Ever wish you could be in the presence of a famous music artist? That’s exactly what Outdoorsy Owner Justin Schwab of Barton Creek Rentals got to do on a recent gig.
“The event was the Formula 1 Pirelli US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas,” Justin shares. “We provided luxury RVs for use by Bruno Mars and Britney Spears while at COTA for their concerts.” Justin adds that outside of the artist RVs, he also had multiple units in the spectator lots.
The challenges
It goes without saying this was a fantastic experience and an excellent opportunity for Justin’s business. However, as he confided, it wasn’t all easy breezy.
“This was one of the more challenging events, as we were on-call. We had to come in and out during windows of time when the artist wasn’t on premises to change light bulbs and do other tasks throughout the week,” Justin says. “The spectator rigs were a challenge of their own because the spectator lot was a mud pit after a week of rain leading up to the event, plus the rain during most of the weekend.”
“This event required us to morph our team into a fast-paced event team—a challenge we got through and now look forward to for many more large events. We take on a lot of events in Central Texas, but nothing like this one—[it was a] great experience!”
Starting and growing a rental business
Wondering how one works their way up in the RV rental world in order to have opportunities such as these? The first step, in Justin’s case at least, was listing his personal RV on Outdoorsy.
“When I first started to rent my personal 41-foot fifth wheel, Outdoorsy was the best choice that enabled me to figure out this P2P [peer-to-peer] market,” Justin explains. “Now I like how the Outdoorsy offering is maturing, especially in terms of support for those with more than one unit.”
It’s been a few years since Justin listed his own campervan on Outdoorsy. Since then, Barton Creek Rentals has seen enormous growth.
“We have a small fleet of 75 percent owned and 25 percent consigned campers that range from a fun, 19-foot GeoPro made for lightweight adventure all the way up to awesome fifth wheels and motorhomes,” Justin says of his current fleet.
“Come 2019, we are opening up a new location in Colorado that will have a fleet of custom-made Ram ProMaster 3500s,” Justin adds. The big picture is to have an inventory of 50 campervans, each with a modular layout that is scalable and easily adaptable.
Outdoorsy love
So what does Justin think about his Outdoorsy experience so far?
“I feel great about it and will continue to scale my business leveraging Outdoorsy and Wheelbase as a part of it,” he says. “Outdoorsy has enabled me to figure out how to make money renting an otherwise heavily depreciated recreational toy into something that pays for itself—or better yet, a business.”
All about Justin
Favorite morning beverage:
“Matcha soy latte”
Favorite campsite meal:
“Pizza night with our portable wood-fired pizza oven.”
Music you like to play on the radio:
“A little of this and that, ranging from West Coast hip hop and classic rock n’ roll to some good ol’ country tunes and whatever Radio Disney is playing.”
Best game to play on the road or at your campsite:
“We have a couple young kids, so we tend to change the game every 15 minutes, but our family favorite is “I spy with my little eye…”
Favorite season:
“Fall—Texas camping season”
Last photo you took:
“A photo of my daughter after day one of F1 races at COTA at the Bruno Mars concert.”
