I recently saw a TV ad for TURO where people are now renting out cars like AIRBNB does for lodging

We are changing from ownership to renting in almost all areas of our economy.

As millennials enter adulthood and the middle class, the trend seems to be for them to own less stuff.

The things being shared are almost unlimited from Office spaces to peer to peer lending and even scooters and bicycles are on street corners

There is a very bright future for our Rental niche

Somewhat yes....although I'm still skeptical about the long-term trends of SOME areas of the sharing economy.

For a long-time, experts said Millennial were less likely to buy homes than generations prior. That was true simply because they delayed having families, but now as they age into their mid-30s and are settling down, their percentage of ownership is just as high as Gen X and Boomers were at that stage. So the trend was simply delayed, not decreased.

With cars...maybe. I think there's a future for self-driving car rentals vs. having your own car exclusively for personal. If we think about it, most of our cars spend 90% of their life sitting in a garage or parked. What if that car could be picking people up for shopping trips? Once the tech is there to prove them safer than human-driven cars, insurance rates will plummet even if more hours are spent on the road. The trade off would be cars don't last as many years because they'll be racking up more miles per day. So maybe the same number of cars will be sold, but we'll see the fleet turn over faster? I dunno....fun to think about.

I am NOT sharing my basement bar...unless I'm behind it serving drinks to friends! ;-)

We were in Austin recently visiting son, the scooter thing actually makes sense. Check one out on one corner, ride it 30 blocks and drop it off pretty much anywher. Costs a couple of bucks, way cheaper than other forms of transportation and no wait time.

MikeA, I read an article last week describing Hertz and all airport car rental companies as headed over cliff due to changes in traveler behavior.

The bicycle sharing fad was a disaster. Downtown Dallas was littered with bikes everywhere.

Since the scooters need to be placed on charging stations, that's not as big a problem plus I think there are less entries into the competition compared to bikes.

The biggest problem with scooters is accidents. I saw one scooter rider get hit by a car trying to cross traffic, there have been lots of accidents with the small wheel getting caught on uneven pavement too. Not to mention all the damage drunks renting scooters can do.

nhsailmaker, interesting thought. There has for sure been more renting since the recession.

Sid, funny about the bar. I can't believe an English teacher just said dunno. LOL!