also found the software itself to be incredibly intuitive and easy to use, with simplicity and functionality being the clear driving forces behind being one of the best online booking systems.

 

I also noticed that Rockon has implemented a number of small but helpful features that aren’t always available in their competitors’ platforms which added to the overall experience of the Rockon software. They have features like at-a-glance customer info on the calendar (rather than pulling up each customer’s files), integrated waivers (instead of using a 3rd party platform), and the capability to raise and lower prices for certain days or weeks. These little things don’t seem like much on their own. But it’s clear that Rockon really listened to what vendors liked already and what they still wanted to see in order to optimize their experience of their online booking platform.

 

If we are simply looking at how each booking platform helps vendors to better serve their customers, what we see are three companies with robust software platforms who can each do some extremely helpful things in terms of making life easier for a vendor.  However, when we dive deep into the question of which platform is the best software for rental companys; we see that in fact, Rockon has something new and exciting that these older and larger companies simply cannot match at the moment. From their unique features to their adaptability to customer needs and even their customer service, we see that Rockon clearly has a big advantage at the moment over their larger rivals. 

2. Second Question: How will this platform increase profits for our business?

When it really comes down to it, the only question that matters to a business owner when deciding on a new product, service, or consultant is:

“How will this help my business to grow”?

While each of the three software platforms provides a business with a way to save time and streamline operations, they are actually quite different in how, and to what extent, they help a business to grow.

Competitor A – Jack of all trades, expert at None.

Competitor A is unarguably a cutting-edge software platform and a great platform to help businesses run. Beyond that, however, it falls far short of its competition. Sure it will help you save time once it’s up and running, but so will Competitor B and Rockon. And yes, Competitor A will put your business’ listing on certain websites that it has deals with like Yelp or TripAdvisor, but those customers went to those websites looking for other things, not necessarily your activity rental.

Competitor B – From Laser tag – to Soap Making

When we look at a common feature of Competitor B and Rockon Recreation (an activity rental directory) we see that Competitor A cannot compete with the robust platforms that users can access with Competitor B and Rockon. When someone is searching for an outdoor activity, they will likely feel most comfortable booking within a platform that specializes in outdoor activity rentals. Competitor A is lacking in that area.

Competitor B, in addition to having a large outdoor recreation directory, also has a well-reviewed mobile platform which allows customers and vendors alike to access their rental information from their mobile phone. These two features combined make Competitor B a great choice for any outdoor recreation rental business that wants to increase their customer base. But it still isn’t the best software for rental company.

Competitor C – Specialists in the Florida Outdoor Tour & Activities

Now, however, we come to Rockon Recreation Rentals, and for vendors in Florida, the difference between Rockon and their competitors usually makes this decision a no-brainer for one reason: Marketing. With their Premium, or Hero plan, Rockon Recreation Rentals will actually go so far as to help you with marketing your business on social media for no extra cost.

So instead of paying a number of aggressive salesmen in order to grow a company, Rockon has decided to offer social media marketing tailored to each individual business overseen by a marketing specialist instead. This means each vendor they work with will have a presence on some combination of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google or Pinterest, depending on which platform produces the highest conversion rates. And while Competitor A and Competitor B can offer many great features, the fact that they don’t offer digital marketing puts them in a second-tier to Rockon Recreations software for rental company.

3. Getting Software that Specializes in Your Business Makes it Easier to Learn, and Use; and that Makes it More Profitable for You

While there are many software for rental company’s available, for vendors in Florida the choice for a software for rental company has become clear: Rockon Recreation Rentals. With simple and intuitive software, done-for-you marketing solution for activity providers, zero credit card fees, and the largest directory of outdoor recreation in Florida, the choice is clear. Rockon offers more for your money than any other service, and it’s not even close right now. Until their competitors begin to offer same-day setup and launch, drop their credit card fees, and offer marketing services all in one as part of their premium packages, Rockon will continue to gobble up market share and help small activity rental vendors all over Florida to grow their businesses.