MIAMI – This was to be the year of expansion to Orlando for Ondevan, a camper van rental dream-turned-business for Hallandale Beach residents Omar Bendezu, 34, and Haley Kirk, 28.
"My plan was to have a proper location with someone helping me there part time," Bendezu said. "I was planning to add seven to eight campers this season."
Those plans evaporated when the COVID-19 pandemic spurred travel restrictions in mid-March. Until then, around 95% of Ondevan's customers were from outside Florida, many international. Kirk remembers the day that President Donald Trump announced U.S. airports would be closing to European travelers.
"The day after that, it was Omar just receiving call after call after call after call of people trying to figure out if they could cancel their booking," she said.
It was an abrupt blockade for the growing business spawned over coffee at Moises Bakery in Hallandale Beach back in 2017, when Kirk and Bendezu were newlyweds. A stranger approached them and asked if they would like to buy her RV.
Bendezu, who always dreamed of being his own boss, asked how much the camper van cost, thinking maybe he could rent it out on Airbnb. "$5,000," the woman said.
The only parking spot the couple had was in their condo's garage, so they regretfully turned the woman down. But it got them thinking.
Where others may have seen an oversaturated market full of hotels, motels and vacation rentals, Bendezu and Kirk saw an opportunity in South Florida's tourism scene: #VanLife