Spanish car hire start-up MovoMovo is looking to capitalise on the growing trend for peer-to-peer internet-based social business models.
MovoMovo pioneers peer-to-peer car hire in Spain
Spanish car hire start-up MovoMovo is looking to capitalise on the growing trend for peer-to-peer internet-based social business models.
MovoMovo aims to build on the success of similar models which as Whipcar.com in the UK, Buzzcar.com in France and Getaround.com in the US.
The new Spanish entrant into the market is available in 25 Spanish locations including Barcelona, Madrid, Alicante, Malaga, Ibiza and Mallorca and has a community of 200,000 users.
The company was officially founded eight months ago after two months preparation and already is handling more than 300 peer-to-peer car rentals a month.
As well as saving money MovoMovo aims to encourage its customers to interact socially with their community to share first-hand travel tips with locals.
It believes its model offers a flexibility that traditional car hire firms cannot match and on average is around 50% cheaper.
While the site puts the customer in touch with the car owners, they agree the terms in which the vehicle is available.
MovoMovo says it has developed an algorithm called Social Trust Rank that analysis the users social media activities to create an initial ‘score’ relating to the trustworthiness of that person.
It is free to use and requires both vehicle owners and customer to log in through their Facebook account and from there they can make contact and exchange messages.
In addition MovoMovo will be promoting its environmentally friendly credentials allowing travellers to reduce their contribution to destinations’ CO2 emissions.
MovoMovo said it was inspired by AirBnB, the US website specialising in private accommodation rental as an alternative to a hotel.
