This is another piece of evidence that a new economy, driven by collaborative consumption, is on its way. And many people said that such a business model, could not, and would not work. Who would rent a bed out to complete strangers….? turns out lots of people would and do.

The future is not like the past. And we are glad about that here at rentoid.

Here is a presentation by one of the founders of Airbnb talking about how the company got started and the journey to where it is now - on the video inserted below:

Kudos to the guys at Airbnb.

PSFK CONFERENCE NYC 2011: Joe Gebbia from Piers Fawkes on Vimeo.

http://unbridledspeculation.com/2011/03/17/the-exponential-gains-in-solar-power-per-dollar/

Summary:

The sun is a super-abundant source of energy - ‘In 14 and a half seconds, the sun provides as much energy to Earth as humanity uses in a day’. The problem is that we aren’t very good at capturing it. Currently, solar produces only about 0.2% of humanity’s energy because ‘up until now, while solar energy has been abundant, the systems to capture it have been expensive and inefficient’. But things are changing.

The cost of solar energy has been decreasing exponentially for 30 years from $22 in 1980 to under $3 today.

The things driving this change are that firstly, manufacturers are learning how to do more with less and reduce their costs. Secondly, researchers are continually improving the efficiency of cells.

What does this mean? It is projected that in the US in 2020 the price of solar electricity will cost the same amount as electricity from fossil fuels. In 2030 it will cost half of that…Amazing!

Geordie - the rentoid team.

Climate scientists predict severe impacts from even the lowest estimates of global warming. Atmospheric CO2 already exceeds safe levels. The threat comes from dangerous ‘tipping point’ mechanisms such as melting of sub-artic permafrost, which can be triggered by excessive temperatures and would prevent us from returning to safe climate conditions.

To make an immediate transition, we can use only the solutions that are available to us today. The ZCA2020 Plan has specified the 100% renewable grid based on proven technologies that are already commercially available and that have already been demonstrated in large industries. With a combination of energy efficiency, fuel switching from gas and oil to electrified energy services, then using a combination of commercially available renewable energy technologies, Australia’s energy needs can be met with 100% renewables. Wind and Concentrating Solar Thermal (CST) with Molten Salt Storage are the two primary technologies used, with minimal contingency backup from biomass and existing hydro.

Implementing the proposed renewable infrastructure over a ten-year timescale would require a small percentage of Australia’s industrial capacity, in terms of resources and labour force. The required investment of $37 Billion/year is the equivalent of 3% of GDP.

Source: http://www.energy.unimelb.edu.au/uploads/ZCA2020_Stationary_Energy_Report_v1.pdf

Note: content has been mixed and mashed by me in order to condense it

In my own words - It is possible to transition to 100% renewable energy within 10 years with technology that exists today. It would cost 37 billion dollars, or 3% of GDP per annum. The challenges of a transition to renewable energy are social and political, not a technical or economic.

Go to http://beyondzeroemissions.org/zero-carbon-australia-2020 for more information.

Geordie - the rentoid team.

Why are these things so obvious to some people and denied so vehemently by others? I’m not a psychologist but my guess is that, to people who tend to avoid these topics, discussing them calls into question everything they’ve know, everything they have grown up believing and by extension their identity - who they are. It’s just too difficult or maybe even scary, I don’t know.

In my opinion, this is where I see the environmental movement as having failed - in its communication, or maybe even their approach generally. To me the environmental movement seems very alienating in nature as it comes across as saying - ‘your current lifestyle is bad, you are hurting the planet, you need to pay for it by reducing your consumption, which in the minds of many people translates into - you must reduce your standard of living’. For many of those people, it is a price too great and they reject it.

Now, we could sit here all day playing the blame game and recycling arguments, getting really cranky with each other and going nowhere fast. Or, we could do something different. Something better. This is what Rentoid, and others working in the collaborative consumption space are all about - providing an alternative win/win solution:

By sharing what we already have, we can reduce our consumption without reducing our standard of living. In fact it can even enhance living standards by reducing the burdens of ownership (cost, maintenance, worry etc) and also by creating new value from underutilised resources.

What makes this solution so special is that because it benefits everyone who participates and the environment, not either/or, it is finally possible to get everybody working on the same team.

This is why I love rentoid.

Geordie, the rentoid team.

]]> http://www.rentoid.com/blog/2011/06/25/why-i-love-rentoid/feed/ http://www.rentoid.com/blog/2011/06/24/quirkiest-things-for-rent/ http://www.rentoid.com/blog/2011/06/24/quirkiest-things-for-rent/#comments Sat, 25 Jun 2011 05:43:01 +0000 admin http://www.rentoid.com/blog/?p=1328 There isn’t much to say about some of the whacky things that people have put up on rentoid apart from that they are freakin’ awesome and hilarious, or just plain weird. My thanks go out to them for brightening my day!

Wife - ‘does not nag! Supportive & Respects Shows Love Happy to do House chores’

http://www.rentoid.com/item/1WIFEFORRENT-AustraliaWide-9076

Air band - ‘This is not a joke - we will play at your party - and we rock out and are always dressed up in killer 80\’s cock rock fashion’

http://www.rentoid.com/item/Airband-Werribee-9217

7 Seater bike - ‘The most enjoyment you will have with your pants on!

http://www.rentoid.com/item/7SeaterBike-SouthMelbourne-7221

StarWars Chewbacca Supreme Edition Costume - ‘Great for dress up parties and special events…

Body-suit and mask completely covered with hand layered multicolored long hair fur, for an authentic blended look’

http://www.rentoid.com/item/StarWarsChewbaccaSupremeEditionCostume-Whittington-4650

High striker - ‘Adults and teenagers alike can never resist testing their strength by swinging the big hammer and trying to ring the bell’

http://www.rentoid.com/item/Highstriker-Cheltenham-5075

Private Jet - Seats 8 in comfort, leather seats, in-flight refreshment centre & restrooms… Special event? Why not travel in absolute comfort and live the high life’

http://www.rentoid.com/item/Privatejet-Melbourne-5359

Segway - ‘The ultimate in personal transportation’

http://www.rentoid.com/item/Segwayi2-Sydney-7502

Cheers, Geordie

]]> http://www.rentoid.com/blog/2011/06/24/quirkiest-things-for-rent/feed/ http://www.rentoid.com/blog/2011/06/13/rental-wish-list/ http://www.rentoid.com/blog/2011/06/13/rental-wish-list/#comments Mon, 13 Jun 2011 08:10:43 +0000 admin http://www.rentoid.com/blog/?p=1323 Ten things I wish were listed on rentoid in my local area:

1 -5 More people. I would love have the option to hire the services of the people in my local community for whatever need I may have at the time.

A few examples off the top of my head:

1. Cooking

2. Cleaning

3. Entertainment

4. Driving me around if I don’t have access to a car

5. Teaching me a new skill

6. More accommodation. The more people list spare rooms, the more competition, the lower prices will go (in theory). Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could go on a holiday and not have to stay in a hotel? Or even if instead of living in one place as we normally do you could stay somewhere new each night. This kind of lifestyle obviously wouldn’t suit everyone but for me personally I think it would awesome! It would make life much more interesting. Think about all the amazing people you meet and friends you make when you go traveling. What if you could live like that all the time?!

7. Bicycles, mine sucks! I would much rather rent a decent one for a reasonable price when I need it than endure what I’ve got (ok that sounds a bit dramatic, but still!).

8. A shaver! I like to keep my hair short. It needs to get cut about once every 2 months. For something I need to use that rarely I shouldn’t have to own one myself, so wasteful! - Ok so this might not be the type of thing many people would share… oh well…

9. Gym equipment. Gym membership is expensive and why should I pay that much when I’m sure there are people that live nearby with equipment that’s perfectly good, that they probably hardly ever use and that is just sitting there!

10. Media. Think about what is actually around you in the houses of your neighbours. I bet there are soooo many great books I have never read and heaps of movies I have never seen. Let’s get renting!

Cheers, Geordie

Calling all rentrepreneurs!

iPads are the hottest, most requested item on rentoid

- They get at least 100 searches a day

- The 3 or so that we have available on the site are always rented out

If it is so obvious that there is such a high unmet demand, why don’t you go buy one yourself and list it on rentoid? Think about it, a new iPad 2 costs $580, if you rented it out for $20 a day you would have it paid off in 29 days! After that you’ve got yourself a free iPad! Or if you want, you could continue to rent it out and make some PROFIT for doing almost nothing! This sounds unethical but you are in fact providing a valuable service to people.

First go to the rentoid home page and do a search to make sure there are other people using the site in your area. If there aren’t, the first step is to tell your friends, family and neighbours about rentoid - share it with them via facebook. Once you are sure there are local people using rentoid it’s really as simple as going out, buying an iPad, listing it on rentoid and waiting for the flood of phone calls and emails.

Also, make sure you remember to get your renters to place a bond down in case the iPad or anything else you rent out gets damaged.

Happy renting!

Geordie

The traditional approach for most businesses has been to: create a product/service, sell it, end of story. This has worked well up until recently. But now many consumers are looking for a change. There’s a couple of good reasons for this:

Financial - The GFC has bred distrust of old companies and has also forced or at least encouraged many people to tighten the belts, downsize and re-examine what is actually important to them. Many are actually finding that they prefer simpler lives, with less stuff and want invest more in the things that actually make them happy such as their friends, family, health, traveling and new experiences.

Environmental - Growing awareness of environmental issues is causing people to question the consequences of our lifestyles - where do these products come from? What does it cost to produce them? What are the unintended side-effects of our production system? Where do they go once they’re no longer useful or wanted? It is an inescapable fact that we live on a planet with finite resources and need to find a better way of doing business.

The solution is a model based on sharing that Lisa Gansky calls ‘The Mesh’. The mesh is a new business model that is taking the world by storm. It is about giving consumers more tools, choices and information. It is about sharing products and services - giving people superior access without the burden and expense of ownership.

Mesh businesses work by leveraging the following growing trends:

Urbanisation - The increased population density caused by urbanisation makes sharing networks possible. Once people are living nearby one another in large numbers, sharing of certain items such as cars and tools can become practical.

Use of Data & Social Media - Whereas a buy/sell model encompasses one transaction, a sharing model inherently creates a conversation between providers and customers as they need to continually interact to do business. Every time a product or service is rented, leased, or borrowed the company can collect data about the transaction. This lets them get to know the customer better and then use that data they have compiled to personalise the offerings for the customer for next time. These conversations are happening in real life but also online with the explosion of social media, which provides an effective platform but also another point for data collection and further personalisation. Conversations over social media tend to be much more genuine and human, as opposed to the traditional scripted press release/sell approach.

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Mobile - the Internet started by moving data around but now with widespread adoption of smartphones it is also moving around physical goods. Mesh companies are leveraging this trend to enable their customers to reserve cars, bikes, homes, meals and more - on the go.

Examples of mesh businesses are popping up everywhere. Here are a few to check out if you’re interested!

Carsharing - www.zipcar.com

Entertainment - www.netflix.com

Kids clothes swap - www.thredup.com

Collaborative funding - www.kickstarter.com

Group discounts - www.groupon.com

And there are plenty more here - http://meshing.it/

Geordie - rentoid team.

Looking for cheap a cheap place to stay while going travelling? Or maybe you’re looking to stay somewhere that will give you a unique experience? Look no further than the brilliant example of the p2p revolution in action that is shared accommodation.

Have you ever heard of http://www.couchsurfing.org? This organisation connects travellers with locals in over 230 countries around the world. For travellers, they get a free place to stay, a chance to make friends with local people, and also a unique, authentic and priceless experience of life in that part of the world. For hosts, they get to meet interesting travellers from all over the world without leaving home and also get to share their culture with people who are genuinely interested.

Do you have a holiday home that just sits there unused most of the year? Or maybe just a spare room? Why don’t you rent it out on www.airbnb.com, make some easy money and meet some new people? On the other side, have a look what cool spaces are available next time you go travelling and stay anywhere from a castle in the Scottish countryside, to a trendy new apartment in Berlin.

For more examples of p2p accommodation see www.roomorama.com, www.crashpadder.com and www.bedandfed.co.uk or let us know if you find any yourself.

Geordie - rentoid team.

We can’t do this alone and we need your help! If rentoid is really going to shake things up we need to spread our message overseas.

Rentoid was founded and is based in Australia but we are aware that we have members from many other countries too. This post is a shout out to you! We want to know, how did you hear about Rentoid? What do you like/dislike about our site and service? How could we improve? Do you have any suggestions on how we could create larger and more numerous rentoid communities?

Let’s create a better future together

Geordie - rentoid team.