With flying too frightening of an option for many because of the coronavirus pandemic, experts have been predicting that recreational vehicles would prove to be more popular with vacationers this summer.
Based on the experiences of a couple of local companies, it appears that, so far, the experts are right.
“The last two weeks or so, we’ve been getting a lot of phone calls and a lot of inquiries, as far as rentals,” said Tom Gunther, manager of Annapolis RV in Grasonville, Maryland, which rents four van-based RVs to the public.
“For June, we’re pretty much booked up,” he said. Customers have been telling him, “they’re going to see family because they don’t want to fly” and have mentioned Texas, Tennessee and Florida as destinations.
“I’m basically fully booked June and July and I’m getting a lot of inquiries,” said Jae Noh, owner of Spigus LLC in Clifton, Virginia, which rents out a pair of bus-like RVs.
He said a more typical summer would see the vehicles booked up about two-thirds of the time.
Noh said RV parks, in places like the Shenandoah and Virginia Beach, are popular spots to visit because the parks have the benefit of electrical, water and sewer connections.
The RV rentals go for roughly $300 per night. Annapolis RV also offers travel trailers for $125 per night.
Both Gunther and Noh said that since the pandemic hit, customers are renting the RVs for longer periods of time than they typically see.
There are also more first-time renters, who need a roughly hourlong tutorial on how to operate the vehicles.
