Exploring the World of RV Travel with RVshare's Maddi Bourgerie

Join us as we dive into the exciting world of RV travel with Maddi Bourgerie from RVshare. We explore the unique benefits of renting an RV for your next adventure and discuss how RVshare is making it easier than ever to experience the great outdoors on your own terms.

Welcome to No Tourists Allowed

Mike Putman: Welcome to No Tourists Allowed, a podcast where two recognized travel industry executives with a combined 71 years on the inside of travel and technology give up their secrets to the thing everyone wants to do: travel better, pay less, and see more of the world. Here are your hosts, Mike Putman and James Ferrara.

James Ferrara: Hello everyone. I'm Mike Putman, and this is James Ferrara. Welcome to No Tourists Allowed. Mike, we have an incredible episode this week for a number of reasons. I was in Austin over the weekend for a very special event. Interestingly enough, I think our guest today hails from Austin. We didn't bump into each other over the weekend, but there were about half a million people in for some special sporting events. We're going to get to that later. More importantly, we have a really special guest for you this week. This is something that really caught my attention.

Mike Putman: It certainly caught my attention. This is a part of the travel space that, even though we've been around the globe a few times and have been in various travel roles, I have not really participated much in, nor do I know much about. Hopefully, today's guest will be able to enlighten us and share some of her experiences. Without going any further, I'd like to introduce Maddi Bourgerie. You need to be French like me to get it right.

James Ferrara: You were Italian last week, and you're French this week? He has a different story each week. But anyhow, welcome Maddi.

Maddi Bourgerie: Hi Mike. Hi James. Thanks for having me on.

James Ferrara: Maddi is a travel industry executive with quite a background. Most recently, and for the last number of years, she has been at RVshare. It is a very interesting company, the largest community of RV owners and RV renters. Isn't that right, Maddi? Am I getting that right?

Maddi Bourgerie: That's right. We are a website that lists RV rentals listed by individual owners to rent out to those looking to travel and try out the RV lifestyle.

James Ferrara: This is not a new idea. When I was a kid, my dad did this a couple of times. We went out to national parks, rented RVs and stuff. I could tell you about a few of those experiences, and I bet that you guys have brought a much more sophisticated solution to this. I'm really looking forward to hearing about that. Before we get into that, we'd like to know a little bit more about you. I know you came out of the home vacation rental part of the industry, which is now such an important and hot area. You were at Vrbo, I believe. At our companies, both Mike and mine, we sell a tremendous amount of that inventory. You were there a little bit earlier to actually help grow that space, so that's really interesting too. To get to know you, we always subject our guests to some rapid-fire questions from Mike about your own personal travel preferences.

Rapid-Fire Travel Questions

Mike Putman: Let's do it. I'll just give you a question, and you can give us one word or a short phrase. This gives our listeners a chance to learn more about you and your travel habits. First of all, is there a favorite hotel chain or an individual hotel that you like?

Maddi Bourgerie: My favorite is Hyatt Hotels. I just actually got married this past summer at a Thompson branded hotel here in Austin, so they've quickly become my favorite. It was a great place to host an event, but I also love their point system and the loyalty they have. Because we got married there, we're actually honeymooning in Singapore at one of their other hotels, the Andaz in Singapore.

James Ferrara: We just did an event at that Thompson Hotel in Austin a couple of months ago. Really nice, really stylish.

Mike Putman: And what is your favorite destination? Is there something about that destination that really sticks out?

Maddi Bourgerie: This is a hard one. I have traveled to almost all fifty states and more than twenty-five countries at this point. I love going somewhere new all the time. I'm not a big repeat destination person, but the one place I do go back to more than I can count is Park City, Utah. I love to ski, and I think arguably Park City is the best ski town in the US.

Mike Putman: Very good. And have you been on any cruises by chance?

Maddi Bourgerie: I've done one cruise. It was when I was in eighth grade on a family trip. I loved it as an eighth grader because it gave me a ton of freedom. It was the first time my parents allowed us to go off and do our own activities on the ship. I haven't been back on one as an adult. I would maybe consider it, but it's not at the top of my list.

Mike Putman: Gotcha. When you fly, do you choose an aisle seat or a window seat?

Maddi Bourgerie: I'm window.

Mike Putman: That's a little bit different from most of our guests. And then, do you carry on or do you check your luggage?

Maddi Bourgerie: Most of the time, I am a loyal Southwest member. My husband and I have a companion pass, so we fly Southwest, which is a great airline out of Texas since they're based in Dallas. One downfall is it's not great for international. They do Mexico and Costa Rica, but because of the companion pass, we get free baggage. We do check quite often with Southwest, but if we're not on Southwest, we're carrying on.

Mike Putman: Southwest actually just signed a deal with Icelandair to have an interline so that you'll be able to fly to Europe without having to recheck your bag. They're also changing their boarding process, which I'm not sure if I'm a fan of.

James Ferrara: I have a question I'm going to throw in. What is your favorite restaurant in Austin, Maddi?

Maddi Bourgerie: That's a good one. There are so many restaurants here I could eat out every night of the week and still not get to all of them in over a year. The one that came to mind instantly is called Suerte. It's on the east side and it is a Mexican infusion restaurant. Their brisket taco is to die for.

James Ferrara: I went to Loro. It's apparently a couple of Michelin-starred or James Beard Award-winning chefs who got together and created a barbecue-Asian fusion restaurant. I thought it was excellent. I also think it's a gold mine; there were lines of people outside. We're in the wrong business, Mike, as we figure out every week.

Mike Putman: We've both been on the other side of that business, too, but I prefer travel.

The Evolution of Vacation and RV Rentals

James Ferrara: True. Well, Maddi, tell us about your position and a little bit about your company.

Maddi Bourgerie: I've been in the travel industry for more than a decade. My first job out of college was a marketing job at Vrbo. I was there right after they went public, but before they were acquired by Expedia. It was when vacation rentals still weren't mainstream. A lot of people didn't realize there were so many options worldwide. Vrbo was the first one to put it on the map and make it simple to book. Then the Airbnb giant came online and pushed it over the edge as a mainstream accommodation option. After it was sold to Expedia, a bunch of people left to find their next venture. I followed RVshare's current CEO, Jon Gray, to RVshare. It's a very similar business model, a two-sided marketplace. I've been working there doing marketing and PR, growing the brand. I've naturally found a role as a travel expert and spokesperson because I've fallen in love with RV travel. I've done more than 20 RV rentals. I travel in them for work, but also for pleasure. RVshare has a great rewards program where, if you're an employee, you get about two thousand dollars a year to travel in an RV. I will never pass up a free vacation. I've taken full advantage of that and have gone to some amazing places. I had never RV'd before I worked at RVshare, so it's a newer experience for me.

Mike Putman: You said you fell in love with it. Why?

Maddi Bourgerie: RV travel allows you to have extremely unique experiences that no other type of accommodation allows. I don't own an RV and don't necessarily plan on it anytime soon. Owning an RV is costly, there's a lot of overhead, and they depreciate quickly. But I enjoy flying to a destination like Salt Lake City, LA, or Vegas, picking up an RV, and exploring the outdoor destination close by. The longest road trip I've done is about a six-hour round trip drive over a few days. That way you can break it up. It's not so much time on the road; it's more time exploring and enjoying the outdoors. RVs have been the vehicle that have gotten me into unique destinations that you can't see any other way except for tent camping. And I'm not a big tent camper.

How RVshare Works

Mike Putman: Tell us about the model of the company. How do the nuts and bolts of it work at a high level?

Maddi Bourgerie: If you're interested in renting an RV, you can go to rvshare.com and find over a hundred thousand RVs across the US. We have more than 3,000 different types of makes and models. You could rent anything from a small teardrop trailer to a large tour bus like a Class A RV. The most popular are usually travel trailers that you hook to an SUV or a truck. The reason they're the most popular is because we offer delivery. A bunch of our owners can deliver the RV to your destination. It takes out the intimidation of driving a big rig. I love to pick a destination like a campground, a state park, a music festival, or an F1 or NASCAR event, and have the RV delivered and set up for you. All you have to do is show up and enjoy. On the other side, if you own an RV, you can list it on RVshare to rent and make extra income.

Mike Putman: In that example, the user would show up, it's already parked, they utilize the RV, and then at the end, they just leave and the owner picks it up. Is that the concept?

Maddi Bourgerie: That's right. It's a very hands-off experience. It's a temporary housing unit wherever you want it. You would handle the campground booking or finding the spot, then coordinate with the owner for drop-off and pickup. You wouldn't necessarily have to be there for either end. You just show up to use it, similar to an Airbnb experience.

Technical Support and Safety for Renters

James Ferrara: You've built this platform that makes it really easy to book, but there are technical details. This goes back to my childhood story. Back in the day, my father found a local broker, and we had to drive it to the national park without knowing anything about RVs. You had to pump out the laboratory and know how to hook up to power. How do you deal with the technical side?

Maddi Bourgerie: RVshare has modernized the idea of renting. There are technical pitfalls, but also a lot of protection. We are vetting the owners, ensuring maintenance is up to date and the RV is properly insured. On the flip side, the renter is ID verified. We make sure there are no scams or phishing. We also provide insurance because a standard car insurance policy doesn't cover RVs. When it comes to maneuvering the rig, our owners are great resources. They give you a thorough walkthrough. Delivery really takes a lot of the work out of it because the owners facilitate the driving, setup, and dumping of the tanks. If you want to do that quintessential road trip and get behind the wheel, that is definitely still popular. You can do that by having that walkthrough or using the resources on our website and YouTube. I won't say there's not a learning curve; it is a bit different than checking into a house.

Bucket List Destinations and Cost Analysis

James Ferrara: Even checking into a house has become complicated. There has been a backlash about long lists of instructions on Airbnb. This doesn't sound any harder than that. I love that you cast it as adventure travel. It’s just not the adventure travel we usually think of, like jungles in Costa Rica. Do you have stories that come to mind that you would share with us?

Maddi Bourgerie: The US has so many amazing destinations that I didn't open my eyes to until I was considering RV travel. We have incredible national parks, state parks, and national forests. One of my favorites was when my husband and I took an Airstream out to Big Bend National Park. It is one of the least visited national parks because it is such a hike to get out to the southern part of Texas. It is gorgeous. It looks like you've transported yourself to Mars. It is a very vast landscape and you're alone when you're out there. We set up the RV outside the park because the campgrounds fill up six months out. We picked a close campground and would go through the gates every morning to explore. The night sky at Big Bend is the darkest sky in the US. You can see the Milky Way with your bare eye. We had a morning where we saw a rainstorm coming in. A park ranger told us to head toward it because the desert comes alive after it rains. He was right. We saw foliage bloom and fog rolling over the mountains. That experience was something that took my breath away. I have a bucket list of trips I only want to experience in an RV because I know what kind of experience it facilitates.

James Ferrara: You can cook, you can move around, and it's not really camping because you have a shower, a bed, a couch, and televisions. Is there a comparison to costs?

Maddi Bourgerie: It depends on the type of RV. They range from $10,000 to $350,000 to purchase, so rental prices vary. On average, it's about $150 to $200 a night, all-in with fees and insurance. You have to consider campground fees, gas, and potential overages for miles. Most owners allow about 100 miles per day. There are free options for camping, and then there are really nice campgrounds that charge over a hundred dollars a night. In comparison to flying a family of four, staying at a hotel, and renting a car, RVing is a much more economical option.

Mike Putman: Are you just US-based right now?

Maddi Bourgerie: We're in all fifty states. We have more than sixty thousand owners facilitating these rentals. You'll see RVs from RVshare pop up in almost any city.

Mike Putman: How does the business model work? Does the consumer pay additional fees or do you take a piece of the rental fee?

Maddi Bourgerie: It's free to list your RV. On the renter side, it's free to browse. Once you book, there is a traveler fee for our services, which include 24-hour customer service and roadside assistance. For the owner, we take a commission off of that booking.

James Ferrara: When I was a kid, we went to a couple of the national parks out west. Then one year we rented an RV and went to the Civil War battle reenactments in Gettysburg and on to Colonial Williamsburg. That was an amazing trip. It’s fifty years later and I still remember it. We were in the middle of everything in that RV.

Mike Putman: I love that you're renting RVs fifty years ago. Early adopter.

James Ferrara: Don't ask me what happened. We got stuck in the field in the mud on one trip. We couldn't pump out the toilet on another trip. But these were much less sophisticated RVs. Mike, what do you think? I think we should rent RVs.

Mike Putman: I think that would be a really nice way to see the US. I've been to all fifty states, but I've yet to do as much exploring of the national parks as I would like.

James Ferrara: It's better for the planet if we spread ourselves out a little bit. There are beautiful state parks. By my summer home in Montauk, Long Island, there is a state park called Hither Hills where you can bring your RV and be right on the sand dunes.

Maddi Bourgerie: State parks are extremely cheap. National parks are too, but they get super booked up. Another tip is that national forests are public land and you can often park there for free. It's called boondocking. You don't have hookups for electricity or sewage, but RVs are self-sustainable for a day or two. To park in a national forest, you really get that off-the-grid experience.

Expert Travel Advice

Mike Putman: Maddi, we like to end our conversations with a tip you might share with customers. Is there anything that comes to mind that helps you through the travel process?

Maddi Bourgerie: I rely a lot on YouTube and TikTok to learn about the local vibe of where I'm going. People who have been there in the last few weeks can tell you the places to check out. When it comes to RV travel, I always say there's a type of accommodation for every destination. If you're heading to the city, you get a hotel. If you're heading to the beach, you rent a vacation rental. But if you're going on a national park trip or a road trip, you should be looking into an RV.

Mike Putman: Great tip. It was great to have you, Maddi. Thank you so much for sharing with us.

Maddi Bourgerie: Thanks for having me. It's fun.

The Formula One Experience in Austin

James Ferrara: Well, Mike, we're going from one Austin experience to another because I'd really like to fill you in on my weekend. We've talked in many episodes about the rise in event-based travel, sporting events, and concerts. I got to take a look at it right up close. I flew to Austin for the weekend to attend Formula One racing at the Circuit of the Americas, COTA. I wasn't the only one going; the event attracts half a million spectators. There also happened to be a major football game, Texas versus Georgia. Coming from New York, all the planes were full and airfares were nineteen hundred dollars for an economy seat. All the hotels were sold out and people were having trouble finding Ubers. I happened to be hosted by a global sponsor of all Formula One, MSC Cruises. They are the largest shipping company in the world and they own MSC Cruises. They've invested about eighteen billion dollars in new ships for the US market. Because I was hosted by a global sponsor, I experienced F1 in a way very few people do. We were on the finish line in a private area called the Paddock Club. It’s like a five-star restaurant inside—air-conditioned, gourmet buffets, and incredible service. On top of that, I got to be driven around the track in an Aston Martin at a hundred and fifty miles an hour. I had to be fitted for a helmet and triple-strapped in. They sent me a link to the GoPros of me screaming and cursing around the turns. We also got a track tour in the bed of a tractor-trailer. Each track is different, and the one in Austin has hills and hairpin turns. I did a pit walk every day, walking through the garages of McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari. You see them do those tire changes in a split second. I got to go into the Mercedes garage, Lewis Hamilton's station, and meet a bunch of drivers. We did a photo safari where they van you to a point on the track to take pictures as the cars go by with sparks flying out from under them.

Mike Putman: I've been to a lot of things around the world, and this ranks as the best corporate event I've ever attended. But the race was really just one day, right?

High-Speed Thrills and Live Entertainment

James Ferrara: I was there for three days because you have practices and qualifying races every day. If you're not in the top five positions, your chances of winning are very low because it's hard to overtake on these tracks. They also had classic races with older Formula One cars from the sixties and eighties. Lewis Hamilton actually flamed out of the race in the first couple of laps when his car spun out.

Mike Putman: Where did they find a helmet big enough to fit your head?

James Ferrara: I did not wear the biggest helmet! I was nervous about what car they were going to put me in because the McLarens and Ferraris are so low to the ground. I thought I wouldn't be able to get out of it. They put me in the Aston Martin small SUV. It’s a quarter-of-a-million dollar car with 600 horsepower. It was a beautiful car. In the evenings, there was a Sting concert and an Eminem concert. Eminem doesn't do a lot of live performances anymore, but he was at the top of his game. His stage production and personal performance just blew me away. My son, who is a big fan, was thrilled. Eminem played all the big songs and had the original singers with him for the covers. Austin is such a wonderful place to visit with great music venues and restaurants. That Loro place I went to, you would really love the Asian barbecue fusion.

Mike Putman: I'm actually going back early in December, so I'll definitely give Loro a try. Well, that wraps up another podcast for us. I'd like to thank all of our listeners for tuning in.

James Ferrara: These have been great examples of unusual adventure travel. I love the RVshare story, the Formula One story, and visiting Austin. Keep these ideas in mind when you're booking your vacations. You don't have to go back to the same places all the time. There's a whole world out there that is exciting and new. Get out there and travel like we travel on No Tourists Allowed. Thanks, everybody.