Finding a unique offering in a crowded industry, like bike rentals, can be challenging. However, Olivia de Briey and her team in Brussels, Belgium, were able to find a niche they could own. They started Bike Packer, which allows customers to rent bikes and everything they need to explore Belgium. In 2022, they started using Booqable to manage inventory and provide customer-friendly booking solutions.
Bike Packer
After leading an expatriate life, Olivia finally settled in her home country of Belgium. She decided to share her passion for cycling and her adventurous spirit to create Bike Packer, a bike rental business focused on helping people rent bikes and the gear they need to explore Belgium for an extended period. This is something that had never been done before in the city of Brussels.
To achieve this goal, she began renting out different styles of bikes alongside equipment that made it easier to travel further by bike. This includes panniers (backpacks for bikes) and attachments for traveling with children. In addition, Bike Packer offers maps and services to help customers plan their trip around Belgium.
Recently, the latter has extended to workshops to teach people how to prepare for their cycling adventures. This includes planning the best routes, creating an itinerary, and servicing bikes. They have partnered with local businesses, including Pro Velo and Morning Cycles, to achieve these goals. This has been one of their most memorable business moments of the past year.
Customer-friendly solutions
During the first year of operation, Olivia noticed some challenges preventing the business from operating as optimally as possible. This includes the logistics of managing bikes, accepting bookings, and taking payments. She searched for a solution in the form of rental software that would enable her to streamline these processes. Her search brought her to Booqable, which helped the business run more efficiently.
With Booqable, she and her team can easily manage their inventory of bikes and equipment side-by-side. In addition, they have utilized bundles to create packages where customers can book bikes and equipment in one. This has made it much easier to share inventory and prevent shortages from occurring. It has also made managing orders much more straightforward than previously.
Meanwhile, the Booqable WordPress plugin has made it easy to accept online bookings in a professional and customer-friendly way. Now, customers can browse the inventory on their website, see if it is available, decide, check out, and pay. This has led to an increase in the number of bookings Bike Packer receives.
Sustainable growth
Bike Packer has seen many benefits since starting to manage their inventory and accept online bookings with Booqable. It has allowed them to grow sustainably and begin focusing on offering additional services. In the past year, with the time saved, they have been able to launch their workshops and help customers in more ways than ever before.
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