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$2.50 U.S./$3.50 Canada The Independent Voice of the North American Campground Business Vol. 47 No. 10 • October 2016
www.woodallscm.com
INSIDE…ARVC Plans 50th Birthday Bash at OHCE 3KOA Gearing Up for Big 2016 Convention 4LSI Has a Packed Schedule for Symposium 6Growing Cruise Inn Readies for Conference 14Demand Increases for Park Internet Access 16Campgrounds Grow Exposure with Events 24
Campground and RV park operators find that concerts like El Capitan Canyon’sCanyon’s weekly event serve as a nice draw. Photo courtesy El Capitan Canyon
2 - October 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management
October 2016 Vol. 47 No. 10
www.woodallscm.com
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PUBLISHER’S CORNER By Sherman Goldenberg
As businesspeople, we spend countless hours trying to “get inside of consumers’ heads” to find out what they’re actually think-ing. And at least once a year I seem to find myself at a busy retailshow where I get a chance to interface with camping consumers andanswer some questions for myself.
My latest opportunity was in mid-September at the Pennsylvania RV & Camping Association’s Hershey Show in Hershey, Pa., where I’d hoped to get a better handle on the big picture and what sort of magical thing is occurring right now in theRV marketplace. What, I’m wondering, could be so captivating U.S. RV buyers and propelling the kind of growth we’re currently witnessing in the RV universe — a development that can’t help but
spill over in a big way into the RV park and campground arena?The latest indicator: The Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) is reporting August
wholesale shipments of 35,946 units that were 31.5% ahead of August 2015 and the largest August shipment totals since 1977.
In chatting with numerous attendees on Senior Day at Hershey — a show that drew record attendance of 57,692 — I spoke with Elizabethtown, Pa., residents Tom and Sandi Reed, who hadwaded through long opening-day lines to check out motorhomes in the $120,000 range with whichthe retired first-timers hope to hit the road in a big way.
Ed and Debi Hurlburtwere cruising Hersheypark to keep up with the latest industry twists for theirrespective Facebook groups (“RV Tips” and “Debi’s RV Cooking”) and, perhaps, latch onto a new motorhome to replace their ’07 Itasca. “You never know what you’re going to find,” said Ed.
Veteran Enola, Pa., campers Lou and Janie Bobisch were considering a trade up from their two-year-old Forest River travel trailer — something a little bigger, said Lou, a retired gas companyemployee who didn’t mind waiting in line to get in.
Then there were Joe and Mary Kubisky, who drove three hours from Lincoln Park, N.J., to maybefind something bigger than their existing 30-foot HurricaneClass A.
Meanwhile, New York retirees William and Susan Gibsonwere thinking about getting back intothe RV lifestyle after a two-year hiatus. “We just want to see what’s new in the industry,” said Bill, retired from the aerospace industry. “They’re changing so much every year, a lot of new features.”
So, did all this help resolve my questions about the inexplicable growth of the RV universe? Heck,no. But am I convinced that there are real people with hopes and aspirations who are earnestly drivingthis growth market? Yes — and I’m equally convinced, as East Coast dealer Don Strollo so aptly putit, that “we’re really in an unprecedented time regardless of cyclical trends from the past.” WCM
Chatting with Consumers at the Hershey Show
Family Owned Wyoming RV Park Marks80 Years of Welcoming Travelers in 2016
water formula.• Updating definitions to reflect modern
campground businesses.In addition, the revision would merge the
campground oversight rules into the law,which committee members believe wouldreduce confusion by campground owners.At the same time, it would prevent the stateregulators from establishing new rules with-out a public process.
The revision also updates definitions ofseveral common campground terms, includ-ing park model RVs and what constitutes acampsite and campground.
The committee’s proposals were intro-duced as Senate Bill 952, sponsored by Sen.Darwin Booher, R-Evart, in May and was referred to the state Senate Committee OnOutdoor Recreation And Tourism. A spokes-woman for Booher’s office said that while thelegislation is unlikely to be further acted onin 2016, she expects it to be reintroduced in2017 and said it would be a top priority for thesenator.
A key factor in the committee’s efforts,members said, was helping private camp-grounds compete with publicly ownedcampgrounds, particularly state camp-grounds run by the Michigan Department ofNatural Resources (DNR).
“The private campground owners arefacing challenging times,” said Maitre, whoalso is ARVC Michigan’s vice president. “Wedon’t feel like we’re competing on a levelplaying field as the DNR and other camp-grounds that are publicly owned.”
The committee’s fee proposal is more
ARVC Michigan Works to Update State Laws Governing Private Campgrounds
It’s been nearly 30 years since the publicact governing private campgrounds in Michi-gan was revamped, so the members of theAssociation of RV Parks and Campgroundsof Michigan (ARVC Michigan) took it upon
themselves to comeup with a plan to fixwhat they believeare some long-standing problems.
To address theissue, ARVC Michi-gan assembled anad-hoc committeemade up of opera-tors of small and
large campgrounds from across the state including Jim Cordray of White River Camp-ground in Montague, Paul Maitre of BluegillLake Family Camping Resort in Mecosta,Dan Staley of River Ridge Campground inBreckenridge and Wendy Wolflinger ofGreenwood Aces Campground in Jackson.
The committee spent two years workingwith Scott Everett of Fraser Law Firm to analyze, revise and update Michigan PublicAct 368, which was first passed in 1978.
Committee members said their proposedchanges are designed to update the law toreflect modern terms and practices as wellas make certain regulatory oversight moreequitable among all campgrounds.
Highlights of the proposed changes include:
• A new license fee structure based onthe size of the campground.
• Amendments addressing the limitationon campsites based on an outdated waste-
Over the past eight decades, the parkhas physically changed, but the family’sdesire to stick together and create a last-ing impression on their customers hasnot. During the spring of 1936, Phillips
Camp and Sinclair Service was estab-lished in Evanston by Bona Elbert andMaggie Phillips. The business offeredgas service, trailer spaces, tent campingand 11 cabins with adjacent opengarages available to people traveling theLincoln Highway. Customers shared acommunity bath and shower housewith running well water. That winter, Elbert passed away, leav-
ing Maggie Phillips with five childrenand a business to run. “When they bought the property, it
was a chicken ranch,” said MaggiePhillips’s son (and current owner) Ranold Phillips. “My mother ran thebusiness and raised us five children atthe same time. With that, she put all ofus through college, except for my oldestsister and myself. Mother needed thehelp more than I did.” In 1945, the gas station was removed
and the business was renamed PhillipsCabins. The cabins rented for $1.25 pernight, or $1.50 with linens. The cabinswere heated with coal stoves, but didnot have running water. Trailer spaceswere also available, costing just 25 centsper night. In 1947, six of the cabins were moved
to the front of the property with the
ARVC Plans for Big 50th Anniversary Bash at2016 Outdoor Hospitality Conference & Expo
WOODALLSCM.com October 2016 - 3
ships — new and old— and taking awaytools and skills that willmake our membercampgrounds betterand our industrystronger for the next 50years,” Erica Owens,ARVC director of mar-keting and events, toldWoodall’s Campground Management.
Paul Bambei, ARVC president and CEO,
A lot can happen in 50 years — and tryingto cover it all can be an insurmountable task.Rest assured, however, that the National As-sociation of RV Parks and Campgrounds(ARVC) will at least hit the high points as thenationwide association of campground own-ers celebrates its golden anniversary Nov. 8-11 during its 2016 Outdoor HospitalityConference and Expo (OHCE) at the FortWorth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Tex.
“This year’s conference is about celebrat-ing the last 50 years and building relation-
ELS is Upgrading Arizona Resorts for ’16 Snowbirds
likewise believesthere will be strongturnout for thisyear’s OHCE. “It’sgenerally been agood year acrossthe country and Ithink this is a reflec-tion of that. Peopleare looking forwardto winding their year down and coming to agreat, great venue in Fort Worth.”
Attendees at this year’s OHCE might seeeven more young faces than normal. “For thefirst time, we’ve created a special free regis-tration for the young professionals in our association, anybody 35 or younger. There’sa separate agenda for them,” Bambei explained. “They’re going to be exposed tothings really designed for the younger mind-set — how to get involved with ARVC, how toconnect with a mentor if you seek a leader-ship role. We want to elevate their knowledgebase and connection to our association.”
It’s part of a big-picture effort by ARVCleadership to focus on the future, Bambeisaid. “We saw this as a way to assure this association has longevity.”
Meanwhile, there’s plenty on the schedulefor the bulk of park operators coming to FortWorth. Following a full day of preliminaries onMonday, Nov. 7 — park tours, leadershipworkshops, board meetings, state leaders’meetings and an ARVC Council of Delegatesmeeting — the OHCE officially gets startedTuesday with education seminars running all
ARVC Conference – continued on page 22
ARVC Michigan – continued on page 14Phillips RV Park – continued on page 23
This year’s conference is on pace to be as bigas last year’s gathering in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Phillips RV Park has been owned and oper-ated by the Phillips family since 1936, and it iscelebrating its 80th anniversary this season.
Several RV resorts near Phoenix, Ariz., op-erated by Chicago-based Equity LifeStyleProperties Inc. (ELS) announced they are mak-ing improvements in preparation for the upcoming snowbird season.
ViewPoint RV & Golf Resort in Mesa isworking to complete its second fitness centerby the end of September.
“It’s going to be a really nice facility withnice equipment,” said park manager Cheryl Dewarrat, adding that a grand opening for thenew fitness center is planned for Nov. 17.
Dewarrat said the 300-site resort is improv-ing its facilities in response to guest demand.
Other ELS properties making improvementsin preparation for the upcoming winter seasoninclude Sunrise Heights RV Resort in Phoenix,which replaced its tennis courts with four pickleball courts this summer.
“Pickleball is the new craze in RV commu-nities and our RVers have been asking forthem,” said Natalie P. Daniels, community man-ager for Sunrise Heights, which has 199 sites.
Meanwhile, Countryside RV Resort inApache Junction rebuilt its pool and deck areaand adjacent restrooms this summer.
“Our maintenance staff also put in a newbuilding for pool equipment, so it looks nice andfresh,” said Marta Alegria, resort manager forCountryside, which has 254 RV sites and 276park model RV sites.
The resort also built a flowerbed at the en-trance to the park to improve its curb appeal,Alegria said, adding that the park is currentlyinstalling new street signs. “We were bookedfull last winter,” Alegria said, adding, “I’m surethis coming winter will be the same.” WCM
‘We want attendees to see how far the industry has comeand how great a community they have helped to createin addition to seeing the great things and people that areto come in the next 50 years,’ said ARVC’s Erica Owens.
Members of the Phillips family, whoown, manage and operate Phillips RVPark in Evanston, Wyo., celebrated thebusiness’ 80th anniversary over thesummer season.
Erica Owens
Paul Maitre
Paul Bambei
4 - October 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management
As the 2016 summer camping seasoncame to a close it proved to be anotherrecord-breaking year for Kampgroundsof America Inc. (KOA) and its fran-chisees, most of whom will celebrate inChattanooga, Tenn., for the 2016 KOAConventionNov. 14-17.Not surprisingly, KOA executives an-
ticipate the upcoming gathering in theChattanooga Convention Center will beat least as big as last year’s convention— which, itself, was second only to thechain’s 50th Anniversary earlier thisdecade.“In terms of attendance, the num-
bers are pretty well on track with wherethey were at this time last year,” StaceyIversen Huck, director of training andevents for KOA, told Woodall’s Camp-ground Management in mid-Septem-ber. “In terms of trade show exhibitors,we’re maybe two or three ahead of lastyear. Both numbers are really strong.We’re pleased.”The convention theme aims to high-
light what individual campground own-ers and the franchisors are doing topush camping forward at the 495 KOAparks: “Spark Innovation. Ignite Action.”“We really wanted to step it up and
focus on what innovation is going on,”Huck said. “We’ve added a lot of newthings for the conference this year.We’ve stepped up our game, trying to be innovative and keeping up with theinnovation and the peer sharing that
needs to go on. It’s an event-packedweek. We’re going to spark that innova-tion for four days so they can get backand ignite action.”Between feedback from previous
conferences and work with the KOAOwners Association to identify the besteducational topics and needs, this year’sconvention will have a number of newfeatures — many of them designed toprovide more networking opportunitiesfor campground operators. That includes a casual networking lounge onthe first three days of the conference. “Some of the feedback I’ve gotten
from attendees is how much they learnfrom each other, that peer-to-peer in-teraction,” Huck explained. “The net-working lounge is where they can comein and charge their phones, grab a cupof coffee, sit down and visit.” They’ll alsohave the chance to learn quick socialmedia “how-tos” in the informal setting.There’s also a networking breakfast
before the Tuesday morning session, al-lowing attendees who want to socializeover an informal meal to do so beforegoing into the morning meeting —which will also have a different formatfrom prior years. Instead of KOA leaders giving a “state
of KOA” briefing (that will happen laterin the conference), the morning sessionwill focus on innovation by differentKOA parks, Huck explained. “Becauseour theme is innovation, we’re going to
highlight innovative things going on inour campgrounds, bringing up peopleon stage with things they’ve been work-ing on, and we’ll show pictures of thosethings on the big screens.”Attendees will then move into the
educational sessions, and there aremore options than ever.“In the past we’ve had 25 workshops.
This year we went to 32. What we did alittle different this year is we added toeach session. Previously, we ran fiveblocks, and five sessions per block; nowthere are six sessions per block. One ses-sion in each block is a roundtable dis-cussion hosted by KOA owners andmoderated by KOA owners/managerswith no formal speaker. What we’velearned is not only do they want time tonetwork, they want to learn from eachother,” she said.And while there will be essential ses-
sions on topics ranging from workingwith multiple generations and credit-card processing to Wi-Fi, merchandis-ing and planning an exit strategy, there are new topics, too. Those includeprojects to make campgrounds moreeco-friendly as well as focusing on projects with a one-year payoff, a three-year payoff and a 10-year payoff.Turning to the trade show side of the
convention, KOA is trying a couple ofnew things there as well. The first is toopen up a couple of sessions specific to“Deluxe Cabins,” what KOA calls theirpark model RVs. One session will dealwith some of the nuts-and-bolts of pur-chasing Deluxe Cabins, while the otherwill get into detail about how to most effectively clean them, keep them cleanand keep them well maintained. Thosesessions will feature park model
vendors and Jill Currier, KOA’s directorof accommodations.There’s also a new “Accommodations
Open House and Happy Hour” event,allowing KOA franchisees time to inter-act separately with the cabin vendors, atent vendor and possibly a tipi vendorover beer and wine, Huck said. That allows franchisees to handle anycabin/accommodation questions andpurchases outside of the trade show, allowing attendees to focus on the restof the trade show when it opens.KOA’s other nod to vendors is a cou-
ple of gatherings for vendors only. “We’llhave breakout sessions for our vendorsso they can learn about KOA and how we can partner together with theirbusiness,” Huck explained. The convention’s keynote address
will come from Daniel Levine, with acompany called Avant-Guide. “He is a‘trends guru,’” Huck said. “He’s got a lotof roots in the travel industry and knowswhat motivates people to hit the road.He has more than 9,000 researcherswho chronicle the latest ideas and experiences around the globe.“He’ll talk about whether something
is a trend or a fad,” she continued. “Itwill be a very campground-centricspeech. It’s very specific to what we cando.”With all the additions to this year’s
conference and the context of years ofrecord-breaking growth for KOA and itsfranchisees, Huck said she’s really excited about what attendees will expe-rience this year. “I want them walkingaway with ‘wow!’ I want them to be empowered and refreshed as they goback to their campgrounds.” — JustinLeighty WCM
This year’s KOA trade show will feature extra timefor attendees to meet with park model RV builders.
‘I want them walking away with ‘wow!’ I want themto be empowered and refreshed as they go back totheir campgrounds,’ said Stacey Iversen Huck, KOAdirector of training and events.
Kampgrounds of America Gearing Up for a Major 2016 Convention for Franchisee Owner/Operators
Grand Rapids, Mich.-based North-gate Resorts has converted two parksit acquired into Yogi Bear’s JellystonePark Camp-Resorts.Northgate bought a 272-site camp-
ground next to the Tower Park Marinain Lodi, which it is converting into aYogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort — the first Jellystone Park inCalifornia.“We’re very excited about this
location,” said Zachary Bossenbroek,CEO of Northgate Resorts, a privatecompany that owns seven other Jelly-stone Parks, mostly in the eastern halfof the country. “Our vision is to makethe campground in Lodi into a truedestination resort.”
Northgate has experience doing justthat.In fact, half of the Jellystone Parks
Northgate owns received nationalawards last year from Leisure SystemsInc. (LSI), the Milford, Ohio-basedfranchisor of Jellystone Parks acrossthe U.S. and Canada.Northgate also is working on
upgrading Guadalupe River RV Resortin Kerrville, Texas. “This is going to bean amazing resort,” Bossenbroek said.“We’ve set up an activities programthat’s keeping our guests entertainedall day long.” The park recently got aminiature-golf course as one of thefamily activity upgrades Northgate ismaking at the riverside park. WCM
Cruise Inn RV Parksannounced the 40-RV-park brand network hasadded Trent Arnold asexecutive vice presi-dent and CFO.
“As Trent assumesthe role of EVP andCFO, his first charge
will be in the area of finance and treasury,”said President and CEO Scott Anderson. “AsCruise Inn grows, the need for more reportingon the progress of our parks and the financialprogress of Cruise Inn is required. In addition,Trent will assist in the advancement of thenext generation of technology to be imple-mented at our company. With the changes in the purchasing habits of the Cruise Inncustomers, the need to continue to be on thecutting edge of technological advancements
is critical. Also, he will assist in all areas ofthe company as a trusted and knowledgeablepartner to me.”
Arnold has a long history in the hospitalityand outdoor recreation industries, and was akey member of the founding team of CNLLifestyle Properties, a real-estate investmenttrust, where he served as director of invest-ments. In this role, he focused on outdoor resorts, golf courses, marinas, ski areas, andRV parks and campgrounds.
“As a long-time RV owner and park user,and after spending many months in the lastyear personally visiting over 75 RV parks tobetter understand the enormous businessopportunities,” said Arnold, “I can person-ally speak to the value and quality createdat a Cruise Inn member park, and why it’ssuch an exciting time to be in this great industry.” WCM
Northgate Converts California, Texas RV Parks to Jellystone Cruise Inn Adds Trent Arnold as CFO, Executive Vice President
6 - October 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management
Jellystone Park Operators Will Find a Full Slate at the 2016 LSI Symposium
If success breeds success, this year’s LSISymposium and Trade Show should be agrand slam. Set for Nov. 6-10 at the EmbassySuites Hotel Cincinati-RiverCenter and theNorthern Kentucky Convention Center inCovington, Ky., the annual con/expo for own-ers and operators of Yogi Bear’s JellystonePark Camp-Resorts from across NorthAmerica will cap what executives at fran-chisor Leisure Systems Inc. (LSI) are alreadycalling a record-setting year in the outdoorhospitality sector.
Despite unfortunate timing — the Na-tional Association of RV Parks and Camp-grounds is meeting the same week in FortWorth, Texas — the vast majority of the 84Jellystone locations will be represented and
the trade show is sold out, according to LSIExecutive Vice President Dean Crawford.
“It’s always agood event. Most ofour parks make itevery year and lookforward to it,” Craw-ford told Woodall’sCampground Man-agement. “Overallthe parks are sayingthey’ve had a goodyear. They stay busythrough October, doing the Halloween-themed weekends. Campers aren’t doneyet.”
LSI has a packed schedule planned for
The Emirbayer Family poses withsome of the themed decorationsat last year’s symposium.
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‘The annual symposium is a great opportunity for owners and operators toattend educational seminars, buy Yogi Bear merchandise for next season,visit with trade show vendors, network with other attendees and get reen-ergized for next year’s camping season,’ according to Leisure Systems Inc.
franchisees. The early event of the sympo-sium is training, set for Nov. 6 in the EmbassySuites, while the Yogi Advisory Council —an elected group of 10 members that worksto enhance the flow of information betweenfranchisees and LSI — will meet much ofMonday, Nov. 7 in the hotel. Also on tap for most of Monday is the chance for fran-chisees to order their Yogi Bear-exclusivemerchandise. “We carry more than 500items,” Crawford pointed out. “We starteddoing our merchandise ordering on separate days from the trade show. That hasworked out really well. Our campgroundowners aren’t having to split their attentionbetween ordering merchandise and thetrade show.”
The official welcome reception and buf-fet dinner takes place at 6 p.m. that evening.
The Yogi merchandise purchasing con-tinues Tuesday, Nov. 8, until 2 p.m., withlunch also scheduled at the Embassy Suites.After that, the symposium moves across thestreet to the convention center at 2 p.m. forthe LSI Updates and Travel Log before the4:30 p.m. opening of the trade show, whichruns through Wednesday afternoon.
“We’re basically sold out already,” Craw-ford said of the 100 spaces split between 70to 75 vendors each year. “Last year I turnedaway quite a few vendors and it looks like I’llhave to this year, as well. We’ve got threecabins coming and just a good variety ofvendors showing up, including quite a fewnew ones.”
One of the new vendors is Log Hoggers,which does chainsaw sculptures and woodcarving as entertainment and education.That company has been working in one ofthis year’s new Jellystone Park locations,the park in Monticello, Iowa, Crawford said.
There’s also Peace Frogs, a T-shirt vendor that’s new to the trade show thisyear, as well as a company that provides ceramic items, providers of inflatable itemsfor water use and a solar-panel provider. “Ithink that’s going to be an up-and-comingthing we’ll see more and more of at theparks,” Crawford said.
And, of course, many of the key vendorswho attend will be back, including Utility
LSI Symposium – continued on page 23
Dean Crawford
The first three weeks of Septemberwere interesting at Ohio’s Lazy River AtGranville campground.As reported by the Newark Advocate,
the bulk of the shooting for “First Kill,” amovie starring Bruce Willis, took place atthe campground on Dry Creek Road,making for a unique experience for co-owners Mark and Kathy Kasper.“This was their base camp,” Kathy
said. “This is where the whole cast andcrew showed up every morning. Theydid filming on our trail. They did filmingin front of the campground. They atetheir meals here. So we got to meet a lotof people.”“I can tell you it was sure very active
out here for three weeks or so,” Markadded. “On any given day we might see50 vehicles in our field. That was wherethey had make-up and different parts ofthe puzzle, so to speak.”The Kaspers quickly learned what you
see on film and what you see in real lifeare two very different things.“It was really interesting since I had
never seen a movie shot before,” Kathysaid. “There was a car scene and they hada flatbed trailer they put the vehicle on,along with all the movie equipment. Sosomeone else is driving, of course, insteadof the person you see in the vehicle.”“They did an ATV chase scene,” she
continued. “They used a drone for partof the filming, as well as cameras in othervehicles. They’re very good with theirprops and set-ups to make things looklike something they’re not.”WCM
Latino youth voices sharing positive expe-riences in nature are the driving force behinda new Spanish-language radio campaign Hispanic Communications Network (HCN)launched Sept. 19 in partnership with the U.S.Forest Service.
The national radio campaign celebratesand promotes national forests, parks andother public lands as accessible places withoutdoor adventures and events across hundreds of local communities in all 50 states.
The first phase of the campaign, whichbegan in September, includes the testimoniesof two young Latino men — Luis and Emerson— whose lives were literally transformed bynature. Their inspirational stories lead theSpanish-speaking public to an online toolwhere they can locate nearby public landsand outdoor recreation activities by zip codeat DescubreElBosque.org.
“HCN is excited to expand our alliancewith the forest service through this initiativethat connects Latino communities with adven-tures in forests, parks and public lands. Theselands belong to all of us. They are accessibleand affordable treasures that stimulate mentaland physical health. Trips to public lands arealso great low-cost alternatives for familieswho cannot spend hundreds of dollars attheme parks, and for families that want to cre-ate new memories and traditions through na-ture,” said Alison Rodden, CEO of HCN. WCM
Initiative Encourages Latinos to Visit Parks
Bruce Willis Movie Filmedat Ohio Campground
8 - October 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management
MODERN MARKETING
Evanne Schmarder
How to Avoid ‘Rookie’ Instagram Marketing Mistakes
There’s a reason Instagram contin-ues to be at the top of the social mediafood chain. This six-year-old visual platform continues to capture the imag-ination of its 400 million global dailyusers. It’s reported that smart modernmarketers participating on Instagramare enjoying per-follower engagementrates at nearly 60 times higher than thatof Facebook (which acquired Instagramin 2012). Instagram users are more than2 1/2 times more likely to click on socialads as compared to other platforms. It’s estimated that one-third of U.S.
mobile phone users — a whopping 89.4million — are on Instagram at leastonce a month and nearly 52% of socialmedia users are Instagram users.
Consider:• 83% are between the ages of 18 and
49.• 49% are female, 51% male.• 26% have a household income
greater than $75,000.• 58% have at least some college
education.Instagram does one thing and does it
very well: visuals. Enhanced by filters,sorted by hashtags and auto-sharedwith Facebook, images and short videostell stories, encourage viewers to placethemselves in the scene and, in turn,prompt them to take action. As an experienced outdoor recreation digitalmarketing consultant, I’d suggest thatthere is no better match for the outdoorindustry — with our vivid imagery ofthe great outdoors, family (or Boomer)fun, rest and relaxation, and memory-making at its finest. The image possibil-ities of our product are abundant,around every corner. I’d like to pause here for a brief exer-
cise. Close your eyes and think aboutyour park not in words but in pictures.
What beauty or interest do you see? Attractive landscaping or bloomingflowers? Smiling staff? Laughing guests?Roaring campfires or communal bon-fires? Frog hunts, potlucks, arts andcrafts, bingo, family softball games?Does your mind’s eye go to cabins,rentals, teepees, yurts, well-manicuredsites or lush surroundings? Now, open your eyes and let’s talk.
With smartphone photography atnearly everyone’s disposal and theseemingly endless list of image oppor-tunities, I am flabbergasted when a parkowner/operator says images are just toochallenging to capture. Impactful Instagram marketing is at your finger-tips, allowing — even begging — you totell your park’s story. But as you’d expect, it’s never that
easy. Certainly all the rules of digitalmarketing still apply, including smartplanning and implementation, but platform specifics matter, too. Whilethere is no “secret sauce” for Instagramsuccess, there are a few unforced errors(seen again and again) that might beholding you back. Beware these three rookie Instagram
marketing mistakes.
Rookie Mistake 1: Lackluster Profile Your Instagram profile is the “about
us” section of your account. It’s the portal into your business. Leading witha weak description of your product orservice, using an unrelatable name or branding your profile with a fuzzypicture are easily avoidable rookie mistakes that get you started off on thewrong foot. Instead: • Make it easy for others to find your
account by using your business name.• Brand your profile with an easily-
recognizable profile image, nothing too detailed or cutesy. If possible, be
consistent with your social media brandimages, using what you present onother platforms on Instagram.• Maximize your allowed 150 charac-
ters by penning a concise snapshot ofwho you are and what you do. Add a callto action if possible. • Instagram does not allow URLs to
be used anywhere on the platform except in your profile. Add a link to yourwebsite here.
Rookie Mistake 2: It’s Still Storytelling In the limited time you have to spend
on Instagram you might be tempted topost anything in an effort to simplypost. That would be a rookie mistake.Like every other piece of marketing you do (and yes, this is marketing) youneed to tell a story. Consider these storytelling ideas: • What message do you want to com-
municate? Is it your excellent recreationprogram? Your amazing facilities? Yourgorgeous property? Your easy-off/easy-on location? Choose what story youwant to tell and post accordingly. • Create visual consistency by utiliz-
ing similar looking filters on your images. Is your collection (feed) brightand colorful? Warm and naturesque?Cooler with more blues and greens?Post accordingly to create a consistentbrand/feel. • Captions are an important part of
your post; they add to the story. Include a snappy description of whatthe viewer is seeing. Sprinkle withhashtags if possible.
Rookie Mistake 3: Hashtag HavocInstagram users often look for inter-
esting images by searching a particularterm, a hashtag. Hashtags allow you tocategorize your images, allowing forgreater exposure and discoverability.This rookie mistake comes up time andtime again: businesses either using oneor two weak, one-off or little-knownhashtags, using an industry-insiderhashtag that doesn’t mean anything tothe consumer, and/or not taking full advantage of the 30 allowed hashtags ina post. Here’s how to do it: • Create three brand-specific hash-
tags, including your park’s name, anduse them on every post.• Develop a short list of relevant but
generic hashtags. This might include#camping, #RV, #outdoors, #getoutside,#vacation, #roadtrip, #nature. Use themon every post.• Find and use post-relevant, popular
hashtags by looking at popular outdoorvacation posts and profiles. • Add hashtags to the caption section
of your post in one of two ways: add tothe bottom of your image caption (bestpractice: give the caption three line returns, adding only a period to each ofthe three lines) or use the hashtags inthe first post comment. On your smartphone use keyboard
shortcuts for text replacement to savetime. This valuable tool allows you totype a shortcut term or phrase andmagically be presented with replace-ment text. You can create a shortcut sothat when you type campgram you are presented with #camping, #RV,#outdoors, #getoutside, #vacation,
Modern Marketing – continued on page 32
but they do have a cumulative impactupon the SEO (search engine opti-mization) of a company’s official web-site with legitimate search engines likeGoogle and Bing. These websites areworking with compiled data that isprovided by one of four aggregators:Infogroup, Acxiom, Factual andNeustar/Localeze. They provide thedata that is used by many directories,minor search engines, review sites andGPS services. You can try to correctthese listing errors on individual web-sites, but the process is usually an ex-ercise in frustration that leads to adead-end with a fee. There are compa-nies that simplify the process of correcting these database listings, including Florida-based Insider Perks,a company that specializes in workingwith the campground industry.That said, the sites that my client
described were an entirely new breed.Also based upon compiled data, theirbusiness plans are no longer focusedupon selling enhanced listings but inproviding reservation services wherethey collect referral or transaction fees.These can be problematic indeed. My client has gone through a fairlylabor-intensive process of getting his business de-listed from several ofthese sites. My client’s instincts wereprobably right on target.Campground reservations are accu-
rately perceived as a multibillion-dollarbusiness — and companies that wouldlike a piece of the action are suddenlycoming out of the woodwork. Fundedwith infusions of venture capital, thefocus is on generating income from thecollection of processing fees on thosereservations, either in real-time (withcampgrounds that get on board) orwith the type of delayed booking thatinitially caught my client’s attention.One such site posts that it “anticipates”
SMART OPERATIONS
PeterPelland
One of my clients recently contactedme, concerned that his New Hamp-shire campground was listed withouthis prior knowledge or authorizationon several websites that purported tobe online campground directories. Hediscovered this when one of the sitescontacted him on behalf of a camperwho wanted to make a reservation tostay at his park and another contactedhim to “claim” his listing. At first glance, these would appear
to be good things, wouldn’t they? Anyresource that is sending you businessis generally welcome to do so. After all,your campground is probably sent on-line traffic from a variety of referringsites — everything from GoCampingAmerica.com to your stateassociation website to Good Sam toyour local tourism association.However, in the instances that my
client described something just didn’tseem right.Over the years, a number of websites
have sprouted up that are essentiallydirectories of local businesses. Many ofthese have evolved from so-called “yel-low pages” companies and their busi-ness model is to persuade gulliblebusiness owners to pay for enhancedlistings. In my own experience, about athird of these local directories list mycompany’s street address correctly butthen locate us in the next town. An-other third list our fax number as ourphone number. Do I care? Yes and no.These sites get close to zero traffic —
All Campground Listings Are Good — or Are They?
10 - October 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management
use by 1 million campers per month,even though it does not currently showup as even a blip on the radar at Alexa,the leading provider of comparativewebsite traffic analytics.What is the problem with these
sites? There can be problems withcompiled data, particularly when it in-volves compiled pricing data. Howoften are the data updated and how ac-curate is the initial source? (Think backto those local sites that list my businessincorrectly, where uncorrected datatends to perpetuate itself.) On one ofthese sites that my client called to myattention, I perused the campgroundslisted in my home state of Massachu-setts. I am intimately familiar with theindustry players in my home state andI found fictitious listings, listings for municipal parks that have nothingto do with camping, listings for campgrounds that have been out ofbusiness for several years and listingsfor summer camps.The second problem is the potential
for these sites to compete with yourown official website and your own chosen online reservation engine, a situation that can only serve to confuseconsumers and that could inflict harmupon your business. If pricing (that may or may not be accurate) orreservations enter into the equation,the potential for problems is very real.On the Thursday night prior to
Labor Day weekend, I made last-minute plans for a family stay inToronto, Ontario. We ended up book-ing two rooms at a Sheraton hotel onthe outskirts of the city. We were sur-prised (and pleased) to find limitedavailability, reserving our rooms usingBooking.com, a division of Priceline.We paid $237 (U.S.) for two rooms, afraction of the usual room charges. Inthis instance, the hotel was happy to
receive $237 (less any fees paid toBooking.com) for two rooms thatwould have otherwise gone vacant andwould have generated zero income.Under these circumstances, a third-
party booking engine that is desig-nated to specific inventory makes totalsense. What you want to avoid is toneedlessly discount inventory thatcould otherwise be sold at full price.This is the essence of dynamic pricing,which will no doubt become the normwithin the campground industrysooner than you might expect.The third problem can be the fine
print. If you choose to get on board, besure to read the fine print. The “Termsof Service” listed on one of these web-sites consisted of more than 20,000words that ran 42 pages in length.That’s a far cry from the old-fashionedhandshake agreement of years pastand probably reason to proceed withcaution. Another of my company’s clients, an
Illinois campground with a new web-site, was contacted earlier this year andasked to funnel traffic from his websiteto a startup company’s booking engine.When referred to me, the salespersoncould not understand why I explainedthat it was not in my client’s interest toaccept the offer and why we would notbe installing the company’s “BookNow” button on the campground’snew website. Keep in mind that any online direc-
tories or search engines built uponcompiled data (even Google) needbusinesses like yours as much as youneed them. Without listing real busi-nesses that consumers are seeking,they have no product to offer. It is yourdecision whether or not to get onboard with any particular website. Understand the potential risks andbenefits, and then make a decisionbased upon what is best for your business and how it can most effec-tively meet the needs and expectationsof its core clientele.
Peter Pelland is the CEO of Pelland Advertising, a company thathe founded in 1980 that has beenserving the family camping industryfor more than 30 years. His companyspecializes in building fully respon-sive websites, along with producinga full range of four-color processprint advertising, for clients fromcoast to coast. Learn more aboutPelland Advertising at www.pel-land.com or see their ad in thisissue. WCM
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ON CAMPGROUNDS
Reports from the field:
Bob Ashley
The Summer was Great for Timberland Acres RV Park
The summer season hardly could havebeen better at 226-site Timberland AcresRV Park in Trenton, Maine.“Business has been phenomenal this
year,” said Debbie Ehrlenbach, co-ownerof the park with her husband, Lincoln,and parents, Jimmieand Elizabeth Awalt.“It’s been better this year than last year
— and last year was an excellent year,”she said. “We have been full on the week-ends since before the 4th of July.”Ehrlenbach said business was spurred,
in part, by the U.S. National Park Service’s100th anniversary: Arcadia National Park,on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, is 14 miles from Timberland Acres.“Gas prices are down, sales of RVs is up
and Arcadia and this area got a lot ofrecognition with a presidential visit,” shesaid.
any time,” said Bill Turner, who for 21⁄2years has managed the 162-site park onAmarillo’s east side.Although Turner said plans for the
number of sites in the new park haven’tbeen finished, the new campground willopen before the old one closes.The move likely is to change the char-
acter of Amarillo Ranch, which nowcaters mostly to overnight guests.“Our park is a stopover park,” Hill said.
“We’re five hours from Oklahoma City,five hours from Dallas and about fourhours from Albuquerque, so we are a natural hub for people to stop in theevening.”The park, which is open all year long,
features adobe-style buildings and an indoor heated pool and spa adjacent tothe clubhouse.Business has increased each of the last
two years, Hill reported.* * * * *
In the high desert in Colorado, thenext couple months will bring change toAunt Sara’s River Dance RV Resort inGypsum.Some 40 miles west of Vail, the 34-site
park on the Eagle River will transitionfrom a park that draws people seeking“mountain things to do” during thesummer to one that will attract campersinto skiing and snowboarding, accord-ing to manager Bob Cummings.“A lot of our clientele is here to do all
the adventure stuff,” Cummings said.“Pretty soon, the snowbirds will be com-ing through and then we’ll get the skiers.”The park, built in 2001, is named for
the woman who was the first home-steader on the property in 1880.Aunt Sara’s is open year-round and
offers river fishing and canoeing and horseback rides are nearby. Whilenestled in the mountains, temperaturesremain moderate until December. As with many parks throughout the
U.S., the summer season was strong.“This has been a good year,” Cummingssaid. “Business has steadily been increasing for the last three or four years.We’re full every day in the summer, earlyin the day. The economy is coming backa little and people are able to affordmore travel.”
WCM Editor-at-Large Bob Ashley is a central Indiana-based freelance writer/editor and a 25-year newspaper veteranwho has focused on the RV industry andnational recreation issues for the past22 years. He received the 2013 “Distin-guished Service in RV Journalism”award from the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA). WCM
Building for future RVs at theturn of the century paid off.
Jimmie Awalt opened the 35-acre,heavily wooded campground with 100sites in 1985. “He bought the woodlandand laid out the park himself,” his daugh-ter reported. “About 15 years ago weadded another 100-plus sites, all with fullhookups and 100-foot-deep pull-throughsites — my father had the foresight to realize that larger RVs were on the way.”Interior park roads are paved and RVs
sit on either gravel or grass sites.Timberland Acres has two swimming
pools, two playgrounds and a pavilionwhere the park serves special themedmeals including blueberry pancakebreakfasts, New England baked beansand a complete Thanksgiving dinner inSeptember.Among a slew of activities — including
tours to popular local attractions — Timberland Acres is known for a numberof chainsaw-carved, life-sized figures created by a one-time guest including aMaine black bear, moose, man sittingaround a fire and totem pole.About half the sites are occupied by
seasonal visitors, many of whom are trav-eling the country. “A lot of our customersare retired old-timers,” she said. “Their
12 - October 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management
RV is their home and they go from one location to the next. We see a lot of thesame people every three to five years.They’ll come to the East Coast this yearand maybe the West Coast next year.”Over the years, though, Timberland
Acres has seen a decrease in the numberof rallies and caravans, although a Winnebago group was rallying at thepark in mid-September.“There are fewer players out there
doing the caravans and rallies,” Ehrlen-bach said. “Those have died out with theyounger generation, which is more inde-pendent and doesn’t like to travel ingroups. We still get a couple of Good Samchapters that come through, but thereare five or six RVs instead of 12 or 20 likethere used to be.”
* * * * *Big plans are afoot at Amarillo Ranch
RV Park in the Texas panhandle. Withinthe next two years or so, it’s going to betorn down and moved across the street sothat a restaurant can be built where thecampground sits now.The plan also calls for an event center
sitting on about 200 acres.“The owner bought 80 acres east of
here and they are going to break ground
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Now 40 Locations Strong, Cruise Inn RV Parks Looks Forward to the Emerging Brand’s Third Conference‘There’s a tremendous camaraderie, a lot of information sharing, a lotof fun. People are really open and are excited to be there. There’s verygood energy,’ said Cruise Inn President and CEO Scott Anderson.
The independent owners and opera-tors of Cruise Inn RV Parks will get to-gether Nov. 11-13 in Fort Worth, Texas, forthe third annual Cruise Inn Conference.And, just as the brand has continued itssteady growth, Woodalls CampgroundManagement has learned, this year’sconference should be the largest yet.
The event kicks off at the SheratonFort Worth Downtown hours after theconclusion of the National Association ofRV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC) Outdoor Hospitality Conference and Expo(OHCE).
It certainly seems fitting for Cruise Innto position its annual get-together on theheels of ARVC’s OHCE convention be-cause that’s where the brand, headquar-tered in Coral Springs, Fla., was originallylaunched in 2013. It’s also Cruise Inn’s wayof simplifying life for the brand’s members,explained Scott Anderson, president andCEO of 40-park-strong Cruise Inn, an alliance of park operators who retain theirrespective identities while affiliating witha larger national brand.
“That way they don’t have separateairfare and hotel rooms to book,” said Anderson, a veteran of the hotel industry,adding that the timing also helps keepthings short and concise. “We start Fri-day night and end at noon on Sunday. Bythat point, we’re all pretty tired becausewe’ve been going at ARVC all week.”
The Cruise Inn Conference may bebrief, but it packs in a lot for members,who Anderson said really seem to enjoy the event. “There’s a tremendouscamaraderie, a lot of information sharing,a lot of fun,” he told WCM. “People arereally open and are excited to be there.There’s very good energy. Our feedbackis always very positive. They’re generally
pretty happy.”Friday evening is dedicated to an
opening reception, while Saturday packsin a day of learning at an event that justseems to keep gaining momentum, having grown from 35 attendees threeyears ago to 60 last year and an antici-pated 80 this year, said Anderson, who, injest, predicted that Cruise Inn may soonneed a major coliseum to accommodateits expanding audience.
Most of the action at Cruise Inn’s con-fab, in turn, involves the whole group. “It’severyone in the room together,” Ander-son told WCM. “The educations sessionsare all together all day on Saturday andthere’s a fun event on Saturday night. The group looks forward to that, and onSunday we do a half day of education —including our membership vote.”
In all, Cruise Inn members will benefitfrom a wide range of in-depth informationfrom Anderson and his staff as well as
outside experts. Topics will include thestate of the industry, Cruise Inn marketingand operations updates, social mediamanagement, grassroots marketing, theAmericans with Disabilities Act, ARVCupdates, managing disasters, financingoutdoor hospitality facilities, the growingvariety of outdoor accommodations —from yurts to cabins to refurbishedAirstreams — plus an interactive sessionwith RMS North America, provider ofCruise Inn’s booking software.
“I do some of the sessions,” Andersonsaid, “as do my marketing and operationsteams, and we bring some outsiders in.For something like ADA, which is clearlya big issue in the industry, we’ll bring inan expert on that. For financing we’ll bebringing in a banker.”
Another unusual feature of the CruiseIn Conference is that there’s no tradeshow component as such. Instead,Cruise Inn works with vendors who spon-sor the conference and — instead ofmanning booths — tend to spend the fullconference interacting with Cruise Innmembers. “They’re an integrated part ofthe conference, and at different timesthey get a brief chance to address theroom,” Anderson said.
Then, there’s Sunday’s member vote.Cruise Inn is driven by its members, notedAnderson, who is obliged to heed thewishes of two thirds of the brand’s mem-bership with regard to any proposedbrand standard change.
In any event, the level of interactionamong park operators at the conferenceis one of the keys to its ongoing success,maintained Anderson, who believes thatattendees learn as much from each otheras they do from his staff. —JustinLeighty WCM
Cruise Inn’s staff members, like (from left) ScotAnderson, Kathy Palmeri, Linda Profaizer andAdam Frisch will work with Cruise Inn mem-bers during the conference.
Manufacturers of Quality Recreation FUNniturewww.ParkEquipment.com
1-800-376-78972061 Sulphur Springs Rd
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ARVC Michigan —from page 3
equitable because it would give smallercampgrounds relief from high fees while recognizing that larger campgrounds needmore oversight.
In addition, the committee identified a rev-enue source for the Michigan Department ofEnvironmental Quality — the state regulatoryagency overseeing private campgrounds.Michigan currently chooses to do very littleoversight of temporary campgrounds, suchas those that spring up for more than 800 festivals and fairs across the state. The committee specifically included regulatoryoversight of these temporary campgrounds— and the included fee structures — as partof its revisions.
“We felt they were not being held to thesame standards as permanent camp-grounds. We want the same oversight for thetemporary campgrounds that we have forthe permanent ones,” Maitre said.
Another important issue for the commit-tee was wastewater discharge. Michiganlaw requires private campgrounds to have a sewage treatment system capable of handling 75 gallons per day, per campsite, forcampgrounds not connected to city sewer.The new standard proposed would be 40 gallons for modern campsites and 30 gallonsfor primitive sites.
Staley said his detailed records goingback 15 years indicate his campsites useabout 28 gallons per day. “I’ve talked to different people with the state. They evenagree that 75 gallons is too high,” Staley said,adding all committee members agreed low-ered wastewater discharge requirementscould be a boon for campground owners.
“What it does is it opens the door for expansion for many parks. We hear a lot ofcampgrounds would like to expand but areprohibited from doing so because of thewastewater limitation; SB 952 would changethat,” he said.
Staley said requiring standardized rulessuch as building codes is critical for camp-grounds. He described a recent situationwhere he was constructing a building addition that was designed by an architect.The plans called for electrical junction boxesto be installed in the ceiling, but the local inspector said he preferred that they be moreaccessible.
“Every county is different,” Staley said.Committee members are hopeful that
their efforts will lead to changes in the waycampgrounds are governed in Michigan, butMaitre said campground operators have al-ready benefitted from the committee’s work.
“What we have really done here is wetook the initiative to draft and propose thechanges. What normally happens is the reg-ulatory agency proposes the changes andwe end up responding to it,” Maitre said. “And so far so good, we have a bill introduced that was created by the ownersof the business that the law is regulating.”
Senate Bill952 can be read at:https://legiscan.com/MI/bill/SB0952/2015—Bryan Laviolette and Rick Kessler WCM
16 - October 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management
‘It’s always an arms race with the guest bringing moredevices,’ said Jim Ganley, CEO of Checkbox Systems.‘Target your growth in the next two to three years, because even if you’re not going to add campsites orexpand, your users are going to expand their demand.’
The Importance — and Difficulty — of Good Guest Internet Access Keeps Growing for Parks
Fifteen years ago, the limited numberof camping enthusiasts who traveledwith technology seldom had more thanone laptop in their vehicle and mostwere happy if they could check theiremail at an RV park’s front office or othercommon area with a single Wi-Fihotspot. Those who had cellular tele-phones probably didn’t imagine theywould ever connect to Wi-Fi.Today, however, each RV or carload of
tent campers is likely to bring four to sixelectronic devices, including laptops,tablets, smartphones, smart watchesand Wi-Fi-enabled television sets.“The traditional rustic, ‘get away from
it all’ campers are less and less of what we see,” said Jim Westover, vicepresident of operations of Milford, Ohio-based Leisure Systems Inc., franchisorof 84 Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Parks acrossthe U.S. and Canada.
“The way our folks camp, they runtheir smartphones. They’re streamingNetflix. It’s very common to see some-body out by the campfire streamingsomething. They also want to be able togo on Instagram and post pictures andconnect with their friends on Facebookto show them what they are doing.”
Wayne Hulit, CEO of Cedar MountainRVI, an outdoor Wi-Fi provider based inChantilly, Va., pointed out, “Mobile devices are growing at a rate of 53% peryear. We have our friends at Apple andSamsung to thank for that. Families thatare traveling to campgrounds are increasing the demand for Wi-Fi in
general.”Eli Morse, CEO of Morse Technolo-
gies, which works with Cedar Mountainunder Morse’s SigmaWiFi brand, observed, “moreand more peoplewant to watchtheir television,unfortunately —they should becooking marsh-mallows — andwant an at-homeexperience at thecampsite.”Growing numbers of campers also in-
creasingly want to tap into the Wi-Fi sys-tems in private parks so they don’t use upall of the data in their smartphone plans.
“You have these people that use up allthe data on their cellphones, so they relyon the park’s Wi-Fi to make up for it,”said Gary Quigley, a second-generationco-owner of the award-winning Jelly-stone Park at Kozy Rest in Harrisville, Pa.And none of the campground opera-
tors or Wi-Fi experts who talked withWoodall’s Camp-ground Manage-ment expects thatto stop.“I see a point in
the near futurewhere probablybandwidth forc ampg roundscould becomeone of the mostexpensive utilities, almost as much aselectricity,” said Jim Ganley, CEO ofCheckbox Systems, the Gray, Maine,company that is one of the longest-run-ning Wi-Fi providers for campgrounds.It’s not just recreational use that’s driv-
Technology has followed campground guests into the woodsmore and more, park operators and Wi-Fi experts note.
Eli Morse
Jim Ganley
WOODALLSCM.com October 2016 - 17
ing the demand for RV park connectivity.There are also growing numbers of RVerswho work while they travel.
“We get a lot of people working intheir RV while they are on the road,” saidMike Gurevich, co-owner of Cherry HillPark in College Park, Md., adding, “Weconstantly hear people saying they needWi-Fi for work or they need it becausethey are teaching a class.”That raises the stakes for some guests,
Hulit pointed out. “If you’re relying onthe campground for an overnight stopand you can’t get on, your business couldpotentially be down.”
In many cases, these Internet data demands have overwhelmed the Wi-Fisystems in campgrounds and RV parksin North America — most of which arenot capable of handling streaming video,let alone the enormous Wi-Fi demandsof today’s Internet connected campers.And when Wi-Fi doesn’t work, guests
quickly complain.“I can turn the water off in the park
and I don’t hear anything from people forhours. But I can turn the Wi-Fi off and 10people will show up in the office in fiveminutes and there will be three or four
phone calls,” said Kampgrounds ofAmerica (KOA) franchisee Bill Richard,of Ontario, who owns and operates the135-site Sault Ste. Marie KOA Holiday.Private park operators are trying to
provide better Wi-Fi service, althoughmany are responding to the challenge indifferent ways depending on where theyare located and the Internet services thatare locally available to them — whetherDSL, satellite, cable, fiber lines or wire-less options.
Quality RV Resorts, for example, is aHouston-based RV resort chain with 11parks and each property is different interms of its guests’ Wi-Fi needs. Theproperties also have a mix of InternetService Providers (ISPs), with five prop-erties being on fiber and six on cable. Butthey all have one thing in common: Limited controls over the amount of dataguests consume using each park’s Wi-Fisystem. As a result, videogamers andNetflix enthusiasts tend to consume allof the available bandwidth, leaving littledata for anyone else.“Without a registration system and
the ability to control bandwidth con-sumption, you are giving out bandwidthto whoever gets there first,” said AaronCoulter, president of GRDM Manage-ment LLC, which owns and operates theQuality RV Resorts chain.The situation is changing this fall,
however, as Quality works with Tengo-Internet to install a system that will regulate the amount of Internet dataguests consume each day.The system will also provide the foun-
dation for a tiered pricing program that will help pay for additional Wi-Fi improvements, which Quality RV Resortsplans to roll out next year.Improvements are also under way at
the Sault Ste. Marie KOA Holiday, whichconducted a side-by-side comparison ofa point-to-point network and anotherWi-Fi system this past summer.
The park had an older-generationmesh Wi-Fi system, which it purchasedfrom TengoInternet in 2012. While thesystem was the best available technologyback then, there are now two newer generations of 802.11 technology andbetter network design to serve mobiledevice consumers.
“The 802.11g mesh system was notbad, but it was at its limits to allow thetraffic we were having and the distancefor a usable signal was a challenge,”Richard said. Richard hired TengoInternet to install
a partial point-to-point network on thewest side of his park, which includes sev-eral park model and rustic cabin rentals. When the initial installation was com-
pleted in May, Richard had the ability to
Private park operators are using Wi-Fi toprovide more than Internet access for theirguests.
Many are finding a growing array of elec-tronic devices, including locks, cameras,lights and even televisions that can be con-trolled by a wireless signal, not to mentiontablets used for point-of-sale and check-insystems.
Anaheim RV Park in Anaheim, Calif. is usingWi-Fi to control the numerically activated lockson all of its bathrooms and swimming pool aswell as the rooms it has designated for its security and janitorial personnel.
“We’re constantly changing the codes toeverything so some stranger can’t come backlater and use it,” said Vern Mangels, the third-generation owner and operator of the park.
The same system also prevents homelesspeople or past guests from gaining access tothe restrooms and showers.
Park employees are also assigned specificaccess codes, so Mangels can review howfrequently they clean the bathrooms and access other areas of the park.
“I have found in my life that you have tokeep honest people honest,” Mangels said,adding that he anticipates eventually beingable to use his Wi-Fi system to monitor andcontrol guest access to park utilities.
He also plans to use Wi-Fi controlled videocameras that he has mounted on light polesto produce time-lapse videos of his park expansion project this month, which will resultin the reconstruction of five RV sites and theaddition of five new sites.
Meanwhile, across the country, Sunder-meier RV Park in the St. Louis suburb of St.Charles, Mo., a year ago started providingpremium high speed Wi-Fi as a replacementfor cable television service. WCM
Parks Find Other Uses for Wi-Fi
Connected devices keep growing everywhere,and campers are bringing them along.
SigmaWiFi wireless ethernet point.
18 - October 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management
One of the biggest chal-lenges facing park operatorstoday is figuring out how toaddress the gap betweenguest expectations of resi-dential Wi-Fi and the rela-tively limited Wi-Fi servicemost parks actually provide.
TengoInternet, one of thelargest and oldest providersof Wi-Fi service for RV parksand campgrounds, revealsthe magnitude of the chal-lenge with its first annual“State of the Industry Report,” which ranks the Wi-Fi service capabilities of 690parks, nearly all of which areTengoInternet customers.These include franchiseparks as well as camp-grounds, RV parks and resorts that are members of the NortheastCampground Association (NCA), the FloridaAssociation of RV Parks and Campgrounds(FLARVC) and the Texas Association ofCampground Owners (TACO).
TengoInternet, which has been working inthe RV park and campground industry for 14years, used a scoring system that rates out-door wireless networks on a scale of 1 to 10,with 10 being a service which meets or exceeds consumers’ expectations.
“A 10 is what consumers say they want,”Eric Stumberg, president and CEO of theAustin, Texas-based TengoInternet, toldWoodall’s Campground Management.
He also pro-vided preliminarystatistics from theinaugural report,which will beshared with theprivate park industry in lateOctober.
“A 10 means allof my devices —including my
phone, tablet, game console and TV — workon the Wi-Fi, that I can stream video anywherein the park and that I get quick support for staffand guests if something doesn’t work.”
While many consumers expect to receiveresidential quality Wi-Fi service when theytravel, only 24 of the 690 private and publicparks TengoInternet evaluated scored a 10.
Stumberg said the report is a diagnostictool to help park operators better understandwhat their property is actually providingagainst what consumers expect in Wi-Fiservice. The score can also to be used as abenchmark to see where they stand withinthe campground sector and outlines clearsteps to take to achieve the service qualitythey want to provide.
The report also underscores the fact thathigh-quality Wi-Fi service is as much a reflection of the speed and quality of Internetbandwidth coming into the park as it is a reflection of the age and quality of the park’sWi-Fi network.
“The Wi-Fi equipment is getting excellent.The bandwidth is the limiting factor,” said Paul Galaspie, senior vice president ofinformation technology for Southfield, Mich.-based Sun Communities Inc., whichhas a portfolio that includes 106 RV parks.
As one might expect, the top 24 cus-tomers invested in the best Wi-Fi networksavailable — typically, a Ruckus 802.11 AC
TengoInternet Tackles Campground Wi-Fi in ‘State of the Industry Report’
decade old, vastly slower than what’s possible with today’s equipment.
Then there is the issue of transmissiontowers or access points and their effective-ness. Older access points used with mesh-style networks reduce the capacity ofInternet signals as they travel across a park.So while a Wi-Fi signal may be strong at theoutset, each time it “repeats” through another tower, the signal’s capacity can becut by as much as 50%. This is one reasonwhy many parks with mesh networks andmultiple towers have trouble maintainingconsistent Wi-Fi service across their parks.
Point-to-point networks don’t reduce thestrength of the Wi-Fi signals as they aretransmitted across a park. But only 278 of the690 parks rated in the report have recent orcurrent dedicated backhaul Wi-Fi networks.
“This is the Wi-Fi reality we face in manyparks across North America,” Stumberg said,adding the problem of weak Wi-Fi signals andlow-capacity networks in parks has beencompounded by the recent explosion in thenumber of mobile devices and tablets, whichhave smaller and weaker internal antennasthan laptop computers.
This has created a problem for manyparks similar to what one experiences whiletraveling in the mountains or some other re-mote location with a cellphone. “You may seethat you have a few bars on your smartphone,yet you can’t make or receive a phone call,”said Arron Delman, a marketing coordinatorfor TengoInternet. “That’s because a cell-phone tower is yelling and screaming a signalto your smartphone, but your cellphone’s antenna is so small it’s whispering back.”
The same thing happens in private parks.They may have enough access points inplace to broadcast Wi-Fi signals to laptops,but not enough for the weak signals frommobile devices and tablets with small anten-nas to connect reliably. “The access pointmay broadcast a signal up to 400 feet ormore, but if your phone or tablet will only reliably reach about 200 feet, the best solution is most likely to install more accesspoints,” Delman said. But that can add coststo a park’s Wi-Fi system.
Tell Guests What You HaveAside from cost and technical issues,
the report highlighted the gap that exists between the kind of Wi-Fi service many parksprovide and what they communicate to consumers, both before and after they arriveat the park.
“One thing we’ve learned from the Stateof the Industry Report is that 500 of the nearly700 parks we evaluated could provide betterexplanations on their websites and marketingcollateral about their Wi-Fi capabilities andlimitations because the Wi-Fi in place doesn’tmeet the ideal guest expectation,” said Stum-berg. “If you aren’t completely forthrightabout what your actual Wi-Fi capabilities are,you are going to risk having unhappy guests,some of whom may feel they were deceived.”
As park operators know, today’s consumers are quick to post their complaintson TripAdvisor and other review websites.
“The customers have a lot more powerthese days than they ever did before,” saidAaron Coulter, president of Houston-basedQuality RV Resorts. “If my customers have abad experience with Wi-Fi, it hits all overFacebook, Twitter, Google.”
Stumberg noted that for parks that decide— or have no choice but —to deliver a 7 or a6 customer experience, “If that’s the case,then it’s not going to be the ideal from theconsumer’s standpoint, and you have to setexpectations for your guests accordingly. Ifyou have a hotspot only in the common area,
Eric Stumberg
Tengo Internet – continued on page 21
(the fastest, most recent Wi-Fi standard) system with enough access points and dedi-cated backhaul design to ensure that guestscan stream video on mobile devices anywherein the park. Those parks also invested in fiber-optic or cable Internet lines, which candeliver much more bandwidth at much higherspeeds than DSL or satellite connections,each of which has slower and more limiteddata transmission capabilities.
Unfortunately, high-speed Internet is notavailable in most parts of North America. It’smuch more likely to be available in cities orsuburban areas than in the rural or remote lo-cations where most campgrounds are located.And even when high-speed lines are within amile or so of a campground, Internet providerstypically demand anywhere from tens of thou-sands to hundreds of thousands of dollars toextend their circuits to a campground. That’smore than many parks can afford, particularlyif they have a six-month camping season.
Then there are the monthly data fees, whichcan exceed $1,000 a month for fiber lines.That’s more than 10 times the cost of a DSL line,which is what many campgrounds around thecountry are using.
Stumberg said parks that have a high-endsystem on cable provide very good Wi-Fiservice most of the time — and could ratehighly in the report, though they don’t have thelevel of reliability of parks with networks fedby fiber lines.
Stumberg said 107 of the 690 parks evaluated in the report have “a great shot atproviding guests what they want.” In additionto the 24 parks that scored a perfect 10, thereare 27 parks that received 9s and 56 thatearned a ranking of 8.
But that also means that 583 of the 690 parksare clearly not meeting guest expectations,scoring 7 or below. This is a direct reflection notonly of the type of Internet service they havecoming into the park, but the coverage andtechnology of their Wi-Fi network equipment.
Indeed, while cable is the next best thingto fiber for delivering Internet service to a park,only 397 of the 690 parks evaluated in TengoIn-ternet’s annual report have cable Internetservice. Well over half of the parks evaluatedin the report have even slower and more limited Internet capabilities, with 249 parksusing DSL lines, T-1 or satellite Internet service, which is the slowest and most limitedof all of the options.
Other issues come into play with the type ofequipment private parks use for their Wi-Fi system, with most parks using older networks— some of them with networks more than a
simultaneously compare performanceof mesh and point-to-point systems inseparate areas of his park during his busyseason. The results were eye-opening.
“There is almost no guest feedbackon the west side of the park any more,”he said, which meant the Wi-Fi systemkept guests happy. Installing the point-to-point system took a great deal of loadoff of his existing mesh system, whichcontinued to be used on the east side ofthe park. But even with a lighter load, themesh system continued to producecomplaints. As a result, Richard said, hedecided to get another point-to-pointsystem to cover the east side of the park.“I don’t like having to deal with peoplesaying their Wi-Fi doesn’t work,” Richardsaid. “It affects their stay.”Having less-than-stellar Internet
access also hurts a park’s ratings. Richardsaid the Sault Ste. Marie KOA is a highlyrated KOA, so criticism about his park’sWi-Fi service stings.“If the Wi-Fi is not working,” he said,
“people will put it on your reviews,Google and wherever else they go.”On the other hand, Checkbox’s Gan-
ley said, a good Wi-Fi system can providesome excellent word-of-mouth market-ing for RV parks and campgrounds. “Youbuild a network because that’s what customers want, but there are a lot ofbenefits aside from keeping guestshappy. If you’ve got guests on socialmedia posting pictures, videos and re-views of your park, it’s great marketing.”Keeping up with guest demands isn’t
always easy. The good news is that Wi-Fitechnology, like the TengoInternet point-to-point system in Sault Ste. Marie, hasmatured enough that it’s much easier tomanage than in years past, the expertstold WCM.Wi-Fi units these days employ a mul-
tiple-antenna model like cell towers, andthe newest Wi-Fi standards allow data tomove much faster. In fact, the latest gen-eration of Wi-Fi equipment will handlenearly six times the data as the previousgeneration, according to Jim Ames,owner of AirwaveAdventures inNapa, Calif.The downside,
of course, is thatpark operatorsneed to stay on topof their equip-ment. “If youhaven’t done anymaintenance orreevaluation every three years, you’re behind,” Ganley said.Ames noted that the timeframe
Jim Ames
Airwave back end equipment.
20 - October 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management
doesn’t mean park owners should expectto have to replace everything every threeyears, though. “You should be talking toyour Wi-Fi provider, having your systemassessed every two to three years to seeif it can be fine-tuned, not necessarily tohave something replaced.“During the busy season we’ll go into
each of our customers’ parks and checkand see if someone else is broadcastingon one of our frequencies. If we need todo some channel hopping, we’ll changeit,” Ames continued.For parks that operate their own
systems, he suggested, have an outsidevendor at least come and evaluatewhether you’re providing your guests thebest bandwidth possible for your system.“If people are complaining, don’t putthem off. Listen and keep track of whatthey’re complaining about so you cantalk to someone like me or to Tengo andsay, ‘Here’s the problem I’ve got.’ We canlook at the type of problem and figureout a solution pretty quickly.”If it’s time to upgrade, look ahead,
Ganley urged. “It’s always an arms racewith the guest bringing more devices.Don’t look at the system you need today.Look for a system you’re going to need intwo to three years. Overbuild a bit. Targetyour growth in the next two to threeyears, because even if you’re not going toadd campsites or expand, your users aregoing to expand their demand.”He suggested calling around to other
campgrounds to ask what works forthem, then talk to vendors to design thebest system you can get.
From the Campground to the WorldBy the same token, you can have the
best Wi-Fi system available in your park,but that will only get guests so far. Theother key component to providing guestInternet access is your Internet serviceprovider (ISP).As Wi-Fi technology has improved,
the bottleneck has moved to the ISP sideof the equation for many parks.Though more commonly available, the
old phone-line based technology, DSL, istypically slow in comparison to cable andfiber-optic lines. But getting those lines toa park can cost a lot — and the cost ofmonthly service can be prohibitive.“I was talking to a park owner the
other day who’s been with us since theearly years,” said Ganley, who’s been inthe business since 2003. “When hestarted out he had three-megabit DSLand he was on the cutting edge. Now, forhis 200 sites, he’s on gigiabit fiber and stilljust keeping his head above water.”For many parks, DSL is the best they
can get and in many cases that service isovertaxed. And when networks are up-graded, typically rural campgrounds arethe last to benefit. “The growth of devicesis driving demand for more network capacity — and in their attempt to meetthat demand, campgrounds are on thebottom rung,” said Cedar Mountain’sHulit.Cable is a faster option, he pointed
out, but in some cases, “cable companieswant to charge you $20,000 to get intoyour park. The economics don’t fit thecampground model.”Even on cable, Internet quality can
vary. While cable can carry large volumesof Internet data, the strength of a cableprovider’s signal can vary throughout theday reflecting the Internet demands ofother customers in its service area.
“Cable is not usually a guaranteedservice,” said Eric Stumberg, Tengo-Internet’s CEO. “Just because cable says
you have 100 Mbps doesn’t mean youhave that all the time. There are periodsof the day when it’s slower and this variable speed is compounded by usage,unlike fiber which provides a guaranteedspeed all the time. If I walk into a fiberproperty, it probably won’t have a datacap. It’s also not going to have peaking issues at the end of the day.”And though fiber access is the most
reliable, fastest option today, it’s not perfect. “Fiber has been very reliable andvery constant, but the pricing of it is astronomical,” Airwave’s Ames said. “It’stoday’s version of the T-1 line: rock solidbut very expensive.”
Quigley said his park has fiber lineswithin two miles of the park, but he’sbeen quoted anywhere from $30,000 to$300,000 to connect the park to that fiberline, and that doesn’t count the cost ofservice at $1,200 per month.Besides the cost of fiber, if the network
isn’t optimized then park operators canstill leave guests displeased. “We havethree customer parks that have fiber, andeven there people are complaining,”Ames said. “They have 100-megabit fiberlines and are splitting that bandwidthbetween multiple users,” he pointed out.The other option, satellite, doesn’t get
a positive review from our polled experts.“Satellite operators are working on
upping their game and are deployingnew satellites,” Ganley said, though thetechnology is limited at best. “Even ifcost wasn’t a factor, you’re still going tohave inherent latency. The network can be really sluggish, the satellites areheavily congested, but the real killer iscost. Parks can spend thousands of dollars a month and still not keep guestshappy, though it’s better than nothing.For Facebook and email, it works.”Morse said one of the specialties of
SigmaWiFi’s partnership with CedarMountain is that the company special-izes in finding unusual solutions forareas that have a hard time getting goodInternet access. “We have a wirelesspoint-to-point system, which we callwireless fiber. It allows you to bring high-speed bandwidth to locations throughline-of-sight, which can cover longranges — up to 30 to 50 miles,” he said.“The installation and the hardware in-
volved is extremely affordable. The gearwe use for each end point costs $1,000 orless. In most campground or RV park de-ployments, in the scope of the projectthat’s inexpensive,” he continued. And insome cases, if there are neighboringbusinesses, the campground can offer tosell them a portion of the access, he said.One Iowa park that had great success
with that solution is the Monticello Jelly-stone Park, whose owner, Chip Smith,managed to bring that “in-home Wi-Fiexperience” to his guests this year. “Up tothis point we had been limited to phonelines at 6 megabits or point-to-point at18. Sigmawifi designed and installed afixed wireless solution pulling 100
Texting and social media posting happen any-where people can get a signal.
WOODALLSCM.com October 2016 - 21
then you have to tell people that. Don’t just sayyou have free Wi-Fi.”
The need for clarity in Wi-Fi marketing is urgent for parks that have limitations on theirWi-Fi service. “How are you setting expecta-tions with your guests?” Stumberg asked.“When they book their night, are you tellingthem that there is only a hotspot, and it doesn’tsupport streaming? These are the kinds of information that front desk staff or your websiteneed to communicate with guests before theybook their reservation.”
TengoInternet is working with campgrounddirectories, industry groups and customers tostrategize tactics, consistent messaging and
tools to properly set Wi-Fi expectations.In visiting websites of campgrounds, RV
parks and resorts across North America,WCM found that many parks simply indicatethey have Wi-Fi without describing thestrength or limitations of the Wi-Fi service theyprovide. Others say they have Wi-Fi for check-ing email, making dinner reservations orchecking Facebook, but they do not explicitly
Tengo Internet —from page 18 state that their Wi-Fi is not strong enough tosupport streaming video applications.
There are parks, however, that are effec-tively communicating their Wi-Fi capabilities toguests. These include Lake Rudolph Campground & R.V. Resort, a Sun property inSanta Claus, Ind.
“Our Wi-Fi is designed to allow you to usesocial media, check e-mail and browse theweb,” the park states on its website. “This freeservice is not designed to allow gaming, videostreaming or other high-bandwidth activities.”
Stumberg cited Lake Rudolph’s websitestatement as the precisely the kind of descrip-tion that park operators should have on theirwebsites and other marketing materials because it clearly communicates the type of
Wi-Fi service that’s available so that guestshave realistic expectations about what theywill encounter at the park.
“We will assist park operators in develop-ing messaging and tools to set guest expecta-tions upon logging into their networks as wellas providing their customers with network descriptions to use on their website and mar-keting materials,” said Delman. —Jeff Crider
Staff members at TengoInternet, which has served theRV park and campground industry since 2002, pose.
SigmaWiFi and Cedar Mountain RVI havebeen working together in the outdoor hospital-ity space to help parks provide Wi-Fi to guests,and they have a simple solution to help fill outWi-Fi coverage on the fringes of parks that canalso serve as a revenue opportunity for parkoperators: WifiUgo, a unit the companies justintroduced in September.
“Campground owners can use their existingsystem, and rather than spending $400,000 to getout to the margins to get 100 of the 1,500 sites,we put together a simple mobile rental unit,” ex-plained CEO Wayne Hulit of Cedar Mountain.“We think it’s different enough and cost-effec-tive enough, we have very high hopes.”
Cedar Mountain and SigmaWifi will providesetup, background maintenance and trou-bleshooting for the campgrounds. The WifiUgounit is able to grab and use existing weak Wi-Fi signals and amplify them for users.
In most settings, Hulit expects camp-grounds would want to purchase up to 10 units,each of which will cost somewhere between$500 and $1,000, depending on quantity, hesaid. “It’s a revenue opportunity for the camp-grounds, another tool to improve the customer
megabits from a data center three milesfrom my campground. We required theinstallation to be done prior to MemorialDay weekend and they were able to meetthe deadline,” he said. In fact, in July thenetwork handled up to 241 users at atime with zero problems. “The systemthey installed is totally upgradeable andI am told can handle whatever mycampers throw at it. So far, so good.”However, that solution depended on
a lot of factors, and Hulit and Morse acknowledged that the Monticello park’s
solution involved an element of luck.Ultimately, park operators need to do
their best to stay ahead of the curve, theexperts said. “Make sure you have themaximum amount of bandwidth youcan get and keep an eye on your systemall the time,” Ames said.By the same token, Ganley pointed
out that parks need to treat guest Inter-net access as a business necessity. “It’s nolonger a side amenity, it’s a core amenity,and parks are investing in it.” —JeffCrider and Justin Leighty
The new WifiUgo.
WifiUgo Introduced to Help Parks Extend Wi-Fi, Make More Money
experience.You can price it in the $10-$15 range for the
stay. For a week’s rental that’s pretty cheap.“A lot of people are trying to solve the prob-
lem of better Wi-Fi,” he continued. “This is oursolution and we’re proud of it. I use a versionin my RV,” he said. “It’s very sturdily built andis designed to last a long time. It doesn’t sit outin the weather, but has good temperature,shock and vibration specs. It will easily livethrough the campground experience.” WCM
22 - October 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management
morning. The noon lunch features a keynotesession by Gerry O’Brion, a former marketerfor Procter & Gamble, Coors Light, Quiznosand Red Robin, whose address is titled “Motivating and Marketing to Millennials.”ARVC’s description of the keynote is, “Success takes a different approach todaythan it did five, 10 or 20 years ago. Businesseswith longevity have honed the ability to navi-
gate change. Learn strategies to navigate thenext generation of employees and customers.This presentation answers three criticalquestions about the generations: who theyare, what they want and what you can doabout it. You’ll learn ideas you can implementnow to attract cross-generational guests andturn them into vocal advocates, and strate-gies for hiring and motivating Millennials.”
Following O’Brien’s address, attendeeswill have another three hours of educationalseminars. The first day will be capped off bya cracker-barrel session.
Wednesday, Nov. 9, also will be packedwith educational seminars. Once again, attendees of OHCE will choose from morethan 50 topics presented by industry experts,park operators and vendors. The topics covera wide range, from Wi-Fi to succession plan-ning, from managing reviews to attractingquality employees, from leadership to marketing. There are also sessions on playgrounds and dog parks, reservation sys-tems, the Americans with Disabilities Act andproviding quality activities for park guests.
After the educational seminars wrap up,ARVC members will have their voting areacaucuses, and Wednesday’s events will endwith the expo welcome reception.
Thursday, Nov. 10 starts off with the an-nual membership meeting and breakfast,after which the action will move back into theexpo hall where park operators will be ableto interact with vendors all day.
“We are on pace to match the number of
vendors we had last year,” Owens said.“Texas appears to be a hot bed for parkmodel manufacturers; because of that wehave had to expand our space to accommo-date the demand.”
Overall, however, the expo is an exampleof ARVC’s streamlining of this year’s event.“We heard attendees say it is important forthem to not be away from their campgroundsfor so long, so we condensed the schedule,”Owens noted. “The expo will have the samenumber of hours, just over the course of two
days instead of three.”Thursday evening will feature the ARVC
awards, the charity auction to benefit theARVC Foundation, ARVC’s outreach arm, aswell as the big 50th Anniversary party.
“We’ve seen our awards program grow,”Owens said. “In all categories we have seenan increase in the number of entries. This justshows how campgrounds are seeing thevalue and importance of the ARVC awardsand what it does for their park when they are
awarded one of theseprestigious honors.
“The ARVC Founda-tion auction is anotherarea that has grown,”she continued. “We haveadded more ways forpeople to participate.This year people canparticipate even if theywon’t be onsite in FortWorth. People can go tobiddingowl.com/arvc-foundation to view thesilent-auction items orlive-auction items. Weare also very excitedabout the live auction as
we have some unbelievable items up for bid,such as a certificate for a Cavco CreeksideCabin (valued at $26,500), a $2,500 gift certifi-cate good towards any Club Car purchase, aGood Sam advertisement package worth$18,300 and more. Items are continually beingadded, so we are encouraging people tocheck the site often.”
Of course, the online bidding and expan-sion of the silent auction mean the live auction will be shorter this year, Bambeinoted. “On the back side of it we are havingthis huge party themed around the 50th anniversary,” he said. “It’s going to be a bit ofa curiosity that people should want to attend.
People are going to like it. We’ve put a lot ofeffort into the activities.”
The final day has a short morning sched-ule, with the ARVC Foundation Walk for Disaster Relief and a farewell breakfast. Forthose who don’t want to get up early for thewalk around downtown Fort Worth, they’llhave the chance to buy a pedometer earlierin the conference and wear it throughout theconference, earning a T-shirt once they’vewalked two miles, Owens noted.
“It is more important than ever this yearthat we grow the Disaster Relief Fund as theneed has increased due to the significantnumber of parks impacted by natural disasters,” Owens said. “ARVC Foundationhas been able to provide support because ofgenerous donations from individuals, camp-grounds and industry vendors.”
And to cap things off, she continued, “Thisyear we will have a farewell breakfast insteadof a breakfast in the expo,” Owens continued.“The farewell breakfast is a great opportunityfor attendees to connect one more time withfellow campground owners and operatorsand to exchange information so they can stayin contact until they meet again at next year’sconference in Raleigh, N.C. We will also begiving away more prizes at the breakfast, soattendees should plan on staying until the veryend.” — Justin Leighty WCM
ARVC Conference —from page 3
The trade show will be even bigger this year.
Park Model RVs like this unit from Skylinewill be on display at the trade show.
WOODALLSCM.com October 2016 - 23
Supply Group, Wilcor, Gerber Tables andJamestown Advanced Products among others.
“A lot of vendors like our show,” Craw-ford said. “Because our parks are lookingfor new ideas, they might need to replacethings from a current vendor. It gives them achance to get around and talk to vendorsone on one.”
The final day of the symposium, Thurs-day, Nov. 10, will offer attendees three 90-minute workshop sessions, with threechoices for each time slot.
• Session one includes a seminar onlandscaping by Mike Schauff, landscapemanager for Coney Island Amusement Park,a sister company to LSI located upriver fromthe convention center; a session on mythsof lightning and safety procedures put on byRandy Smith, a homeland security specialistwith Earth Networks-Weatherbug; and asession on bear care — or taking care of themascot costumes at the parks — put on byVila Free of Olympus Group, the provider ofthe Yogi, Cindy, Boo-Boo and Ranger Smithcostumes for LSI franchisees.
• The second session offers a session forthe Yogi Advisory Committee; tips on social
LSI Symposim —from page 6 media marketing by LSI Marketing Coordi-natorKelly Pulskamp, who will offer generalsocial media tips as well as trademark rulesand do’s-and-don’ts; and a session by JimWestover, LSI vice president of operations,who will dig into how to maximize food salesand profitability.
• The final educational session will feature updates on employment law forJellystone Park owners from Kelly Jones,LSI director of franchisee development; asession on getting the bear mascots activewith guests by Marley Behnke of the Cale-donia, Wis., Jellystone Park; or a third ses-sion that will be finalized by the symposium.
The event also has contracted with YourEvent Sitters to provide childcare needsduring the symposium to make life as easyas possible for franchisees to attend.
Crawford said that as summer closed andLSI personnel turned full focus to getting thearrangements made for the symposium andtrade show, “We’re just looking forward toit. And of course it’s during the election, sothat’ll make for an interesting week.”
For more information on the event, contact Jones at 888-469-9644 [email protected]. — JustinLeighty WCM
Attendees will have the chanceto meet with vendors once again.
Sharing meals with other park operatorsproves to be a highlight for symposiumattendees each year.
other five cabins and the garages, all ofwhich were then turned into motelrooms, making a total of 15. Electricityand heating and water systems were in-stalled in the rooms and individualbathrooms were added. The name waschanged to Phillips Motel and TrailerPark.In 1955, Ranold married Joyce Guild
and became manager of the business.Throughout the following years, theirthree daughters became involved withthe business until they graduated fromhigh school. “I remember cleaning the hotel
rooms as a little girl,” Darla Phillips, oneof those daughters, said. “They had usemptying the garbage cans in eachroom from the day we could walk. Wedid whatever we could to help at ourage.” In 1968, 28 full-hookup sites were
added. During the oil boom in the late ’70s
and early ’80s, prices for an RV spacewere raised to $8 per night and monthlyand weekly rates were offered. Theyadded a small playground in the parkand highway signs on both ends oftown. In 1985, the motel rooms were torn
down and the name changed to PhillipsRV Park. Seventeen additional full-hookup spaces were then added. Even-tually, the old laundry room was turnedinto an Internet room for customers. In the 2000s, cable TV, wireless Inter-
net and a new playground were installed. Over the course of eight years,the family had to cut down more than300 cottonwood trees due to old age
Phillips RV Park —from page 3 and disease. They planted new trees toreplace the old ones. In 2013, a new face to the sign in front
of the park, as well as a new highwaysign, were installed.
Darla Phillips, the manager of thepark, has been running the family oper-ation for the past 31 years, and thesedays has help from her two children,Courtney and Brian Carroll. Phillips RV park now has 56 full-
hookup RV sites with the family constantly looking for ways to improve.Recent projects have included installingmore underground sprinkler systems,improving the dog run and building awaterfall from scratch.“It is definitely a lot of fun to work
with your family every day,” CourtneyCarroll said. “I enjoy getting up andworking outside every day.” From 1936 through 2016, the Phillips
family has worked together. Every year,the family strives to improve and main-tain the park as well as personally welcome every customer. — SabrinaVanDreew, reprinted with permissionof the Uinta County Herald. WCM
The old Phillips motel is shown in this 1965photograph.
24 - October 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management
Campgrounds Grow Exposure, Local Goodwill byAdding Major Community Events to Their Schedules
Large crowds gathered for this year’s Northwest String Summitat Horning’s Hideout, one of the park’s big annual events.
‘We get requests for music events all the time, but we’re interested in hosting community events, not just rock n’ roll shows,’ said BobHorning of Horning’s Hideout in Oregon. ‘We look at it as building upa community rather than just a patron base.’
Whether it’s weekly movie nights underthe stars in the summer or full-blown musicfestivals attended by thousands, most camp-grounds and RV resorts these days offersome type of activity or event for guests beyond the self-driven entertainment ofcampfires, swimming pools and hiking trails.Some properties hold events for free, aimingto gain exposure or simply provide camperswith added value, while others charge forcertain events that become draws for thegeneral non-camping public.
Deciding on the type, frequency and potential fees for events is often a significantchallenge, especially for those smaller parksthat may not employ an events director oractivities manager. With that in mind,Woodall’s Campground Management spokewith the operators of a variety of parks andcampgrounds around the country to discusstheir signature events, as well as the creativ-ity, strategy and history behind them.
Building Capacity for Music FestivalsNestled on 160 acres in the hills of North
Plains, Ore., Horning’s Hideout began as a
park for trout fishing and horseback riding in1983 and slowly grew into its current statusas a do-everything campground that hostsmore than 100 weddings per year as well astwo large music festivals with up to 5,000 attendees.
Owner Bob Horning, who founded thepark with his parents Jane and Richard, saidthe weddings and corporate events camefirst, while the infrastructure to host largerevents took many years to build up.
“Weddings and corporate events are financially rewarding without too much over-head, but the larger festivals are now viablefor us because we’ve grown the infrastruc-ture over time,” he said. “To just jump right inand get started with something like thiswould be tough.”
Horning’s Hideout now features twostages, several covered pavilions/dancefloors and a handful of outbuildings to houselogistics and event staff. While some properties choose to host musical eventsthemselves, the Hornings choose to rent outthe facilities for select events that areplanned and managed by other groups.
“We get requests for music events all thetime, but we’re interested in hosting commu-nity events, not just rock and roll shows,” hesaid. “We look at it as building up a commu-nity rather than just a patron base. We’venever had severe problems, people have always been great and very respectful and I think that’s the reason why. It’s really rewarding to have people coming here who were brought as kids and now they’rebringing their own kids.”
The two major annual events currentlybeing hosted at the hideout are the
Northwest String Summit and Faerieworlds,and Horning said that most of the major challenges are in the past.
“The last several years havebeen really smooth althoughthere’s always kinks in the be-ginning,” he said. “Building theinfrastructure was probably thebiggest challenge — that andgetting the county officials andeveryone else to buy in and understand. There was a timewhen we were fighting thembecause a couple neighborswere protesting it and it turnedinto a political fight and a land-use fight. But we worked withthem and showed we werewilling to do so.”
When it comes to insurance, the park requires the event promoters to carry the primary insurance for each event, althoughthe park, of course, also carries its own general commercial policy. But with the concert events having their own insurance,adding the two major gatherings doesn’thave a big impact on the park’s rates.
Becoming Community HubsStrawberry Park RV Resort in Preston,
Conn., also holds two large music festivalseach summer. However, unlike Horning’s approach, the park coordinates all planning
in house for both the Cajun Zydeco Festivaland the Bluegrass Festival.
“It takes us most of a week to set up foreach event,” said General ManagerMichelle Pedro. “We start on a Monday andpeople come in on Thursday. We have an activities department and we have about 90employees total, so everybody pitches in forthose two weekends.”
The local Strawberry Park team also getscorporate backing from parent companyElite Resorts, she added, which owns fourother resorts in Florida. As with Horning’s,Pedro said each festival draws around 5,000people and both events are long-running traditions now, with the Bluegrass Festivalentering its 40th year and the Cajun Festivalentering its 21st.
Neither Horning or Pedro described theirfestivals as large sources of income, butmore as modest money makers that covercosts while gaining tremendous exposureand establishing their properties as commu-nity hubs, as well as exposing the propertyto potential local campers.
“The return on investment is decent,”Pedro said. “We certainly don’t lose anythingand it’s great to see people enjoy them-selves.”
Holding events on a smaller scale but stillmusically oriented, El Capitan Canyon Camp-ground in Santa Barbara, Calif. organizes aweekly concert/barbecue in the summer thathas become a crowd favorite.
“The weekly summer barbecues and concerts are the most popular event we puton, with a close second being our weeklyllama hikes,” said Kendra Summers, directorof sales and marketing. “We have seasonalevents, which take place on certain holidayperiods annually as well as an average of six
events per week during our summer season,and regularly host more than 300 guests.Most other times of the year we are hostingprivate events. Thanksgiving dinner and ourEaster egg hunt are especially popular.”
El Capitan Canyon also holds adult-ori-ented events, such as wine tastings that playon their proximity to regional vineyards. Allevents are planned and executed in-house,and Summers said clear communication hasbeen the key to planning events, both amongstaff and to potential clients.
For example, “if you’re serving familystyle, you’ll want all your guests to be aware
Faerieworlds is another popularevent for Horning’s Hideout.
Horning’s has a second stage for smaller actsand children’s shows during the string summit.
The Strawberry Park Bluegrass Festival is a big event planned by the campground’s staff.
Movie nights are one of many draws at El Capitan Canyon.
WOODALLSCM.com October 2016 - 25
that they may be making new friends at theevent rather than expecting a private expe-rience,” she said. “Initially, some of our holiday events were a means of boosting ouroccupancy during these time periods, but now we see the same guests return year after year as part of their own family traditions.”
Car Shows and Creative Events to Engage Kids
According to owners Tim and Robyn Chilson, the free annual/weekly events attheir Meadville, Pa.-based Kampgrounds ofAmerica (KOA) park are geared towardadded-value, gaining public exposure and providing kids with fun, educational activities, rather than generating direct revenue from ticket sales.
“We plan all the events ourselves, myhusband and I, and sometimes a volunteer orstaff,” Robyn said. “It gives us an opportunity
to meet our campers. If you spend all yourtime in the office doing nothing but financialtransactions with campers, they don’t reallyget an opportunity to meet your campers and
have them know you and see what you do.”The largest recurring events at the
Meadville KOA are the annual Car Show andVintage RV Rally and the Cardboard Boat Regatta.
“We’ve been doing the car show for 10years but we just added the Vintage RV ele-ment this year,” Robyn said. “We had about50 cars and a half-dozen RVs this year.”
Chilson said that the idea for the car showcame from her son, who had a show car him-self and helped her set up categories and amethod for judging the entries. In scheduling,she picked the weekend after Memorial Day,as weeks following holidays are always slow and there were no other local eventshappening.
“It’s the one event where the general pub-lic can come and show a car or just walkaround and look at the cars,” she said. “Thecampers are the judges. They each get a vot-ing slip with different categories and whenthey turn in their slips they get door prizesfrom the event sponsors. So it involves thecampers who don’t have a show car andseveral people from outside the campgroundcome visit so it brings new people to thepark. We already have people who have reserved for next year.”
As for the Cardboard Boat Regatta, Robynsaid she “shamelessly stole” from anothercampground in looking for ways to engagekids and families in something educationaland fun.
“I thought it might be a fun thing to do inthe summertime,” she said. “So I did somesearches for cardboard boat regattas andrules. I came up with a couple categoriesand we had a bunch of people come out.”
At first, her husband was skeptical thatanyone would be able to make it across thelake and back in a cardboard boat, but onewoman who came to the campground
specifically to win the race erased hisdoubts.
“She built her boat, came across that lakelike she was on a rail and won easily,” Robynsaid. “And that’s still one of the best boatswe’ve ever had. Tim was pleasantly surprised that there were actually peoplewho made it across the lake and it wasn’t amess afterward.”
The regatta and other events like it havebecome a great way to engage one of themost fickle campground guests: teenagers.
“Teens are always the group who areprobably hardest to keep entertained, so I’malways keeping them in mind when it comesto events and I try to create separate categories where they can compete witheach other,” Robyn said.
Of course, there are also camper-cen-tered events at Meadville include a jugglingworkshop, teen basketball tournament, crazykitchen chemistry and a gold-panning event.
“We seed our creek with fool’s gold andthen give the kids aluminum pie pans andthey go down there and pan for it,” Robynsaid. “Then they turn the gold in, we weigh itand we sell them candy in exchange for the
gold.”As with the Chilsons, management at
Strawberry Park said that they keep one bigpriority in mind when it comes to organizingevents as a family destination.
“The kids are the main thing,” Pedro said.“If you make a kid happy and put a smile ontheir face, then the parents follow right behind. And that goes for the big ones, too.”
Strawberry Park, which consists of 160acres and more than 350 sites, holds themedweekends throughout most of the summer,and the busiest times are July through August.
“I think our Disney weekend is probablyour most popular,” Pedro said. “Although wealso have a lot of fun with our super-soakerwagon ride where it’s the kids in the wagonversus the park. But next to that is our golfcart parade, mudwrestling, and then wehave Halloween events for four weekendswith a haunted maze, haunted hayrides, cos-tumes, parades and a huge bonfire. I don’thave a least favorite — they’re all pretty fun.”
At 580 sites and 45 years in the business,Jellystone Warrens in Warrens, Wis., is another large park with a dedicated eventsstaff, and, as such, the park holds weeklyevents beginning on April 1 and ending onOct. 13. Some of those are major events thatdraw in the public.
“Our big annual events are our car show,and then on Labor Day we do a barbecuecompetition,” said General Manager JasonAdler. “At the car show we usually haveabout 120 to 150 vehicles with people thatshow up, and for Labor Day we had 38 peo-ple in the competition. For those weekendswe get close to 3,000 people in the park.”
Adler said planning for the 2017 seasonhas already begun as the car show is athree-day event that also features live music
The Meadville KOA’s 2016 Cardboard BoatRegatta was a surprising success.
Meadville KOA’s annual car show isan event that draws in non-campers.
Community Events – continued on page 30
26 - October 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management
WCM: So what are your thoughts asyou step into your new positions?
Travis: Growing up in this as a kid it’salways been a part of my life, so to actu-ally step in these shoes is really anhonor. It’s emotional for me to see myparents step away but — as I told thembefore — they’re not going anywhere. Iknow where they live, and I have themon my speed dial and I call them on adaily basis for advice. So, really, none ofthat changes other than just passing thetorch.I really want to make sure that we
hold on to the values that this organiza-tion was founded on by Joe and Kay.That’s our number one priority in thiswhole process.
WCM:We assume you had a hint thatthis was going to be happening.
Travis:We knew about six months agothat it was going to be announced at Escapade, so we had some time to pre-pare and learn and touch base onthings. But even though we knew it wascoming, I don’t know if you can evertruly be prepared for it.
Melanie:We have kind of been transi-tioning probably since January; it’s beena while. Ever since Cathy and Budd announced their retirement we’ve beentaking on more roles and getting prepared. So, yeah, we were in the know,
but it’s definitely a bigger moment onceit’s announced to the public.
Travis: To be honest, Melanie proba-bly does more work than I do. She is really one of the biggest backbones ofthis organization. She’s definitely by myside and we work on this thing togetheras a team and not as individuals by anymeans.
WCM: Aside from maintaining thevalues on which the Escapees werefounded, do you have a ‘to-do list’ ofsorts as you get going?
Travis: Over the short-term, our bigfocus is really going to be on education.We have some exciting products that I can’t really get into detail about, but theyshould be coming online by the beginningof next year.I think the other thing is we’re really
focused on bringing more technology intowhat we do and making it easier for RVersto utilize technology to make this lifestylea little bit easier. Part of that ties into theXscapers and what they’re doing, such asremote working.
Melanie: It’s really about making moreoptions available for people who are onthe road or considering living on theroad. Alongside that, we are always
revamping our current services that wehave such as finding better ways to
It wasn’t just any ordinary summer for the Escapees RVClub, one of North America’s largest RV owners groups. Dur-ing the opening ceremony of Escapees’ 56th Escapade in Julyat the Champlain Valley Exposition Center in Essex Junction,Vt., it was announced that both Cathie Carr, president of the Escapees, and her husband, Bud Carr, president of Escapees’ Rainbow Parks campground facilities, were retiring.Cathie and Bud Carr represent the second generation of the
same family to oversee the Escapees; Cathie’s parents, Joe andKay Peterson founded the organization in 1978. The Carrsdidn’t have to look far for their successors, though, as theirson, Travis Carr, is the new Escapees president.In addition, Travis’ wife, Melanie, is the new Escapees vice
president and longtime Escapees member and legal counselShawn Loring takes over as president of Rainbow Parks. The Escapees, a club founded with 82 families as original
members and whose purpose was to communicate and meetwith others who chose the unique RV lifestyle, has grown tonearly 60,000 members today enjoying a wide range of bene-fits and services, including a robust mail forwarding systemand a variety of discounts with select vendor partners. Although he had been involved with the Escapees since
childhood, after having served as an Army Ranger Travis Carrbegan working alongside his parents. He started doing outdoor maintenance at Escapees headquarters andlater became vice president of Rainbow Parks. Melanie Carr began creating and managing Escapees’ social mediaaccounts, as well as the Escapees Travel Agency. In March of 2015, the Carrs founded Xscapers, a lifestyle groupof Escapees members focused on the working RVer. Recently, the two took time to answer a few questions from Woodall’s Campground Management about their
plans for the Escapees and Xscapers clubs as well as the Rainbow Parks — 11 campgrounds owned by the Es-capees — as well as SKP Co-Op Parks, which are privately owned campgrounds open only to Escapee members.
Q&A CONVERSATIONSThird-Generation Carrs Talk about Taking Over the Escapees Helm
improve our mail service and the onlinebenefits that we have like the mappingtool we just launched. We’re currentlygoing through another round of improving it. We’re always looking to do more to make sure they are the bestthat they can be for the RVer.
WCM: You can’t tell us any more details about the new education andtechnology initiatives?
Travis: Like I said, I can’t really giveaway too many details. But I think whatis important is we want to make educa-tion more accessible and reliable. Wewant education to be there for anyoneto partake in and to make sure it’s provided by the industry experts — theones who know what they’re talkingabout. That’s really the goal. We can allget information online, but is it the rightinformation? So our goal is to figure outhow we can do that and we have a gameplan, but it just takes some time to get it launched.
WCM: It seems that, as of late, Escapees has really been adding to itsportfolio of benefits and services.
Travis: It’s probably been over the pasttwo years when Melanie and I have gotten involved with the board to reallydig deep and realize a lot of new servicesneed to be put into place.
Melanie:Of course, we’ve had a lot of
help from all of the board and all of thestaff; we’d have nothing without them.But, yes, there have been a lot of ideas— Xscapers, the job board, remoteworking and helping people find oppor-tunities to be able to succeed on theroad. We also have the articles and blogsection and the mapping tool and we’rejust continuing to improve those ideas.
WCM: Since you have already men-tioned some short-term initiatives,any long-term plans to relate?
Travis: I think one of our strategic goalsthat we are really going to focus on overthe next several years that we’ve never really thought about too much or tried togrow is our discount program. We’vebeen working extremely hard to bring innew discounts and partnerships to helpoffset membership dues, plus get somemoney back. That’s really going to be another big focus for us.
Melanie:Ever since Travis and I startedwith the Escapees we’ve seen the value inpartnering with people who are expertsin what they’re doing. It’s like our part-nership with Full-Time Families. Theyare the leader in that niche of the indus-try. We want to make sure that they succeed because the whole industry isbetter for it if we can help each other.
WCM:Lets talk about the Xscapers, agroup formed a little more than a yearago as more or less a club for the nextgeneration of RVers. How has thatstartup been doing?
Travis: It’s growing beyond our expec-tations. Last time I checked, which was acouple of weeks ago, we had more than3,000 memberships. So if you assumethat most of those are couples, we probably have between 5,000 and 6,000Xscapers in the organization. We defi-nitely met the goal we were expecting ina year’s time, and it’s been awesome.
Melanie: It’s been more than awe-some. The Escapade gathering was a lit-tle bit different because you like to keepthe focus toward the Escapade aspect ofit, but all of the individual Xscapers con-vergences that we’ve had have just beenamazing. We have the Balloon Fiestacoming out and then we partnered withSpot the Scotts to do a mini-convergencein southern Colorado. We are trying togrow that and provide more specific opportunities for that club to get to-gether and just teach each other things.
Travis: It’s really been a lot of fun for us,too, because we host 90% of the events.It really helps us get involved and notlose touch with RVers; not just sitting inan office everyday. This way we get to getinvolved with the community and havefun with them and hear their stories andshare ours. It’s really a lot of fun.I’d say our goal there, since we’re talk-
ing about future planning, is to continueto grow their job board and make it evenbetter. Along with that comes advocacyfor remote workers and on the road. Weall know about work-camping and thetraditional role of a work-camper at acampground, but we want to take it a step further and make companies understand that RVers are an awesomeworkforce.
Melanie:Work camping is also not theonly possibility and it’s not somethingnew. It’s just educating employers thatremote workers are great and capable.
‘Growing up in this as a kid it’s always been a part of my life, so to actually stepin these shoes is really an honor,’ said new Escapees President Travis Carr. ‘It’semotional for me to see my parents step away but — as I told them before —they’re not going anywhere. I know where they live, and I have them on myspeed dial and I call them on a daily basis for advice.’
Travis and Melanie Carr and their children have takenover responsibilities for running the Escapees RV Club.
WOODALLSCM.com October 2016 - 27
It’s something you can make a career outof versus only using it as a short-term ortemporary job while working on theroad.
Travis: It’s definitely a major focus ofover the next several years, but it’s goingto be a long process. Obviously some-thing like that takes time. But it’s definitely something we want to putsome energy into.
WCM: Tell us bit more about the Escapees-owned Rainbow Parks as
well as SKP Co-Op Parks. Any growthplans in that regard?
Travis:The Rainbow Parks — we haveeight of them, primarily in the southeastU.S. — were started to satisfy the needsof our members wanting a home basepark while also providing more optionsfor traveling Escapees. Rainbow Parksoffer the options of daily campgroundrental, annual leases, deeded RV-stylelots and unimproved larger lots with flexibility to develop them in several different ways.
Melanie: And then there’s the 11 SKPCo-Op Parks located on the West Coastand across the southern U.S. While theEscapees helped start the SKP Co-Opparks, we don’t own or run them; each isa separate and independent nonprofitcorporation. It’s their park. We don’t ownit and we don’t operate it, but we’re thereto guide them on the Escapees’ philoso-phy and values and, together, grow moreoptions for Escapees members.Another difference is, unlike the SKP
Co-Ops where you purchase a member-ship and share the financial responsibil-ities of running the park, in the RainbowParks you purchase a deeded lot that youmay later sell for current market value toany member. Also, SKP Co-Op Parks are only open
to Escapee members while RainbowParks are open to non-members — although 90% of the time it’s usually amember.
Travis:As for future growth, we’re look-ing to add more parks. We haven’t addeda new park in a while; the reason being iswe’re just now back in the boom ofthings. We were in a recession and wedidn’t want to grow and go out and buyparks. But we’re back in the game againof figuring out how we can bring moreparks in to the system. Obviously there’s two ways to go
about it: you buy an existing park or youdevelop one. We do have some ideas andhow to approach that and we’re looking
forward to, in the next several years,bringing more parks in to the system.Our first goal as part of that is bringingmore discount parks in to the system.
WCM: Finally, and shifting gears a little bit, how was the 56th Escapade?
Travis: It was our first time that farNortheast — we put a lot of miles on ourrig getting up there — but it was a reallygood event. We didn’t know what to expect when we initially set that as ourlocation. We were a little nervous, but we
actually went above our goal and hadabout 900 RVs at the event.
Melanie: It was very successful and anice take on something new for the Es-capade. Of course, we also had all thevendors, and education and all the funevents and activities at night. It was great.
Travis:We had more first timers at thisevent than probably any other event I at-tended, and it’s probably just because ofthe location. It wasn’t because they werenew members, but it’s because theycouldn’t get to the Escapades elsewhere.
Melanie: Every year it’s rewarding be-cause you get to see old friends and meetnew people. It’s just so beneficial for bothour staff and the members to get to-gether and learn something new. WCM
Travis and Melanie Carr have been long-timeRVers and now are president and VP of Escapees.
28 - October 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management
CAMPGROUNDPROFILE
Mill Creek Ranch Serves as a Showcase for Park Model RVspay the electric bill. We pay water, cable,sewer and phone bills. They pay a smallfee for a marketing fee and they have acleaning fee of $35 when they come.“It makes it a worry-free vacation,”
she continued. “They have their vacationhome and they made some money.”One special feature of the cottages at
Mill Creek is that guests can’t drive tothem. “You can see the stars, it’s quiet. Wewant kids to feel comfortable riding theirbikes and throwing baseballs and nothaving to worry about cars comingthrough,” Crossley noted.To facilitate that, the park offers
concierge services. “We have staff thatacts like bellmen on wheels,” Dye said.“They take you to the cottages and helpyou work things.” Staff also escorts RVguests to their sites as needed at a park of-fering $65 daily golf cart rentals for guests.The Grand Lodge has an infinity pool
overlooking an open area that’s popularfor outdoor weddings with a hot tub nextto it, and there’s a large pavilion betweenthe cabin areas and parking lots. There’salso a swimming pool by the RV lodge,with a children’s playground right next toit, and a smaller pavilion known as theCabana, which has a barn theme ratherthan a tropical one. Those amenities areclose to the park’s entrance for the easeof RV access.“Our 100 RV sites are all upscale,” Dye
said, “substantially longer than average.Most of them are pull-throughs, mostlyinterspersed in two different areas nearsome of the 10 ponds we have. They’re all30/50-amp, full-hookup sites with Wi-Fi.”
“We’re more than a concrete slab youcan park your RV on,” Crossley added.Mill Creek Ranch, by the same token,
attracts quite a few rallies and smallergroups for whom the park’s social man-ager often works to combine small par-ties to reach the park’s 10-RV minimumthreshold for obtaining a rally discount.The RV sites are divided into three
areas, two of which are bisected byWalden Pond — named, of course, forHenry David Thoreau’s inspirationalMassachusetts pond. The largest of thepark’s 11 ponds, Red Tail Pond, containslarge catfish while all angling at the parkis catch-and-release.In addition, Mill Creek has a multi-
sport court, a nine-hole disc golf courseand Barkley Park, a fenced-in, dog-friendly area for which the activities director puts together “prettiest pet” andpet costume contests. “I see a youngergroup of people who are RVing,” observed Crossley. “I see families com-ing. They’re taking their dogs, they’re tak-ing their kids, they’re hitting the road. Isee that as a big change, especially from
to 127 spots.”That won’t be hard to do, since the
park right now only uses 82 of the avail-able 200 acres on the site. There’s plentyof room to grow and yet maintain the facility’s wooded seclusion. “This is definitely built for outside living. Thereare miles of wilderness trails on the undeveloped acres. We have all kinds ofbirds here. It’s very heavily wooded. Wehave trees that are 150 years old here,”Dye said, adding that the park’s 47 employees work hard to maintain them,watching for damaged limbs that couldpose problems for campers.Because of the significant cottage/park
model presence, Mill Creek Ranch sepa-rates its operations between cottagerentals and RV site rentals. “We have twoseparate structures, an RV lodge and storeon the RV side and the Grand Lodgewhere we do the cottage check-ins. We doa lot of weddings and events in there,too,” Dye said.The park doesn’t allow full-time resi-
dence, but most of the cottages belong tooutside owners. “We sell them like a vacation home,” said Stacy Crossley, MillCreek’s director ofsales and market-ing. “Our ownerswant to get away,but don’t want todo the cleaning,the maintenanceand the landscap-ing, so we do that.Our owners give usa certain amountof time each month and we put that inthe rental pool and we share the revenuewith the owners. There’s very few expenses the owners have to pay. They
The Grand Lodge is an imposing figure andsite of a weekly concert open to the public.
‘We have 47 cottages at this point — with the intention of going up to 127 spots,’ saidGeneral Manager Steve Dye. The heavily wooded 82-acre park, originally purchasedin 2007 as a way to highlight PMRVs manufactured by Athens Park Homes, has growntremendously as its 47-member staff works to keep up with the changing times.
StacyCrossley
Mill Creek Ranch Resort RV Park &Cottages, a Cruise Innmember park inCanton, Texas, has found its own unique,successful niche in the world of RV parks,and it’s one that works well for the rustic,heavily wooded, east-Texas haven.Certainly, Mill Creek Ranch has a
unique history, considering that in 2007it was a tiny RV park on the east side ofTexas 19 just east of town called TheHideaway. Jim Stewart, a partner inAthens Park Homes, wanted to find agood way to market the park models hiscompany was building in nearby Athens.When he found the Hideaway 25 milesto the north just off I-20, he decided thatwould be the site for his showcase.“He wanted to
market these cot-tages. He broughtthe cottages theywere producingdown in Athensand he wouldshow them offhere,” said SteveDye, general man-
ager and minority partner of Mill Creekwith the Stewart family. Thus, the Stewarts purchased the park and started building it out — a process thatcontinues to this day.Sitting so close to the interstate that
links Dallas to Shreveport, La., Mill Creektoday is in a good spot not only for travelers, but for weekending residentsfrom the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex aswell as San Antonio, Houston and Austin.“I don’t think I’ve seen any place like thisone,” said Dye. “It’s very different, verymanicured. We spend a lot of time andeffort on the grounds. It’s very much likea wooded golf course — we spend thatkind of time and attention on the grassesand the flora.”Though Jim Stewart is no longer a part
of Athens Park, which was subsequentlypurchased by Champion Homes, thepark still serves as a showcase for cottages, with nearly a third of the park’s147 sites dedicated to cottages. And thatnumber will grow, Dye said. “We have 47cottages (his term for park model RV’s)atthis point with the intention of going up
SteveDye
Mill Creek sells park models and thenrents them out on behalf of the owners.
Life-sized checkers are one of severalunusual games at Mill Creek Ranch.
WOODALLSCM.com October 2016 - 29
Campground OverviewName: Mill Creek Ranch Resort RVPark & CottagesAddress: 1880 N. Trade Days Blvd.,Canton, TX 75103Number of sites: 100 RV sites, all30/50-amp full-hookup sites,mostly pull-through, plus 47 parkmodel RV cottagesPhysical description:The parkspans 82 wooded acres of a 200-acre site with Mill Creek runningthrough it and 11 ponds. There are wilderness trails through theundeveloped land, and the parkfeatures several nice buildings for guests and that are popular for weddings and events.Season: Open all yearRates: RV sites range from $37-$52 per night except during themonthly First Monday, when theygo to $51-$66. Cottage rentalsrange from $130 to $300. There’salso an optional $5 per-night per-person resort fee that allowsunlimited use of paddle boats,fishing equipment, games, bicycles and other activities.
Website:millcreekranchresort.comContact: 877-927-3439
been smooth sailing. “We tried servingbreakfast for a long time when I first gothere,” Dye said. “As it turns out, if youhave a lot of cottages with their owncooking facilities and a lot of RVs, arestaurant here really doesn’t makesense. Breakfast didn’t go over well. Nobody would use it.”However, the park still utilizes its
food-service facilities on Friday nights tooffer “comfort food” for its “Live Music atthe Creek” events, which include anarray of east Texas musicians. “Fridaynight has turned into a very steady event,very successful,” Dye said. “We’re one ofthe few places in this area that has a club
liquor license, sowe can serve beerand wine andmixed drinks aslong as you jointhe club when youcome out.”Of course, any
mention of MillCreek and Cantonwouldn’t be com-plete without amention of FirstMonday, which in-cludes a sprawlingflea market thatdraws a hugecrowd of morethan 200,000 to thesmall Texas town
of 3,500. “It’s a monster,” Dye said. “It’s the world’s largest flea market, it’s in-expensive stuff, it’s expensive stuff. Wedraw people in from Oklahoma,Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana. It’s beengoing on for a long time.”There are several areas around the
town that make up the trade daygrounds, including “the mountain,” a va-riety of smaller shops interspersedthrough rolling hills, as well as somelarge pavilions and, closer to the park,“dog alley,” with smaller vendors and lotsof critters, as Dye described it. “I saw akangaroo there once. It was weird.”Nevertheless, it’s a huge economic
driver for the park, which offers a shuttleservice during the four days surroundingthe first Monday of every month, so
our park’s perspective,” she said.Mill Creek, at the same time, keeps
adding on each year to keep things freshand interesting. “Every year we try to addan amenity to the park,” said Crossley.“This year we added a spa; one of ourcottages in the front we’ve turned into aspa area. We have a master masseuseand she’s stayed very busy. Last year weadded the multi-sport court with volley-ball or basketball that’s lit at night. Theyear before we added life-sized chessand checkerboard.”They’ve also added the “Battle of Mill
Creek,” which, in essence, is a human-sized game similar to the Battleship
board game. Those games were built inthe park’s maintenance shop, making forreasonable cost. “When people comehere we want them to have all the bene-fits of an actual resort, but with thelifestyle of camping. We want you toenjoy the outdoors,” Crossley continued,“but hey, if you need a massage, we cantake care of that.”In addition to growth, thanks in part
to guest feedback, there’s plenty of main-tenance work to be done as the park expands and ages. “We’re doing a lot ofrepairs,” said Crossley. “We’re repairingall of our roads, we’re redoing all of oursignage.”Curiously, Dye recently spearheaded a
major effort to actually move Mill Creek.“Normally,” said Dye, “it’s a placid little
creek, but when we get storms it can really rise. Because parts of the resort arein the flood plain, the owners made asubstantial financial commitment tobuild levies. We actually moved the creek,changed the direction, and did someland swapping with the neighbors.”That involved legal work and, of
course, lots of engineering work. “Weworked with the water boards and authorities, the engineers designed achannel and changed the direction justslightly, pulling it a little farther awayfrom the cottages. We were also buildingout another levy.”Because they worked with local engi-
neers, hydrologists and contractors familiar with area authorities, theprocess was relatively smooth, Dye said.“If you’re going to pick a fight with cityhall, you’re probably not going to win. It’slike a lot of different projects when we’reenhancing the grounds. We have to workwith the authorities and work within thebounds they set up for us.”And while Mill Creek Ranch has expe-
rienced plenty of progress over the lastnine years of growth, not everything has
guests don’t have to try to navigate thehuge influx of traffic.Area merchants are working together
to try to spread out some of the tourismto Canton, too. Dye sits on the board ofthe local economic development corpo-ration, and Crossley is on the board ofthe annual balloon festival. “Our goal is to continue to develop Canton as adestination,” Dye explained.In addition to heavy local involve-
ment, the park is a member of the TexasAssociation of Campground Ownersand the National Association of RVParks and Campgrounds and is an earlyadopter of the Cruise Inn brand. “We’regrowing, opening up different markets toexpose us, especially through CruiseInn,” Dye told Woodall’s CampgroundManagement. “It opens up markets thatwe couldn’t otherwise afford, places likeBooking.com and Expedia, Cruise Innhas opened those doors. We’ve becomea national product and in some cases aninternational product.“The relationship between Cruise
Inn and Booking.com has done prettygood for us. As Cruise Inn grows, MillCreek Ranch grows. We’ve gotten Ger-mans, South Africans, Dutch guests, it’skind of cool,” said Dye. “Europeans loveto play cowboy, so we’re in an area theylove to visit.”
Meanwhile, the park iseying a new market: tinyhouse enthusiasts.“We’ve had a few peoplethat have come throughour resort in the tinyhomes market, which issomething that interestsus,” explained Dye.“We’re watching thatmarket, seeing if it’s vi-able for us to get into. Thepeople who’ve comethrough have been work-ing their way through thecountry in these tinyhomes, which fit perfectly into an RV site.It’s becoming an activemarket. There’s a lot of interest nationally. Youhave a younger groupthat tends to come in.”Mill Creek Ranch is
looking at marketing andrenting to that marketspecifically by adding atiny home village area
featuring five RVs with a tiny hometheme. “I think tiny homes can fit in wellwith the RV world, with the park modelworld,” Dye suggested. “It’s all about howthey come out. You’re looking for somekind of certification, some sort of standards. People can come, can stay inone and try it out, see if they like it.”Having said that, Crossley empha-
sized that Mill Creek Ranch, site of a recent ad shoot for the Go RVing Coali-tion, will market and offer “tiny house”RVs as a vacation option only, not as afull-time living choice. In addition, MillCreek is also installing a yurt “dressed outwith a Bohemian theme.”And annual growth will remain part of
the plan. “We want to grow,” Crossley explained. “We’ve got these 200 acres.Once we sell more cottages, we’ll expandout to those acres in the back. Maybewe’ll add a lake, maybe some horses.Who knows?”— Justin Leighty WCM
Spring break is a busy time for Mill Creek Ranch as fam-ilies come to take advantage of time away from school.
MIll Creek Ranch is pet friendly, and not just to dogs and cats.
Woods and water are two of the definingfeatures of the Texas park.
30 - October 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management
ADVERTISERS’ INDEXAstra Campground Manager ...........................7B & B Electrical ...............................................12Bookyoursite.com ...........................................22Campground Investment Opport. ..............30-31Champion/Athens Park Homes .......................9CheckBox Systems .........................................20 Classified Ads ..................................................30Cruise Inn..........................................................11Dogipot ..............................................................27Freesytle Slides ...............................................23Frosty’s......................................................10 & 14Hialeah Meter ....................................................2Jamestown Advanced Products ................16-17K&K Insurance......................................................25Kampgrounds of America/KOA.......................13Keystone Kabins ..............................................12
Mini-Golf Inc. .....................................................6Orchard Drive Fabrications .............................8Pacific Yurts .......................................................6Pelland Advertising ........................................27Phelps Honey Wagon .....................................27Pilot Rock..........................................................20Rocky Top Furniture ........................................15RVIA ...................................................................19Southeast Publications ..................................22TengoInternet .....................................................2Tower Company .................................................8Utility Supply Group Inc. .........................5 & 32 Workamper News ...........................................32YES – Your Electrical Solutions....................10Yogi Bear/Leisure Systems............................21
Advertiser Page # Advertiser Page #
and a poker run. As with most of the camp-grounds WCM surveyed, Jellystone Warrensdoesn’t charge for the events themselves, although the property does offer day passesfor access to the park amenities, and Adlersees the events as a way to drive a bump inthose sales.
“I think our events generate quite a bit ofexposure for the resort,” he said. “For thebigger events, people drive from a distanceto come to the campground.”
While most of their summer event sched-ule has been stable for quite some time,Adler said that the events team will makechanges to spring and fall events if theyaren’t generating the type of interest hopedfor, and new events are a constant.
“We just started a color run, a race whereparticipants bombard each other with paintpowder, and that went off really well,” hesaid. “From July through the middle of August we’re pretty full. We do a sports
week in there that is pretty popular, and so isChristmas in July, Chocolate Lover’s Weekand Yogi Bear’s birthday. It definitely helps tohave the Yogi Bear theme and characters toget kids excited for events.”
As a relatively new campground on thescene since 2014, Bear Creek Campgroundat Lake Compounce in Bristol, Conn. is justbeginning to establish its events scheduleand remains in the experimental phase,which is just fine with General ManagerJerry Brick.
“Nothing has been off the table when itcomes to events at the campground,” hesaid. “That’s the good thing about a themepark and even a campground — it’s a seasonal place, so something may not workbut then just don’t do it again next year.”
With 56 RV sites, 20 cabins, 40 tent sitesand a handful of tipis and hideaway huts,Bear Creek is owned and operated by thesame company that operates the Lake Com-pounce and Crocodile Cove theme and waterpark a half-mile down the road, so initiallythey look at campground events as a way tosupplement what’s happening at the themepark. For example, this year, the campgroundcreated a hot dog-eating contest to go withthe annual Pink’s Wiener Dog 100 dachshundrace that’s been taking place for the lastthree years at the theme park.
“We had about 20 people take part in itthis year and it’s something we plan to doagain next year,” Brick said. “You have togive an event a few years to take root. Soright now we’ll start with the basics likemovie nights and major holidays and then expand as we go.”—Ty Adams WCM
Community Events —from page 25
Bear Creek ties in with its sisteramusement and water parks nearby.
Bear Creek’s hot dog contest was introduced to work with the theme park’s wiener dog race.
Beautiful Vermont campground in a tourist location. 20 acres with 90 total campsites, 1/3 seasonal to bring in winter income. 20,30, 50 amp electric, water, sewer, back-in andpull thru RV sites. Large recreation hall, bathhouse, game room and laundry. Heated pool,swimming pond, playground, camp store &propane fill station. 2 bedroom, 2 bath homewith basement, attached garage and shed.Great location off of the interstate for easy access. $850k, no owner financing available.Email [email protected] for details.
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Woodall’s 4-Star 2015. 31-1/2 acres, 200 sites(all with water & 30 amp, some with sewer & 50amp), 2 bathhouses with flush toilets & showers,2 laundromats, playground with Rainbow unit,36' x 64' heated pool (new 2013), 7,000 sq footevent building, 26' x 56' mobile home (3 BR, 2full baths). $2.5 million.Cannon Falls Campground, Cannon Falls, MN
507-263- 3145 or cell 612-709-9895www.cannonfallscampground.com
Campground For Sale by Owner
TO PLACE YOUR AD IN THIS
SPECIAL SECTION:
Beverly Gardner & Associates 574-266-7980•Fax: [email protected]@g-gmediagroup.com
CLASSIFIEDSClassified Advertising Rates are $1 per word, minimum $15 per ad. Paymentmust accompany order. Closing date is the first of the month precedingmonth of publication. Published monthly. Make remittance payable toWoodall’s Campground Management, 2901 E. Bristol St., Ste. B, Elkhart, IN 46514
FOR SALENEW TWO 10 HP MEYERS SUB-MERGED sewer pumps $3000 each(1/2 Price) Run less than 15 minutes.Call: 910-524-4004.
HELP WANTEDCAMPGROUND MANAGERSTravel Resorts of America is expandingand is seeking both experienced and po-tential managers to join our professionalmanagement team as operations man-agers or managers in training. For moreinformation about current and future
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SERVICESYOUR NEW CAMPGROUND/RVRESORT BROCHURE PROFES-SIONALLY DESIGNED FOR FREE!Full color, many sizes, formats. Pricedright! Free shipping! Free human con-sultation! Serving the industry since1994. Contact Jim Austin, CampgroundMarketing Solutions, 866-893-1490. Ask about our new “Price-Match!”
WOODALLSCM.com October 2016 - 31
60 SITE CAMPGROUNDRated 4 Stars by Woodalls
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Serious Inquiries CallAlex at 573-472-1339
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This month’s featured listings:ME - NEAR OCEAN! 20 acres, 60 sites, (40 sea-sonals), yr-round 4 unit apt., summer apt, pool, 2ponds, sev. ocean beaches - 2-3 miles. $675,000
ME - 1,000’ Lakefront… $625,000 - SOLD!Don D’s #148 Campground SOLD
ME - 2,500’ lakefront, 100++ sites, nice home,pool, more. Popular - $1,495,000.
ME - 1Unique setting-Town W&S (Rare!)70 sitesnear Maj Ocean Resort Town-Hi Net! $1,495,000
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(Qualified Buyers, only - please.)Contact Don for these and other listings.
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WANTED!RV parks with water feature (lake, river, ocean), or near major attraction. Prefer 200+ sites withhigh number of seasonal residents,but will consider smaller parks(with or without water feature), ifhave high seasonal occupancy in desirable location near attractions.Family and/or retirement. Rural or city location. We will decidequickly and pay all cash or structure sale to meet your needs.We are experienced RV park owners and assure confidentiality.Brokers welcome. Please call or email us today:
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RV Park for Sale By Owner1/2 mile off I-90Situated between Mt Rushmore and YellowstoneDevils Tower Exit56 RV sites, 25 tent sites, 2 cabinsHeated swimming poolStore, laundry, game room, propaneNew Owners apartment above store/officeNew 26 x 40 shopNew John Deere compact tractor & 10 implementsJeep Wrangler with snow plowAppx. 7 acresCity water, City sewer, CATVGood Sam Rating 930-50 amp pull thru sites$1,100,000
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Banning Stagecoach KOA, Banning, CA100 RV Sites 7 Rental Park Models/Trailers120 Sites RV Storage Perfect for SolarNew Underground Electric, City Sewer & Water3 Clubhouses, Pool, Playground$2,550,000, 9.2% Cap Rate, 20% Cash Flow.
Pine Flat Lake RV Park, Sierra, NV Foothills Near Fresno, CA200 RV Sites with All Year Round, Permanents. Very Popular Water Skiing & Fishing Lake. Low Rents, Seller Financing at 5%, $3,000,000.
Turtle Rock RV Resort, Gold Beach, OROcean & Creek Frontage102 RV Sites & & Rental Park ModelsGood Sam Top Rated Waterfront Park3,500 SF Clubhouse, 23.44 Acres$4,800,000, 10.4% Cash Flow.
Oxbow Estates RV Park$1,150,000Payson, AZ 49 Large Spaces + 6 Apartments andOwner/Manager Home. Beautiful Mountain Setting in the Pines just Hour from Phoenix.20 Degrees Cooler in the Summer!
PRIMEInterstate 10 Frontage
2800 ft. Total - 16 mi. E of State CapitalMonticello, Florida
Two Good Sam RV Parkswith Adjoining Residence on Acre
plus One Mobile Home Parkwithin City Limits
850 997-3890
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
OCTOBER
25-26: Ohio Campground Owners Association Fall Conference and Park OperatorsOn TourCourtyard MarriottLima, OhioContact: 614-221-7748
NOVEMBER
3-5: Campground Owners of New York Exposition for the Outdoor Hospitality IndustryTurning Stone ResortVerona, N.Y.Contact: 585-586-4360
6-10: Leisure Systems Inc. (LSI) Symposium and Trade ShowNorthern Kentucky ConventionCenter and Embassy SuitesCovington, Ky.Contact: Dean Crawford, 513-831-2100 ext. [email protected]
8-11: National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds Outdoor Hospitality Conferenceand ExpoFort Worth Convention CenterFort Worth, TexasContact: 303-681-0401
11-13: Cruise Inn ConferenceSheraton Fort Worth Downtown HotelFort Worth, TexasContact: 888-222-4191,[email protected]
14-17: Kampgrounds of AmericaConvention and ExpoChattanooga Convention CenterChattanooga, Tenn.Contact: 406-254-7416,[email protected]
20-23: Camping In OntarioConvention and CampExSheraton On The FallsNiagara Falls, OntarioContact: Krista Bethune, [email protected]
29-Dec. 1: Recreation Vehicle Industry AssociationNational RV Trade ShowKentucky Expo CenterLouisville, Ky.Contact: www.rviashow.org
DECEMBER
12-14: Pennsylvania CampgroundOwners Association Conventionand Trade ShowPenn Stater HotelState College, Pa.Contact: 610-767-5026
JANUARY 2017
29-Feb. 1: Carolinas Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds Annual MeetingBeach Cove ResortNorth Myrtle Beach, S.C.Contact: [email protected]
FEBRUARY
20-24: National School of RV Parkand Campground ManagementEastern CampusOglebay Resort, Wheeling, W.V.Contact: 303-681-0401
28: Kansas Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds Membership MeetingFour Seasons RV AcresAbilene, Kan.Contact: [email protected]
MARCH
1-3: Missouri Association of RV Parks and CampgroundsSpring MeetingRamada Plaza Hotel and Oasis Convention CenterSpringfield, Mo.Contact: 573-337-0543
3-4: Ohio Campground Owners Association Spring Conferenceand Trade ShowEmbassy Suites Columbus AirportColumbus, OhioContact: 614-221-7748
15-19: Wisconsin Association of Campground Owners SpringConference and Trade ShowHoliday Inn Convention CenterStevens Point, Wis.Contact: 608-525-2327
16-18: Northeast Campground Association Northeast Conferenceon Camping and Trade ShowRadisson Hotel NashuaNashua, N.H.Contact: 860-684-6389 WCM
32 - October 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management
#roadtrip, #nature in place of camp-gram. You’ll never have to try to remem-ber all of your generic or brand-specifichashtags. Instead, you’ll use your short-cut term to add your hashtags. Googleyour device name + text replacementfor a specific how-to. Businesses can take advantage of
Instagram’s business accounts, allow-ing them to have a contact button ontheir profile, Instagram Insights (ana-lytics) to help steer their Instagrammarketing efforts, and, of course, access to Instagram advertising. One caveat: you must also have a Facebook Page. Google “change
Instagram profile to business account” for how-tos if you are currently using a profile account.Master it and you’ll be telling quite a
compelling story.
Like what you see in Modern Marketing? Stay abreast of the latestdigital marketing trends for the out-door recreation industry by sub-scribing to Schmarder’s bi-weeklytrend digest Digital Marketing forthe Outdoor Recreation Industry atwww.roadabode.com. Ask her abouther digital marketing/social mediadiagnostics and tune-ups and more at [email protected] or 702-460-9863. WCM
Modern Marketing —from page 8
