Outdoorsy taps RV owners to aid Hurricane Ida housing efforts
US: Online RV rental and outdoor travel marketplace, Outdoorsy, is to provide short-term accommodations for families displaced by Hurricane Ida.
The company is working with its community of 40,000-plus RV owners and its partner RV Housing Group to make vehicles available to those affected by the storm.
Hurricane Ida left more than a million Louisiana residents without electricity and hundreds of thousands of residents without running water as of Monday morning.
Jen Young, co-founder and CMO of Outdoorsy, said: “We are devastated by the pictures we’re seeing and the stories we have heard from the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. The best way we know how to help is to engage our strong community of RV owners and get temporary housing accommodations on the ground for victims of the storm.”
RV owners interested in getting involved with relief efforts, particularly owners of fifth wheels and travel trailers, can start by creating an RV listing at this link and then filling out the company’s temporary housing intake form. Outdoorsy owners who already have a listing on the site are being advised to fill out the form to make their vehicle eligible for the programme.
Outdoorsy said that it was lowering its platform fee structure and teaming up with the owners to provide special rates to those in need. In addition, RV Housing Group is working with victims’ insurance companies to cover all vehicle rental expenses at no cost to those in need of relief and temporary housing.
Jeff Cavins, co-founder and CEO of Outdoorsy, said: “In our six years of existence, one of our core values has always been to repay our gratitude in the world. We hope that the efforts of our RV owner community to offer those displaced by Ida a safe place to stay serves as a small token of encouragement to these families as they start to assess the damage and get back on their feet.”
As of Tuesday evening, more than 100 owners from the Outdoorsy community had already committed their rigs to the cause.
