Lions Club Tube Rental

What Lions Club Tube Rental does

Lions Club Tube Rental (DBA: Tube San Marcos) is a seasonal, direct-to-consumer river tubing operation based at 170 Charles Austin Drive in San Marcos, Texas, operated as a fundraising project of the San Marcos Lions Club, itself an affiliate of Lions International. The business rents inner tubes with shuttle service ($25 per tube, all-day), sells shuttle-only passes to self-equipped tubers ($15), and offers Coast Guard-approved life jackets ($5) and small/large lockers ($5-$10) at the City Park site. Operating hours run 10 AM to 7 PM during the summer season, with last tube distribution at 5 PM and last shuttle at 6:30 PM, supported by a 7-person staff and shuttle pickups every 15 minutes.

The underlying technology stack is intentionally lightweight: a Squarespace-hosted website (tubesanmarcos.com) with an embedded FareHarbor booking widget that handles reservations, payments, and the automatic 24-hour Early Bird discount. There is no mobile app, no proprietary booking engine, no API exposure, and no AI/ML components in the stack (api_details.api_exists = false). Distribution is exclusively on-site at City Park plus direct online booking; the only third-party marketplace channel is FareHarbor itself. Marketing is organic, centered on the official Facebook page (SMTXLions), the website's SEO presence for "San Marcos River Tubing" terms, and email inquiries at [email protected].

The revenue model is a one-time transaction rental business with $10 hold deposits released on equipment return. Customer segments span individual consumers/families (primary), group bookings (10+ and 40+ with school/church/nonprofit rates), and self-equipped tubers. All proceeds fund the San Marcos Lions Club's community programs, including vision services, childhood cancer support (Sunshine Kids), Christmas food baskets for 100+ families via the SMPD Blue Santa Program, youth scholarships, and San Marcos River conservation with the Meadows Center and San Marcos River Foundation. No revenue, funding, or M&A data is disclosed.

Name

Lions Club Tube Rental

Legal name

San Marcos Lions Club

Website

https://tubesanmarcos.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lions Club Tube Rental (Tube San Marcos) is a seasonal, nonprofit river tubing rental and shuttle service in San Marcos, Texas, operated by the San Marcos Lions Club to fund local charitable programs serving individual tourists, families, and group bookings.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recreational Equipment Rental

NAICS

Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (4872)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Seasonal/Resort Passenger Water Shuttle Operators (TLAFALAJ)

Keywords

• River tubing rentals
• Shuttle services
• Recreational equipment rentals
• Outdoor leisure services
• Nonprofit fundraising operations

Headquarters

HQ city

San Marcos

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tube Rental with Shuttle: Primary revenue stream. Customers pay $25 for all-day tube rental including shuttle service. Additional $10 hold placed during check-in, released upon return. Revenue is transaction-based, one-time payment per float.
2. Shuttle Only Service: For customers with their own tubes, shuttle service is available for $15 per person. Allows transport back to starting point for multiple floats throughout the day.
3. Accessory Rentals: Life jacket rentals at $5 and locker rentals at $5-$10. Additional hold charges ensure returns. These add-on services increase per-customer revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Lions Club Tube Rental operates a seasonal river tubing rental service on the San Marcos River at City Park in San Marcos, Texas, providing all-day tube rentals with unlimited shuttle service ($25), shuttle-only passes for self-equipped customers ($15), life jacket rentals ($5), and locker rentals ($5-$10). The operation runs as a fundraising project of the San Marcos Lions Club, with all proceeds supporting local community programs and charities.

Product overview

Lions Club Tube Rental is a nonprofit river tubing operation run by the San Marcos Lions Club as a fundraising initiative. The company offers a unified service centered on San Marcos River tubing experiences with four distinct rental offerings: Tube Rental (core product combining tube and shuttle service at $25), Shuttle Pass (for customers with their own tubes at $15), Life Jacket Rental ($5 add-on), and Locker Rental (available in small $5 and large $10 sizes). All rental services operate between 10 AM - 7 PM with shuttle service running until 6:30 PM. The organization supports local community programs and charities through proceeds from these operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tube Rental with Shuttle

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Lions InternationalcoreOthersThe San Marcos Lions Club is part of Lions International, the largest service organization in the world. The Tube Rental is a fundraising project of the San Marcos Lions Club. Proceeds support local organizations, charities, and educational opportunities for students through LCIF grants and local programs.
• Meadows Center (Texas State University)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for river conservation education. The Meadows Center operates at Spring Lake and works with the Lions Club on environmental projects to protect the San Marcos River and its endangered species.
• San Marcos River FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental nonprofit partnered with Lions Club for river conservation projects. Supports Great Texas River Cleanup volunteer efforts twice yearly.
• City of San MarcosminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity Parks & Recreation partnership. Lions Club operates from City Park location, participates in park cleanup activities, and coordinates with City Marshal officers for lost & found at parks.
• Texas State UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partnership for river conservation projects and environmental education. Texas State Stadium parking lot available for customer parking on game days.
• Sunshine KidsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit partnership for childhood cancer support. The Club hosts a special day for Sunshine Kids participants to float the river and enjoy summer activities.
• H-E-BminorOthersRegional grocery retailer provides food donations for Lions Club Christmas basket program supporting families in San Marcos/Kyle area.
• HCFB (Hays County Food Bank)minorOthersFood bank partnership. Lions Club participates in Hays County Food Drive and provides food basket donations through HCFB for Christmas assistance program.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Austin Canoe & Kayak: Central Texas water recreation rental operator offering canoes, kayaks, and tubes for river outings around Austin. Comparable in providing water-based recreational equipment rentals in the broader Texas Hill Country market.

Direct peers

• Rockin' R River Rides: Tube rental and shuttle service on the Comal River in New Braunfels, Texas. A direct competitor in the Texas Hill Country tubing market with a comparable mix of tube rental, shuttle transport, and add-on accessories.
• Texas Tubes: Commercial tube rental and shuttle operator on the San Marcos River in San Marcos, Texas. Directly competes with Lions Club Tube Rental in the same geographic market with a similar product offering (tube + shuttle on the San Marcos River).

Broad incumbents

• Schlitterbahn New Braunfels: Major water park in New Braunfels, Texas serving the same Central Texas tourism market. Competes for discretionary recreation spend in the region but offers a much wider portfolio of experiences rather than a single river-tubing niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SMTXLions
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lions-club-tube-rental

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lions Club Tube Rental