Calgary-based CanaDream Corp. has been renting out recreational vehicles for more than 15 years, with locations in six provinces and territories. Although there are various high-tech aspects to the company’s business, including the software it uses for booking and reservations, it was a recent digital endeavor that got customers buzzing – an iPad app.
The Globe and Mail, Toronto, reported that six years ago, CanaDream began working on a project to develop a GPS-based tool that would offer RV users access to nearby points of interest, CEO Brian Gronberg says. CanaDream initially designed the software for GPS navigational units, which at the time were still growing in popularity. But that all changed in 2010.
“We were all set to launch (the software) a year ago on GPS screens,” Gronberg explains. “And then they announced the iPad, and we went ‘stop’ – the technology has caught up with the idea.”
The company quickly reworked the software for the larger tablet screen, and it soon signed deals with its carrier partners to give RV customers access to data through cellular or Wi-Fi connections, making the CanaDream app accessible on the road.
The idea is simple. The app essentially picks up a user’s location and offers information about nearby points of interest such as camping sites. The almost 3,000 options are collected from CanaDream’s 700 or so partners. In addition, customers get access to special discounts from those partners.
Just as they rent RVs, customers can now also rent iPads from CanaDream, or bring their own and download the app from the company’s website or on Apple’s iTunes store. A version of the app is publicly available for anyone to use, but only the RV rental customers get access to the discounts feature.
Read more at RVBusiness.com.
