CHICAGO, IL (BRAIN)—SmartEtailing has partnered with RentaBikeNow.com to provide the latter’s powerful reservation engine so that bike rental and tour reservations can begin directly from bike shop Web sites.
Under the exclusive agreement, shops with SmartEtailing-powered Web sites can embed RentaBikeNow.com’s rental system within their own sites to accept reservations 24/7/365. Within minutes, they can begin offering rental bikes, accessories and tours on their own Web site and capture confirmed reservations even when closed. The program even includes free rental liability insurance for participating shops.
“Now, bike retailers have an easy way to market and manage a bike rental program that yields new revenue and frees up staff time,” said Mark Graff, SmartEtailing’s co-founder. “In a few clicks, shops can easily manage their rental inventory, set prices, and check upcoming rentals, while consumers can quickly place reservations."
The partnership has been in the works for over a year and started, naturally, in a bike shop. George Garner Jr., owner of north suburban Chicago bike shops, connected their customer and RentaBikeNow.com founder, George Gill, with Graff after hearing about Gill's nationwide bike rental network.
“Connecting the quality and innovation of these two companies just makes sense. Now, I can maximize my rental program and increase traffic and revenue for both my Web site and my store,” Garner said.
The relationship grew at last year’s Interbike when SmartEtailing suggested that RentaBikeNow.com’s national platform be localized and customized for individual bike shop Web sites. The discussion effectively launched a turnkey application that serves all of the bike shop’s customers. Out-of-town visitors can easily reserve a bike before they arrive and local customers can use the application to reserve bikes when traveling elsewhere.
The RentaBikeNow.com reservation application is available at no additional charge to all of SmartEtailing’s clients that have access to its content libraries. While sign-up is required with RentaBikeNow.com, the company is waiving its one-time set-up fee and automatically applying their Affiliate Discount, which reduces transaction commissions by 25 percent.
“With our combined level of quality, service and support, our mutual clients are sure to be the best, most successful retailers in the industry. In these challenging economic times, bike shops should leverage every possible advantage—and this is a big one,” Gill said.
