Type Private Founder Bora Hamamcioglu Area served Florida | Industry Booking Platform Headquarters Miami, Florida | |
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Founded 2015 (2015)
Miami, Florida | ||
CarHopper is a mobile travel app for iPhone, Android and Windows devices that allows users to find rental cars from local and independently owned car rental companies in Florida.
Contents
How it works
Unlike traditional car rental services, CarHopper neither owns the vehicles nor maintains them. Rather, it is offering a platform for local and independent car rental companies and renters to connect generating scalability and lower pricing.
Once qualified by CarHopper, car rental companies (also called Affiliates) can list their fleet and describe each car separately, and set pricing and availability. The Descriptions and Features sections can be used to go into more detail about each car such as outlining car rules & etiquette or other descriptions regarding their car. CarHopper allows Affiliates to upload up to 6 photographs for each car and offers a free professional photography service.
Members who wishes to rent a car can browse through the hundreds of cars available on the platform and select the one they like the most. Members are then asked to select the insurance coverage option offered by the Affiliate, or provide their own renter's policy information and enter their driver's license information so CarHopper can verify the member's driving history. Lastly, members must submit payment when requesting a car.
Once the request is accepted by the Affiliate, members receive an email with the pick-up instructions and are allowed to communicate with the Affiliate through the platform's messaging service.
At pick-up, Affiliates are encouraged to verify their renters' identity by checking their driver's license. Both parties then walk around the vehicle to submit a vehicle inspection upon pick-up, and are emailed a rental summary once the rental begins.
Security Layers
To ensure the quality of the platform and keep customer satisfaction and retention high, CarHopper has security layers set in place.
Social Media
CarHopper requires users to signup to the platform via Facebook as it is one of the authentication checkpoints required to verify the members' identity and help ensure the trust and safety of the CarHopper community.
Online Reputation
CarHopper user profiles contain recommendations, reviews, and ratings to build credible online reputations within the platform. Additionally, the site provides a private messaging system as a channel for users to message one another privately before booking and accepting reservations. Owners are never required to accept a reservation. After the reservation has ended, the parties review one another to build website credibility similar to online marketplaces like eBay.
MVR Records
To rent a car through CarHopper renters must have clean driving records. Renters must meet the CarHopper Eligibility Requirements, with certain ineligibility based on “incidents”, major violations and alcohol-related violations.
Key Exchange
Unlike other car rental marketplaces CarHopper does not have a remote unlocking feature installed in its mobile application. Founder Bora Hamamcioglu stated that this model actually makes the platform much safer as it obliges members to meet with Affiliates in person and inspect the car together before initiating the rental.
History
CarHopper was founded in October 2015 as a peer-to-peer car rental marketplace in Miami, Florida. The peer-to-peer carsharing concept was inspired by similar online marketplaces such as Airbnb and Uber. CarHopper pivoted from its original business model in May 2016 and focused on becoming a booking platform for local and independent car rental companies based in Florida.