unning a rental business, whether it’s boat rentals such as pontoons, ski boats and jet skis or RVs, golf carts or something completely different, often requires many steps that have to be completed before the renter gets on the water (or the road).
Here we’ll take a look at ways to step up your Check In / Check Out process and ensue that all steps are handled properly. This reduces risk for you as a rental operator and the faster Check In / Check Out will make your customers happier.
What should be in your Check In
Many rental operators use a variant of the following Check In procedures:
- Verify rental unit, rental length and waivers
- Add add-on items (e.g. tubes, wake board, fuel charge)
- Authorize damage deposit
- Provide safety instructions
- Rental Checklist
- Take pictures or video of the rental(s)
As you’ll see in the screenshot below, the automated Check In form is easy to use. The system automatically pre-fills as much information as possible.
A few notes about the Check In form.
Rental Unit/Resource The booking system pre-assigns a rental unit but you can change it at check in if needed. The status will indicate if there are open issues, such as damages with the selected rental unit.
Waivers If any participants forgot to fill out a waiver, you can text them a link directly from the check in form.
Add-ons Use the add-ons to upsell additional products such as tubes, fuel packages, etc. The add-ons are automatically added to the booking.
Damage Deposit The system will automatically calculate the damage deposit required. You can authorize the damage deposit to the card on file or you can authorize the damage deposit to a new card.
Photos/Video Add pictures or video of the rental unit. The pictures or video will serve as documentation if you discover damage when the rental is complete.
It’s easy to add or remove additional items to the Check In template. You can also re-arrange the order of the items.
What should be in your Check Out
The Check Out is often simpler than the Check In.
- Inspect rental unit(s) for damage
- Take photo or video of the rental unit(s)
- Release damage deposit
- Tip/gratuity from the customer
- Add additional charges (fuel charge or other)
- Register hours/odometer of the rental unit, if needed
If an issue is discovered during Check Out, such as a damage or a missing item(s), you can open an issue report directly from the Check Out screen.
Summary
The Check In / Check Out module has many more features including agreements, payments, renter’s insurance and more.
The built-in Check In / Check Out module is one of the many features that makes BookingCentral the ideal booking platform for Boat Rental and RV operators. To learn more about BookingCentral, reach out to our team of experts today!
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