Why stop at hotels, restrooms, or restaurants when you can take your own lodging, bathroom, kitchen, and dining room with you on the road? 

Evidently, a lot of travelers have been having similar thoughts lately. A few months ago, RVshare, a peer-to-peer recreational-vehicle rental marketplace (think Airbnb, but for RVs instead of residences) reported that it had tracked an unprecedented 1,600 percent increase in bookings between early April and early June. Compared to last summer, RVshare’s bookings have tripled for the summer of 2020.

It’s not just peer-to-peer RV rentals that are on the rise, either. According to Business Insider, sales for Airstream trailers were up 11 percent year-over-year in May, while Marathon Coach was predicting a sales jump of 30 percent for 2020 compared to last year. The RV Industry Association, meanwhile, teamed up in June with market research company Ipsos and found that 20 percent of survey respondents indicated an increased interest in RVs “as a recreational travel option” because of COVID-19. Based on the study, 46 million Americans are expected to travel in RVs between June 2020 and June 2021.

These changing trends and mindsets have led to an extremely busy summer for local RV retailers, according to the Northern Express, sister publication of The Ticker. Take Traverse City’s TCRV, which has been offering RVs for purchase or rent since 1988. According to Jackie Amenson, TCRV’s rental manager, the business has tracked 95 rental reservations for the summer season so far, across five motorhomes and 11 travel trailers. That number is up 10 percent compared to last year, and Amenson says she expects it to hold strong into the fall months. TCRV keeps its rental program going through November, and the business’s rental trailers are already booked through the end of September.

Read more about the national RV rush and offerings available in northern Michigan in this week’s Northern Express, available to read online or at newsstand locations in 14 counties across northern Michigan.