You have decided to list your car on Drive mate to earn additional income or are in the deciding phase. You stumbled upon this blog at the right time then. Earning hundreds of dollars from your car when it is not in use is a great way to have an additional source of income.

Before we dive into the step-by-step process of how to maximize your earnings as a host on Drive mate, let us look at the advantages of car sharing in Australia.

What is Car Sharing?

Car sharing is a service that allows people to access cars on an as-needed basis. Customers can rent cars on an hourly or daily basis and use them for their own transportation needs. The rental fee includes fuel, insurance, and parking, making car sharing an economical alternative to traditional car rental services. By leveraging digital technology, the car-sharing process can be done quickly, conveniently, and securely.

Car sharing has been proven to reduce carbon emissions significantly. When the same car is used by multiple individuals, there is less need to manufacture and purchase new cars. By decreasing the number of cars on the road, fewer emissions are produced, leading to a reduction in air pollution. Car sharing can also help reduce traffic congestion, which can cause emissions from vehicles stuck in traffic to increase. Additionally, by reducing vehicle ownership, total emissions from producing and maintaining vehicles are also lowered.

Benefits of Car Sharing with Drive mate

​Earn extra income

Car sharing can be a great way to make money with minimal effort. You can earn an hourly or daily rate for each car rental.

Increase Exposure

Listing your car on a car-sharing platform like Drive mate will give you access to potential customers. This can help you find more renters, which translates to more income.

Reduce long-term costs

If you're not planning to use your car often, listing it on a car-sharing platform like Drive mate can help you save on long-term costs such as parking, maintenance, and insurance.

Flexible commitment

If you don't want to list your car for a long period of time, many you can opt for short-term or one-time rental options. This gives you the freedom to rent out your car when it works best for you.

Stay connected with the community

Car sharing can be a great way to stay connected with your community. You may even meet new people who you can help and give back to.

With so many benefits of car sharing, let us see how you maximize your income by listing your car on Drive mate.

How to Maximise Your Earnings as a Host  

Set a fair and competitive price: When setting your price, consider the make and model of your vehicle, its age, and the features it offers. Additionally, factor in the market rate for similar vehicles in your area. Setting a fair and competitive price will help ensure you get the most out of your car-sharing experience.

How does car sharing work?

Offer flexible rental periods: Providing flexible rental periods will help attract more potential renters, as they can choose a rental period that best suits their needs. You can block time in the calendar when your car is not available. This helps potential customers to see the car availability and book if it is convenient for them.

Keep your car in good condition: Make sure your car is clean and in good working order before renting it out. Keeping your car in good condition will help attract more renters and boost your earnings. A happy customer will leave a good review which in turn will attract new customers to view your car and make a booking. 

Respond to inquiries quickly: When you receive an inquiry about renting your car, respond quickly and professionally. Responding promptly will let potential renters know you're reliable and help secure more bookings. If customers do not hear from you soon, they will look for other car options and you will lose potential bookings.

Opt for Instant Booking: Drive mate offers an ‘Instant booking’ option where customers can view and instantly book the car instead of making an inquiry. We notice that cars listed under instant booking received 5X business than cars that are listed under inquiry first. By opting for instant booking you will also save time from manually checking your app and from to-and-fro communication.

Promote your car: Promote your car on social media and other platforms to increase its visibility and attract more renters. While Drive mate will list your car and show it to customers who are visiting the website /app, you can also increase your car visibility by sharing it in places where there are potential renters. 

Leverage referrals: Ask your previous renters to refer their friends to rent your car. This is an effective way to increase your earnings. Drive mate’s referral program is a lucrative way to earn extra income not only from your car but also from your network. 

Tell friends to rent or host a trip. Friends who sign up for Drive mate with your code will get a $25 credit. When a referred user completes a trip you will get $100 or $25 depending on if the user is a host or guest. 

Manage Availability: Based on research and analysis of past data of our successful hosts, we have found that by keeping your Drive mate calendar open for at least 24 days in a month, you have a higher chance of getting bookings than hosts who keep it open for less. That’s 80% availability of your car. Block times when the car isn’t available to avoid booking requests.

Lower your cancellation: Our algorithm works in a way that when more and more cancellations are done by the host, their car goes down in search, leading to lower views and clicks. By maintaining a good acceptance rate for your bookings, you are increasing your revenue and also the chance of new customers looking up your car and making an inquiry.

Be as descriptive as possible: Describe your car in detail. The features, the functionalities, the do’s and don’ts, etc - No smoking allowed? Say it. Set the rental duration, booking limits, pet-friendly status, etc to attract the right guests for your car. When customers read a detailed description, they will make a booking fully aware of the terms which will avoid unnecessary back and forth in discussion or cancellation.

Here is a detailed article about the ''Refer and Earn'' Program of Drive mate.

Also Read:  Marc Von Romburg tells us about his hosting experience with Drive mate