For Colleen Walsh, a small-town dream by the ocean turned into a thriving rental business built on adventure and community. “My niece was renting out yard toys to help pay for those her children enjoyed,” Colleen recalls. “When she was offered another similar business to purchase, she invited me in!” Together, they began expanding their offerings and turning a family pastime into a business that brings people together.
Today, South Delta Rentals offers paddleboards, kayaks, karaoke machines, axe-throwing gear, and team-building packages to locals and tourists alike. Their customers, mostly between their mid-20s and early 50s, come looking for fun activities and memorable experiences.
Before adopting Booqable’s rental software, managing the growing list of bookings and keeping track of stock became difficult. Colleen and her niece had tried other systems, but as she puts it, “We tried many other platforms prior to Booqable. It has no equal at the booking part of rental businesses.”
Switching to Booqable allowed them to add a rental department directly onto their WordPress site through the plugin integration. Orders, payments, and inventory now live in one connected system. “The system’s core is designed to solve all these issues by integrating the rentals, customer contacts and inventory in one place,” Colleen says.
Managing growth with one platform
What began as a family side project is now a trusted community business by the sea. “Our website has been scrupulously organized to help the user book with ease while keeping track of our stock levels,” Colleen says. Using Booqable’s rental website builder made it possible to manage everything from listings to bookings without extra technical work.
Colleen explains that customers now browse their rental website, check availability, and make bookings “in the middle of the night,” freeing up her time during the day. “Most people call first for reassurance or guidance and then seamlessly book so we are hands-off,” she says. The system handles orders automatically, and she and her niece simply deliver the equipment when needed.
When asked about the future, Colleen’s vision is clear: “In 5 years, we hope to be delivering our paddleboards in a custom golf cart, have a few high school kids helping us out and enjoying the benefits of the hard work we are putting in now.” With Booqable’s all-in-one booking and inventory features, South Delta Rentals has built a solid base for that growth.
Keeping stock under control
Before adopting Booqable, inventory tracking was a constant challenge. “Stock tracking, deposits & consolidating commitments in one place” were the top struggles, Colleen shares. Booqable’s inventory management tools now ensure that every paddleboard, karaoke machine, and axe-throwing set is accounted for in real time.
With live availability built directly into the system, Colleen and her niece can see exactly what’s available, what’s booked, and when items will be returned. Whenever a customer places an order on their rental website, Booqable automatically updates quantities and prevents double bookings. “It has increased efficiency leaving us with more time to further our community exposure,” Colleen notes.
Here’s what this achieves for them:
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Real-time visibility of what’s in use and what’s available
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Automatic updates across every booking without manual entry
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Confidence that customers only see accurate stock levels online
By addressing their original pain point, South Delta Rentals can now focus on growing their local partnerships instead of managing spreadsheets.
Deposits made easy
Managing deposits used to be a headache. Before Booqable, Colleen’s team had to manually calculate how much to hold from each customer and remember to refund it later. Now, the deposits feature does the work for them.
Deposits are auto-calculated based on preset rules, whether as a percentage of the order total, a percentage of the product value, or a fixed amount, and charged when the customer books through the website. When the order is marked as “returned,” Booqable prompts them to refund the deposit immediately.
This system helps South Delta Rentals by:
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Reducing the risk of missed or incorrect deposits
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Keeping financial records accurate and transparent
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Ensuring customers have confidence when booking online
Having deposits automated gives Colleen peace of mind. The team no longer needs to cross-check every order manually, and customers appreciate the smooth refund process that mirrors the professionalism of larger companies.
From family idea to seaside success
The story of South Delta Rentals is one of local creativity and hard work supported by the right tools. With Booqable’s rental software, Colleen and her niece built a business that’s both reliable and community-driven.
From managing a growing inventory to automating deposits, Booqable gives them the structure they need to focus on what matters, connecting people through fun, shared experiences by the sea.
As Colleen puts it best, “Most people find it very easy and have had no issues brought up as far as deficiencies noted.” For her and her customers, that ease of use is what keeps the adventure going, one booking at a time.
