Loading
The ability to change directions quickly has been crucial for businesses reacting to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
Mid Florida RV Rentals is one example — shifting to promote another use for its RVs: self-quarantining. Renting an RV, it says, is a way for people to isolate and protect themselves and others from COVID-19.
Craig Carey, owner of Mid Florida RV Rentals in Tampa, tells Coffee Talk the company typically provides its RVs for vacation rentals and support for events. “We had a full schedule booked for the next few months, and of course, they all cancelled,” says Carey. “We decided in order to stay in business, we need to repurpose and become a completely different type of company.”
He’s received some interest from hospitals with frontline employees who don’t want to take anything home to their families and don’t want to catch anything from their families. The idea, Carey says, is for RVs to be set up in a hospital’s parking lot to give workers a place to go when they’re off duty. Mid Florida RV Rentals also plans to donate the use of at least a couple of vehicles to hospitals or emergency management providers.
Now, Carey is trying to get the message out about the variety of ways renting his RVs could be a useful option during the pandemic. Beyond self-quarantining, he’s encouraging people to use them to house family members who need to be kept safe. “If you have elderly parents and don’t want them to be in an assisted living facility or whatever the case may be, that’s a great way to use it, too,” he says. “Put it in your driveway and they’re close to you, but they still have a comfortable place of their own.”
To promote the new uses during COVID-19, Mid Florida RV Rentals is offering deep discounts — if someone books an RV for seven days, it’s offering 50% off the normal rates. Carey says, “If anybody needs a safe space for an extended period of time, we certainly are available, and we’re looking to find those people who need that.”
Your free article limit has been reached this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited digital access to our award-winning business news.
Join thousands of executives who rely on us for insights spanning Tampa Bay to Naples.
