Outdoorsy, the world’s fastest-growing outdoor recreation marketplace powering road trips and recreational vehicle adventures, today announces the expansion of its platform with the ability for travelers to book experiences alongside their recreational vehicle to help create the perfect custom outdoor experience.
The launch of Outdoorsy’s experiences offering comes at a time when the growth of the marketplace economy led by sharing economy companies is set to double between 2017 and 2022, according to Juniper Research.
Outdoorsy, which now operates in 14 countries, selected Viator, a TripAdvisor-owned marketplace for tours, activities, and attractions, as its first partner. A product integration with Viator brings more than 200,000 bookable global trip experiences to the Outdoorsy platform, offering one-stop-shop options for every type of adventurer — from a private winery tour in Napa, California to a sightseeing helicopter flight over the Poconos Mountains in Pennsylvania to snorkeling along the French Riviera.
By offering destination- and interest-driven experience add-ons, Outdoorsy is evolving to meet one of the travel industry’s hottest trends.
A skyrocketing 74 percent of Americans1 now prioritize experiences over products or things. Topping the list of experiences Americans are saving for is travel, with 65 percent of millennials currently saving up for a trip.
“With the launch of experiences, Outdoorsy is giving customers what they desire — but may not have known they wanted — out of a trip. We are investing in areas that complement our core offerings to provide our users with the opportunity to expand their rental experience beyond just the rig itself,” says Outdoorsy CEO and co-founder Jeff Cavins. “RV and campervan travel has always been more than just a way to get from Point A to Point B. Providing an optimal outdoor experience is a core company value and the ability to offer our customers experiences is a milestone we’re excited to build upon.”
According to a recent survey2, nearly 100 million Americans – four in 10 U.S. adults – are planning to take a family vacation in 2019, with 53 million Americans choosing to travel by road.
Outdoorsy’s launch of experiences aligns with the reveal of a website rebrand intended to provide travelers with a more interactive, user-friendly booking experience. The new experience offerings found on the platform are just as diverse as the rentable rig options – from vintage airstreams and customized Sprinter van conversions to towable teardrop trailers and driveable Class B campers.
“We want customers to take one look at the site and grasp the definition of an Outdoorsy trip,” says Outdoorsy’s VP of product, Tyler Quiel. “It’s a way to instantly envision what your own adventure and trip could look like. The integration of experiences is a conduit for customers to find fun, quick detours and make long-lasting memories.”
When booking a trip on Outdoorsy, renters will be able to put memories into motion. When plotting their pickup location and final destination, customers will be presented with curated experience options to add to their journey.
“By capturing a renter’s travel route and activity interest upfront, Outdoorsy will be able to instantly serve up a range of unique outdoor experience offerings,” Quiel says. For example, a renter could opt to stretch their legs on a guided nature walk in Boulder or step outside their comfort zone on a whitewater rafting trip on the Rouge River.
How each generation defines a valuable experience differs, with Gen Zers (born from 1996 and later) valuing adventure, Baby Boomers valuing traditional travel experiences such as sightseeing or touring, and Millenials (born from 1981 to 1996) and Gen Xers (born 1965-76) valuing relaxation, such as beach or spa time.
“Millennials are not interested in a marbled lobby hotel vacation. That is not what they want anymore,” Cavins says. “They want to truly experience the outdoors. They want to see glaciers and camp in Yellowstone.”
“This is a thriving time for experiential road travel, and therefore for Outdoorsy,” Cavins says. “As the world embraces campervan and RV travel, the launch of experiences is Outdoorsy’s answer to the call of a global customer base that prioritizes traveling somewhere new as much as they value an experience that gets them away from the four walls of a 4-star hotel and closer to a 4-billion-star sky.”
Outdoorsy plans to expand its experience offerings with new partners set to be announced in the year ahead. Outdoorsy also recently announced its new affiliation with ReserveAmerica.com, the leading marketplace for outdoor recreation activities. This alliance will allow more than 14.5 million visitors annually to discover the revolutionary power of RVs, road trips, and outdoor experiences.
These announcements come on the heels of the company’s announcement of key leadership hires from Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, eBay, Airbnb, Google and Expedia.
1 Source: Expedia and the Center for Generational Kinetics, “Generations On The Move”, https://bit.ly/2SvJqwa
2 Source: AAA, “Nearly 100 Million Americans Will Embark on Family Vacations This Year”, https://newsroom.aaa.com/2019/03/100-million-americans-will-embark-on-family-vacations/
