In 2025, Tawson Abplanalp’s AlpMX Adventures, based in Utah, almost began by accident. What started as a resourceful solution for a cash-strapped college student quickly transformed into a thriving dirt bike rental business. Tawson discovered an untapped market for high-performance 2-stroke dirt bikes in his local area.
Now the main customer group consists of middle-income men between their 20s and 40s seeking adrenaline-pumping off-road experiences. Initially managing bookings through Microsoft Excel, Tawson faced significant challenges in scheduling, charging security deposits, and tracking revenue.
With ambitious plans to scale his business across other tourist-rich areas of Utah and potentially expand into tours, road bike rentals, and even the RV market, he knew he needed an all-in-one solution to manage this accidental success story.
All-in-one rental management made simple
Booqable emerged as the breakthrough bike rental software that transformed AlpMX Adventures’ operations. By using our rental website builder, Tawson could host his website directly from his Booqable account using his own domain.
Our platform offered an impressive selection of over 50 pre-made templates, allowing him to easily drag and drop images, customize text, and adjust colors and styling to create a professional online presence.
The online booking system became a key part of his business, displaying live availability of products and enabling instant bike reservations. These instant reservations automatically send a webshop confirmation email to customers and instantly schedule pick-ups and returns on the dashboard, making the entire booking process smoother.
Through our mobile app, Tawson could manage his entire rental operation on the go, reserving bikes in the back office, scheduling orders on the dashboard, and staying up to date with any new online orders received in his account.
Securing payments and card authorizations
One of the key features Tawson discovered was the ability to process and authorize credit card payments through our Stripe integration, directly within the Booqable platform. The online checkout provides flexible payment options that changed how he does business. Through our system, Tawson can now charge customers a portion or the full amount of the rental upfront, along with collecting a separate security deposit.
Credit card authorizations are a safety net for rental businesses like AlpMX Adventures. They allow Tawson to hold a specific amount of funds from a customer’s credit card to cover potential damages or additional fees. This means if a bike comes back damaged or with extra wear and tear, he can charge the customer for repairs without going through a complicated billing process.
With Booqable, managing these authorizations is incredibly simple. From the orders page, Tawson can quickly review, approve, or process charges with just a few clicks. The system automatically holds the funds for up to 7 days, giving him plenty of time to inspect returned bikes and handle any necessary charges, all without the stress of chasing down payments or dealing with billing complications.
Cutting costs and competition
By using Booqable’s rental management software, Tawson dramatically reduced his business costs. The platform’s affordability and productivity allowed him to offer competitive rental rates, beating competitors by approximately 30%.
Where he might have previously needed to hire an accountant or pay for expensive website development, Tawson now manages his entire business single-handedly.
The results speak for themselves. Customers consistently highlight the website’s ease of use, with many praising the simple booking experience AlpMX Adventures now offers. As Tawson himself puts it, Booqable has enabled “Massive time and stress savings. There is less product mix up and loss, and I finally have a great looking website.”
Conclusion
What began as a college student’s side hustle has transformed into a promising business, powered by innovative rental website technology that makes operations easier and enhances customer experience.
As Tawson remarked, “The software is beautiful, and the website builder is amazing. It has literally changed every aspect of my business.”. With an easy-to-use website, smooth inventory management, and making online payments work for him, Tawson has transformed his small side hustle into a promising business ready for future growth.
As AlpMX Adventures looks to the future, Booqable stands as a key partner in their journey, proving that the right rental management software can turn entrepreneurial dreams into reality.
