DOON to launch motorbike rentals next year

By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporter

DOON PH, a local car-sharing startup, plans to launch its motorbike rental service in the first quarter of 2025 in key tourist destinations, according to its chief executive officer (CEO).

“It will be an airbnb for motorbikes,” Enrique Hormillo, cofounder and CEO at DOON, told ����ý in a virtual interview.

The company’s motorbike rental feature will initially target island tourist destinations such as Boracay, Bohol, Palawan, and Siargao, he said.

Mr. Hormillo noted that tourists especially those who stay in high-end hotels often get overcharged for motorbike rentals.

“This has been in our pipeline for the last year already, just to prevent that,” he said. “When you rent a bike on the app, it’s one price and everybody sees it, whether you’re in a nice hotel or a cheap hotel.”

Mr. Hormillo and his cofounder and chief operating officer Miguel Locsin launched DOON in August 2023. Since then, the app has been downloaded more than 25,000 times, and has 15,000 active users.

Dubbed as an airbnb for vehicles, owners can set up their idle cars for rent to earn extra income. People who temporarily need a car may rent one through the app at a lower rate.

DOON follows a pay-per-use “sachet” insurance model, which was developed in partnership with Pioneer Insurance. Car rentals average P2,300 a day.

This is more convenient than other car rental businesses, which typically require an upfront insurance payment of about P50,000 or P60,000 to insure a car annually, Mr. Hormillo said.

Through the app’s “Kotsenometer,” a car owner can see how much they will get paid. The car must be no more than 15 years old and have a fair market value of up to P3 million, he said.

Mr. Hormillo, a veteran in the car industry, got the idea for DOON after getting stuck in an airport in the UK during the holidays. Left with no other options, he downloaded a local car rental app.

“I just registered and signed up for this app, and within like 15 to 20 minutes, there was already a guy coming to meet me at the airport, bringing me his Tesla so I can drive around the UK for like three weeks,” he said.

He thought of replicating the platform for the Philippine market.

“It’s kind of a problem I’ve seen in the Philippines all my life,” he said. “If you don’t have a car, for example… but you have to go somewhere, it’s really hard.”

Despite the emergence of other ride-hailing apps, many roads in the Philippines remain inaccessible without a personal vehicle, he added.

To date, about 500 cars have been registered on the platform, available in 56 cities nationwide.

Mr. Hormillo said the average rental length is two to three days, while car rentals can be extended up to a month during the holiday season.

About 35% of customers who rent cars via DOON are foreigners. Cars are typically rented for family and group trips, mostly for business and site visits.

Mr. Hormillo said Metro Manila’s worsening traffic congestion is not a major issue for DOON. “We’re allowing them (owners) to put these cars on our app and then these cars go out of Manila. They get taken on out-of-town trips.”

DOON users also have access to a free membership in the Automobile Association of the Philippines, which provides roadside assistance to motorists and discounts when they subscribe to Cartrack GPS.

DOON seeks to attract more hybrid and electric vehicles in 2025 and is developing a more “dynamic pricing” for car rentals.

“Our presence is not fully maximized yet,” Mr. Hormillo said. “I want to be in every city in the Philippines that’s got an airport and a seaport by the end of 2025. If you think about that, that’s really us bridging the gap for travel.”