Written in Partnership with Business Leadership Network
This article could also be titled, “Uber, Taxis, and a Lack of Public Transportation Ruined My Vacation.” Because what turned five days in the tropical paradise of Hawaii into a stinking, sweaty nightmare was how difficult it was to find reliable transportation.
Let me start over. I had the (not-so-great) pleasure of taking a trip with my family to Hawaii recently. The island was beautiful and the weather was perfect, but of course, as with any trip, we had a few hiccups.
My youngest got a cold, as luck would have it, so my wife and I had to deal with that while wrangling the rest of the kids. What made it harder was the fact that we could never get an Uber or Taxi. And no one likes waiting when they’re hot, sunburned, and hungry.
Multiple drivers cancelled on us without any notice. A few even had the nerve to hassle us for tips. Many refused to take a credit card as payment even though their company policy clearly stated that they accept credit.
What would’ve helped a lot was just having our own transportation. Having our own car to drive when and where we pleased would have gone a long way in alleviating our stresses.
Fast forward to our next family trip. After our last horrific experience, you can imagine we wanted to have our own car. Unfortunately, all the rental places were either booked up or too expensive. However, we did come across a car sharing company called SHAiR that offered cars on-demand.
If you haven’t heard of car sharing, it’s a lot like renting a car except you’re borrowing it from a local car owner. You pay for however long you use it and then just return it in the same condition you got it. When I went on SHAiR’s website, they also claimed to offer better user authentication, more coverage, and a speedy customer service team.
Another thing I noticed was that SHAiR offers access to a wide range of premium vehicles. As of my last search, the platform has luxury, exotic, and premium vehicles ranging from Lamborghinis to Lexuses. For our trip to Legoland (yes, we have kids), we decided to go with a Tesla Model X, which we booked for $199 a day.
After pulling the trigger on my trip, I also noticed and appreciated that their process is entirely digital. Car sharing lets you skip the archaic experience of going to a car rental agency. You know the one I mean; the one that involves waiting in line, filling out paperwork, and (worst of all) speaking with overzealous salespeople.
Instead, renters just need to create a profile on the SHAiR app or website, verify their driving credentials, and submit a rental request to the host. Once approved, you can also message the host to coordinate delivery times, drop-off locations, and more.
It was simple to use and once the host accepted my request, they were very quick to respond to any questions I had like how to charge the vehicle, where to find the nearest Supercharger station, etc.
This time, the trip went without a hitch and my family really appreciated having our own vehicle around. We went on all the rides and bought all the Legos we wanted. Then, we made a pit stop at the hotel to drop off our new purchases before stealing away to the beach. All without waiting on any Ubers or haggling with aggressive drivers.
Overall, SHAiR saved my vacation. And if you’re ready to save yours, I highly recommend using them.
To hear more about SHAiR, visit their website.
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