Spacehop and Fat Lama Talk Sharing
What is Fat Lama and how did it come about?
Fat Lama is a fully insured peer to peer rental platform. We help people borrow the things they need from others nearby. For lenders, the platform is a handy way of making extra cash by renting out the spare items they have at home. At the same time, borrowers can avoid unnecessary purchases by renting instead.
In 2015, two of our co-founders were converting a warehouse on a tight budget and found it difficult to borrow the things they needed; the often found they couldn’t borrow them at a convenient time or place. They frequently had to buy tools and other equipment which they didn’t need to use more than a handful of times. This gave them the idea to start Fat Lama, which would connect people who needed to borrow things from people who could lend their spare stuff to them nearby.
What sort of things is there most demand for?
Some of our most in-demand items include cameras, musical instruments, DJ/PA equipment, drones and projectors. As the weather has been a bit more generous recently we’ve seen a huge jump in demand for bicycles! In short, it’s expensive, niche or suitable for occasional use, it’s a hot ticket. But given that you can rent almost anything on the platform, there’s no way of guessing what else could end up being in demand today or tomorrow!
What protection measures are there for users?
Good question! We take many steps to ensure our users are as safe as possible when using the platform. We have a stringent two-step ID verification process before all rentals to make sure everyone is who they are. We also fully insure all listings to make sure users are protected if anything were to go wrong during their rentals.
Favourite Fat Lama renting story?
Darren’s story is a favourite — he recently wrote about his experience of using Fat Lama to rent out a wide range of cameras and filming equipment. The income he’s generating is giving him more time to spend on what he loves: nature photography. Last weekend, we also had someone borrow a drone for a day — it turns out the guy already owned a drone, but he’d lost it on a roof somewhere and was borrowing another to carry out a drone recovery reconnaissance trip!
How much can I make / save?
We estimate that a borrower’s average monthly saving is £261, saved from not having to purchase items outright. Lenders are averaging at £346 a month, with some more than doubling that. Through multiple rentals, many have now made their items pay for themselves.
How do I sign up?
Lending is simple: you just need to describe your item, add pictures and set your daily rental price and availability. Next, we’ll verify your ID, and once your ID and listings are approved, your listings are live on the platform.
If you’re looking to borrow, just browse the listings on our platform and get in touch with a lender when you’ve found something you want to borrow!
You can also use the code SPACEHOP20 to get £20 off your first rental.
