How to Set your Vehicle’s Availability

Thank you for adding your vehicle on the platform! Now that it’s there, be sure to set the days when it will be available so you can start seeing rental activity. Activity depends on many factors, the most deal-breaking of which is if your vehicle is available when the renter needs it.

We give you several options to conveniently schedule when your vehicle is available to rent. Doing so helps renters know when they can rent the vehicle, so you can get more transactions on the marketplace. Here we’ll show you exactly how to set and adjust your vehicle’s listing as idle periods come and go.

Why Should You Monitor Your Availability?

Whenever your vehicle is underutilized, it would be better off being out on the road with COOP. Convert as many of your idle days to offsetting your businesses’ expenses by actively adjusting your availability. Include availability updates as part of a great fleet management workflow.

Certain periods of time can be more active than others. Acting on these high-times can mean a lot of revenue for your business. For example, a refrigerated trailer made available during Florida’s flower season could bring in almost 2k during a single long-term rental from a business in demand.

Things that cause this are transportation industry norms, seasonal shifts, and certain unique qualities of each market. Check out our market guides to get a sense of the seasonal trends in your market. Or, feel free to talk to our customer success team to get a better idea of when your vehicle’s should be listed as available.

Set Your Business Hours

Before you continue, our Business Hours Feature is a helpful first step. Select the days and times that your business is open each week, and the hours will show on each vehicle’s booking page. Want to automatically block Renter requests outside your businesses operating hours? Select the Limit Pickup & Dropoff option.

When you set your business hours, you’re still able to define a range of days that works for your business with the best ways to set availability below.

Best Way to Set Availability

It’s easy to make changes to your vehicle’s availability, and it’s less hassle for you when requests only come through when a vehicle is actually available. You should set your vehicle’s availability based on when you predict your business will not need it.

Aim to have your vehicle’s availability scheduled a month in advance. This encourages renters to reserve your vehicle with plenty of notice, for longer periods, and will overall get you the most out of the platform.

Update your availability regularly in just a few clicks. In all cases, think ahead and benefit from idle inventory as often as possible. In the app set your vehicle to always available or to available for specific date ranges.

“Always Available”

If you predict 100% availability for your vehicle for the foreseeable future, this option is a perfect fit. A completely idle vehicle can start to get reservations and get out on the road for long-term rentals whenever there is demand.

This option is a great way to start, though you should consider setting a more customized availability schedule. Only choose this option if your vehicle is truly always available.

“Choose Specific Date Ranges”

Use this if your vehicle has periods of time when it sits but isn’t certain days each week or is available for an entire season. This option gives you the flexibility to set date ranges when they’re known. If you can’t reliably use the prior two options, consider updating this section often.

An important note, you can set multiple date ranges ahead of time by selecting “Add Available Dates” so that you can plan ahead. Give renters the fullest picture, and the most time, to reserve your idle vehicles and gain you profit.

You can always evaluate and approve reservations as they come through. Also, you have full control over what availability you set and always have the flexibility to adjust it based on what is best for your business. As time goes on, you may choose to make changes to the availability based on your vehicle’s utilization or changes in your businesses’ operations.

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“Hide Vehicle Feature”

This option allows you to opt-in to hide your vehicles from the search results while they are on an active reservation. This way, you do not continue to receive requests for vehicles that are already on the road.

Your vehicles will immediately appear as-normal in search once they have been returned. We recommend choosing this option to make management of your vehicles simple.

How to Set the Availability

Now that you know about the importance of keeping a regular, accurate availability schedule with your vehicles on the platform let’s cover how to set it. In just a few steps, you can adjust the availability from your account with ease.

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1. Go to your Account Management and navigate to the “Manage Fleet” tab
2. Select “Manage Vehicle” next to the vehicle that you would like to adjust availability for
3. In the panel to the right, click the “Set Availability” button
4. Select the right option for your business: Always Available or Choose Specific Date Ranges
5. Confirm your settings

Be sure to update this as new information becomes known. Bookmark your fleet management page, it’s easy to let renters know when they can reserve your vehicle so that you have more successful transactions.

Adjust for the Results you See

Listing your vehicles as soon as they’re idle is key to getting the most out of your experience on the COOP platform. Contact our customer success team for any questions you have about availability, adjusting your rate, or promoting your business. Now that your vehicles are more visible to be utilized, try some of the other best practices for COOP owners.