A study of how customers behave and how that impacts business growth in the case of Nordic Motorhome Rental.

In travel markets where experiences are the main consideration, knowing customer needs has become increasingly critical for businesses. This research is part of Elle Tick's dissertation, and offers a data-driven analysis of customer behaviour in the Nordic motorhome rental market during 2017–post-pandemic recovery period.

The results reveal that there have been several stages of evolution in the market. Prior to COVID-19, international customers were the primary customers for rentals. In 2017, about 80% of the rentals were from foreign customers, while in 2019, it was 84%, among which Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands and France were the main source markets.

The age structure of the customers was also fairly consistent. The average recorded driver age was steady at approximately 45-46 years; the most consistent customer segment was families.

About 65 percent of the rents included in the index were for families, with about 35 percent for couples. The average length of rental was around 12 days, which was indicative of longer leisure travel.

This was almost immediately thrown off by the pandemic.

Included rentals fell from 2,290 in 2019 to 1,257 in 2020. Meanwhile, the local customers grew from around 16% to 53% of rentals.

It's an important business lesson that this shift offers. The nature of a market and the types of people who use it can alter due to external disruption. There was still the demand for leisure experiences, but the customer's demand for an experience that could be offered as part of a domestic trip increased.

Local customers accounted for about 47% of the rentals included in the local market in 2021. In 2022, demand picked up significantly again with the share of rentals going to international customers at around 86%.

The data also shows a longer term trend towards longer trips. The average number of days rented rose from about 12 days prior to the pandemic, to about 12.7 days in 2021 and 14.3 days in 2022. Average did not deviate significantly from 14 days through 2025.

When a customer rents a car for a longer period, it can be an opportunity or a responsibility for rental companies. Longer trips have the potential to produce more revenue, but can also raise the value of quality vehicles, customer service, equipment, and maintenance and service reliability.

An additional development that is of importance is the increasing role of couples. They accounted for 35% of rentals in 2019 and are projected to represent almost 46% in 2025. This indicates that there are more opportunities in the market than just the traditional family market.

The conclusion of the research shows how important it is to consider customer analytics as part of the business strategy in the long run. Businesses that monitor the origin and demographics of customers along with the length of their trips and how their behaviour changes can react better to disruptions in the market and new opportunities.

The Nordic motorhome rental industry is a good example of a larger lesson that can be applied to the tourism and travel industry: Sustainable growth requires an understanding of the evolution of customers.

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