For Tourism Holdings, the acquisition of El Monte will elevate it to the second-largest RV rental operator in North America behind rival Cruise America without increasing overall fleet numbers which could dent prices. El Monte allows Tourism Holdings to develop a broad-based RV rental and sales business in the U.S., similar to its New Zealand business, and its mix of international and domestic customers and older fleet is complementary to Tourism Holdings’ smaller and more premium Road Bear operation in the U.S.
“We are looking forward to combining fleet procurement, operating different rental brands and maximizing RV sales through both our traditional wholesale channels and the El Monte retail sites; a model we know,” said Tourism Holdings chief executive Grant Webster. “This is a much lower risk strategy than trying to grow to an equivalent market share from the Road Bear platform.”
Tourism Holdings estimates it will have a 28% share of the RV rental fleet market after the purchase, compared with Cruise America’s 52%. El Monte founder Ken Schork will retire after 46 years of leading the business.
