Campus Bellhops is the little business that found a niche and filled it. The niche is “moving day” on campus. The Bellhops, who are college students, step in so parents and students do not have to muscle the kids’ belongings up and down from dorm rooms.
It works. College students earn a little extra money and parents get a break.
“It’s the Uber of moving,” said Justice Walker an employee and a senior at Northern Arizona University. “Everything is done by computer.”
Founders Cameron Doody and Stephen Vlahos began the campus business in 2011 at Auburn University in Alabama. In 2013, an investment from venture group Lamppost Group helped them grow their business.
Bellhops now has a presence in 90 cities across the nation from Flagstaff to Tampa to Seattle.
Recently, this moving service has been opened to the general public. The word “Campus” had been dropped from its name and now the name is simply Bellhops.
The problem is that after a certain age, a person does not feel right about begging his or her friends to ruin a Saturday by helping with a move.
Bellhops step in.
The Bellhops employee can rent a moving truck on the customer’s behalf and handle it from there.
A customer contacts Bellhops to describe the job. Then the job goes out on computer to all the employees. The first employee who claims the job will be the foreman and the next two the crew. They can earn up to $15 an hour.
“It is the most millennial job you can have,” said Walker. “I would say it is a pretty convenient job.”
Walker said he sometimes pays his rent with what he makes and also uses it for extras like eating out.
With other jobs, a person must make a commitment and have set hours, but Bellhops is flexible.
“I went to Denver in May. I was visiting for a whole month, so I worked while I was there,” said Walker, 22.
Hence, a Bellhop can change markets anywhere he goes within 90 locations.
Walker found the job on facebook two years ago in June. He says one of the best things about Bellhops is that it is a job that can hold him over until he gets a real job with his degree in environmental studies.
Matt Ruggirello used Bellhops for a local move recently and was pleased with the service.
“They moved my whole household, but it was not that much stuff. It took them about an hour. Two nice college guys. They were on time, friendly and careful. It was a great experience.”
Reese Adcock, a sophomore at NAU studying business communication and graphic design said he works not only as a Bellhop, he is the campus coordinator for the company at NAU.
“We have a lot of room for success,” he said. For that reason, he is constantly looking for bellhops.
“You can work your own hours. You have the opportunity to choose your jobs even if you are still going to class,” Adcock said.
By Patty McCormac, FBN
To learn more about Bellhops visit http://www.getbellhops.com
