Between 2020 and 2022, a considerable amount people around the world got their motorcycle license. As a result, there was an increase in demand for people wanting to tour foreign countries by motorcycle. Wes Heiser picked up on this trend and created a unique offering, renting out Triumph motorcycles to small groups wishing to tour Japan. When starting his business, he chose Booqable as his rental partner.
UB Touring
Wes always loved motorcycle touring and Japan is a safe and interesting place to ride. However, there is a high cultural and language barrier for non-Japanese speaking people. When he realized there was an increase in demand from foreign people to visit Japan and explore by motorcycle, he seized the opportunity to start his own rental business.
When deciding which motorcycle brand to rent out, he had only one choice in mind. He decided to rent out Triumph motorcycles as they were his favorite, and no other rental company in Japan was offering them. This helped him stand out in the market as he filled an untapped niche that needed to be met.
In addition, UB Touring is the only rental company in Japan that permits skilled off-road riders to take their motorcycles off-road. Wes also specializes in small tour groups to provide riders with individual attention and a feeling of freedom away from the traffic of a large group. This is not generally catered to, but it is desired by many who want to explore Japan by motorcycle.
Great customer experiences
When Wes was preparing to launch his rental business, he wanted to be self-service so that he wouldn’t have to communicate back and forth with customers. Initially, he thought about outsourcing this to a booking management service, but he wanted to maintain control. So, he searched for rental software to meet his needs and found Booqable, the perfect companion for his business.
One of the most critical things Wes wanted to achieve was for customers to be able to check if a tour was available on their desired dates. He achieved this by integrating the Booqable calendar component with his Squarespace website. This also allowed him to achieve the goal of customers being able to complete a booking by themselves.
Additionally, Wes was keen to keep control of changes to his inventory and pricing. Booqable’s easy-to-use user interface allows him to change his inventory, adjust pricing, and automatically charge security deposits with just a few clicks. He also liked the automated email confirmations that were sent when someone made an online booking, even when he was asleep.
Just 18 days
Wes has been running UB Touring for a few months and has already tweaked his setup. He thought it would take several months just to set up the software, but was surprised when it only took him 18 days from signing up to meet his desired setup fully. Next, he hopes to welcome many more customers over the coming months and encourage customers to return annually.
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