Four years after moving to Steamboat Springs, Robert Stewart’s business idea, Easy Auto Rentals Steamboat, is gaining traction.

After developing a local following as a driver for Uber and Lyft in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stewart shifted to a car-rental model starting with a Toyota RAV4 — the only car in his fleet at the time. A few months later, he invested in rental software to move the business to the next level in 2022.

Today, his business has grown to seven cars, and offers a flexible model that allows customers who visit his website to pick cars and rent them 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week. Stewart said Easy Auto Rentals is built on small-town personality and will deliver the car to the renter’s front door.

“I’m kind of covering a little bit of a niche as far as the after-hours crowd and the local customers, and then there’s a certain amount of tourism and airport traffic that I’ve been able to harvest,” Stewart said. “We’re still in our infancy to some extent, but I’m just pleased with how well we’ve been received and that we’re gaining traction.”

To this point, Stewart said business has been consistent, with plenty of it coming from the airport — including those looking for an affordable car to get them around while they are in town, or those that might find themselves without transportation for one reason or another. He said the service is mobile, but his customers can pick up cars at 2310 Lincoln Ave.

“It just saves me a lot of time,” Stewart said of the online model. “They can enter their driver’s license information, they can pay with their credit card and they can choose their car and do whatever they want. Then all they really need to do is come in and say hi, and I can give them the keys. Then off they go.”

The idea for the business, Stewart said, came shortly after he moved to Steamboat Springs in March 2020. His plan at that time was to provide ride service to visitors and locals looking to get around town, or who needed a ride to the airport — that was before the arrival of COVID-19.

“I came up from Colorado Springs,” Stewart said. “I tripled my rent, and my income dropped 80% within a matter of about two days.”

Despite the restrictions brought on by COVID-19, Stewart said he was able to develop a following among those looking for a ride. As the local restrictions eased, his business continued to grow. He said he was soon so busy that he began thinking about starting a rental business.

He said the rental business is a side job and adds to his full-time position at Steamboat Motors, where he is a car salesman and works in finance. 

“We are growing but we’re still kind of young, I guess,” Stewart said. “I’m going to celebrate two years of officially having a real structure, with software and an actual program and taking credit cards and that sort of thing. It’s been an adventure.”