Travel Without Packing?
Mar 1, 2018, 8:43 pm
#31
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: USA
Programs: SA Air, Air Canada, KLM, BA,Lufthansa, United, AA, Hawaiian, Air New Zealnd, Qantas, Virgin Atlantic
Posts: 777
It's a no from me, I am somewhat of a control freak so have to handle my own plans and my own stuff.
Good luck though!
Good luck though!
Mar 2, 2018, 9:32 am
#32
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: LAS; home will always be DTW
Programs: Delta
Posts: 197
However, I no longer own "winter" outerwear because 98% of the year I'm in Las Vegas. No need for snow boots, face masks etc. The couple of times I go back to DTW in winter, I am met at baggage claim by friends/family holding winter coats, boots, hats, scarves, face masks etc for me. I am bundled up like the Michelin Man and I'm still cold
I've been out here for so long, my blood has definitely thinned!
Mar 5, 2018, 9:28 am
#33
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: RDU
Programs: Marriott Platinum. AA and UA as well, but I don't care about them anymore.
Posts: 308
Can't say that I'd use a service like this... and I imagine many people here, like me, have a ready-made list of items or maybe even a pre-packed basic bag that we can just add and subtract from as the situation warrants.
For the prices, it's cheaper to just schlep a bag along and anyone who flies frequently enough to use a service like this would likely also have some mechanism to get at least one free checked bag in addition to a free carryon, and the person flying bottom dollar airlines that charge for everything are likely not the kind of person who will be in the market for renting clothing at the destination.
Second, there's a huge trust factor there that wearing someone's used clothing have been properly cleaned and sanitized. for example, I trust that when I go to a hotel, the linens have been properly cleaned. But I still go over the sheets and bathroom with a blacklight when I arrive, and even at well regarded properties I've sometimes found some rather ... unfortunate ... remains of poor cleaning by the hotel staff prior to check in. So same thing here applies, I, personally, am not sure I'd trust a random person in a company to have properly cleaned and sanitized these clothes.
You also mention hotels already renting/loaning workout gear. That's true, but the real question is "Do they make money doing this, or is it just a loss leader that few guests utilize but still is offered to attract them"? It's a huge difference between an underused loss leader type benefit that a company already making millions in profit can offer vs a startup who isn't making money at all and NEEDS to make profit on every sale.
I looked at a similar service last year, just for kicks that was also way too expensive, but they at least had the benefit storing and shipping YOUR OWN clothes to you.
Finally, if I read the site correctly, it sounds like availability is limited to you having a physical person in each location city to hand deliver and pick up the items from each hotel. That seems like an untenable model because it requires you to have to pay for employees as well as storage space and transport costs in every location you want to serve, other services are more centralized and ship overnight to the location the customer is headed which is a lot more scalable (and probably ultimately cheaper than having to pay for storage hubs, employees and vehicles and maintenance in every city served).
Of course, take that all with a grain of salt, that's just my opinion.
For the prices, it's cheaper to just schlep a bag along and anyone who flies frequently enough to use a service like this would likely also have some mechanism to get at least one free checked bag in addition to a free carryon, and the person flying bottom dollar airlines that charge for everything are likely not the kind of person who will be in the market for renting clothing at the destination.
Second, there's a huge trust factor there that wearing someone's used clothing have been properly cleaned and sanitized. for example, I trust that when I go to a hotel, the linens have been properly cleaned. But I still go over the sheets and bathroom with a blacklight when I arrive, and even at well regarded properties I've sometimes found some rather ... unfortunate ... remains of poor cleaning by the hotel staff prior to check in. So same thing here applies, I, personally, am not sure I'd trust a random person in a company to have properly cleaned and sanitized these clothes.
You also mention hotels already renting/loaning workout gear. That's true, but the real question is "Do they make money doing this, or is it just a loss leader that few guests utilize but still is offered to attract them"? It's a huge difference between an underused loss leader type benefit that a company already making millions in profit can offer vs a startup who isn't making money at all and NEEDS to make profit on every sale.
I looked at a similar service last year, just for kicks that was also way too expensive, but they at least had the benefit storing and shipping YOUR OWN clothes to you.
Finally, if I read the site correctly, it sounds like availability is limited to you having a physical person in each location city to hand deliver and pick up the items from each hotel. That seems like an untenable model because it requires you to have to pay for employees as well as storage space and transport costs in every location you want to serve, other services are more centralized and ship overnight to the location the customer is headed which is a lot more scalable (and probably ultimately cheaper than having to pay for storage hubs, employees and vehicles and maintenance in every city served).
Of course, take that all with a grain of salt, that's just my opinion.
Mar 5, 2018, 11:20 am
#34
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Indiana
Posts: 15
Can't say that I'd use a service like this... and I imagine many people here, like me, have a ready-made list of items or maybe even a pre-packed basic bag that we can just add and subtract from as the situation warrants.
For the prices, it's cheaper to just schlep a bag along and anyone who flies frequently enough to use a service like this would likely also have some mechanism to get at least one free checked bag in addition to a free carryon, and the person flying bottom dollar airlines that charge for everything are likely not the kind of person who will be in the market for renting clothing at the destination.
Second, there's a huge trust factor there that wearing someone's used clothing have been properly cleaned and sanitized. for example, I trust that when I go to a hotel, the linens have been properly cleaned. But I still go over the sheets and bathroom with a blacklight when I arrive, and even at well regarded properties I've sometimes found some rather ... unfortunate ... remains of poor cleaning by the hotel staff prior to check in. So same thing here applies, I, personally, am not sure I'd trust a random person in a company to have properly cleaned and sanitized these clothes.
You also mention hotels already renting/loaning workout gear. That's true, but the real question is "Do they make money doing this, or is it just a loss leader that few guests utilize but still is offered to attract them"? It's a huge difference between an underused loss leader type benefit that a company already making millions in profit can offer vs a startup who isn't making money at all and NEEDS to make profit on every sale.
I looked at a similar service last year, just for kicks that was also way too expensive, but they at least had the benefit storing and shipping YOUR OWN clothes to you.
Finally, if I read the site correctly, it sounds like availability is limited to you having a physical person in each location city to hand deliver and pick up the items from each hotel. That seems like an untenable model because it requires you to have to pay for employees as well as storage space and transport costs in every location you want to serve, other services are more centralized and ship overnight to the location the customer is headed which is a lot more scalable (and probably ultimately cheaper than having to pay for storage hubs, employees and vehicles and maintenance in every city served).
Of course, take that all with a grain of salt, that's just my opinion.
For the prices, it's cheaper to just schlep a bag along and anyone who flies frequently enough to use a service like this would likely also have some mechanism to get at least one free checked bag in addition to a free carryon, and the person flying bottom dollar airlines that charge for everything are likely not the kind of person who will be in the market for renting clothing at the destination.
Second, there's a huge trust factor there that wearing someone's used clothing have been properly cleaned and sanitized. for example, I trust that when I go to a hotel, the linens have been properly cleaned. But I still go over the sheets and bathroom with a blacklight when I arrive, and even at well regarded properties I've sometimes found some rather ... unfortunate ... remains of poor cleaning by the hotel staff prior to check in. So same thing here applies, I, personally, am not sure I'd trust a random person in a company to have properly cleaned and sanitized these clothes.
You also mention hotels already renting/loaning workout gear. That's true, but the real question is "Do they make money doing this, or is it just a loss leader that few guests utilize but still is offered to attract them"? It's a huge difference between an underused loss leader type benefit that a company already making millions in profit can offer vs a startup who isn't making money at all and NEEDS to make profit on every sale.
I looked at a similar service last year, just for kicks that was also way too expensive, but they at least had the benefit storing and shipping YOUR OWN clothes to you.
Finally, if I read the site correctly, it sounds like availability is limited to you having a physical person in each location city to hand deliver and pick up the items from each hotel. That seems like an untenable model because it requires you to have to pay for employees as well as storage space and transport costs in every location you want to serve, other services are more centralized and ship overnight to the location the customer is headed which is a lot more scalable (and probably ultimately cheaper than having to pay for storage hubs, employees and vehicles and maintenance in every city served).
Of course, take that all with a grain of salt, that's just my opinion.
As for the loss leaders, I don't have enough details on that, but there are many rental models that are profitable, so that is not a huge concern but nonetheless, extremely important.
As for destinations, the service is two-fold. We can ship to domestic US anywhere, but we plan on establishing physical destinations in high tourist cities so we can provide same day service to travelers that go there. For example, if you received a chest of items from us to a location where we have a physical presence, we can get you new items within the hour. Otherwise, it's up to us to make sure that everything in the chests is impeccable and that fitting accuracy will come in time with more purchases and experience.
Mar 7, 2018, 8:59 am
#35
Join Date: May 2012
Location: SNA, LAX, PHL, NYC
Programs: AA Executive Platinum, Marriott Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 663
A few pieces of feedback - not because I want to discourage you, but because I want to make sure you fully consider the entrepreneurial opportunity.
- As a general rule, men are not as open to “renting” clothes as women. I don’t know the genders of everyone above but can make some educated guesses. Women are used to sharing dresses with girlfriends, using Rent the Runway, etc.
- If you were to focus on women I am probably your target market: I’ve utilized LeTote and RTR Unlimited to try to minimize the amount I have to pack. The problems always became relying on shipping companies. People aren’t going to rely on a service when the one time in a million that things don’t arrive are when it seems most important. The amount of clothing I was buying on the other side due to RTRs deliveries arriving a day or two late was insane.
- LeTote has quality, fit, and style issues which made it difficult to rely on as well. I believe this is similar to where you are going: people don’t select individual items because the inventory that would require is insane.
- The price point is challenging. The “chest” I would need is $400. At $400 for two weeks (and needing to bring a suitcase to schlep things back and forth since my trips are Sun-Thur), I might as well just pack.
I’d encourage you to look at the financials of RTR - they really struggled to achieve profitability and did not become EBITDA profitable until 2016. EBITDA profitable companies can still have huge cash flow issues and I suspect they probably do given the amount of capex required to maintain their inventory. I really wish to the best of luck but probably wouldn’t pursue this venture myself.
- As a general rule, men are not as open to “renting” clothes as women. I don’t know the genders of everyone above but can make some educated guesses. Women are used to sharing dresses with girlfriends, using Rent the Runway, etc.
- If you were to focus on women I am probably your target market: I’ve utilized LeTote and RTR Unlimited to try to minimize the amount I have to pack. The problems always became relying on shipping companies. People aren’t going to rely on a service when the one time in a million that things don’t arrive are when it seems most important. The amount of clothing I was buying on the other side due to RTRs deliveries arriving a day or two late was insane.
- LeTote has quality, fit, and style issues which made it difficult to rely on as well. I believe this is similar to where you are going: people don’t select individual items because the inventory that would require is insane.
- The price point is challenging. The “chest” I would need is $400. At $400 for two weeks (and needing to bring a suitcase to schlep things back and forth since my trips are Sun-Thur), I might as well just pack.
I’d encourage you to look at the financials of RTR - they really struggled to achieve profitability and did not become EBITDA profitable until 2016. EBITDA profitable companies can still have huge cash flow issues and I suspect they probably do given the amount of capex required to maintain their inventory. I really wish to the best of luck but probably wouldn’t pursue this venture myself.
Mar 7, 2018, 12:00 pm
#36
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Indiana
Posts: 15
A few pieces of feedback - not because I want to discourage you, but because I want to make sure you fully consider the entrepreneurial opportunity.
- As a general rule, men are not as open to “renting” clothes as women. I don’t know the genders of everyone above but can make some educated guesses. Women are used to sharing dresses with girlfriends, using Rent the Runway, etc.
- If you were to focus on women I am probably your target market: I’ve utilized LeTote and RTR Unlimited to try to minimize the amount I have to pack. The problems always became relying on shipping companies. People aren’t going to rely on a service when the one time in a million that things don’t arrive are when it seems most important. The amount of clothing I was buying on the other side due to RTRs deliveries arriving a day or two late was insane.
- LeTote has quality, fit, and style issues which made it difficult to rely on as well. I believe this is similar to where you are going: people don’t select individual items because the inventory that would require is insane.
- The price point is challenging. The “chest” I would need is $400. At $400 for two weeks (and needing to bring a suitcase to schlep things back and forth since my trips are Sun-Thur), I might as well just pack.
I’d encourage you to look at the financials of RTR - they really struggled to achieve profitability and did not become EBITDA profitable until 2016. EBITDA profitable companies can still have huge cash flow issues and I suspect they probably do given the amount of capex required to maintain their inventory. I really wish to the best of luck but probably wouldn’t pursue this venture myself.
- As a general rule, men are not as open to “renting” clothes as women. I don’t know the genders of everyone above but can make some educated guesses. Women are used to sharing dresses with girlfriends, using Rent the Runway, etc.
- If you were to focus on women I am probably your target market: I’ve utilized LeTote and RTR Unlimited to try to minimize the amount I have to pack. The problems always became relying on shipping companies. People aren’t going to rely on a service when the one time in a million that things don’t arrive are when it seems most important. The amount of clothing I was buying on the other side due to RTRs deliveries arriving a day or two late was insane.
- LeTote has quality, fit, and style issues which made it difficult to rely on as well. I believe this is similar to where you are going: people don’t select individual items because the inventory that would require is insane.
- The price point is challenging. The “chest” I would need is $400. At $400 for two weeks (and needing to bring a suitcase to schlep things back and forth since my trips are Sun-Thur), I might as well just pack.
I’d encourage you to look at the financials of RTR - they really struggled to achieve profitability and did not become EBITDA profitable until 2016. EBITDA profitable companies can still have huge cash flow issues and I suspect they probably do given the amount of capex required to maintain their inventory. I really wish to the best of luck but probably wouldn’t pursue this venture myself.
I completely understand what you mean by the financials, that's why we're only doing small tests to see if this makes sense. Yesterday we shipped our first chest and the shipping fees were way over what we estimated so we had to go back to the drawing board on that and really hone in on that aspect of the business. Ultimately, that's going to be what makes or breaks us.
Although we want to ship and provide this service to as many travelers as possible, our goal is to actually establish physical stores/destinations to cities that bring in a lot of travelers (especially repeat visitors) like London, LA, NY, Chicago, Shanghai, Tokyo etc. That way we can service them same day, in case something doesn't fit we can have something to them within the hour. The tradeoff is that we are only limited to the markets in those cities, not everywhere. At least it helps us prove the concept and could probably franchise the system out once a few locations prove successful. We can then also lower our costs dramatically and also double up as a store that sells high-end clothing for travelers and non travelers as well. The challenge is that we currently don't live in a large city at the moment to test this, our only option really is to move to the city to test it, or partner up with hotels/events that do draw in a lot of visitors in those cities and test it that way.
Thanks for the feedback!
Mar 8, 2018, 7:54 pm
#37
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Singapore
Programs: SQ KF Gold, HHonors Gold, SPG Plat
Posts: 300
On the other hand, dresses can come in a million and one combinations of material, print, shape, fit, design, length, you get the idea...
Not to be sexist about it, but men can wear the same ensemble Monday to Thursday and no one would bat an eyelid (I'm a lawyer and many male litigators I know do just that, only varying the tie). God forbid a woman wear the same dress twice a week. Utilizing a service such a Rent the Runway gives one the chance to rotate through a pretty extensive wardrobe for minimal cost and investment.
Mar 8, 2018, 8:24 pm
#38
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Economy, mostly :(
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 7,801
I could see myself using this if it was available where I needed it. Example: Over New Years I met up with some friends in Hanoi for a week-long Vietnam + New Years trip. I chose to travel with only a backpack in which I carried 7 pairs of socks, underpants, shirts, swimming trunks, toiletries, laptop, etc. (no, not one of those ridiculous mountaineering backpacks, a Columbia Trail Grinder 32L). Since the trip included a one-night cruise as well as New Years a service like this would've been great because it would've allowed me to carry less weight on my shoulders during the flights there (HYD-KUL-HAN) and I'd have had some cool new outfits to try for New Years or whatever, as I generally keep most of my clothing pretty uniform for simplicity (jeans/shorts + t-shirt + flip flops) and when travelling light packing a dress shirt or a nice pair of shoes isn't easy.