Don Duncan runs 101 RV Rentals in Santa Barbara, California, where his business started from a background many renters wouldn’t expect. Before focusing fully on rentals, Don and his team were already working in RV storage and repair, helping customers keep their rigs in top condition.
Over time, they noticed something: plenty of people wanted the camping experience without owning an RV. That insight inspired them to build a travel trailer delivery rental business focused on Santa Barbara’s popular state parks. Today, 101 RV Rentals rents out travel trailers delivered directly to campsites, supported by a contract with the Department of Parks and Recreation.
Their main customers are families looking for an easy beach camping trip, and most renters are searching for a reliable RV rental website that can take reservations before the season sells out. After dealing with service issues and a lack of support from their previous provider, Don decided it was time to switch to a platform that could better support their business.
They chose Booqable as their RV rental software because it could integrate directly into their website and accept upfront rental orders. With Booqable’s online booking tools, service items, and rental period rules, 101 RV Rentals can run bookings in a way that fits how their business works day to day.
Turning website visitors into confirmed bookings
Before switching to Booqable, the biggest frustration wasn’t the rentals themselves. It was the software behind them. Don explains that their previous provider had major service issues and couldn’t properly support their business, which made it hard to rely on their booking process during busy seasons.
When your trailers sell out every year, you don’t have time to chase customer support or patch together workarounds. That’s what pushed Don to look for a system that could handle online orders and payments properly. With Booqable’s website integration, 101 RV Rentals can now accept reservations directly through their own RV rental website, with an online checkout that matches how they take bookings.
Customers book online, and Booqable collects 25% upfront to lock in the reservation. At the same time, they collect a refundable security deposit. The remaining balance can be collected later using Booqable’s payment settings in checkout.
This setup helps 101 RV Rentals in a few key ways:
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Customers can reserve their travel trailer online without back-and-forth emails
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Deposits and partial payments reduce cancellations and no-shows
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The team can focus on delivery, cleaning, and maintenance instead of chasing payments
Most importantly, it solves the original pain point. Don can trust that the booking process works even during peak season. And when customers book online, the team can prepare each delivery knowing the payment structure is already handled.
Offering service items as part of the booking experience
Running a delivery-based trailer rental business comes with extra decisions on every order. Some renters want add-ons, some want merchandise, and some want to bring pets. Without a clear system, those extras can turn into manual steps that are easy to miss or hard to charge for consistently.
That’s why 101 RV Rentals makes use of service items in the shopping cart. Instead of handling extras separately, Booqable lets Don offer add-ons directly during checkout. Customers can select what they need while booking, and the team can prepare everything ahead of time.
101 RV Rentals uses this feature to offer a T-shirt with the 101 Logo ($25.00), a Hat with the 101 Logo ($25.00), and a Pet fee ($125.00) for customers who want to bring pets along. Since it’s built into the booking flow, customers see their options at the right time and can easily add them to their reservation.
This setup helps them in a few practical ways:
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Customers can customize their booking without calling the office
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Add-on sales happen automatically during checkout
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Pet policies are clear upfront, which avoids confusion later
And the benefit is simple. It ensures the business collects the right fees every time. It also means Don’s team knows exactly what to prepare before the trailer is delivered, based on what the customer selected in their RV rental software checkout.
Protecting peak-season availability with minimum rental rules
In a seasonal market like Santa Barbara beach camping, short rentals can create big problems. A one- or two-night booking can block out a trailer during peak demand while still requiring the same amount of cleaning and delivery work. For a small team, that can quickly add up.
To avoid that, 101 RV Rentals uses Booqable’s online rental periods feature to set clear booking rules. They’ve implemented a four-day minimum rental period for all rentals, ensuring every booking fits their business model.
That means customers can still book online anytime they want, but Booqable automatically enforces the minimum rental length. Customers don’t have to guess what’s allowed, and the team doesn’t need to manually adjust bookings after the fact.
This feature helps them achieve a few important things:
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Ensures bookings are worth the time required for delivery and cleaning
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Reduces calendar gaps that make it harder to fill inventory
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Keeps scheduling manageable for their small team
Most importantly, this protects their calendar during busy seasons. It keeps the workload realistic while making sure every booking is worthwhile. And it makes expectations clear from the start, so customers understand the minimum stay before completing their booking on the RV rental website.
Ready for the next season
For Don Duncan, Booqable has become the system that supports the way 101 RV Rentals already operates: high-demand, delivery-focused, and built around customer convenience. Their team is small, but their service standards are high, and their trailers consistently sell out each year.
By combining online booking, flexible payment settings, service items, and minimum rental periods, they’ve built a booking experience that works for both the customer and the business. As Don puts it, “This software has saved us a lot of time.” And with plans to keep growing, 101 RV Rentals now has the foundation they need to keep taking bookings confidently year after year.
