War Against "Rent Seekers"

[highnote]

A new company called FlightCar has a business model that is disruptive to the titans of the rental car industry.

http://news.yahoo.com/sf-bay-area-car-rental-135458296.html

FlightCar is similar to AirBnB in that owners of property (cars and houses/apartments) rent their unused property to other people. In FlightCar's case when people park their cars at the airport FlightCar will find other travelers who will rent their cars. Everybody wins -- the traveler, the car owner and FlightCar.

Problem is, bureaucrats who are influenced by lobbyists from established business want to protect the old business, but are adding no value in return. The old guard businesses are called "Rent Seekers".

Consider Tesla Motors. They want to sell cars directly to consumers. Established automobile companies want to block Tesla from this practice. The big companies say Tesla needs to sell through dealerships and are lobbying state governments to stop Tesla from selling in their states.

from http://steveblank.com/2013/06/24/tesla-versus-rent-seekers/ ...

Rent Seekers
Rent seekers are individuals or organizations that have succeeded with existing business models and look to the government and regulators as their first line of defense against innovative competition. They use government regulation and lawsuits to keep out new entrants with more innovative business models. They use every argument from public safety to lack of quality or loss of jobs to lobby against the new entrants. Rent seekers spend money to increase their share of an existing market instead of creating new products or markets. The key idea is that rent seeking behavior creates nothing of value.

The Rent Seekers are strangling innovation. Online Poker, Betting Exchanges, Uber taxi service, Lyft, Bitcoin, Dwolla, etc., have all been threatened by the old guard businesses while old guard businesses are threatened by the upstarts.

These new businesses are what drives the economy. These new companies could become the GEs and IBMs of the future.

[Longshot6977]

I personally would not want strangers driving my car. Imagine the paperwork/lawsuit mess if they had an accident and hurt someone. Or abuse your vehicle may get. I wouldn't want strangers using my home either. I certainly give credit to the guys who started this new company and wish them luck though.

[JustRalph]

If your insurance company finds out, immediate cancel.

[highnote]

If your insurance company finds out, immediate cancel.

There is probably insurance available or perhaps even mandatory through the FlightCar. If I had an old beat up car then I wouldn't care if someone roughed it up a little. Plus, it's covered for damage according to the website.

I wonder if there is an unlimited mileage option? I remember a friend telling me about his brother who entered one of the cross country rallies. His brother and a friend rented a Mercedes and hooked up an extra gas tank in the back seat. You probably don't want someone doing that to your car. :D

[iceknight]

There is probably insurance available or perhaps even mandatory through the FlightCar. If I had an old beat up car then I wouldn't care if someone roughed it up a little. Plus, it's covered for damage according to the website.

I wonder if there is an unlimited mileage option? I remember a friend telling me about his brother who entered one of the cross country rallies. His brother and a friend rented a Mercedes and hooked up an extra gas tank in the back seat. You probably don't want someone doing that to your car. :D FlightCar (and some others.. like Relay ride, GetAround etc to name a few others) all have umbrella insurance policy that covers the owner of the car who rents it out. The renter, usually is asked to buy insurance (similar to the 17.99, or 24.99 type ones sold by big car rental cos). Also, there are some other websites for renting out camera. tools etc too (dont remember the name).
But these things need not operate as 'rental to strangers'. Using social media connections, one could potentially see 1st degree or 2nd degree connections and feel more comfortable about giving it out. Also, users can build up reputations within those communities by means of feedback.

Even if someone does not rent out their primary car, one could rent out their 2nd etc..

Anyhow, the point about established businesses raising opposition is not good for the general consumer. Car rentals used to be forced rentals for 24 hrs and now after Zipcar came in.. other car rental cos also do smaller rentals in cities.