Insider Only Techopia, Top Stories

RVs wanted: Rental platform RVezy faces supply crunch amid domestic travel boom

June 11, 2025

Already an Insider? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become an Ottawa Business Journal Insider and get immediate access to all of our Insider-only content and much more.

Fuelled by surging demand for recreational vehicles as more Canadians opt to travel in their own country this summer, RV rental platform RVezy says it’s on the road to profitability – even as a lack of supply poses a potential roadblock for growth. Michael McNaught, the co-founder, president and CEO of the Ottawa-based company, told OBJ he expects 80 per cent of the vehicles available for bookings in Canada on the August long weekend will be snapped up by next week. RVs are also in short supply for weekends in June and July as many vacationers who might have ventured south of the border in previous years are now choosing to explore their own backyards amid the fallout from the ongoing trade war with the U.S., McNaught explained. “We just simply can’t keep up with the demand that’s coming in the door,” he said. Domestic and international bookings for RVs in Canada are tracking about 12 per cent ahead of last year’s pace, McNaught said. But it’s not just those customers who are driving the increase in bookings, he noted. “The original thought was, ‘We think Canadians are going to want to stay in Canada this year.’ Which is true – that is happening. The one that we didn’t think of is that Americans are coming here. Not only do Canadians not want to travel in the U.S., but neither do Americans.” McNaught said the number of U.S. residents renting RVs in Canada has skyrocketed 300 per cent so far this year compared with 2024, “which now puts an even bigger stress on the inventory side of things.” While having more customers than you know what to do with might be a problem many entrepreneurs wish they had, McNaught said it’s a barrier to growth that RVezy is feverishly trying to overcome. On any given day, there are more than 7,000 vehicles available for rent in Canada on the platform. But McNaught says once that inventory is 70 per cent spoken for, “we start to lose our conversions because the variety is not there. People are coming, they’re searching, not finding what they want and they’re leaving.” As a result, this week RVezy issued a call for help, urging Canadians who aren’t using their RVs this summer to list them on the firm’s site. According to McNaught, about one in six Canadian households owns a recreational vehicle such as a motorhome or a trailer. Yet almost all of those RVs – more than two million, he estimates – spend most of the year sitting idle. McNaught is hoping to change that. He says RV owners on his firm’s platform earn an average of $10,000 per year, with many bringing in significantly more during peak summer months. Meanwhile, he adds, RV renters typically spend hundreds of dollars a day at restaurants, campgrounds and other businesses in local communities.

$6M swing in EBITDA

“There’s this huge economic benefit to Canada by jumping on this trend that we’re seeing,” McNaught said. “We could double our inventory and we would still be able to satisfy (demand).” The supply crunch comes as RVezy is on the verge of turning a profit for the first time in its nine-year history. While lack of inventory is slowing revenue growth, McNaught says the company is in a “much better place” financially than it was in the past after undertaking a series of cost-cutting measures that significantly boosted its margins and should result in a $6-million swing in EBITDA in 2025. He said the company, which provides full insurance coverage for RV owners, negotiated better rates from providers and stepped up its scrutiny of renters’ driving records in a bid to weed out high-risk customers, “which has a huge impact on our insurance claims.” RVezy also trimmed its payroll and now has a head count in the low 70s, down from about 80 a year ago. In addition, it paused initiatives that weren’t part of its core business, such as a partnership with RV dealerships that allowed potential buyers to rent vehicles through RVezy as a “test drive.” Meanwhile, the firm’s leadership team has also experienced a major shakeup. Co-founder Will Thompson, who previously served as chief executive, left RVezy last September but remains a shareholder. Veteran finance expert Rob White, one of the company’s original angel investors who came on board as chief financial officer last July, is an “avid RVer” who has been “invaluable” from a planning and forecasting perspective, McNaught added. “He understands the industry. He understands the market. That’s been a huge bonus for all of us,” the CEO said. As RVezy’s busiest time of year approaches, McNaught said he feels good about where the company is headed. “I think there’s a really bright future ahead. There are huge growth opportunities ahead of us that we’re now going to be in a position that actually take advantage of.”