Think of it as the Uber for moving.
Bellhops, a tech-enabled moving company connecting college students to moving and lifting jobs through a smartphones app, has provided work for hundreds of New Orleans area college students who have lifted living room sets, moved mattresses and transported TVs.
Now, they are offering $25,000 of free labor for seniors in honor of National Senior Citizens Day on Sunday, August 21, 2016.
After providing more than $21,120 of free moving labor in 19 markets in honor of National Senior Citizens Day 2015, Bellhops hopes more seniors, aged 65 and older, will take advantage of their complimentary services this year.
“We received so much great feedback after Senior Citizens Day last year,” Bellhops co-founder and president, Cameron Doody, said. “My favorite part of last year’s giveaway was when I looked in our system to see what kinds of jobs our Bellhops were doing. Few were actually helping seniors move from one residence to another. Instead, they were requested to help with chores and projects that our older customers simply hadn’t had the ability to do themselves—rearranging furniture, putting clothes in storage, stuff like that. I got emotional just reading some of our customer reviews.”
For this 2nd annual event, seniors need to place their Bellhops orders over the phone at 1-888-836-3939 or at www.GetBellhops.com on National Senior Citizens Day, Sunday, August 21. Coupon code “SeniorDay2016” will provide each senior with the moving and lifting labor of two Bellhops for a full hour, free of charge. Once booked, the jobs can take place at any point in the future.
Bellhops reps said there are some considerations for the special senior promotion:
• For jobs taking more than one hour, the standard Bellhops rate of $40 per Bellhop per hour will apply after the free hour is used.
• A refundable $1 credit card deposit is required to book Bellhops. For jobs lasting more than one hour, this deposit is credited toward the second hour of labor. For jobs that last an hour or less, this dollar is returned to the customer once the job is completed.
• This is a labor-only giveaway. The National Senior Citizens Day discount may not be used to offset truck rental costs in markets where that service is provided.
• Jobs taking place outside an immediate Bellhops service area may be subject to a standard travel charge of $0.25/travel minute.
Bellhops was founded in 2013, operates in nearly 90 cities and contracts college students to work small to medium sized moves, which are booked over the phone or on the Bellhops website. Once a job is booked, all the Bellhops in a given market are notified through their app, and the job can be claimed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Bellhops COO Matt Patterson said business grew 510% last year in New Orleans. “Thanks to mushrooming demand, we’ll need to add a slew of Bellhops to support that growth,” he said.
Students from Delgado Community College, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Loyola University, Southern University at New Orleans, Tulane University, and University of New Orleans have claimed Bellhops jobs throughout the area.
“We are very selective about who is allowed on our job-claiming platform, so that means we need to sort through a large collection of applications to reach our desired market headcount,” Patterson said. “Historically our applicant acceptance rate has been roughly 50%. This allows us to ensure customers that we’re supplying high quality movers to their jobs.”
Company reps said all Bellhops are handpicked, hardworking college students who are background checked and had video interviews. They said booking a job with their service online takes just minutes and can save customers half the costs compared to hiring a traditional moving company.
