Opportunities for Ski & Snowboard Rental Business in 2022
Winter sports businesses are now more lucrative than ever due to service diversification in year-round products and digital enablement that allows these businesses to stay in touch with customers all seasons. Also, by focusing primarily on brand identity in off seasons, skiing and snowboard rental brands are able to generate higher revenues YoY.
In this blog, we will focus on how interested entrepreneurs can launch their own online ski/snowboard rental platform with the help of a sky and snowboard rental software. Before we begin, let’s take a look at the emerging trends and top ski rental business players in 2021-2022.
Trends & Technologies Shaping the Skiing and Winter Sports Rental Industry
The skiing industry is a big contributor to the winter sports sector. However, it has evolved in the following year and has transitioned from various trends. Below are the trends that are dominating 2021 and are expected to stay in the near future as well.
1. Alternative Environment
The alternative environment has been a revolutionary change for the ski rental industry to offer more flexibility on the slope. For snowboarding, it has assisted in providing innovative snowskates with the production of a new e-vehicle.
2. Sustainability
Since artificial snowmaking and travel activities of winter tourists have struck the environment by causing pollution, ski rental businesses have started switching to sustainability.
Winter tourists are more inclined to use eco-friendly equipment and have an increased preference for biodegradable products. In the future, global industries are also aiming to switch commercially available products with 100% recyclable equipment.
3. Augmented Reality
One of the biggest challenges of the skiing & winter sports industry is extreme weather conditions and disasters such as storms and avalanches. This has given rise to skiing simulation technology that can be used all around the year. AR can also be utilized in snowsports for various reasons like entertainment and analytics.
4. Personalization
Personalized snowboard designs are gaining rapid popularity in the winter sports industry. Custom-based skins are on the rise and shaping the consumer mindset towards personal preferences over standard options.
- Wearable Glass Technology
This trend provides relief to all the glass wearers, thus producing top-quality goggles as per the industry standards. Other reasons why this trend is dominating the market are its good protection and a wide variety of sophisticated designs.
Top Market Players of Skiing sports rental industry
Here are the top market players in the skiing and snowboarding rental industry:
● Amer Sports Oyj
Headquarter: Helsinki, Finland
Founded: 1950, Helsinki
Website: https://www.amersports.com/
● Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd
Headquarters: Holladay, Utah, United States
Founded: 1 December 1989
Website: https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/
● Skis Rassignol S.A.
Headquarters: Isere, France
Founded: 1907
Website: https://www.rossignol.com/
● The Burton Corporation
Headquarters: Burlington, Vermont, United States
Founded: 1 December 1977, Londonderry, Vermont, United States
Website: https://www.burton.com/
● Volcom LLC
Headquarters: Costa Mesa, California, United States
Founded: 1991, Orange County, California, United States
Website: https://www.volcom.com/
- Helly Hansen
Headquarters: Oslo, Norway
Founded: 1877, Moss, Norway
Website: https://www.hellyhansen.com/
You can look forward to starting an outdoor gear rental website having an appropriate business model & key features.
Reasons Why Investing in Skiing Rental Sports Industry is a Good Idea
The online B2B skiing sports rental marketplace when compared to other winter sports marketplace is a fairly dominating concept. Why should a business owner invest in the ski rental business? One of the biggest reasons is that it is highly profitable and loved by high earning families. Moreover, as skiing equipment is something that isn’t used by the majority of its customers, it is perfectly suited for the rental niche.
“The Global water sports market is projected to grow steadily by the year 2021. It is growing at a CAGR of 5%.”
Steps to Start a Skiing Sports Rental Business
- Market Research – Conduct thorough marketing research evaluating various geographic regions for better profitability along with their political and social factors. Entrepreneurs also need to find out the consumer mindset including their spending patterns, purchasing power, and what they like to read and listen for marketing.
- Competitor analysis – Entrepreneurs can also learn from their competitors and conduct various analyses to discover the value proposition and unique selling points of their business. They can also try to find problems in their business model to provide service to customers. Lastly, they can also analyze the pricing strategy of their competitors to set the best price for each and every customer persona.
- Know the Pain Points – Business owners need to identify various pain points of their customers. This can be done with the help of public surveys or group interviews. Knowing the pain point will help you improve many more things along with the market offerings such as internal processes and customer service.
- Select a Business Name and Trademarks: The next stage is to select your brand name, logo, and all associated trademarks. The trademarks will give an identity to your business and help you in pre-launch promotions. Along with marketing, appropriate branding efforts will also help in attracting investors.
- Select Software Technology: There are several technologies available today to launch online businesses. Entrepreneurs can either opt for custom development languages or choose readymade ski rental software. The best approach to select the best rental software is to view their official demos and share your business requirements with the respective development teams.
Our Recommendations:
Yo!Rent: Yo!Rent is an online rental software that has been specifically designed to assist ski & snowboard rental businesses in conducting online operations. To simplify them, it has been reinforced with features like rental security management, product inspection, late return and cancellation charges, RFQ module, document verification, and more. The latest version, Yo!Rent V3 also comes with industry-specific design and functionality for equipment rental niches. Click here to check the YoRent rental software review to get more detailed info.
Sharetribe: Sharetribe is a fully-hosted e-commerce solution that comes with two versions, which are Sharetribe Go and Sharetribe Flex. While the former comes with a standard design and general features, the latter comes with custom features and design. However, the customization can also consume more time and will cost extra. The pre-included rental features in Sharetribe include the RFQ module, multi-lingual support, and a booking calendar.
Conclusion
The skiing rental industry is experiencing an innovative shift & is expected to grow in the upcoming season. Considering the profitability of the business in winters and especially amongst well-off families and customers, early-to-mid 2022 is amongst the best periods to launch a ski rental business. With the help of readymade solutions like Yo!Rent, Sharetribe, and more, entrepreneurs can launch their ski rental business even faster.
For any doubts and queries regarding online ski and snowboarding rental businesses, or knowledge, or any other rental niche, feel free to post a comment below.
