The AirBNB of RVs: Wheel Estate
Hey Everyone,
It’s Chad and Cherie Ball, the husband and wife team and co-founders of Wheel Estate, and we’re excited to be back with our second blog post as part of Local Laundry’s guest blog series!
Let’s keep racking up the kilometres!
For those new to Wheel Estate (WE) - after finding out we couldn’t rent our neighbour’s trailer in August 2010, and noticing storage yards filled with unused travel trailers….the light bulb went off, and we embarked on the journey to create Wheel Estate. WE as a friendly, community-based RV peer-to-peer rental service, creating value for RV owners that are not using their travel trailers and giving adventure seekers the opportunity to embark on trips at an affordable price!
After years of hard work and perseverance, on January 1, 2017, WE went live! In only our first year, guests booked over 2500 nights through Wheel Estate, equalling over 60,000 hours out on the road! We’re jealous of all the amazing adventures that have taken place through WE, but proud that we had a part to play in creating those experiences. Before WE launched, we said how we would be happy if one person used the site, so we can’t believe what WE has achieved! We’ve seen young families who don’t own an RV exploring the beautiful sights of Canada, and international travellers visiting Canada having an opportunity to do the same! We’ve seen weddings, honeymoons, quick weekends away, extended camping trips, and even family reunions!
The Community
We mentioned community in our first blog post, and it is still as important as ever. As we’ve grown, we’ve noticed how guests keep returning, often to stay with the same owners or on referral from a friend or family member who’s had a great trip. We’ve also seen a growth in ‘rentrepreneurs’, for example, Tim, one of the first people to sign up, now has a couple of trailers on Wheel Estate. When we launched, we had 35 trailers signed up… now in 2018, we’ve over 700 signed up and counting, meaning a 1900% increase of ‘rentrepreneurs.’ Those advertising their units on Wheel Estate have so far made over half a million dollars! Our mission is to create meaningful experiences every trip for all members. Whether you’ve finally have the opportunity to take the RV trip of a lifetime, or you simply want to make some extra cash off your RV which otherwise would be sit idle!
Giving Back First
WE believe that charity within the community is an important component at Wheel Estate. WE want to ensure our platform continues to make a difference in others lives. WE believe if we can help make meaning in others lives we will truly be successful. WE continue to help with our yearly campaign “Sharing the Warmth” at the Calgary Drop-In Centre. WE have also started a new initiative to help send kids with Cancer to Camp. We want to help send kids to camp that would otherwise not have an opportunity to experience camp.
The Future: World Domination?
What does the future hold for us? Well, we started in Alberta, but we’re currently expanding to the rest of the country. We’re even looking at expanding to the USA next (but remember Wheel Estate campers can already cross the border as long as you have permission from the owners). So far in 2017, guests are on pace to more than double the amount of nights booked… why shouldn’t we keep pushing on?!
As our community grows, one thing will never change, and that is championing our mission and following our core values. WE absolutely love the community spirit Wheel Estate has created. Whether WE become the biggest or not is not as important to us as being the best. That’s why we will continue providing a trustworthy and customer focused service as our top priority!
Oh… and stay tuned for some exciting announcements in the near future!
