Hemphill Brothers pivots RV rentals from rock stars to tourists during Covid

The Hemphill Brothers Coach Company knows a thing or two about how celebrities live on the road. The Nashville-based RV company, run by brothers Joey and Trent Hemphill, has been building and outfitting luxury tour buses for 40 years, touting an A-list client roster ranging from mega stars like Taylor Swift, Oprah, Dolly Parton and Beyonce to former U.S. presidents.

“2020 was going to be our best year yet. It was already booked as our biggest year in the history of our company,” said Trent Hemphill, when CNBC first caught up with Hemphill back in October.

But when the coronavirus pandemic led to abrupt concert cancellations across the country in early March 2020, $30 million dollars in booked RV rentals for musicians on tour went out the door with them. “My brother and I, we’ve been through a lot of things together in this business, but nothing like this,” Trent Hemphill said.

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