What is the companies view on rentals

[hotpink]

I am interested in starting a by the hour "non-group tour" rental business to tourists in a high tourist count location. Before I apply for a dealership I am wondering how Segway corporate views the rental of units to individuals and couples for touring the local points of interest?
Thanks!

[Florida Ever-Glides]

I guess you need to talk to Segway corporate...

Are people now buying LLC dealerships to operate rentals/tours? That seems odd...

Tom Jacobson
http://www.floridaever-glides.com

[Stewbonz]

I do guided rides only.
I did do a bare rental ONE time and the Segway came back damaged.
The company may view this as positive as they will be selling you alot of replacement parts.

JEFF JARVIS
http://www.thailandsegwaytours.com/

[pam]

Tom, I'd be more inclined to think that it would be a case of viewing a segway dealership like an auto dealership. Rentals could be part of a "full package of services." (Not that I'd personally consider it as a dealer, due to exactly the same thing Jeff is talking about, but that's me...)
Pam

[Stewbonz]

A great idea, being a dealer and rental/tour company. Perfect way to supplement the income, sell second hand units and meet loads of potential new customers.
Somthing that Sarasota dealer should consider since he sold only 35 Segways last year:-)

JEFF JARVIS
http://www.thailandsegwaytours.com/

[Florida Ever-Glides]

I think being a HT Dealer/tour operator is sort of a conflict and not a compliment. Have you EVER heard of a 'trolley car' tour selling the trolley cars? I doubt it. Remember, a 'jack of all trades makes a master of none'. This is why many of the dealers are diong poorly at selling and tours/rentals. It's a lack of focus and an inability to sell sucessfully either tours or HT's...

The Segway dealer in Sarasota is a new car dealership. And frankly, they use the novelty of the HT to bring in potential car buyers as well as interested HT buyers. They have told me several times that because their overhead is absorbed by the car dealership, selling a lot of segways isn't necessary. And, I don't think as a new car dealership they're interested in the least in starting Segway tours...



Tom Jacobson
http://www.floridaever-glides.com

[Stewbonz]

No, I have never seen a trolly car tour company selling trolly cars Tom, though if I did want one, that would be the first place to look.
Come to think of it, I've never seen a trolly car store either.....
I'm working on a deal now with the Asian distributer to display in my office. Soon I won't have to turn away all the buyers that phone my office every week. They will be able to take my 90 minute tour and ride a new or demo unit home.






JEFF JARVIS
http://www.thailandsegwaytours.com/

[Florida Ever-Glides]

Great Jeff!!!!! I offered to display for my local dealership but it never panned out. I'm glad that it didn't. I purposly decided early on not to become a LLC dealer. I focus 100% on being a 'tourist attraction'. Focus brings success, LLC is a great example...

Tom Jacobson
http://www.floridaever-glides.com

[Stewbonz]

With import tax set at 60% it's going to be a tuff sell.

The Prime Ministers son has a few Segways and has been showing them off on TV lately. I have a feeling he is connected to the importer here. He could be influencial in getting the tax dropped on this "green vehicle".

JEFF JARVIS
http://www.thailandsegwaytours.com/

[snksegway]

We considered the idea of a dealership combined with a guided tour business and the company rep gave us such a laundry list of what was required, including how many we should sell in a year that we had to contract for. We thought the two would work together, but after hearing the requirments, we reconsidered. Now we are working on setting up a guided tour business. We won't consider renting out the Segways other than with a tour.

[Stan671]

quote:Originally posted by snksegway

We considered the idea of a dealership combined with a guided tour business and the company rep gave us such a laundry list of what was required, including how many we should sell in a year that we had to contract forTo be clear, that list of requirements was to become a dealer, not a guided tour operator. All dealers have to abide by the same list of requirements.

Stan Dobrowski

[Segway City]

Our local dealers have plans to do tours, they just can't keep their rental fleet home long enough to get them under way! With so many desiring a try-before-you-buy run, the rentals (commercial only, no personal/private) stay in the field. I don't see any conflict whatsoever, dealer vs. tours. The biggest obstacle is the amount of time required to do either task well will shortchange the other task. Spreading yourself too thin as a small businessman is the norm, but a fast way to fail if anything at all goes astray. I 'bin dere, dun dat, got da tshurt.

[snksegway]

Yes, we realize that the requirements are for dealers and not guided tours, I believe we mentioned that. Funny thing is, the rep in one state said one thing and the rep in another state had a whole different story. That's what made us decide not to opt for a dealership. We thought company policy was company policy and not state by state.

[Stewbonz]

The policy may change with every CEO?

JEFF JARVIS
http://www.thailandsegwaytours.com/

[Dragan]

Tom makes a good point about speading your efforts too thin.There are advantages to both dealer and non dealer status. As a dealer, obviously the purchase of machines from a $ standpoint is different, as is parts and accessories. Also, tech services will be needed by your customers, sooner or later. Again, there is a benefit in having the ability to be trained as a service tech. You have access to resources within segway (expertise in marketing, engineering retailing, logistics, just to name a few) that are not readiliy available to non-dealers at the same cost structure.

Non-dealer status leaves you with more latitude to operate your business creatively, lower some of the start-up costs and maximize your profit margins to a a degree. Is the trade-off worth it? For some, yes. Personally, we chose the dealer route for a number of reasons, and will focus on retail. If rentals become a significant area of consideration for us, we'll look at it more closely at that time, but for right now, I want our customers to think of us first, last and always for anything Segway related.
Wayne
www.mysegway.ca