Marketplace for renting a fitness studio nearby you on hourly, weekly or monthly basis
Hi there,
I am building a online marketplace where small studio owners, complementary healers, churches, apartment complexes, state’s sports and recreational center will be able to rent out the their free studio space on hourly, weekly or monthly basis. This will give fitness professionals an opportunity to make more profit with minimal investment(no overhead cost or bookkeeping). I am planning to integrate this site with social media, google maps(to find things closer to you), calender, and payment system to make the transaction smooth.
Please comment on what do you think about ?
What other associated services would you like to see? –liability insurance, owner reviews, calendar or anything ?
Any other questions, concerns or constructive criticism are welcome.
Theoretically such an interface could be useful. A couple of things come to mind though.
How do you make your profits? Do you charge a fee to those offering space, those taking a space, or through ads? Given the short term and repetitive nature of the rental that can add up quickly and even a small amount is a larger percentage of a small fee. Also, what is to stop people once they have a relationship from simply handling it between themselves leaving out the middle man. The site would have to be really really user friendly for all involved, as well as not prohibitively expensive.
You want this site to be national, I presume. But you need to figure out what the national, regional, and local laws are regarding renting before you begin. Before you enter any town you need to know you are operating in accordance with local law. At the very least you need some good legal advice from someone conversant with this area of law.
You need to have active monitoring to try to avoid the situation where short term rentals are not being used for ‘healing arts’, but for activities not within the scope of the law. You also need language absolving you from any activity from any user that uses the site not in accordance with what you intended. Look to Craig’s list to see the possible difficulties that can occur.
You also need to explore what liability you would take on if someone lights candles and burns a building down. You need to make clear what is allowed in a particular space, and have clients sign off that that is understood.
And what if a person sublets in this way“. are they still covered by renters insurance if they do so?
What I am getting at is that good legal advice is a must, as well as the market research to determine what people need and how they would use it. And you need to figure out what sort of fees people would be willing to pay for the ease of use of this service“. and likely do it as a % rather than a straight fee, as markets will differ in this regard.
Good luck
Thanks Ariadne for some very good pointers and detailed response. I am looking to keep listings free but will charge a percentage of their renting (Around 10%- 15%). I have thought of contacting insurance companies for covering liability similar to car renting ( but the amount would be low and they can decline if they have coverage)
