CCAAMMPPGGRROOUUNNDDMMAANNAAGGEEMMEENNTT$2.50 U.S./$3.50 Canada The Independent Voice of the North American Campground Business Vol. 47 No. 2 • February 2016

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INSIDE…Rogers Steps Down, Hittmeier New KOA CEO 3Weather Can’t Dampen Florida RV SuperShow 4Cabins to Wagons, Rental Options Run Gamut 16Cavco VP Gage Sees Room in PMRV Market 18Park Directories Remain Popular with Campers 20Kozy Rest Starts Slow, Then Earns 55 Awards 26While there are plenty of similar park model RVs, with a little creativity DanielsWood Land turned this Cavco RV into a show stopper. Photo courtesy of Cavco.

WOODALL’SWOODALL’S

$2.50 U.S./$3.50 Canada The Independent Voice of the North American Campground Business Vol. 47 No. 2 • February 2016

2 - February 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management

PUBLISHER’S CORNER By Sherman Goldenberg

February 2016 Vol. 47 No. 2

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Owners, managers or marketing directors of privately held U.S. campgroundsmay receive a free subscription upon request to Woodall’s CampgroundManagement — one free subscription per campground. Others may purchasesubscriptions at these rates: $24.95 per year U.S. or $35.95 per year inCanada. Contact Trina Nissley at Woodall’s Campground Management, C/O Beverly Gardner & Associates Inc., 2901 E. Bristol St., Elkhart, IN 46514.Email: tnissley@g-gmediagroup.com.

Woodall’s Campground Management is published monthly by G&G MediaGroup LLC at the above address.

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With the RV park and campground sector awakening to a newyear, we sat down the other day and reflected on some of thetrends that should affect future business, short-term and downthe road. And, quite frankly, most of what we’re seeing, asidefrom those ripples in the global economy and the fractious elec-toral background noise, translates into a pretty positive picturefor the year ahead — especially the RV industry’s ongoing surge.

North American RV manufacturers — whom we cover inRVBusinessmagazine, a sister publication to Woodall’s Camp-ground Management — shipped more than 374,000 units in2015, a gain of 4.9% over 2014 for the sixth consecutive year of(re)growth from the Great Recession (see Page 3). And they have

moderate-to-great expectations for more of the same in 2016, especially considering the ac-tivity levels and the general tempo of this winter’s early retail sports, vacation and boat shows.

The fact of the matter is that some winter shows like the 56th Annual Fort Wayne RV &Camping Show Jan. 28-31 at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in northeast Indiana— with traffic up 38% to 12,363 — have been setting attendance records.

Yes, the nation’s RV dealers like what they’re seeing, which is good news for all of us at atime when the Boomer wave is at its apex and the Gen Xers and Millennials are showing signsof stepping up in a significant way. Indeed, it looks like major retailers such as suburban De-troit-based Loren Baidas, president of General RV Center, one of the nation’s largest family-owned dealerships with 11 stores and a suburban Detroit headquarters, will be sending plentyof new buyers your way in 2016.

“There’s a lot of activity and positive sentiment from consumers right now,” said Baidas. “Idon’t know if it’s necessarily the new buyer — there’s some of that — but there’s definitely a lotof consumers who are committed to the RV industry and the lifestyle and are excited about it.There’s just a lot of buzz and excitement.”

Now, Baidas said this as a businessman, not just as a guy who’s trying to hype the RV indus-try’s leading trade journal. “No, no, we’re up or flat at every show we’ve been in from the yearbefore,” he said. “And in almost every show we’ve been in, attendance has been up except whenthere was a weather issue. So, I think it bodes well for a positive 2016. Even with the marketconditions out there that are a little bit volatile, it doesn’t seem to be concerning to the RVbuyer right now, partly because of gas prices and interest rates being low. The conditions forRV buying are still good. I think you’ll find that dealers are pretty happy with what they’re seeingout there in the first six weeks of the retail show season.” WCM

RV Industry’s Growth Should Boost Your Business

The AGS Cares Program mademore than $265,000 in cash and in-kind donations for 2015 to charitiesthat work to make a positive differ-ence in people’s lives, both here andoverseas.According to an announcement

from AGS parent company Texas Ad-vertising, the donations included$74,178 in cash and $191,400 in-kindcontributions — primarily donatedadvertising space in the millions ofguest guides designed and printedby AGS.

AGS Cares Program Exceeds 2015 Charitable Goal With $265K in Cash, In-Kind Donations

With this opportunity, CONY can promote atmore shows and maintain its vision to be themodel campground association.”

Don Bennett Jr., president of CONY, said,“We’re honored to be selected from such alarge pool, with $63 million in requests andonly $12 million in the pot. All of the projectsthat were requested have gone throughtheir regional economic development coun-cils, they’re all probably good projects.We’re pretty honored to be chosen and look-ing forward to doing some things we wereunable to do without the help of the statefunding.”According to Bennett, one of the key

things the grant will allow CONY to do iscommission a study on the impact of camp-ing in New York. Another key item, he toldWoodall’s Campground Management, willbe a renewed part-nership with the “ILove New York”tourism push. Thatwill renew a past re-lationship betweenthe statewide tourismcampaign and CONY,a partnership that fellby the wayside forpolitical reasons.With the new grant funds, CONY will

resume promoting “I Love New York” at acouple of dozen consumer RV shows whereCONY will have a booth. “We are going to becollecting data at the shows. We’re alsoworking on an iPad kiosk system where cus-tomers will be able to enter their data to get

CONY Lands N.Y. Tourism Marketing Grant, Opening New Doors to Promotional Concepts

Campground Owners of New York(CONY) received a Market NY grant late lastyear at an event put on by Gov. AndrewCuomo in Albany announcing the 2015 Regional Economic Development CouncilAwards.The grant for $144,194, via the Finger

Lakes Regional Economic DevelopmentCouncil, enables CONY to “improve, expandand kickstart marketing programs intendedto promote general NY camping andtourism,” according to the award announce-ment from the state.In addition, according to the state, the

grant will “drive customers to co-op buy-inpartners, add more CONY employment op-portunities, and generate data about theoutdoor hospitality industry for business use.

that has elevated KOA to a premier positionin the camping marketplace,” said OscarTang, chairman of KOA’s parent company,KOA Holdings Inc. (KOAH). “His ebullientpersonality and organizational strategyhave built a corporate culture that will be toKOA’s benefit for many years.”Rogers will continue to serve as a mem-

ber of the board of directors of KOAH andwill consult on special projects for KOA.Hittmeier will also serve on the KOAH

board.Rogers also serves as a member of the

KOA Care Camps Trust board of directors.The KOA Care Camps Trust raises funds to support more than 100 specialized summer camps throughout North Americafor children with cancer.Rogers came to KOA in 2000 as the new

president and CEO after a long career withHarrah’s Entertainment Inc. in Nevada. Herose to the rank of senior vice president andgeneral manager of Harrah’s Reno. He hadpreviously worked for KOA for two years inthe early 1970s.During his time in the top role, Rogers

served as a champion of working acrosssectors of the outdoor hospitality space,working with the RV industry and variousoutdoor groups. He also expanded KOA’saudience with an appearance on the CBStelevision series “Undercover Boss” inearly 2013, an episode that garnered morethan 9 million viewers. Hittmeier has had a 34-year career at

KOA that has seen him in leadership rolesKOA Leadership – continued on page 14

CONY – continued on page 6

moted to the role of president and CEO atthe start of the year.“In Jim’s tenure, he has transitioned KOA

into a dynamic and progressive companyand built a foundation of customer service

After 15 years at the helm of Kamp-grounds of America Inc. (KOA), Jim Rogersstepped down as KOA’s chairman and CEOJan. 1.KOA President Pat Hittmeier was pro-

Jim Rogers Pat Hittmeier

“Our goal was $250,000 cash andin-kind donations for the year andwe exceeded that,” said AGS Presi-dent Brian Schaeffer, adding, “I’mvery happy about that. I also thinkour support for charities has a positive impact on our business. Obviously, people do business withus based on the quality of our workand our reputation. But I also thinkour customers know that when theywork with us, they help us make adifference in the lives of thousands of people outside the campgroundindustry.”AGS supports charities that are

involved in everything from cancerresearch and children’s cancer campsto helping veterans and their familiesas well as organizations that providefood, clothing and medical servicesto people in need, both here andoverseas.“We couldn’t do what we do with-

out the support from organizationslike AGS,” said Ines Allen, presidentof Rancho Mirage, Calif.-based IMAHelps, which provides lifesavingand life changing medical and dentalcare to impoverished people in Central and South America. “AGS ishelping us make a difference in theworld.”AGS has donated more than

$140,000 in cash and $335,000 in in-kind contributions since the 2012inception of the AGS Cares Program.WCM

Longtime KOA Chairman and CEO Jim Rogersstepped down effective Jan. 1, will remain as aboard member for KOA Holdings Inc. and act asa consultant on special projects for franchisor.

KOA Sees Big Leadership Changes; HittmeierNew CEO, O’Rourke Heads All Franchise Ops

RV Shipments Up 4.9% in2015, PMRV’s Down 3.5%Wholesale shipments to retailers of

all RVs finished up 2015 quite strongly,rising to 28,025 units in the RecreationVehicle Industry Association’s (RVIA)December survey of manufacturers,4.8% ahead of the final month of 2014and the largest December total since2005.For the year as a whole, all RV ship-

ments reached 374,246 total units, an increase of 4.9% over 2014 and the bestyearly total since 2006. This year markedthe sixth consecutive annual increase inRV shipments since the end of the lastrecession.Seasonally adjusted, the annualized

rate in December remained at or nearthe 400,000-unit level for the fourth con-secutive month, pushing final calendarquarter totals ahead of third quarter results for the second year in a row.Total shipments of park model RVs

finished 2015 down by 3.5% compared to2014, according to the RVIA.December was the largest down

month compared to 2014, with only 193 units shipped compared to 261 theprevious December, a drop of 26.1%.Texas and Arizona each received 26

park models in December, while Califor-nia was the next-highest shipment destination with 23. The balance wasspread throughout the U.S. and Canada.For the entire year, park model manu-

facturers shipped 3,649 units comparedto the 3,781 units shipped in 2014, according to the RVIA. WCM

WOODALLSCM.com February 2016 - 3

Don Bennett

Brian Schaeffer

4 - February 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management

2016 Florida RV SuperShow Nearly Breaks Record;Despite Severe Weather, Tampa Event Draws 62,700

Despite two days of rainy weather,the 2016 Florida RV SuperShow, whichis sponsored by the Florida RV TradeAssociation (FRVTA), reported an at-tendance of more than 62,700 people —nearly reaching last year’s record atten-dance of 63,264.One of the industry’s marquee

events, the five-day 2016 Florida RV Su-perShow was Jan. 12-17 at the FloridaState Fairgrounds in Tampa, Fla. Theshow featured more than 1,200 RVs ondisplay as well as about 450 booth exhibits staffed by suppliers and othervendors. In addition, the 31st AnnualSuper Rally, which is the on-site camp-ground affiliated with the SuperShow,was sold out with more than 750campers.

Wilson said nearly every manufac-turer and dealer he talked with reportedstrong sales, and from the association’sstandpoint the show was a success.“It just shows what’s going on in the

industry. There’s a tremendous amountof demand and everyone seems to bedoing well. There are fewer objectionsfrom the public. They came into thegate happy and carried that through therest of the show,” Wilson said. One section of the Tampa show was

dedicated to park model RVs or manu-factured housing by Chariot Eagle ofOcala, Fla., Palm Harbor Homesof Dal-las Texas, Jacobsen Homesof Safety Har-bor, Fla., Skyline Corp. of Elkhart, Ind.,Escape Park Models of Rice Lake, Wis.,Athens Park Homes of Athens, Texas,and HL Enterprises of Elkhart, Ind.Doug Milano, a district sales man-

ager for Sun RV Resortswho was hold-ing court inside a Skyline park modelunit during the show, said the turnoutwas terrific and feedback just as good.He also mentioned the park model village seems to have been just as wellreceived.“When I came ahead of time, I found

it very easy to find and I thought it wasvery well laid out, actually. It’s easy tonavigate because it’s pretty high trafficnow with the amount of people comingthrough, but I think that the way they’veactually chose to have the vendors stagetheir product seems to be pretty smart.I think it worked pretty well,” Milanosaid.

Campgrounds, Resorts ReportStrong Snowbird Season

Like many other campgrounds andresorts that staffed an exhibitor boothduring the Tampa show, Sara and AllenBrownwere kept extremely busy inter-acting with attendees and passing outbrochures for Myakka River Motor-coach Resort, a Class A-exclusive, 100-site complex in Port Charlotte, Fla.,where the two are work-camping. 2015

Lance Wilson,FRVTA executive di-rector, said the badweather certainly af-fected the Friday andSunday attendance,but the rest of thedays were spectacu-lar. “With the excep-tion of the weather —we had a couple ofdays of spotty weather with some torna-does and so forth that hit south of us; wegot a lot of wind and a lot of rain but nodamage — it turned out well,” Wilsontold Woodall’s Campground Manage-ment.“We are always amazed at the num-

ber of people who come out despite the

rain,” he continued, “but it was stillgood and I think the dealers will concur.The manufacturers, the ones that Italked to, all were happy and there werea lot of sales made. And I think it was agreat atmosphere for the whole thing, tobe honest with you. It just went well.People were buying.”

This year is off to a strong start for consumer RV andcampground shows like the Florida RV SuperShow whichsaw crowds inside (top) and outside (below) in January.

Florida SuperShow – continued on page 25

According to the 50-million-plus mem-ber American Automobile Association(AAA), which compiles gas price infor-mation from around the country, gasprices will remain lower in the yearahead — maybe even lower than 2015,CNN Money reported.That’s good news for the Outdoor

Hospitality industry.AAA estimates the average price of a

gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline willbe between $2.25 and $2.45 a gallon. In2015, the average price per gallon was$2.40Even though gas prices can vary by

season, AAA said it didn’t think the aver-age would go above $3 a gallon this year.The current worldwide surplus of

crude oil, which is used to produce gas,has led to dramatic drops in price — toroughly $37 a barrel. In 2015, crude oilprices dropped 35%. Since oil expertsbelieve the cost of crude oil will remainlow, AAA predicts gas will continue to becheaper for much of this year.AAA did allow for the possibility that

political events or changes in the oilmarkets could lead to a price increase.It also said that regional prices wouldlikely vary. WCM

AAA: Gas Prices ShouldStay Low for This Year

pre-recorded video and files of almost any type,including pdfs, docs, jpegs, bmps or virtuallyany other file type. During the live expo, an attendee “entering

a booth” will be seen by the exhibitor, alongwith the company he works with. The attendee may chat with the exhibitor, view anin-booth video, view documents or downloadthem into a virtual shopping bag for later view-ing. The exhibitor may view the full registrationinformation of all attendees who came intotheir booth at the end of each session,whether live or in the on demand mode.The expo will also produce a souvenir

program which will list all the sponsors andexhibitors. This will include a welcome letter,instructions on how to maneuver in the envi-ronment, detailed information about thespeakers at the seminars, and will carry advertisements from interested businesses.Clicking on those advertisements will take

the attendees to the website of the advertiserand clicking on the name of the exhibitor willtransport the reader directly into their booth.Trade show booths at the Virtual Hospitality

Expo are $795. Placement of the booths is ona first-come, first-served basis. Sponsorshipopportunities range from $1,000 to $5,000, withsome interesting and varied enhancements tothe presence of a participant in the expo.More information about the expo may be

found by calling 570-966-0080, by going to thewebsite at www.virtualhospitalityexpo.com orby e-mailing them at info@virtualhospitality-expo.com. WCM

Virtual Hospitality Expo Coming in FebruaryTherefore, the price of the sponsorship or

exhibitor participation in the show is the onlyexpense for the business.This expo also won’t charge attendees,

making it even more accessible to industry par-ticipants. In addition, after the expo has run fortwo live days, it will continue for an additional90 days in an on-demand status. All of thebooths and materials that are part of the dis-plays will be accessible to attendees until May24. Contact information with exhibitors will alsobe available to anyone during that time.The same will be true for the six webinars

which will be part of the expo. The webinarswill be conducted live, three per day, duringwhich there will be an interactive Q&A ses-sion. These webinars will be recorded for laterviewing during the on-demand period.The actual displays will be set up by the

software provider from materials furnished bythe exhibitor. The booth may contain a

The Virtual Hospitality Expo 2016 is comingup Feb. 23 and 24. Unlike previous attempts focusing on outdoor hospitality, the new Expoincludes hotels, motels, bed & breakfasts, vacation rentals and lodgings which were notincluded in the previous events, according to an announcement from organizers ArtLieberman and Deanne Bower.Virtual trade shows differ in many ways

from a conventional trade show. There are ob-vious differences, since the virtual show isheld on the Internet, rather than in a conven-tion center or a hotel in a particular location.To potential exhibitors or attendees, thismeans a tremendous reduction in expenses.There are no travel costs, or costs for hotels,

shipping, drayage, electricity for the booth, orany other expenses usually incurred in a tradi-tional trade show. Perhaps more importantly,participating businesses can stay at their homeoffice during the event, or even be on the road.

WOODALLSCM.com February 2016 - 5

6 - February 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management

on our consumer email list. They also canregister for directory requests,” Bennettsaid. “We’re also going to have campingnight packages, donated by our members,that consumers can win.”Another benefit to CONY members is the

ability to participate in group advertisingthrough the New York State Tourism Indus-try Association, which will give CONY an adin several magazines through the MeredithPublishing Group and through the HearstMedia Group. Additionally, there will be ajoint digital advertising campaign with thestate tourism industry association, Bennettexplained.And, of course, there’s more. “I would say

probably a third of the grant would be to promote camping and try to involve the nextgeneration,” Bennett said. “We’re going todo video and photo shoots — 11 differentvideos, one for each of the different tourismregions of the state.” Those videos and photos will be used for tourism and mediacoverage and will tie in with new PR effortsand media marketing efforts.In all, the grant is a nice tip of the hat to

an association that, by Bennett’s account, isworking hard to do as much as possible forits members. “Things are going very well,”Bennett said of the association. “We wereable to bring a fourth staffer on board lastyear. That helps facilitate those shows. It’salso enabled us to continue our outreach.We like to visit all of our members once ayear in the summer during the operatingseason. We’re able to accomplish that.” —Justin Leighty WCM

CONY —from page 3

S.R. Smith LLC has recalled 1,800Splash! access lifts and 40 PAL Hi/Lolifts due to concerns over strength ofwelds between the masts and bases ofthe pool/spa lift units, according to anotice posted by the U.S. ConsumerProduct Safety Commission.Splash! lifts are permanently fixed

to the pool deck. PAL models areportable, free-standing pool lifts thatcan be fixed to the deck. The recall in-cludes all models of Splash! lifts withmanufacturing dates between January2013 and September 2015; PAL Hi/Lolifts with model numbers 250-0000, 250-0005 and 250-0005K; and Spa model275-0000 with manufacturing dates be-tween December 2014 and September2015. The model number and date ofmanufacture can be found on the labelat the base of the mast. “Splash!” or“PAL” is printed on the base of the lifts.The firm received reports of two

incidents in which the lift fell over dueto inadequate welds in the base plateor mast. One incident occurred whena person was seated in the lift chair.No injuries have been reported.Consumers should immediately

stop using the recalled pool lifts andcontact S.R. Smith for a free replace-ment base and/or mast assembly. Con-tact S.R. Smith toll-free at888-497-9290 from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.PST Monday through Friday, emailsplashpalinfo@srsmith.com, or onlineat www.srsmith.com and click on“Splash/ PAL Hi Lo Recall” orwww.splashpalliftinfo.com for moreinformation. WCM

Pool Lifts Recalled Due to Safety Concerns Over Welds

Joe Daquino, former senior vicepresident of Affinity Group, Inc. (AGI),a southern California firm subse-quently renamed Good Sam Enter-prises LLC and Camping World Inc.,passed away Dec. 26 after a extendedbattle with brain cancer. He was fourdays short of his 57th birthday.Although he was a long-time em-

ployee of AGI, Joe was not as well-known throughout the RV industry aswere some of his colleagues, havingworked more behind the scenes on AGIinitiatives, particularly those focusedon technological innovations.During his tenure, which started in

the early 1980s as a customer servicerepresentative, he became publisher ofboth the Trailer Life and Woodall’s di-rectories, overseeing developmentearly on of one of the first onlinesearchable databases for campgroundsthroughout the U.S. and Canada.He also published the Good Sam

Atlas, developed the RV Trip Plannerand helped create a GPS navigationsystem for RVers containing camp-ground data.Later, as president of AGI’s Clubs

division, he was heavily involved in

Daquino Led Woodall’s, Trailer Life Directoriesgrowing the Good Sam Club’s member-ship and increasing renewal rates utilizing a new website and socialmedia that focused on improving themember experience,“Joe Daquino opened the eyes of

many of us to new technologies, andwhat they could do for the companyand the RV community,” said MikeSchneider, former president and CEOof AGI. “He was smart, he was witty,and was one of those few individualswho could balance the interests of ourmembers and customers with whatwas best for the company. Plus, he hadthat all-important trait of being bothan outstanding business person and aquality human being. RVers today areutilizing much of the technology Joebrought to this industry.”Upon leaving AGI in 2011, Daquino

formed his own consulting firm, work-ing with clients that included RandMcNally and Equity LifeStyle Proper-ties, among others, until he was diag-nosed with glioblastoma brain cancerin May of 2014.Daquino reportedly worked long

and hard to fight this deadly disease,researching and undergoing every

possible treatment. At the same time,he utilized Facebook and other socialmedia websites to blog and write abouthis struggle and how the disease hadaffected him personally.“This experience has changed my

outlook on life in many ways — by farfor the better,” Daquino wrote on hislast birthday. “I have a greater sense ofwhat is important to me. Hell, up totoday I’m not sure that I even knewwhat was important to me. I know it’sno longer money, vanity, climbing acorporate ladder, or prestige, whateverthat even means. It’s about the love ofmy friends and family. It’s aboutsqueezing every last drop of enjoymentand satisfaction from every good moment left in my life. It’s about ridingthe crest of every ‘good day.’” WCM

U.S. National Park Service Reporting a Record Year in 2015As the U.S. National Park Service

(NPS) looks to its 2016 centennial year,visitation to America’s 409 national parkswas on pace to set a new record in 2015,the NPS said in an announcement.More individuals, families and

groups visited NPS sites in the first 10months of the year than ever before.The NPS’s Public Use Statistics Officeestimated 272.5 million recreation visitsto the parks through October, the latestmonth that complete — though unoffi-cial — statistics were available. Thatcompares to 262.7 million visits in thesame period of 2014, an increase of3.7% which will likely mean 300 millionvisitors in 2015.

“With every visit to national parks,people write themselves a prescriptionfor the health benefits that come whenenjoying these natural and historicalwonders,” said NPS Director JonathanJarvis. “Americans have loved the national parks for a century and more.Our aim now is to help the next genera-tion become not only visitors but parksupporters and advocates, too.”The NPS centennial is expected to

extend the visitation surge, bringingeven more people to America’s parks.The increased visitation is not con-

fined to one region or type of park. Parksacross the U.S., from iconic “crownjewel” sites to lesser-known gems

already exceeded prior records for visi-tation. By the end of October, theworld’s first national park, Yellowstonein Wyoming and Montana, hadsmashed its previous annual high(2010) with more than 4 million visits,which represents a 17% increase overlast year’s visitation to date. RockyMountain National Park in Colorado,which is celebrating its own park cen-tennial this year, also may pass 4 millionvisits in 2015 - it already had broken themark it set last year, with more than 3.9million visits through October 2015.Each of Rocky Mountain’s 10 busiestdays this year saw more than 10,000 vehicles enter the park. WCM

WOODALLSCM.com February 2016 - 7

8 - February 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management

Like any good content plan we’vetalked about in this column, writedown your course of action, expecta-tions, and actual results. Monitor,measure, and tweak. Make that guidedo double duty, triple duty. Marketevery inside detail of that directory.Make it sell and make it pay.

*************************Digital Marketing Benchmark

Study UpdateIn the short time since launching the

2016 Digital Marketing BenchmarkSurvey for Outdoor Hospitality, re-sponses have been rolling in and thedata collected have been phenomenal.Park owners, operators, and marketershave a unique opportunity to helpmembers of outdoor hospitality meas-ure what a successful digital marketingprogram looks like, learn where othersare spending their online budget andtheir time, and pinpoint the most- andleast-successful platforms to date. Early findings have indicated that

nearly half of those surveyed outsourceone or more functions of their digitalmarketing program, over three-quarters of respondents utilize paidadvertising on various platforms, andjust over 50% are taking advantage ofsocial media productivity tools. I strongly urge every park owner,

operator, or marketer that utilizes on-line marketing to promote their busi-ness to lend their voice to this survey,allowing us the best-rounded data pos-sible. You can take the survey today athttps://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DMBenchmarkStudy2015-16.

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, contentstrategy and marketing plans, andmore at evanne@roadabode.com or702-460-9863. WCM

MODERN MARKETING

have copies for their campers and var-ious visitor centers have a plentifulstock, but finding efficient ways todrive electronic traffic to members’websites and deliver conversions —bookings. This is especially efficientwhen a state creates a complimentarydigital version of the directory, be it anonline magazine-style publication ora downloadable .pdf file. Most likely,either of these versions will allowclickable links and offer analytics to track all sorts of performancepoints. The directory then becomes ameasurable tool in a park’s onlinemarketing arsenal.If you look at it from a digital mar-

keter’s standpoint, a state directory isa treasure trove of content. It mightcontain camping stories, testimonials,product recommendations, recipes,regional information, maps and more.Individually, each and every one ofthese items plays a part in promotingthe state’s outdoor offerings. Smartparks and associations can piece this ready-made information out toassist in filling their detailed contentmarketing calendar. After all, every

Evanne Schmarder

park needs content. Every state direc-tory is brimming with content. It’s anideal partnership. While I haven’t seen this in the out-

door hospitality industry as of yet, Ithink it would be very interesting tofollow the lead of some of the mostsuccessful state visitor bureaus bybreaking the directories into regionsor activities or other such categories— each directory its own entity,maybe even with its own advertising.This could be a combined regionalguide for smaller states, or individualstate publications for larger states.Think of it as the online version of walking into a state visitor center.Certainly there’s the all-inclusive stateguide, but there are also more targetedguides. The same could hold true forstate associations. Let’s use Oregon’s outstanding visi-

tor website as an example. TravelOre-gon.com has a general travel guidebut also offers regional guides, cityguides, adventure and activity guides,cultural guides, etc. All are availableboth at the visitor centers and as anonline download. Granted, Travel Ore-gon has a volumonous budget, but theconcept is one that even the smallestassociations can adopt. The contentwork is already done; it’s really a matter of organization and layout. Another option for state associa-

tions may be to simply offer .pdf versions of some of the most popularbrochures and flyers available toguests across the state, just as TravelOregon.com does. In fact, I’mbetting Travel Oregon charges a prettypenny for website inclusion while atthe same time serving its website visi-tors relevant and wanted informationin one easy and convenient location.Whether states choose to issue a

number of targeted guides, onlinebrochures and flyers, or stick to justthe general directory, both individualparks and state associations can usethe bits and pieces as content for theirsocial outreach. It’s a wise move andone that nearly hand-delivers thoseoh-so-challenging pieces of contentneeded to fill the “what to post” slots.Entire guides, regional or topicalguides, individual activities andevents mentioned in the guide(s) orbrochures and flyers, stories, recipes,and anything else the guide(s) coverthat may pique interest in an outdoorvacation is perfect for posting. When utilizing this content add

links, images, and attribution if neces-sary. The links can be directed to thecentral state association website or onan individual park’s site depending onwhere the guide(s) are housed. Again,analytics should be used to count thenumber of clicks and downloads andmeasure the progress of the program. Spreading the message of outdoor

lodging experiences and options, getting maximum eyes on the guides,and enticing an Internet audience totake a closer look at what you have to offer is the name of the game. And what marketer doesn’t love discovering relevant content to shareat will? It’s a win-win-win.

State association leaders wear numerous hats. From strategic plan-ning to regulatory issues to financialmanagement and more, the buckstops with them. Each year the stateexecutive is tasked with developing acamper-grabbing state directoryshowcasing regions and memberparks, selling advertising to sustainthe publication and the organizationand promoting outdoor vacations totravelers from around the block toaround the world. It’s an enormousjob and a tremendous responsibility.And it’s one that’s done quite well, I might add.Once a state directory is released,

the marketing machine begins tomove. In today’s world that means notonly making sure all member parks

Marketing State Directories Can Increase Park Bookings

Manufacturers of Quality Recreation FUNniturewww.ParkEquipment.com

1-800-376-78972061 Sulphur Springs Rd

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WOODALLSCM.com February 2016 - 9

10 - February 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management

SMART OPERATIONS

PeterPelland

How Do You Respond to Complaints in Online Reviews?

In preparing for this column, Ithought it would be useful to first readthrough random reviews of camp-grounds on the TripAdvisor websitein order to determine whether therewere some common complaints thatsavvy park operators might need toaddress. On TripAdvisor, we are generally

dealing with that all-important mar-ket of first-time campers — preciselythe people who are needed to growthe industry’s markets. We all knowthe old adage about first impressionsbeing lasting impressions — and anexperience that fails to live up to ex-pectations could not only ensure thata first-time guest will not return toyour park, you could very well sourthat first-time camper on the entirecamping experience rather than turn-ing him into the next lifetime camper.I randomly chose campgrounds in

four regions of the country and readthrough reviews. In the instance ofone park, I found that every recentfive-star review was followed up witha management response, thankingthe reviewer for taking the time towrite the review. However, there wasnot a management response for evena single recent review that rated thecampground as anything less thanoutstanding. The management of this campground is totally missingthe point in its failure to address egitimate concerns or even to acknowledge those somewhat less-

than-happy campers. Ironically, those unaddressed re-

views were consistently flagged as“helpful” by fellow TripAdvisor users.In other words, these unaddressedcomplaints are being read by otherpotential guests who are thanking the reviewers for saving them frommaking the mistake of vacationing atthe same park.The most common complaints fell

into 6 categories:• Extra fees. People who have cus-

tomarily stayed in hotels or conven-tional resorts are not accustomed topaying excessive add-on fees or forpaying to take a shower. I frequentlyencountered the term “nickeled-and-dimed,” and that is not good. Review-ers complained about excessive feesfor everything from arts-and-craftssessions to the rental of recreationalequipment — but the single biggestcomplaint was with any park thatused metered showers. One reviewerwrote, “You have to pay for yourshower, and the first three minutesare cold.”• Indifference on the part of staff

or management. Some of the specificcomplaints included a bad attitudewhen staff members visited camp-sites, or security staff members whoturned a blind eye on issues thatneeded to be addressed. There weremany complaints about rude employ-ees (bad enough), but the people whoreferenced rude owners are really raising red flags. One reviewer docu-mented about requesting a credit (not a refund) due to a medical emergency, and how the park ownerinsultingly demanded a note from her doctor. Another wrote, “The gate guards are not that friendly — actually they are aggressive and rude— and are easily annoyed.” That

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surly gate guard is the first person encountered upon arrival and can set the tone for the entire camping experience.• Small sites that are not big-rig

friendly. Unless camping in a group,campers generally do not want to feellike they are on top of the adjoiningsites. If they are camping in a big rig,they want to be able to get into andout of their site easily and without riskof damage to their investment. In theshort term, this may mean carefullyassigning sites to the camping equip-ment; in the long term, this maymean re-engineering smaller adjoin-ing sites into larger single sites.• Dirty, inadequately or infre-

quently cleaned restrooms.There aresimply no excuses here. If it is a busyweekend, your cleaning staff mayneed to be cleaning your restroomson a continuous rotation throughoutthe day. If you are short-staffed, hirepeople. One review included eightphotos documenting a lack of bath-room cleaning — both short-termand long-term — at one particularpark. Additional photos attached tothe review show fecal matter in frontof toilets, dirty floors, empty papertowel dispensers and stained showerstalls.• Lack of maintenance in rentals.

Be careful about overselling youramenities. It is probably a mistake tomarket aging park models as “luxurycottages” — particularly if theiramenities are inconsistent with whatyou advertise. If a furnished parkmodel is designed to sleep six people,the kitchen utensils should not belimited to three forks, two glasses andfour chipped plates (as mentioned inone actual review). There should be aprinted inventory of furnishings (thatare checked and replenished by

housekeeping between rentals) thatwill allow guests to know exactly whatthey should expect to find in the unit.• Lax enforcement of rules. Yes, we

all know that rules are a double-edgedsword where some people are alwaysgoing to be unhappy; however, theguests who really count are the oneswho expect quiet, not those who are creating a nuisance. Within thiscategory of complaints, the biggest issues involved unattended dogsbeing allowed to bark, and quiethours that were not consistently andpolitely enforced.All in all, the people who are

addressing these concerns are farfrom being unreasonable. If you wereon a vacation — perhaps a cruise or atrip to a vacation resort — would youfind these shortcomings acceptable?Of course not! Treat your guests withrespect, meet their expectations, andyour business will grow and prosper.

Peter Pelland is the CEO of PellandAdvertising, a company that hefounded in 1980 and that has beenserving the family camping industryfor more than 30 years. His companyspecializes in building fully respon-sive websites, along with producing afull range of four-color process printadvertising for clients from coast tocoast. Learn more about Pelland Ad-vertising at www.pelland.com or seetheir ad in this issue. WCM

The development of a large recre-ational vehicle resort near Alabama’s Gulf State Park in OrangeBeach will continue to expand apiece of the beach tourism industryaiming to serve snowbirds in the winter and touring families in thesummer months, the LagniappeWeekly reported.

Pandion Ridge LLC is developinga high-density maritime 493-site RVresort community on 221 acres and includes plans for clubhousebuildings, swimming pools, pile-sup-ported walkways, electric and sewerinfrastructure and paved RV sites.According to Gulf Shores and Or-

ange Beach Tourism, Pandion Ridgewill be part of a list of 14 RV resortsand campgrounds around GulfShores and Orange Beach. KayMaghan, a Gulf Shores and OrangeBeach Tourism representative, saidthe tourism bureau doesn’t have a reliable way to track the direct economic impact of lodging-on-wheels, but RV resorts do contributeto the local economy by generatinglodging-tax revenue.“RV resorts are very popular

options with our snowbirds in thewinter and with families in spring andsummer,” Maghan said. “As we con-tinue our focus to grow out ourspring and fall shoulder seasons, weexpect to see a rise in popularity ofRV parks in the fall increase.” WCM

493-Site RV Resort Readied for Alabama’s Gulf Coast

WOODALLSCM.com February 2016 - 11

ON CAMPGROUNDS

Reports from the field:

Bob Ashley

Flamingo Lake RV Resort Expanding Sites, Water Park

Change is underway at FlamingoLake RV Resort, 15 miles north of down-town Jacksonville, Fla.In the fall, the park’s commercial

laundry area was expanded and thiswinter Flamingo Lake will augment itsalready-substantial water playground.Adding 20 pads to the 285-site park alsois on the horizon.“We are getting ready to make a major

change in the water park with an inte-grated, low-level course that kids canrun and play on,” said Flamingo Lake RVResort Marketing Director Ken Lloyd,

who also is vice president of the FloridaRV Trade Association’s Region 6.“The trigger hasn’t been pulled on

expansion yet. But our previous storagearea that was inside the park has beenmoved across the street. I think we aregoing to add more sites there, probablywithin the next six months.”With 16 acres of water, Flamingo

Lake, as might be expected, has anaquatic emphasis as it rents paddle-boats, kayaks and canoes and has a kidney-shaped swimming pool and asandy swimming beach.About 50 blacktopped sites sit on the

tree-lined lake.The year-round resort, owned by

partners Raymond Lane and MichaelFisher, features a full-service cafe openseven days a week for breakfast, lunchand dinner — the restaurant delivers —along with a well-stocked campgroundstore and a recreation hall that accom-

Flamingo Lake is poised to expandin order to serve its guests.

negotiations, he said, with the Jack-sonville Zoo and Gardens for namingrights to a new African flamingo exhibit.“The zoo has more than 1 million

visitors a year and there are direct mar-keting targets that we are trying to hit —families going to the zoo are likely to befamilies that go camping,” Lloyd said.“When they hired me, I told them I wasgoing to try to make this a destinationpark and get involved in the communityso that everybody knows who we are.”

* * * * *The weak Canadian dollar and Baby

Boomers looking to live in condos alongthe Texas Gulf Coast instead of in an RVresort are eating into the occupancy atChimney Park Resort in Mission, Texas.“I’ve already had seven Canadians

who rolled over their deposits until nextyear because of the Canadian dollar orbecause they can’t get access to insur-ance to be treated in the United States,”said Lloyd Burns, who has managed the273-site park on the banks of the RioGrande river for six years.“And Baby Boomers don’t want to

camp. They want to buy a condo andspend their time at the beaches on theGulf side. We’re not getting the BabyBoomers like we did.”

The Rio Grande — on which there are11 RV sites — flooded the park in 2010.“We had a lot of damage from that,” Burnssaid. “We have just about recovered.”The park’s slack season is during the

summer when Chimney Creek is occu-pied by only about 25 units, most of theowners of which live in them full time.Summertime, he said, is when main-

tenance is performed. “I try to revampfive to six sites with new concrete a year.We did a lot of asphalt paving this yearand we plan to redo the swimming pool next year. Hopefully in two yearseverything will be done.”Park residents don’t need to be

worried that the park is on the river thatdivides the U.S. and Mexico. “We’venever had any trouble, and the BorderPatrol has an agent in here 24 hours aday. They launch their boat from thepark twice a day. I tell people it’s thesafest campground in Texas.”

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 past19 years. He received the 2013 “Distin-guished Service in RV Journalism”award from the Recreation Vehicle In-dustry Association (RVIA). WCM

modates up to 160 people.On Saturday nights all year, a 40- by

60-foot concert stage features mostlycountry music, but sometimes offerssouthern rock or jazz.Situated in northeast Florida 23 miles

from the Georgia border, Flamingo Lakedoesn’t get many snowbirds.“We don’t have a lot of people who

come down here for the winter. It’s themindset that we are so far north and thatit’s cold here,” said Lloyd on a day thatthe morning temperature was near 40,but would likely rise to 60 by noon. Nonetheless, “Business has been fan-

tastic,” Lloyd said. “The last two yearshave been record-breaking for the park.We had to use our overflow duringThanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’sweekends.”He reported that occupancy during

the summer ranges between 90 and 95%and about 75% in the winter.Since his arrival two years ago, Lloyd

has ramped up Flamingo Lake’s market-ing by attending several winter Floridaand Georgia RV shows and partneringwith the Arena Football League’s Jacksonville Sharks. The park is in

12 - February 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management

WOODALLSCM.com February 2016 - 13

14 - February 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management

in several key KOA departments. Early in his KOA career, he worked in KOA’sCompany Owned Properties Division andlater was in the field, involved in the con-struction of several new KOA properties.He’s also served as the leader of KOA’s

Franchisee Services Department, a complex operation that provides education and support services to Kampgrounds ofAmerica’s 490 locations throughout NorthAmerica.Hittmeier was also the vice president of

the KOA System Development Division. Hewas named chief operating officer of KOAInc. in 2009 and was promoted to presidentin 2010.“Pat has done an outstanding job as

KOA Leadership —from page 3 results for the past five years,” Tang said.“Pat’s many years of experience and suc-cess will ensure a seamless successionfor KOA staff and its franchise system ashe takes on his new position as chief executive at KOA.”In one of his first moves as the new

CEO, Hittmeier elevated Senior Vice Pres-ident of Marketing Toby O’Rourke to thenew role of chief franchise operations officer for KOA. In her new role, O’Rourke has responsi-

bility for both KOA’s brand marketing andits franchise operations, Hittmeier said,and will have oversight over all KOA departments except finance and KOA’sCompany Owned Properties Division. “Choosing the next leader of KOA’s fran-

chise enterprise is one of the most impor-tant contributions I can make,” Hittmeier

said. “I considered a host of qualities necessary to make the largest positive impact on our business and our future. Iwanted this key individual to have a futureperspective, always be seeking newknowledge, be respected, be unselfish andbe a good judge of human nature.”Hittmeier said it was important he find

someone who understood the importanceof balancing the needs of KOA fran-chisees, campers and the company.“I have confidence that Toby O’Rourke

has all of the qualities I was looking for,”he said. “In her time with KOA, she has reshaped our brand image, become the‘go-to’ person for our staff, introducedvaluable new processes and has becomewell respected by our franchisees.” He said O’Rourke is also recognized as

a marketing leader in the camping andrecreation industries.O’Rourke first came to KOA in 2011 as

director of digital marketing.Prior to KOA, she was the digital

marketing manager for Whitewave Foodsin Broomfield, Colo. She also served as theassistant brand manager for Silk Soymilkwhile at Whitewave Foods and also for theHillshire Farm brand for the Sara Lee Corp.in Downers Grove, Ill. Prior to her market-ing career, O’Rourke gained experience insoftware development and managementconsulting.O’Rourke has a Bachelor of Arts degree

from the University of Notre Dame and aMaster of Business Administration degreefrom the Kellogg School of Management atNorthwestern University. WCM

Toby O’Rourke

Franchise Magazine Again Names KOA a Top FranchisorKampgrounds of America Inc.

(KOA) was again named the “Best ofthe Best” among franchising compa-nies for 2016 by Franchise BusinessReview in the magazine’s annual Franchisee Satisfaction Awards. Each year, Franchise Business Re-

view surveys more than 26,000 actualfranchise owners, representing morethan 350 of the leading franchisebrands in North America. The resultsof those owner surveys are used toidentify the Top 50 Franchises in fourfranchise categories: Small (under 50locations), Medium (50-99 locations),Large (100-249 locations), and Enter-prise (250+ locations). KOA received the top franchise

score for Enterprise locations in theSports and Recreation category andranked 83rd on the complete list of the200 top franchises that included allfour franchise size categories. “We researched hundreds of fran-

chise companies to compile this rank-ing, and the franchise opportunitiesthat we listed have been rated amongthe very best franchises by their ownfranchisees,” said Michelle Rowan,president and COO of Franchise Business Review. “These are the realfranchise experts.” The complete list of Franchise

Business Review Satisfaction AwardWinners can be viewed atfbr50.com/franchisee-satisfaction-award-winners-2016. WCM

KOA’s president, leading the company toachieve record financial and quality

WOODALLSCM.com February 2016 - 15

16 - February 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management

Whether a Tipi, Yurt, Wagon, Park Model RV or a Travel Trailer Looking Like a Cabin, There’s an Ever-Expanding List of Attractive Rental Options

Conestoga Wagons with LED lights are an off-the-beaten-path lodging option at Conestoga Ranch in Utah.

As RV park and campground operatorsexpand their facilities and lodging options,the potential market for guests continues togrow as well — and an increasingly diverseslate of rental-lodging options can help provide a “wow” factor to draw new guests.An increasing number of RV parks and

campgrounds are eyeing the “resort” levelof guest — everyone from buy-in luxury motorcoach resorts to Guy Harvey OutpostResorts to Kampgrounds of America Inc.,whose KOA Resort brand tops their line —and in some cases, those guests aren’tbringing an RV with them.And that’s true of more than luxury

guests. KOA’s 490 parks across North Amer-ica have added 41% more park model RVssince 2012, and revenue from those unitshas risen 98% since 2011. That meant that in2015, 21% of KOA’s business was in roofedaccommodations.It’s a statistic that matches up with the

Recreation Vehicle Industry Association(RVIA), which tracks park model RV ship-ments in North America. Roughly half of theestimated 3,600 to 3,700 park models builteach of the last three years have gone tocampgrounds and RV parks, most of them,of course, for rental accommodations.

John Soard, general manager of parkmodel RVs for Cavco Industries subsidiaryFairmont Homes, said things were good in2015, a year where park model shipmentsthrough November were off slightly, down1.8% compared to the same period in theprior year, or 3,456 units compared to 3,520. “Overall the market remains pretty solid,”

said Soard, chairman of the RVIA parkmodel RV committee. “There’s a lot of inter-est in park models. There’s steady and solidgrowth.”That growth has led to several state

associations launching websites dedicatedto rental accommodations at campgroundsand RV parks.And the park model RV and cabin sector

is seeing innovation, not only with new builders like Alabama Custom Cabins,Freedom Park and Utopian Villas enteringthe market in the last six months, but withvenerable names like Skyline Corp. bringingout radical new designs.And of course, Cavco made major moves

to be able to provide their park model RVproducts coast to coast by acquiring ChariotEagle and Fairmont last year (see relatedstory).Add to that the influence of the “tiny

house” movement which has inspired parkmodel builders to go smaller and inspiredother builders to get into RVs, producingunits that look like park model RVs but aretoo small for that classification. Tumble-weed Tiny House Co. and ESCAPE are bothbuilding travel trailer RVs, built to ANSI RVstandards, that look like park models but arein some cases just over half the size, andUtopian Villas has its eye on that market.Meanwhile, RVIA recently introduced a

more specific statement on park models tohelp clarify their use as RVs despite theirlooks: “This park model RV is designed for temporary recreational, camping or seasonal use.”The changes in the market don’t stop

with RVs, either.Pacific Yurts launched a new software

tool in December allowing RV park andcampground operators to design their ownYurts online and see exactly how they willlook.

Nomadics Tipi Makers introduced acampground-specific line of tipis, cateringto parks like Ventura Ranch KOA in Califor-nia which has seen great success with its Tipi Village in the handful of years since it was introduced, according to ownerScott Cory.For an even bigger take on alternative

accommodations, check out the ConestogaWagon Co., an offshoot of recently openedConestoga Ranch, a “glamping” resort inUtah.Combine all these new accommodations

options with interest rates that remain historically low and there may never havebeen a better time for campground ownersand operators to get into the rental businessor to expand their existing options into new,varied areas.Here’s a look at what many providers of

alternate lodging have to offer.

Champion/Athens Park Homes www.athensparkhomes.comChampion/Athens Park has been riding

the wave of growing park model RV popular-ity, and their customer base is really three-fold these days, said Dick Grymponprez,director of park model sales.The company, with plants across the

country, sells a mix of retail units to RV deal-ers and units direct to campgrounds, withroughly a 50/50 mix, Grymonprez said. “Wesell a lot of units to campgrounds. Whatwe’re really starting to see a lot of is the com-munity business. Sun Communities, EquityLifeStyle Properties, have bought multipleunits and most places they sell, they don’trent. They’re almost in the middle. You’ve gotcampgrounds that buy them for rentals,you’ve got dealers who buy them to sell andyou’ve got communities that buy 10, 15, 20 ata time from us.”The Athens Park Series 552 park model

RV with a new front-kitchen floorplan is one

of the most recent introductions to the com-pany’s broad line of park model offerings.“We’ve had people ask for front kitchens, sowe decided to show one,” Grymonprez said.The coastal-style white cabinets in the frontkitchen show it off nicely and offer a residen-tial feel. The kitchen also features stainless-steel appliances — including an 18cubic-foot refrigerator and full-size gasrange. Like Cavco, Athens Park had displays in

Daytona Beach, Fla., for the National Asso-ciation of RV Parks and Campgrounds(ARVC) and KOA shows in November, and in Louisville, Ky., for the December RVIA National RV Trade Show.

Skyline Corp.www.skylinepm.com

Skyline introduced a whole new feel to

U.S. park model RVs with the Shore ParkWeekend Retreat Model 800 it debuted inLouisville.The Retreat, with its sloped roof, open feel

down one side and lack of loft, manages tobreak away from the rest of the park modelmarket. There are two sliding-glass doorswith power shades — one day, one night foreach door — two twin-blade ceiling fans, a

pair of ultra-quiet LG a/c units and a large,residential-style bathroom.Skyline offers a full 15-month warranty on

the new 12-foot-wide unit, which comes in at399 square feet.“This is a game-changer for America, and

what they think about camping,” said TerryDecio, vice president of sales and marketing.

Rich Florea, Skyline Corp.’s new CEO,wanted the company to offer somethingcompletely different, and the team came upwith the new unit in five weeks, said TySultzbach, Skyline sales manager. “It’s anew concept to push us forward. We’regoing to push the envelope with differentshapes and things that we can do with a parkmodel,” said Sutlzbach.

Keystone Kabinswww.keystonekabins.com

For the first time, Dan Smucker, managerof Keystone Kabins, brought one of his Den-ver, Pa.-based company’s park model cabinsto a campground trade show, in this caseLeisure System Inc.’s Symposium for theJellystone franchisees.“Before, all we had was a little booth with

‘Overall the market remains pretty solid,’ said John Soard, generalmanager of park model RVs for Cavco Industries subsidiary FairmontHomes and chairman of the RVIA park model RV committee. ‘There’sa lot of interest in park models. There’s steady and solid growth.’

Skyline’s Shore Park Weekend Retreat Model800 breaks new ground.

Dan Smucker stands on the porch of a KeystoneKabin unit at the LSI Symposium.

Athens Park’s Series 552 has an open feel witha front kitchen.

WOODALLSCM.com February 2016 - 17

pictures of the cabin and, to be honest withyou, it was a joke. People were saying, ‘Wearen’t going to buy unless we are able to seeit’ and that’s totally understandable,”Smucker said. “We had to bring one just because of that. Just through pictures orgoing to our website and our Facebook pagedoesn’t justify these cabins. You have to walkin one and experience everything firsthand inorder to appreciate it.”Unlike most other park model cabins, Key-

stone Kabins builds its cabins with real logs.“That’s our niche, is that we use all real

logs, so you have that rustic feel. Not manycompanies in the country do that, especiallythe ones close to us. They’ll do log siding andsmart lap siding — the fake stuff. But with us,everything is the real deal. It’s all rustic,durable and it’s going to last a lifetime — andthat’s probably the biggest benefit with our cabins compared to others,” Smucker explained.Prices range from $20,000 to $40,000; 12

different models vary from a simple one-roomcabin to a deluxe loft model with separatebedroom. Smucker added that everything isincluded — furniture, kitchen appliances,bathroom fixtures, mattresses and anAC/heater.

Alabama Custom Cabinswww.alabamacustomcabins.comAfter having been with a different park

model cabin builder for the last 12 years, TimCanida has struck out on his own this yearwith Alabama Custom Cabins. Headquar-tered in Haleyville, Ala., Canida had abunkhouse model on display, retailing for$31,500, at the recent Leisure Systems Inc.Symposium that was catching the eye ofmany of the Jellystone franchisees.“We just build a strong cabin. We built it

just like a stick-built house and it’s got all of

the amenities that you need as far as an RV— that’s what it’s listed as,” Canida said. “Welove to put porches on and build them as bigas we can. We open them up and make themfeel homey so you can bring your whole family and enjoy the weekend or even thewhole week, go back home and come backagain. That’s what we’re after, to try and getthat repeat business for the park owner.”Canida said he has more than 3,000 differ-

ent drawings on hand because he’s primarilya custom builder.“We do all kinds of options, pretty much

anything as long as it’s under the 400-square-foot limitation. If they want a honeymoonsuite, we’ll make a honeymoon suite. If theywant to sleep the whole campground insideone, well, we’ll try that, too.“What I do is I work with a customer and

get what they need specifically for their park,and if they add on we can move some thingsaround as well. It’s mainly just working withthe customer because they know what prod-uct they need in their location,” Canida said,adding that he works within most any budget.Pricing starts at about $17,500 and ranges

up to as much as $60,000. Alabama CustomCabins will transport the park model RVs to the site but its up to the park owners tocomplete the installation.

Yurts of Americawww.yurtsofamerica.com

Kenneth Lawrence of Indianapolis-basedYurts of America said business has been verygood as more campground owners are discovering the rental appeal of the uniquestructure that looks like a round tent.“The people who have our yurts have told

us on a regular basis that they are rentinganywhere from two- or three-to-one com-pared to other cabin systems they have, andusually at a higher rental price but lower purchase price,” Lawrence said, adding thata 16-foot diameter model starts at about$5,500. A more typical 30-foot diameter, 15-foot ceiling model — with room inside for sixbunk beds and space left over — runs about$8,900. It’s not uncommon for owners to recoup their investment within the first yearof ownership, he mentioned.Requiring nothing more than a platform

made of concrete or wood, because of theirconstruction yurts can be set up just aboutanywhere — Lawrence said he’s even seenone placed atop a grain silo. Once erected,they can be as simply or elaborately deckedout as desired.“Yurts are becoming hot, it’s just that some

people need to be educated between a yurtfrom Yurts of America vs. someone else, because they look at it and say, ‘It looks likea tent.’ Well, it’s a tent with a 90-pound snowload, can withstand 150-mph wind and comeswith a 12-year warranty,” Lawrence said,adding that the biggest obstacle is often apark owner — especially those east of theMississippi River — who simply doesn’tknow what a yurt is.Lawrence, who was speaking from a

quarter-section of a 16-foot yurt he uses as adisplay, invites everyone to compare materi-als and craftsmanship of his yurts to competi-tors. He said he uses furniture-grade poplarfor lattice and broadleaf yellow pine forframework, and he’ll tell you how one of hisyurts withstood a 3-foot diameter tree fall.“When I say I make a strong yurt,” he said,

“it’s not an idle boast. I’ll show you my specsheets and everything else.” As of Jan. 1,pane glass operational windows are nowstandard with any of their standard yurts.

Conestoga Wagon Co.www.conestogaranch.com

Jean Otto, director of operations at Con-estoga Ranch in Garden City, Utah, said thatafter the resort’s launch last year, the ownersdecided to keep going and offer their signa-ture wagons to other campgrounds and resorts. “We were building them anyway, soonce we had trained a crew to build them, wedecided to just keep going. They’re built two

miles down the road from us. They can dothem quickly and efficiently.”Each wagon sells for $21,000 ready to go.

“If somebody has property and a bathroom,we pull up, it’s set up and in an hour they canput up the open sign.”At Conestoga Ranch, they rent for $175

and up a night and have been sold out sincethe resort opened in July, Otto said. Each canaccommodate from two to six people, andeach runs off a car battery which allows two LED lights and a charger for guest electronics.“These are very sturdy. We have pulled

them down the streets in Salt Lake City,” shesaid, and they’re moved to circle the wagonsfor group rentals.‘There’s no doubt in my mind these will pay

for themselves in one season,” she said.“There’s no real maintenance,” other than replacing the canvas, which can last up to adecade, Otto added.The company also offers canvas

tent/cabin hybrids which can have full bath-rooms and sleep up to eight, with heat and airconditioning. They’re built on site for about$30,000.

Woodland Park Inc.www.woodland-park.com

The Essence, a Canadian park model, wasWoodland Park’s big introduction at theLouisville Show, but it had already gainedpositive attention beforehand, scoring “BestIn Show” in the Montreal Home Expo, according to Cletis Miller, purchasing manager at Woodland Park.The relaxed square-footage restrictions in

Canada mean the unit has 536 square feet,and the centerpiece is lit, bar-type seatingwith corrugated metal and tri-curved-bladeceiling fans. “The fridge is right next to thebar. It’s the best of both worlds,” Miller said.“It’s very modern looking, a lot more residen-tial than some of our other RV units. It’s madeto look a lot more residential than what wehave in other park models.”Wall accent panels and accent panels on

the fireplace add to the residential feel in theRV. It has one bedroom and a separatebunkroom.A Canadian dealer was asking for an

upscale unit, and the Essence was WoodlandPark’s response.“This is the most expensive product we

offer,” said Miller, with an MSRP at about$100,000 (U.S.). “It caters to the people forwhom higher expense is no big deal.”

Tumbleweed Tiny House Co.www.tumbleweedhouses.comDon’t let the name fool you. Everything that

rolls off the production line in ColoradoSprings, Colo., is an RVIA-certified RV, saidJarred Ehart, a “Tiny House RV Specialist” forthe company who brought one from Tumble-weed’s headquarters to Daytona Beach forthe ARVC show. “It’s actually too small to be a park model,”

Ehart said. “It’s a travel trailer.” However, it’s a new breed of travel trailer,

an 8-foot-wide model that looks like its biggerpark model RV cousin or, of course, like adownsized version of a cabin or house.“It’s basic. You can put it wherever you

want. You’re looking at $30,000 rather than$60,000,” Ehart said. The company offers fourmodels with fully customizable floorplans, hesaid. “The parks we work with, they have wait-

ing lists on these. People love them,” he said.

Freedom Parkwww.commodorehomes.com/freedom-park

Freedom Park is a new player in the parkmodel RV market, but like others it has a solid manufactured-housing pedigree as a subsidiary to the Commodore Corp.The company brought its new PC105 floor-

plan to Louisville to introduce itself to the RVmarket. “We just started building these inSeptember. We’re new into the park modelbusiness,” said Tony Mazzocchi, sales man-ager. “We had some of our retailers askabout it and the tiny home movement, we’vehad retail customers talk to our retailersabout it.” In addition, an amusement parkcommissioned them to build park models, sothey decided to expand. “Our home retailersare not the sales channels for these units, RVretailers are,” he said.Windows, siding, roof materials, wall

coverings and cabinetry are all imported frommanufactured home operations, Mazzocchisaid, as are interior designs.The PC105 has an MSRP of $55,000,

including furniture, TV, ceramic backsplashand upgraded faucets and sinks as standardfeatures. Mazocchi said dealers in Louisvilleresponded positively.But the company’s initial start in the retail

market doesn’t mean it has no interest in thecampground market. “We’ll be glad to talk to campgrounds about what we can offerthem,” Mazzocchi said, pointing out thatrental stays are what first got them into parkmodels.

Forest River Park Model Divisionwww.forestriverin.com/ParkModels

The Quail Ridge Summit 355FL park modelRV with Sweet Water interior was part of Forest River’s Louisville display.Shakewood shingles and sandalwood

Tim and Jennifer Canida inside Alabama CustomCabins’ bunkhouse model.

Kenneth Lawrence shows his Yurts of Americamockup section.

The Conestoga Wagons and canvas tents providea unique set of loding options.

Woodland Park’s Essence Canadian model wonawards right off the bat.

Freedom Park’s new PC105 is one of the com-pany’s first park model RVs.

Forest River’s Quail Ridge Summit was featuredin Louisville.

Tumbleweed’s Cypress is the company’s mostpopular RV.

WCM:Cavco last year made some bigmoves in the park model business.How has that integration process gone,bringing two new companies intoCavco’s operational fold?

Gage: So far it’s been great. AddingChariot Eagle and Fairmont Homes hasgotten us into regions we’ve never beenbefore, especially in the Midwest states.We’ve always wanted to be in thosemarketplaces, to branch out into thearena of those KOAs and into the out-door hospitality business.We think that Fairmont’s capable of

doing it, and we know that Chariot is.We think that we can be competitive,build a good product and build thetypes of products that are popularamong consumers in the parkmodel business.In so doing, we’ve branched out

into the park model business of thewinter visitor market that we usedto be in, and we knew that we hadto create other markets to grow ourbusiness.At Cavco, our companies are in

outdoor hospitality, which includesresort living, hotels/motels, camp-grounds, RV parks. And to us they’reall different facets. A lot of peopleuse those words generically. Wedon’t. We separate them out andcreate markets for each individualone — without that we just couldn’trely solely on the so-called ‘parkmodel’ market.

WCM: It’s relevant to point outthat these are your first camp-ground industry shows whereyou’re exhibiting as a consolidatedcompany — Cavco, Fairmont andChariot together — for the firsttime, right?

Gage: Right. This is the first thatwe’ve had all of our acquisitions inone place and it’s been quite a task,too. Some of the acquisitions we’vehad were solely in one market, sowe’re introducing them to all these

other facets that we at Cavco had to create in order to survive over the years.It’s been going good. In Louisville

(RVIA’s National RV Trade Show in earlyDecember), we wanted to let the dealernetwork out there know that we haveother locations across the U.S., and thatwe’re not just focused in a certain region.And Fairmont has been fantastic for

our company. It obviously helped us onthe park model side. But even on alarger scale, it’s helped us on the manu-factured home side. And it’s opened upeven more doors for us in some of oursignificant relationships with compa-nies like Equity LifeStyle Properties(ELS) and Sun Communities — which is

Cavco Industries Inc., a key builder ofpark model RVs and manufactured hous-ing, moved some key chess pieces in 2015 inan effort to expand its already solid posi-tion in both of its target markets by acquir-ing Ocala, Fla.-based Chariot Eagle Inc.and Nappanee, Ind.-based FairmontHomes Inc. and filling in some significantgeographic gaps in its portfolio. It tookmonths to integrate those operations, butit’s a process that, by all accounts, wentrather smoothly for Cavco, an aggressivemarketer and Recreation Vehicle IndustryAssociation (RVIA)member that showedits wares for the first time as a newly inte-grated company in November at the Na-tional Association of RV Parks &Campgrounds (ARVC)2015 Outdoor Hos-

pitality Conference and Expo (OHCE) and Kampgrounds of America Inc.’s (KOA)Annual Convention. Woodalls CampgroundManagement Publisher Sherman Goldenberg and Editor Justin Leighty caught up with Tim Gage, vice president of park mod-els and cabins for Phoenix, Ariz.-based Cavco, at the KOA convention for the following edited interview.

Q&A CONVERSATIONSCavco Continues to Grow in the Park Model RV Market — Which VP Tim Gage Thinks Has Room for Expansion‘As the snowbird winter visitor has changed over the years, not only has Cavco had tochange but even the resort owners have had to change,’ Gage said.

a large percentage of our business inother regions — by having Fairmont aspart of our family.

WCM: How important are parkmodel operations to Cavco?

Gage: We concentrate on our parkmodel side. Even though the park mod-els are a small percentage of our overallbusiness at Cavco, though, it also gets alarge percentage of the attention.Doing projects in national parks with

national parks, doing projects in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Santa Barbara,Calif., and some of these major recre-ational areas, it really gets us a lot of attention that we wouldn’t otherwisehave. For example, we had a ‘tree house’shown in Orlando. We teamed upwith Daniels Wood Land Inc. out ofPaso Robles, Calif., over at the IAAPA(International Association ofAmusement Parks and Attractions)Convention in Orlando. It won theaward out of 300 entries for the bestdisplay, and it’s a park model. Theymade it look very rustic. You can’t go into the park model

business with blinders on thinking“it’s just this.” We have to workwithin the industry. We’re part ofRVIA, we want to build what’s rec-ommended with the ANSI standard,but there’s a lot of uses that could bedone with the park model and aslong as they’re going into RV parksand using them as recreationaldwellings, we’re going to do it.

WCM:Tell us more, if you would,about the park model turned into atree house — and how does thatjibe with the RV world?

Gage: They (Daniels Wood LandInc.) do stuff for Disney. They dostuff for movies and Hollywood.They had heard about us throughKOA and they wanted to take a parkmodel and theme it out, essentially,to look like a tree house.

Q&A Cavco – continued on page 23

Daniels Wood Land turned a Cavco park model into a rustictree house.

Tim Gage (left) talks with Mike Atkinson of Mount Rushmore KOA inside a Cavco park model RV.

18 - February 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management

vinyl siding made up the outside look whileinside the unit features a stainless steel sink,dark shutters, cherry cabinets and a hybridslate countertop, plus a 42,000-BTu furnace.The display unit featured an “LTD package”including a Serta bed, black appliances,vinyl windows and patio door.Even with those options, the 355FL comes

with an MSRP of about $40,000, accordingto Gary Duncan, head of the park model division.In addition to its appearance in Louisville,

Forest River had displays in Daytona Beachand in Lousivlle for the KOA and RVIAevents.

Fork Creek Cabins LLCwww.forkcreekcabins.comWhile Fork Creek has been around since

it was founded in Lancaster, Pa., in 2009, thecompany had a big shift in December:Pleasant Valley Homes Inc. acquired the park model RV builder. That expandedproduction to Schuykill County, Pa., accord-ing to the company.“Fork Creek is a phenomenal addition to

our product roster,” said Wayne Fanelli,president of Pleasant Valley. “Fork Creekstands for elevated design, thoughtful ap-pointment and exceptional craftsmanship,something that has always been a hallmarkof our company’s strategy.” Fork Creek joinsthe company’s Pine Grove line of manufac-tured homes and its Pleasant Valley line ofmodular homes.Fork Creek founders Dan and Jonathan

Allyger are sticking with the operation. “Animportant focus of Fork Creek has been —and will continue to be — to push theboundaries within the park model RV cate-gory and to stay on top of ever-changingconsumer needs,” Dan Allyger said. “Join-ing the Pine Grove/Pleasant Valley familywill extend our resources for innovation andallow us to expand the number of customerswe can reach.

Nicholas Fanelli, a partner in PleasantValley, said, “we look forward to a strongand beneficial relationship between the Allyger and Fanelli families.”

Pacific Yurtswww.yurts.com

Since pioneering the modern yurt nearly40 years ago, Pacific Yurts, the CottageGrove, Ore.-based yurt builder has introduced a variety of innovations, and thecompany now offers “Yurt Builder 3D,” thenewest addition to its website,www.yurts.com.The new feature works like a virtual

shopping cart for Pacific Yurts’ many optionsand amenities, an online visual tool that allows prospective buyers to choose theiryurt’s size, color and accessories, then viewtheir custom creation from any angle andeven take a look inside. A price quote is automatically generated, and for the finaltouch, the online visitor can place their yurtin one of several idyllic virtual settings.“We’re streamlining the process of help-

ing our customers gather information on theyurt visually, on their own, and helping themdecide how it’s going to work best for them,”said Pacific Yurts founder and PresidentAlan Bair.Bair said there’s nothing quite like the

Yurt Builder 3D elsewhere in the yurt-build-ing industry. They have also incorporated360-degree virtual tours of their four largestyurts onto their website to help capture theunique feeling of being inside a yurt.Pacific Yurts points to the quality of its

yurts’ construction, the company’s innova-tions and the reliability in customer servicehoned over decades as the keys to its continued success.

Rental Options – continued on page 24

WOODALLSCM.com February 2016 - 19

20 - February 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management

Tried-and-True Marketing: Campground Directories Still Popular Among Campers

For 2016, the Michigan Associationof RVs and Campgrounds (MARVAC)has turned to a new company, VP De-mand Creation of Traverse City, Mich.,to produce a new printed directory, revamp the website and conduct its social media efforts.Gary Becker, president of Indigo

Bluffs RV Resort in Empire, Mich., and amember of the MARVAC board of direc-tors, said the goal is to create a synchro-nized experience for consumers who cannow not only make reservations at amember campground, but also discoverother nearby events and activities theycan enjoy during their stay.“Camping is a great event and activ-

ity, and it’s about exploring some of thesurroundings. That’s why people choosesome of the locations that they do. Theygo there because it’s close to whateveractivity it is they’d like to be doing, butthey also like to discover new things,”Becker explained.Certainly the goal of MARVAC — or

any state association’s directory, websiteand other marketing efforts — is to generate interest and exposure, but ultimately it’s to drive campers to member campgrounds. And it all starts with the directory be-

cause, as Becker pointed out, that pub-lication often serves as the “kick-offpoint.” People will pick up a copy at anRV show or request a copy sent to themthrough the website.

ESSENTIAL INFORMATIONUsually produced by a statewide as-

sociation of private campground own-ers, these directories include, at the veryleast, a listing of campgrounds, maps,contact information and amenities — inshort, what campers need to know todiscover a campground in a given locale.For the most part, the listings include

the same basic information — thecampground name, address, and con-tact information — as well as detailsabout the park including number ofcampsites, dump station availabilityand whether there’s a camp store on thepremises. Beyond that, the directoriesbegin to differentiate themselves withadditional information such as Wi-Fiavailability and whether the park is petfriendly, as well as advertising frommember campgrounds. The Pennsylvania Campground

Owners Association (PCOA) directoryis an example of an easy-to-use publi-cation that provides campers with justabout everything they would need toknow in order to make a decision.Its directory is divided into six color-

coded regions, and each region beginswith a two-page map that pinpointsthat region’s campground locations. Ensuing pages then list the camp-grounds’ name, mailing address, phonenumber(s), driving directions and available facilities and amenities. Laidout in a grid pattern, the campgroundlisting also includes further details suchas the number of pull-through sites, Wi-Fi availability and whether the parkis pet friendly. Each region’s sectionconcludes with advertisements fromcampgrounds within that region.“Probably the most important thing

is people want it to be easy to read. Weget many, many compliments on howwe have it laid out,”explained PCOAPresident BeverlyGruber. “If you de-cide you want to goto Presque IslePassage RV Park inErie, for example,we have a grid sys-tem where you can

know the number of sites, if they have50-amp service, if they have rentals,laundry and other sorts of things. People love that. The directory shouldhave all the information a camperwould ever need to know.”While some directories offer only the

basics, others have gone so far as to turntheir directory into a de-facto travelmagazine with dozens of pages of fea-ture articles on such things as regionalevents, dining options and other touristattractions.For example, the Texas Association

of Campground Owners (TACO) has a142-page travel magazine that, in addi-tion to the campground directory, isloaded with articles on all sorts of thingspeople can do while in Texas. TACO President/CEO Brian Schaef-

fer, whose TexasAdvertising firmalso produces thedirectories for theIllinois and Mis-souri campgroundowners associa-tions, said havinggone to a travelguide format hasproduced enormous dividends.“Every year we have a different

theme, ranging from the foods of Texasto the history of Texas to unique and funplaces to visit and so forth. It really givesyou the flavor of, ‘Oh, I can go to NewBraunfels. I can have a great day atSchlitterbahn. I can do this. I can dothat. And at the end of the day I can goback to my nice cottage at Hill CountryRV Resort,’” Schaeffer explained.“It gives people more reasons to come

to the state if they’re not in the state —and more reasons to move around thestate if they are from Texas,” he contin-ued. “And when they get to a particular

area, we want them to stay longer andwe want them to come back. To the extent that the guide provides all ofthose things, we’ve done a good thing.”

FILLING THE CAMPSITESRegardless of size and scope, the goal

of every directory is the same: Drivecampers to member campgrounds.“Our whole goal is to bring campers

to our campgrounds and the directoryreally, really helps,” said PCOA’s Gruber. Don Bennett, executive director of

the Campground Owners of New York(CONY), agreed,saying the directoryis “one of the mostidentifiable pieceswith the associa-tion.” He said thedirectory shouldfunnel people tothe campgrounds.“We want to getcampers in our members’ campsites.“As corny as it might be, I refer to the

directory as a menu in a restaurant.How many times do you order off themenu when you’re at a restaurant? Ifyour campground is not in the direc-tory, then you’re missing out. You needto have your campground in the guideso that you’re on the menu, so to speak,”Bennett said.Bobby Cornwell, executive director

of the Florida Association of RV Parks& Campgrounds (Florida ARVC) saidhis associationuses its directory,CampFlorida, tospread the wordabout how Florida“is the best locationin the world tocamp and RV andstaying at a FloridaARVC member RVparks is the best way to enjoy yourFlorida camping experience.”

GETTING THE WORD OUTAssociations use lots of opportunities

to get the directories into campers’hands by distributing them at RV showsas well as through RV dealers, tourismoffices, chambers of commerce, welcome centers along state highwaysand fulfilling single-copy requests made on the association websites or viamagazine advertisements.Florida ARVC, for example, prints

300,000 copies of its directory, which isdistributed through the state tourismcoalition at all the Florida Welcome Cen-ters, RV parks, RV dealers, chambers ofcommerce, RV shows throughout Floridaand the nation as well as by direct mail. Likewise, Gruber said PCOA prints

about 170,000 copies, 12,500 of whichare set aside for single-copy requests. Inaddition to that, PCOA sends 50,000 tolegislators and chambers of commerceand tourist promotion agencies; 20,000to member campgrounds; 40,000 forconsumer shows; and 45,000 to statewelcome centers.Associations also turn to private

companies, such as Pennsylvania-based Anderson’s Brochure Distribu-tion Service, for what often amounts toa significant geographic reach for a relatively small outlay.Beyond that, associations have

become clever at discovering additionaldistribution methods.For example, 25,000 copies of the

2016 MARVAC directory were mailed to qualified households in northern

‘The directory should have all the information a camper wouldever need to know,’ said Beverly Gruber, executive director of thePennsylvania Campground Owners Association.

BeverlyGruber

Don Bennett

Bobby Cornwell

Brian Schaeffer

Directories grab consumer attention at RV showslike the Florida RV SuperShow, where these visitorsstop at the Anderson’s Brochure Distribution booth.

WOODALLSCM.com February 2016 - 21

Indiana and Ohio. Also, CONY partners with a Cana-

dian-based tourism office that distrib-utes the directory to consumer shows inMontreal and Quebec and other ven-ues. That same agency also will mail sin-gle-copy requests emanating fromCanada, a huge cost-savings for CONYbecause it avoids international postage.“It’s been a great program for us to

get more stuff across the border, and atthe same time it’s been great for us to get a lot more visibility up there,”Bennett pointed out.In fact, CONY, which prints 175,000

copies and will typically run out by thetime summer draws to a close, enjoys abit of a financial break because its direc-tory is printed by Kenyon Printers inN.Y., which also prints the directories forthe Maine, New Jersey, Massachusettsand Connecticut campground ownerassociations — all Northeast Camp-ground Association (NCA) members.Those associations have their directoriesshipped together to several of the sameconsumer shows, including the FloridaRV SuperShow in Tampa, and thus areable to share shipping costs.

BY THE NUMBERSAs mentioned earlier, the cost to pro-

duce a directory can soar past $100,000.But helping offset that cost is paid adver-tisements from not only member camp-grounds, but non-member businessesthat would very much like to place theirmessage in front of families looking to spend several days on a camping vacation in their neck of the woods.The TACO directory brings in about

$500,000 in revenue, Schaeffer said, eas-ily covering its $250,000 production cost.Bennett said determining the New

York directory’s production cost is a bitelusive because staff hours aren’t easilyextrapolated. CONY visits every mem-ber campground each year, and part of that visit is to discuss the park’s direc-tory listing and/or advertisement.

He did say, however, that the CONY directory brings in just shy of $200,000in advertising revenue each year.“The directories, honestly, are a sup-

port mechanism for all the associations,and some make more on the guide thanothers,” Bennett disclosed. “It all comes down to money,” Schaf-

fer pointed out. “Either the guide be-comes a revenue generator for you, isrevenue neutral — meaning you’rebreaking even but you’re providing anice benefit for your members and alsothe traveling public — or the guide is adrain. When we first converted to amagazine we knew the first couple ofyears it was going to be a bit of a drain,

and it was. But then we turned a cornerand everybody’s been really happy withthat guide since then.”Of course, the benefit to a camp-

ground that has a display advertisementin their state association’s directory is agreater opportunity for that park to getnoticed by the camper — especiallysince the typical campground listingcontains only the most basic informa-tion, or as much as space will allow.“We can’t put everything in the grid

system but they can take an ad out andsay anything else that they want to say,”Gruber explained, adding that nearlyevery advertising campground in thePCOA directory does so year after year.Schaeffer illustrated the importance

for campground owners to consider

larger advertisements by relating a storyfrom a few years back. At the time, hewas with an RV dealer who was buyinga full-page ad in the Texas travel guide. “At one point he was writing his

check and he looked up and he said,‘You know, I don’t really need this ad.’ Iwas sort of puzzled and asked, ‘Well,great. Why are you taking it then?’ Helooked at me and he said, ‘To be honestwith you, I like full-page ads and I likeseeing my name in lights.’ I didn’t say aword and he finished writing his check,”Schaeffer added. “But if you think aboutit, if you have a 4-by-9 guide (as opposed to a larger magazine size), howmany RVs can you really get in an ad? And what if you take it down to abusiness card size? If you look at the

22 - February 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management

magazine-size directories, the big successful parks don’t take small ads because they’ve got a big story to tell.You can’t tell that within a little tiny ad.”

PRINT IS NOT DEADIt’s fair to question the relevance of a

printed directory given the onset of theInternet. But even when most associa-tions offer either a digital version oftheir printed directory or a searchablecampground database — or, morelikely, both — the printed directory isstill a worthwhile return on investment,officials insist. “We still think directory printing is im-

portant,” Gruber said. “We thought bynow we wouldn’t have to print thatmany, but we’ve been printing that manyfor the last five years so it doesn’t seem tobe going away anytime soon. People stillwant a directory in their hands.”Cornwell said the digital version of

the CampFlorida directory is used andappreciated for those who want the information “immediately.” Therefore itserves its intended purpose.“However, we have found that noth-

ing can replace the print version. Printis definitely not dead. Campers andRVers still want and need a printed directory,” he pointed out.Schaeffer was even more insistent on

the value of the printed directory, sayingthat while the Internet has certainly beena disruptive force, people must take intoaccount common sense and facts.“Common sense says our strongest

demographic — at the moment, any-way — for RV and camping is still 49 to64 years old. Granted it’s gettingyounger each year and everybody fromRVIA (the Recreation Vehicle IndustryAssociation) to RVDA (the NationalRecreation Vehicle Dealers Associa-tion) to KOA (Kampgrounds of Amer-ica Inc.) is working in that parameter,”he explained. “But common sense sayseverybody who is 49 to 64 isn’t going tobe dead tomorrow — and many ofthose folks still like having somethingprinted in their hand. It’s probably notwise to force them to try to find yousomewhere where they are just simplynot going to go right now.“That’s the common sense part of it,”

he continued. “The statistical part of itis when you look at Google Analytics onalmost any site, the largest portion ofusage is something called ‘direct.’ Theydidn’t wake up and go, ‘Holy crap. Ithink this is the day I should typewoodallscm.com into my browser andsee what comes up.’ No, they saw thatprinted somewhere and typed it directlyinto their browser.“Print still has tremendous relevance.

It’s not as strong as what it once was andtherefore we all need to adapt so nowwe have online guides and all theseother programs I described a momentago, but it would be wrong and a fallacyto say, ‘Oh, print is dead.’”

THE BOTTOM LINEThe hottest items at any RV show are

the campground directories andbrochures, and there’s a reason for that— people use them. For that reasonalone associations will continue to pub-lish campground directories.Cornwell said most campground

owners view the directory as “their mainand most effective advertising sourceand the best way to reach the campingmarket,” and campers love theCampFlorida publication. “It is extremely

popular and thefeedback fromcampers hasbeen extremelyfavorable,” Corn-well said. “Theguide is recog-nized as a trustedresource for themost up-to-datecampground in-formation. TheCampFlorida Di-rectory is viewedas the ‘official’and premierc amp g r o u n dguide for FloridaRV parks andcampgrounds and it has a loyal follow-ing of users.”Likewise, Bennett said CONY gets a

ton of feedback from New York campers,especially at the RV shows.

“Over and over at the shows we’llhear, ‘Oh boy, I can’t wait to get myCONY guide for the year.’ They are al-ways looking to see what’s new andwhat the campgrounds have added totheir amenities and things like that.From a consumer standpoint, it’s verypopular,” said Bennett. “From thecampground owners’ perspective,there is a great deal of pride that theytake to have their ad in it, I believe. AndI think that they definitely see the valueto have their advertising in it, or evenjust to have their listing in it as well.When we make our campground visitsin the summer, we hear quite a bit, ‘Alot of people tell us that they get usfrom the CONY book or on the CONYwebsite.’ That’s terrific, and that’s oneof the things that drive me and all thestaff to continue to do more for the organization.” —Rick Kessler WCM

Another Award-Winning Directory“Camp-California! The Camper’s Guide to California” produced by the California

Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds (CalARVC) recently won the State Directory ofthe Year Award from the National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds (ARVC).Illustrated with high-resolution photos of scenic locations, parks, people and activities,

the Camp-California! guide lists nearly 700 public and privately owned campgroundsthroughout The Golden State. Available in print and digital formats, it includes statewideand regional maps, color-coded sections for each region, as well as simple-to-view amenitygrids that make it easy to compare parks in each region. Individual campground maps arealso provided.The directory also includes tourist information, such as listings of regional events and

articles on things to see and do in each region of the state. Featured stories focus on Hollywood’s interest in vintage RVs, camping with clubs and a list of wine festivals. Highresolution photography featuring people and activities is also used to illustrate the guide.CalARVC printed 200,000 copies of the Camp-California! guide this year. The guides were

distributed at all California Camping World locations, Bass Pro Super Stores, all 14 CaliforniaWelcome Centers, the California RV Show, as well as through CalARVC member parks, RVdealers and service centers and through a variety of outdoor shows nationwide. WCM

WOODALLSCM.com February 2016 - 23

Having said that, it’s 100% built to theANSI standard for park model RVs. It’sessentially a KOA floorplan and it makessense when you think about it. If youcould take something that looks like atree house, smells like a tree house andessentially is a tree house — normallyit’s not going to be elevated 50 feet in theair because that wouldn’t be an RV,right? — but this is elevated and it’s allabout kids.There’s either a ramp or a ladder or it

can sit just elevated enough where youwalk up hills and then you just walkright into it in a campground or RV park.

WCM:What are you seeing overall inthe park model business in last five to10 years. How different is it today thanit was then?

Gage: We got into the park modelmarket, like a lot of companies have,from the winter visitors standpoint. Wewere selling to most of the Sunbelt areas— Florida, South Texas, Arizona, South-ern California. As the snowbird wintervisitor has changed over the years, notonly has Cavco had to change, but eventhe resort owners have had to change.People have been spending millions

of dollars updating parks and resorts inthese Sunbelt areas to accommodate a55-plus crowd that is completely differ-ent than what it was when I was a salesrep. A lot of the resorts in Arizona, for in-stance, remind me of the Hard RockCafe in Vegas. They’re having fun. Theparks are putting in pickleball courts, sothey’ve acclimated to that. But also,there haven’t been a lot of new resortsbuilt. So we had to change, we had toget into this outdoor hospitality thing

with campgrounds throughout thecountry because without new resorts inthe Sunbelt areas there’s not enoughbusiness.So what we were building 10 to 15

years ago is maybe half of what we buildtoday. But at the same time, we’re tryingto get those numbers back up by gettinginvolved with the KOA’s and doing busi-ness with private campgrounds. We tryto cover everything, and that’s why weneeded all the factories. We needed theregions to be able to be competitive.

WCM: KOA said as of late this pastyear, 21% of their business is roofed ac-commodations, and Cavco is a hugepart of that aspect of the KOA system.

Gage: Oh yeah. KOA hasbeen instrumental in helpingus get into this market in termsof what’s required, building apark model RV that can with-stand the wear and tear ofrental accommodations intheir campgrounds. You’ve gotto build something that can befinanced, that can be leased,that the banks feel comfort-able putting their money be-hind that’s going to last for 10,15, 20 years. We’ve got to pro-vide them with a product that’sgoing to withstand the wear and tear ofthis kind of accommodations.

WCM:What’s the future look like forthe park model RV market in yourview?

Gage:We should give thanks to prob-ably two or three of these large resortsthat we’ve done (provided park modelRVs for) over the last 15 years becausewhen you have exposure in some ofthese marketplaces — Santa Barbara,

Q&A Cavco —from page 18 Jackson Hole, Cape Hatteras — it getsyou business automatically because ofthe free publicity involved. In JacksonHole, there’s two million cars that go byour park models in the summertimefrom Jackson Hole to Yellowstone.At the same time, Go RVing (the Go

RVing Coalition) is expanding the mar-ket by giving it some attention with the‘Away’ campaign. I think the potentialout there (for growth) is gigantic. Lookat all the private campgrounds outthere.We have to figure out a way to get the

private sector of campgrounds edu-cated on what can be done, and KOAdoes the best job at it. Beyond KOA,

you’re talking about thousands ofcampgrounds out there. We’ve just gotto open their eyes to the advantages ofinstalling cabins and lodging and showthem how quick returns are because it’sproven. It’s not something that juststarted; it’s proven. And KOA and someof the big organizations we do businesswith, including ELS and Sun Communi-ties, have got proof that it works.

WCM: What did you show in

Daytona Beach?Gage:We were showing a new revised

floorplan that has been one of the mostpopular floorplans in the system thatsleeps six people. It’s actually a new up-graded spec that KOA has put in. Everyyear we try to make things better. Wetalk to franchisees. What do we want tochange? What do we not want tochange? So it’s a revised specificationbut we’re getting into the techy world. We’ve got a Bluetooth-compatible

cabin, for example. The kids can bringtheir iPads and iPods and bluetooth inand they can watch YouTube on the TV,they can listen to their music, they cando whatever they want. Another thing that we did this year is

we’re offering as standard LED energy-efficient lighting. So a unit has 10-, 15-year LED lights in it. That takes away a lot of the responsibilities as acampground owner of changing outlightbulbs. The more we can do forthem, the less they have to go out andinvest in year after year or month aftermonth, it’s going to be better. So we’retrying to build a greener unit and at thesame time it also helps them in theoverall maintenance of it.The model on display was built out of

Chariot in Fla., in our Ocala factory. TheChariot team jumped into it with openarms, built a cabin to spec and it’s fantastic and they did a great job. So again, it goes back to having the

representation of Florida, Virginia, Indiana, Arizona, California, Oregon,all the major marketplaces that’s outthere we have factories to supply either private campgrounds or KOA or,for that matter, resorts or any type ofaccommodations. WCM

The rustic conversion was carried through to the insideof the park model.

24 - February 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management

And the enhancements keep comingfrom Pacific Yurts’ headquarters, where 90%of each yurt’s materials are sourced region-ally and assembled and where thermal glasswindows and a new line of low-mainte-nance fiberglass doors with optional programmable keypads have helped to further expand the yurt’s appeal.“We’re excited because after the launch

of the site, we had record sales in Decem-ber.Now we’re trying to build inventory and

prepare for spring,” Bair said. “We’re seeingmore people want two and three color combinations,” and the new 3D tool helpsthem visualize combinations.“The new fiberglass door for camp-

grounds with the electronic key entry hasbeen a big seller and also the glass thermalpane windows we introduced a couple ofyears ago continues to grow,” Bair added.

Utopian Villas www.utopian-villas.com

Justin Kreger, partner and head of marketing for Oak Creek, Wis.-based UtopianVillas, said the company has seen a positivereaction to its first produced model since itslaunch last year.“We just had our first showing of our

Denali model at the Wisconsin RV SuperShow,” Kreger said in January. “The response by not only the media but the consumers from the show has been great.”The company’s park model RVs are a

premium option for campgrounds and RV resorts, Kreger said. “We would like to get tohigher-end campgrounds looking to separatethemselves from the competition,” he said.“The response has been awesome. Every-

thing we researched and we’re designing it

around, there’s a consumer that’s out therewho wants it. We know the retail market,there’s definitely a consumer market that has

an interest in a high-quality unit that’s goingto last 50, 60, 70 years because it’s built like ahome,” he said.The Denali is the first of six planned units.

Five are park model RVs, and the sixth, theDragon Fly, will be a travel trailer.

ESCAPEwww.escapehomes.us

Randy Woodman took the ESCAPE Trav-eler XL brand-new loft model with upgradedpackage to the Florida SuperShow in Janu-ary. While all units from the Rice Lake, Wis.

builder are RVIA-certified, at 320 square feetthe 30-foot Traveler XL and its smaller sibling, the Traveler, are travel trailers, not

park model RVs. “I’ve heard things like ‘innovative,’ I

heard a lot of ‘wows,’” Woodman said.“We have closed-cell foam insulation

so they can live in them year-round. Ourmarket is tiny homes and RVs. We’re kind ofstraddling both sides of that. It seems to beworking out really well. We go to tiny homeshows and we go to RV shows. The rocket’staking off,” Woodman said.The company got its start at an RV resort

in Wisconsin, Canoe Bay, and started withpark models before moving down into to thetravel trailer market with an eye towardthose seeking tiny houses.

“It’s very strongly built,” Woodman said.The bottoms are lined with 24-gauge steeland the units have lots of windows. “Itmakes these units seem bigger than theyare, plus the way our architects have designed them, it’s easier to move around.We do things like barn doors that you don’tnormally see,” he explained. They offer drywall, pine or cedar walls. They also offercomposting toilets and solar power as off-the-grid options.The company recently moved into a

24,000-square-foot manufacturing plant forits RVs.

Nomadics Tipi Makers www.tipi.com

While Nomadics Tipi Makers has beenin Bend, Ore., since 1970, the company lastyear decided to really focus on models forcampgrounds to provide as unique lodgingoptions for guests, said Kelly Hervey, salesand marketing manager.“We’ve had an influx of people wanting

to put them in campgrounds,” she explained.The Ventura Ranch KOA in California, sawhuge success with the park’s Tipi Village,owner Scott Cory said.

Cory said in 2010 he’d polled children atthe campground about what they’d like tosee, and they all liked Tipis. “We started withthree, then we added four more,” Cory said.That’s grown to a dozen. “If you’re onlygoing to do two, wait until you’re ready to dofour. Do a village,” Cory suggested. “I thinkyou’re crazy if you don’t have them painted.It may add to the price, but in a heartbeat Iwould do it,” he said.The new Campground line from No-

madics has a fully painted flame-resistantcanvas that provides added protection in allclimates, and the company offers a wide variety of paint options.The opening is larger, and the opening

can be sealed with Velcro, Hervey said. Inaddition, the zipper door has a metal loopwhich allows it to be padlocked.“We have also created a critter guard

and a mosquito guard, both options forcampground operators who would like

them,” Hervey said.The prices vary by size — the camp-

ground tipis come in 18- to 26-foot sizes —

The Utopian Villas Denali introduces a brand newlook to the park model RV sector.

The Escape Traveler XL travel trailer looks unlikemost travel trailer RVs.

A variety of art options and a larger opening aresome features of the new campground modelsfrom Nomadics.

Rental Options —from page 18

and with bulk discounts.Pinnacle Park Homes

www.pinnacleparkhomes.comSales of Park Model RVs for Pinnacle

Park Homes, based in Ochlocknee, Ga., aregoing strong, according to Andy Davis, salesmanager. “We started 2015 off with strongsales and 2016 is looking a lot like the startof 2015. Financing has had a major impacton sales. Our lenders are offering $99 permonth until May – how can campgroundsand resorts pass that up?”

Davis said that the company has a back-log, but campgrounds and RV parks canorder their cabins early to ensure delivery intime for their busy season.With low-energy windows and the

company’s standard insulation package,Production Manager Randy Davis said,“our park models are perfect for all sea-sons and locations no matter what climateyou are in. We have several very popularmodels geared toward campground own-ers. These floor plans are working becausewe are seeing a lot of repeat orders. We doour best to keep a few of these models on our display lot so they are ready for immediate delivery." —Justin Leightyand Rick Kessler WCM

WOODALLSCM.com February 2016 - 25

Pinnacle Park Homes has seen strong salesand good financing options for customers.

was only the second full season for thefour-year-old resort, they said, but theyare fully booked through March.“In fact, we were fully booked about

a year in advance. We opened our reg-istration in February of 2015 and wewere fully booked by about March forthe peak season. Even during our non-peak season, we had more occupancythen we did the prior year,” Sara Brownsaid, adding that snowbirds came ear-lier. “We were probably 50% more fullin November and December last yearthan we were in 2014, and we’re looking

good for 2017 also.”Curt Geisler,

principal devel-oper for The Foun-tains PremierMotorcoach Re-sort, a five-star lux-ury resort thatopened just lastyear in St. Augus-tine, Fla., said there

is no doubt the Class A market is in fullswing, adding that the motorcoach traf-fic of snowbrids coming south is about 25% to 30%more than it was last year.“You can’t go up and down I-95 with-

out it looking like there’s a caravan mov-ing to the south. The amount of coachesthat I’ve seen with Canadian plates, it’sjust been unbelievable — and I’m look-ing at big coaches, a lot of class As. TheClass A market just seems to be ab-solutely on fire. The economy is on anupswing and people are buying and weare developing resorts for that Class Acustomer. We couldn’t be happier.”

Florida SuperShow —from page 4 Art Seaman, one of several field staffrepresentatives for Adventure Cara-

vans, an RV rallyprovider based inLivingston, Texas,said 2016 looksbetter than 2015 —“and 2015 was aterrific year for us.Everything is look-ing up,” said Sea-man, who added

that they expected to distribute morethan 2,000 of the company’s 98-pagecatalog during the Tampa show.This year is already off to a great start

especially when compared to 2015, saidCarlo-Rufino Sabusap, marketingmanager for Aruba RV Resort, a 138-site complex in Moore Haven, Fla.

“Last winter sea-son we were justaround 40 or 50%full but now we arenearly full, maybe85 to 95%, and it’sprimarily snow-birds,” he said,adding that the increase is partly

due to marketing. “But I also think thatpeople are looking for more camp-ground options in Florida. I see a lot ofother campgrounds filling up, too, so Ithink everybody is getting a little bit ofthat pot that is overflowing.”Likewise, Carolyn Masten, general

manager of The Glades, a 328-site resort also in Moore Haven, Fla., saidoccupancy has been so good the prop-erty’s new owner will be adding 40 newsites this year and super sites in 2017.“Actually, since I’ve been at the

resort we’ve increased our occupancyanywhere from10% to 12% year-over-year. Thisyear we’re sold out.As a matter of fact,we’re currentlyopening up 40more sites. And we’ve got

more room to growas well. We need the room. I don’t evenreally have to do the show becausewe’re doing that well,” she said. “We’regetting a lot of snowbirds from Canada,even though they’re having some problems with the Canadian dollarconversion. “Even with the warm weather up

there until recently, they’re still comingand flocking to this area. As soon as thecoast starts filling up they start movinginland, and then there are some folkswho just want the country, which iswhere we are — and Florida country-side is gorgeous.”Matt Smith, manager of the Wilder-

ness RV Resort, a 412-site park on thebanks of the Ocklawaha River in SilverSprings, Fla., echoed what others had tosay in that park is enjoying higher occupancy, and starting earlier in theseason, too.“We’ve seen a real pick up in the

amount of business we’ve had andwe’re selling out earlier and earlier eachyear, so we encourage folks to bookearly at this point. Half our folks showup and the first thing they do is go booktheir site for next year because theywant to make sure they get the samesite, the one the prefer,” Smith said. —Rick Kessler WCM

Curt Geisler

Carlo-Rufino Sabusap

Carolyn MastenArt Seaman

26 - February 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management

(LSI) Jellystone Park Symposium inCovington, Ky., with eight awards — thehighest being the Jim Webb SpiritAward, which is given to the franchiseewho plays a major role in the success ofthe Jellystone Park franchise system.For those keeping track, that’s nine

awards in about a week in November.“Getting industry recognition never

gets old,” Gary said. “It’s just as exciting,and because of how hard we’ve workedto bring it to what it is now, it’s still extremely rewarding. It validates all theblood, sweat and tears we’ve put intothe place. We never say, ‘Okay, it’s goodenough.’ Instead, it’s ‘what else can wedo to raise the bar and offer a better experience?’”While they still face obstacles, the

Quigleys said that most of the sweat and tears came early-on and that thegreatest challenges included the steeplearning curve, the need for knowledgein so many different areas and the regulatory hurdles.“The amount that you have to know

to run a campground is probably themost difficult part about it for me,” Garysaid. “When we came into it, other thanbeing campers ourselves we knew verylittle about the industry.”“The regulations for the pool and

food service also were challenging,”Denny added. “There’s a lot of red tapeand regulations for campgrounds thatpeople don’t realize.” And despite the accolades, that does-

n’t mean everything’s going perfectly forthe Quigley family’s operation. Thesedays, one of their ongoing issues issomething that outdoor resorts big andsmall have struggled over. “Internet-service providers are hav-

ing a challenge providing us with the

CAMPGROUNDPROFILE

amount of bandwidth we need,” Garysaid. “We should be providing morethan 70 megabits per second of data toour guests and our service provider isonly able to provide us with six. It’s ahuge issue, but it’s bigger than us. It’s anationwide issue that there needs to besome solutions to over the next fewyears because it’s not going to go theother direction.” As for the major factors behind their

success, the Quigleys chalk it up to justtwo main categories: People and high

standards. “The No. 1 item would be our staff,”

Gary said. “We have a staff that is absolutely second to none. Everyonecares as much as you could possiblycare about the guests and their experi-ence. It shows day in and day out and inthe comments we get on our surveysand reviews.”Howard Neff, a frequent Kozy Rest

guest and longtime camper from Butler,Penn. agrees. “The Quigleys are verycustomer-oriented,” he said. “Whatever

When rehabilitating an older camp-ground property, the turnaround isn’talways immediate and it may not be realistic to expect the industry awards tocome pouring in right away. That, atleast, was the expectation of the Quigleyfamily when they purchased the 38-year-old Kozy Resort Campgroundin 2000. But with a lot of dedicated workand improvements, they have createdYogi Bear’s Jellystone Park at Kozy Restin Harrisville, Pa. — and in the processhave seen a dramatic growth curve bothin business and accolades. “Over the first eight years, because

we were fixing the place up, we won twoawards,” said co-owner Gary Quigley,who operates the 170-site camp resortwith his father Denny, mother Kathyand sister Tami. “But in the last eightyears, we’ve won 55 awards. It’s reallyexploded and come into its own in thelast eight years.”The latest of those awards was the

Park of the Year Award from the Na-tional Association of RV Parks andCampgrounds (ARVC), which KozyRest won in 2015 for the third time infive years. The Quigleys were also recog-nized at the 2015 Leisure Systems Inc.

Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park at Kozy Rest Started Slow — Then Added 55 Awards in Past 8 Years

your needs are, they will take care of it ifit is humanly possible.”Neff also likes the fact that the

Quigley family lives at the campground.“Absenteeism usually doesn’t work,” hesaid. “What I like is they’re there all thetime.”In regard to their high standards,

Gary said that one of the easiest placesto see the results is in the bathroom. “We’ve actually seen return guests

come here and bring a friend for thefirst time, and the first thing they’ll showthem is the bathroom,” he said. “It’skind of odd, ‘Why would I want to seethe bathroom?’ But when they go in,they understand. We’ve had people say,‘Your public restroom facilities are nicerthan our house,’ or, ‘I would eat off thefloor.’ Now, we don’t recommend that,but it’s cool that people feel that way.” Standards also come into play when

considering upgrades and renovations.“We don’t do a single project unless it

can be done in the best way possible,”Gary said. “We buy the best available,and if we can’t do that, then we waituntil we can.” In the last five years, physical im-

provements to the park have includednew playground equipment, renovatedbathroom facilities, a jump zone withjumping pillow and pad, an upgraded18-hole miniature golf course, a newcamp store and a block of cabins. For the future, they’re planning

to add more cabins, improve or completely redo their swimming pooland water zone and potentially addfood service.Although they’ve followed a path

steadily upward to financial success andindustry recognition, the Quigleys dosay they might make a few tweaks if theycould do it over again. “We would have started cabins a lot

earlier,” Gary said, “due to the demand

and the return on investment.” Denny added, “I probably would

have switched to the Jellystone Parkfranchise earlier. We saw immediate re-sults and so it would have been nice tostart that sooner.” Even before they officially joined the

franchise, the Quigleys said they saw thevalue in the Jellystone model and beganto adopt a similar system of operation,running that way for nearly a decade. “Then in 2011 we decided that the

time was right to make the shift and add

‘We’ve actually seen return guests come here and bring a friend for the first time, and thefirst thing they’ll show them is the bathroom,’ said Gary Quigley, one of the family ownersof the award-winning campground. ‘It’s kind of odd. But when they go in, they understand.We’ve had people say, ‘Your public restroom facilities are nicer than our house.’’

Keeping immaculate bathroom facilities has alwaysbeen at the top of the Quigleys’ priority list.

The Quigley family from left: Denny, Kathy,Gary and Tami.

In the last five years, the Quigleys have madesignificant upgrades to their park facilities,including bathroom renovations, playgroundequipment and jumping pillow.

WOODALLSCM.com February 2016 - 27

adding rental units as soon as possible,”Gary said, adding that they open upyour operation to guests who may lovethe experience but who don’t own theequipment.When it comes to the rewards for all

that work, the Quigleys said they go wellbeyond industry accolades.“It’s really rewarding to hear the con-

stant compliments from some of theguests and how much the place meansto them and their family,” Gary said. “It’salso satisfying to provide a cool place forour staff to work that really generates afamily feeling. To create a culture likethat is very rewarding.”For some guests, that culture of

family is something that is highly drivenby the unique nature of family-ownedcampgrounds. “It makes a difference,” said John

Thornton, a Kozy Rest guest and life-long camping enthusiast fromVenetia, Pa. “When a family owns a campground, they are invested in itpersonally and you see the difference ineverything they do.” — Ty Adams WCM

them to what we were doing — and it’sbeen a good move,” Gary said. “One ofour hesitations was, ‘Do kids still knowwho Yogi and Boo-Boo are?’ But it’s stillon the Cartoon Network and when theyrolled out the movie in 2010, that wasactually when we chose to join, so thetiming was great because they werebeing reintroduced.” The most visible benefits have been

the immediate family-friendly brandingof the franchise and the draw of the costumed characters, allowing kids tointeract with the bears in spontaneousvisits or through organized activities likehide-and-seek and birthday parties, as well as high visibility at broader com-munity events. Branded merchandisealso tends to sell well.“The franchise is able to give a lot of

support and show us a lot of activitieswe can do,” Gary said. “And in the lastsix years we went from six employees to28. And adding that many employeesmeans we’ve been able to add a lot moreactivities for families.”To build a quality team that they

credit for most of their achievements,the Quigleys have relied on a more recruitment-based approach to hiring, rather than a more traditionalsolicitation-oriented method.“We’re most interested in getting

those people ahead of time that weknow would be a great fit,” Gary said.“For example, my son was in a musicaland a few of the lead characters werevery outgoing people and weren’t evenlooking for jobs but I recruited them. It’snot been as much about what peopleknow but more about personality andcharacter.” So what can a prospective owner

learn from this much-lauded operationnestled in the Western Pennsylvania forest?The Quigleys’ main advice to new-

comers in the outdoor hospitality busi-ness breaks down to two categories:Networking and improvements. On the networking side, they stressed

the importance of being active in the in-dustry by attending conventions andjoining organizations and trade groups,as well as maintaining customer networks through social media.“We make it a team effort to address

marketing, the website and socialmedia,” Gary said. “It’s an absolute necessity. If you’re not doing it, you’remissing the boat. People want to inter-act with you. They like staying in touchand seeing the projects you’re workingon.” And that, of course, ties into thesecond category of improvements.“When it comes to the physical park

itself, our advice would be to start

One of the 10 cabins available for rent at Kozy Rest, which theQuigleys say have provided a strong return on investment.

Campground OverviewName:Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort at Kozy Rest,Harrisville, Penn.Address: 449 Camp Ground Rd,Harrisville, PA 16038Number of sites: 170 sites, 10 cab-ins, two yurtsPhysical description: Family-cen-tered campground set on 34wooded acres northeast of Har-risville, an hour’s drive north ofPittsburgh. Amenities include lux-ury rental cabins, swimming pool,basketball, volleyball, mini-golfcourse, game room, recreationbuilding, gemstone mining sluice,dog park, rental bikes, play-grounds, camp store, Wi-Fi internetand Wagon/Train/Fire Truck Rides. Season: Open April 15 throughOctober 31Rates:Water/electric: $44/night to$64/night; Full hookup: $49/nightto $69/night; Premium fullhookup: $56/night to $76/night;Tents: $37/night to $55/night;Camping cabins: From $55/nightto $194/night

Website: pittsburghjellystone.comContact: 724-735-2417 camp@pittsburghjellystone.comWCM

28 - February 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management

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GUEST VIEW

DebbieSipe

What Does the Future Hold for Our National Association?

After returning from the National Association of RV Parks and Camp-grounds’ (ARVC’s) Outdoor HospitalityConference and Expo in November, Ihave had a chance to reflect on the stateof ARVC.

I hope I am in a unique place to beable to comment on ARVC’s advancesand shortfalls. I started in this businessregistering my first camper at the age of12. After working at the campground for10 years, my parents sold the park andbecame the executive directors for whatwas then the California Travel Parks As-sociation. Thirty-four years later, I haveseen four different management phasesat ARVC. The first, operated by a manage-ment company, then the first dedicatedexecutive, David Gorin, followed byLinda Profaizer and now ARVC underthe oversight of Paul Bambei.My first thoughts upon returning are

the great strides ARVC has made in thepublic affairs arena. Having a full-timeemployee dedicated to following legis-lation and regulatory proposals is huge.Jeff Sims, ARVC’s director of state rela-tions and program advocacy, reviewsthousands of legislative bills each yearnot to mention the promulgation ofnew regulations around the country. Icommend Paul’s wisdom for appointinga past park operator to this position. Aswe all know the varied laws and regula-tions that end up being applied to RVparks, either intended or unintended,are massive. And in this arena, it takesone to know one. A past owner can seeand understand the consequencesthese actions can cause to our industry.

My second round of thoughts concernsthe long-term viability of ARVC’s very ex-istence. I fear its membership structurewill be its undoing. Let me explain. Each RV park/campground is a direct

member of ARVC. However, close to80% of ARVC’s members come througha state association. The state associa-tions solicit, collect and forward thedues to ARVC. The states that forwarddues for all of their members have an af-filiate agreement with ARVC and receivea 20% discount off the dues in consid-eration for their work. The states thatcollect and forward at least 50% of theirmembers’ dues have a cooperatingagreement and receive a 10% discount.According to my rough count, ARVC

has approximately 25 affiliated statesand one cooperating state, representingclose to 3,000 members. Direct mem-berships from nonaffiliated states total500 to 600 parks. Of those nonaffiliatedstates, about 10 have functional associ-ations operating. There are probably10,000 or so viable RV parks around thecountry, with perhaps another severalthousand that have become exclusivelyresidential operations. States have affiliated and disaffiliated

throughout the decades. Many left 20-plus years ago over a disagreementabout ARVC choosing one endorsed in-surance company over another, both of

which no longer exist. Several stateshave returned, but others have not.More recently, Texas left after a heftyARVC dues increase and New York leftover ARVC’s effort to promote member-ship to state parks. To be specific, this country does not

have a united national RV park andcampground association. And evenwith the haphazard structure currentlyin place, less than 50% of the parks inthis country are represented. And whilethe dealers and manufacturers maywant to think so, we don’t have a unitedand strong RV industry coalition as awhole. Most recently, it appears as if New

Jersey will have its affiliation status can-celled by ARVC. The New Jersey Camp-ground Owners Association board ofdirectors decided for financial reasonsto list theirs and ARVC’s dues separatelyon the annual membership form. Fourparks have decided not to join ARVCand only pay their New Jersey dues. Asa result, come the end of January whenARVC dues are payable by the state as-sociations, New Jersey sent dues forclose to 100 parks, but not the final four. Here is where I need to disclose my

bias. Yes, I run a state association, andas with many other state executivesaround the country, I believe that we doa damn fine job of promoting ARVC’sbenefits to our state members. The vastmajority of ARVC members come fromthe recruiting efforts of the affiliated andcooperating state associations. Thestates are ARVC’s sales force. Withoutthe states’ continual promotion ofARVC’s value and collection of dues onits behalf, ARVC would suffer greatlyand perhaps cease to exist. For financial and philosophical

reasons, the chances that ARVC will regain those lost states under an affili-ate/cooperating structure are, I believe,slim to none. With only 3,000 of a possi-ble 10,000 or more members, ARVC operates with one arm — if not both —tied behind its back. How long can ARVC exist with fewer and fewer affiliated/cooperating agreements? The recent U.S. Department of Hous-

ing and Urban Development challengeconcerning factory-built porches onpark model RVs showed the strengthand power that ARVC and the state as-sociations currently have when workingtogether. Imagine what the dealers,manufacturers and parks could do together with a truly united industry.My questions to the ARVC board are

as follows: Are you really going to walkaway from the membership collectionefforts of New Jersey? How long will youhold on to this “affiliate and cooperat-ing” state structure? When will ARVC’sboard of directors have the vision to letgo of a half-century-old structure andlook to the future?I challenge ARVC’s board and staff to

look outside their walls — and, morespecifically, beyond their bylaws. Find anew way to do business with the stateassociations and to serve all the RVparks and campgrounds of this country.

Debbie Sipe is executive director ofthe California Association of RV Parksand Campgrounds and serves as treas-urer for the Campground AssociationManagement Professionals. WCM

WOODALLSCM.com February 2016 - 29

After tallying the figures, CampgroundOwners of New York (CONY) announcedthat Camp Chautauqua in Stow, N.Y.,operated by Mark Anderson and family,raised $34,000 in donations for CampGood Days and Special Times as part ofCONY’s fourth statewide fundraisingevent for charity held throughout 2015.

According to Suzanne Bixby, CONY’smarketing and communications director,CONY’s fundraising over the past fouryears has raised approximately $248,000for Camp Good Days, and each yearCamp Chautauqua has outpaced all othercontributors.

“This year, CONY campgrounds andcampers raised more than $91,000 forCamp Good Days and Special Times, ourlargest annual total yet,” Bixby said. “Thatamount wouldn’t have been remotelypossible without Camp Chautauqualeading the way once again. The Ander-son family’s dedication to CONY’s officially designated charity is beyond

Go RVing is heading into 2016 with a$16.5 million media plan that includes itstraditional print and TV ad buys, whileplacing more emphasis on new digitalmedia. RV Executive Today Online re-ported that the shift has been underwayfor several years but will reach new levels

Matt Anderson (from left) and Noah Anderson of CampChautauqua, Gary Mervis, Wendy Bleier-Mervis and JamesMcCauley of Camp Good Days and Special Times and MarkAnderson of Camp Chautauqua.

CONY Members Raise $91,000 forCamp Good Days and Special Times

measure and just simply amazing.”According to Matt Anderson of Camp

Chautauqua, there are many thanks dueto others for helping his family’s park be atop fundraiser. “We’re thankful to TaboneConstruction, Tabone Paving, 3 SeasonsRecreation, R&R Landscaping, MistyRidge Landscaping, Ravlin Hill Archeryand so many others that donated prod-ucts, services, time and money to thecause. We also thank Tom Robson for hisauctioneer services, and all our campersand guests that bought balloons, and purchased auction and raffle items.”

Camp Good Days and Special Times isa New York state-based organization pro-viding camping experiences free ofcharge to children with cancer. Since itsinception, Camp Good Days has servedmore than 45,000 campers from 22 statesand 29 foreign countries at its camp, located on the shores of Keuka Lake. Moreinformation on the camp is available atwww.campgooddays.org. WCM

Go RVing Plans $16.5 Million Marketing Spend This Yearthis year.“For the first time ever, digital will sur-

pass TV as the largest portion of our totaladvertising spend,” said Go RVing Co-Chairman Bob Wheeler. “Going digitalmeans creating RV content that moveswith consumers across platforms.” WCM

Maggy Robinson, co-owner of HollyShores Campground in Court House, N.J.,along with team members from the camp-ground, presented a check for $10,000 tobenefit the Thomas & Claire Brodesser Jr.Cancer Center, the Cape May CountyHerald reported.The Holly Shores donation was the re-

sult of various fundraising initiatives thatwere held at the campground throughoutthe year.“The Christmas season is the perfect

time to give back to our community,” Robin-son said. “The spirit of giving captures thebeauty of the season — giving gifts moti-vated by love and kindness are gifts thatmake a difference. We are proud to supportthe Thomas and Claire Brodesser Jr. Can-cer Center at Cape Regional Medical Cen-ter and look forward to another year ofadvancements at Cape Regional.”“Holly Shores Campground and the

Robinson/Brodesser family are strong andpassionate partners in the fight againstcancer in our community,” said JoanneCarrocino, president and CEO of Cape Re-gional Health System. “We are sincerelygrateful to the entire Holly Shores Camp-ground team for their commitment to theCape May County community and CapeRegional Health System.”Holly Shores Campgrounds supports

many additional local organizations. Eachfall, nonprofit organizations participate inthe campground’s Harvest Festival. WCM

N.J. Campground Donates $10,000 to Local Cancer Center

Profitable 30 FHU campground and4 bedroom home located on busy I-70 in Colorado. Turn key, 24 pull-thrus, 30/50, showerhouse/laundry,great small town lifestyle for familiesor semi-retired. $299K.

970-664-2218jlensz@outlook.com

For Sale by Owner

30 - February 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management

ADVERTISERS’ INDEXAirwave Adventurers Inc. ...............................................12Astra Campground Manager ............................................7B & B Electrical ..................................................................8Bethpage Camp-Resort....................................................28Bookyoursite.com.............................................................14Cavco ..................................................................................13Champion/Athens Park Homes ........................................9CheckBox Systems...........................................................27Cruise Inn ...........................................................................15Dogipot ...............................................................................28Freestyle Slides ................................................................25Frosty’s .........................................................................8 & 32Hialeah Meter .....................................................................2Kampgrounds of America/KOA ......................................11Keystone Kabins ...............................................................28LCN Outdoors.....................................................................29

Mini-Golf Inc. ......................................................................8Pacific Yurts ......................................................................10Passport America .............................................................19Pelland Advertising..........................................................14Phelps Honey Wagon.......................................................22Pilot Rock...........................................................................27RainDeck............................................................................23Shore Park by Skyline .....................................................21Southeast Publications ...................................................29TengoInternet ......................................................................2Tower Company ..................................................................6Utility Supply Group Inc. ..........................................5 & 32Virtual Hospitality Expo...................................................24Woodland Park .................................................................22Workamper News ............................................................32YES – Your Electrical Solutions.....................................12

Advertiser Page # Advertiser Page #

CLASSIFIEDSHELP WANTEDCAMPGROUND MANAGERSTravel Resorts of America is expanding andis seeking both experienced and potentialmanagers to join our professional manage-ment team as operations managers ormanagers in training. For more informationabout current and future openings, pleasecontact Robert Bouse at rbouse@travelre-sorts.com. “Have Fun, Make Money” withan industry leader!

SEEKING CAMPGROUND MANAGERSuccesful 27-Year Cooperative Campgroundis seeking a qualified full-time/year roundmanager to over-see all operations of thecampground. Knowledge of/or CPO

certified and Quick Books Pro is a plus.Position is on Gardner Lake in Salem,Connecticut. On-site manager residenceis available. Send resume to Doug Siennaat dsienna@sbcglobal.net

SERVICESYOUR NEW BROCHURE PROFESSIONALLYDESIGNED FOR FREE! Full color, manysizes, formats. Competitive pricing. Freeshipping! Quantities 2,500 to 1,000,000.Serving campgrounds, RV resorts, mari-nas since 1994. Free human consultation!Old fashioned small town customer serv-ice, big city capabilities. Contact JimAustin, Campground Marketing Solu-tions, 866-893-1490.

CAMPGROUND DEVELOPMENT PARTNER WANTED

The city of Plattsmouth, Nebraska is offering a 29 acre riverfront parcel for development as a 190 site camground/RV park. The property may be purchased or leased by aqualified developer company and the city offers $1.2

million in cash and tax incentives to assist the developer.

Proposals due March 18, 2016.

Request RFP from:

Erv Portis, City Administratoreportis@plattsmouth.org, (402) 296-2552 ext 301

or online at www.plattsmouth.org

CAMPGROUND

TO PLACE YOUR AD IN THIS

SPECIAL SECTION:

Beverly Gardner & Associates 574-266-7980•Fax: 574-266-7984akollat@g-gmediagroup.comwthorne@g-gmediagroup.com

GUEST VIEW

MarkEllert

Upscale RV Parks Becoming Alternative to Resort Use

The vacation industry is facing apending crisis. Crisis is an often-used noun that

describes much of the world today. Notsurprisingly, the source of every crisisoften escapes the attention of but a fewinterested or tasked with forecasting thefuture. Today, social concerns are many,including the economic pressures facing a vast segment of Americans,often generalized as the “middle class.”These economic headwinds have impli-cations on the sanctity of the Americanvacation, and the emergence of outdoorhospitality as a sustaining trend in vacation travel. In 2015, trips of one to three nights

comprised 50% of all vacation travel, upfrom 44-46% in the three prior year sur-veys conducted by Consumer Trends.Among the findings of their 2013 study,Americans took an average of 16 days ofvacation compared with 20.3 days in2000, a 20% decline. A 2015 survey byHarris Interactive for career websiteGlassdoor concludes Americans useonly 51% of their paid vacation time.Practically every news organization

in the country has called out Americanworkers for throwing away vacation,and most correlate the decline in vaca-tions with workplace stress created byabsence from the office. Most comparefrugal American vacation use to moreliberal European notions of vacation, although the New York Times, in a September article, cited the Chinesestate news agency, Xinhua, in reportingmore than 72% of working Chinesehave not taken a paid vacation in thelast three years. It would seem the riseof China as a world economic super-power will cast a long shadow on futurevacation patterns in the United States.Few trend watchers however, corre-

late the decline to the decreasing avail-ability of paid vacation, which varieswidely across private-sector industries.Only 55% of service jobs offer paid timeoff, and this represents the fastest-grow-ing sector of private employment. Not surprisingly, regardless of industrysector, those making the lowest wagesare least likely to have paid vacation. In the lowest quartile of wages, the

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics cites only49% of workers have access to paid vacation. And it’s not only employeeswho are skittish about taking paid leave;employers are not encouraging vaca-tions. The long-held tradition of “Sum-mer Fridays” are dead in the wateraccording to a 2015 survey of 15,723Americans surveyed by Google Consumer Surveys in May 2015 forvacation site Priceline.com. All of this rather dispiriting reporting

leads to one conclusion: The majority ofthe travelling public is stressed over theavailability, time and cost of vacationtravel. The rapidly emerging use of dig-ital apps and sites to research and buytravel are merely market responses tomanaging this stress. More than ever is

it important to find the right vacation atthe right time and the right price. The vacation industry is suffering a

crisis of affordability and the confidenceto make a decision without extensive re-search and social media affirmation.The marriage of product affordabilitywith recognized hotel branding andmanagement makes outdoor hospital-ity a potent antidote to the stress of vacation travel. The RV industry is on a roll, no pun

intended. The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association reports that salesof RV units are returning to pre-reces-sion levels and a record nine millionhouseholds now own an RV. This is a16% increase since 2001, with thelargest gains in the 35-to-54 age group. Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts is a

hospitality brand built on family fo-cused outdoor adventure travel. Some90% of RVers take three or more short“mini” vacations per year. A 2014 Vaca-tion Cost Comparison prepared by PKFConsulting USA showed that a family offour will spend $1,671 for a three-daycampground visit, travelling andpreparing all meals in a Class A mo-torhome, compared to $2,958 travellingby air and staying at a traditional hotel.That’s a financial savings of almost 50%.

“Outdoor Hospitality” is the re-branding of camping from no-frillstourism into a mainstream vacationproduct built around outdoor experi-ences. Fundamental demographic andeconomic changes are altering how va-cations are consumed. As Americanstook to the road beginning in the 1950s,the hotel industry evolved from a singleHoliday Inn motel concept to globalbrands of every kind and price point. In its most recent compilation, for

2011, the American Hotel and LodgingAssociation cites 51,214 properties operating in the United States, and surprisingly 59% of these have fewerthan 75 rooms. Of the total industry,20,173 are located in resort and smallmetro/town markets. For the estimated 16,000 public and

private campgrounds nationwide, thesize of this vacation travel segment isnot inconsequential. Guy Harvey Out-post sees great opportunity for hotel-centric companies to bring thesecampground and RV destinationsgreater consumer value by improvingmanagement services, amenities andproducts to meet the rising expecta-tions of increasingly sophisticated andinformed RV travelers. The outdoorhospitality segment of vacation travel isthe new development and manage-ment paradigm of RV vacation travel. AsRVers take to the road in increasingnumbers in search of affordability, free-dom and unique experience, outdoorhospitality will be there to greet them.

Mark Ellert is President of GuyHarvey Outpost Resorts and IAGFlorida Inc. In 2007, Ellert and part-ners Dr. Guy Harvey, Bill Shedd andCharles Forman founded Guy Har-vey Outpost Resorts in Fort Laud-erdale, Fla. The company’s SignatureCollection properties operate underthe Guy Harvey Outpost brand name,with resorts currently in Florida’spopular destinations of St. PeteBeach and Islamorada. WCM

WOODALLSCM.com February 2016 - 31

60 SITE CAMPGROUNDRated 4 Stars by Woodalls

All Pull-Thru SitesBath House with Showers

LaundromatBeautifully Landscaped

31 Unit Mini Storage Rental114 ACRE FARM

(Sold with campground or separately)

8,000 Sq Ft STEEL BUILDING2 Miles East of I-55Sikeston, MissouriSerious Inquiries Call

Alex at 573-472-1339

For Sale By OwnerFor Sale By Owner

Campgrounds/RV ParksME - NH - VT - NY

Don Dunton – one of America’s most experienced Campground/RV Park Brokers………………………………………………

This month’s featured listings:Maine Geological Wonder Tours, Campground,Gift Shop, Museum, House, More. Most popularocean-tourist town in state. Reduced. Now Only $725,000!Campground/Canoe Livery. 100 sites, 175 Canoes/Kayaks, Quality Park, Store, Residence.1,000' of New England’s most recreational River.Now $1,150,000NH - 68 sites, Pool, Pond, Residence, MajorTourist Highway, More. $549,000ME -100 Sites, 2 Houses(1gutted), Pool, Large Office/store/rec rooms. More, Pretty Park $775,000………………………………………………

I have several large parks to $4,100,000.(Qualified Buyers, only - please.)

Contact Don for these and other listings.www.BuyaCampground.comDon @BuyaCampground.com

603-755-3944

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 campgroundforsale@aol.com for details.

Stunning Vermont Campground for Sale!4-STAR Campground in Southeastern PA just one mile off of major interstate.Large pull-thru sites, wonderful conven-ience store, laundry, playground, showers,Rec Hall, etc.

Owner financing with large down payment.Great opportunity for the right buyer.

Call 570-691-4900

FOR SALE

WANTED!RV Park nearMetro Area

or Large City!

240-600-2304 orjasonsharer@gmail.com

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

PARK BROKERAGE INC.

John Grant/Park Brokerage Inc. john.grant11510@gmail.com800-987-3363 • Fax 858-530-2368www.parkbrokerage.com

Ocean & Riverfront MH, RV, + Motel Resort Smith River, CA (on CA/Oregon border)136 MH, 288 RV, 50 Motel, 2 Story Restaurant48 Acres on the Pacific Ocean & Smith River$7,500,000, Upside & Development Acreage

Pine Flat Lake RV Park, Sierra NV Foothills Near Fresno, CA200 RV Sites with All Year Round, PermanentsVery Popular Water Skiing & Fishing LakeLow Rents, Seller Financing at 5%,$3,000,000

Giant Redwoods RV Park & Campground, Humboldt County Redwoods State Park53 RV & 24 Tent Sites on the Eel River on theAvenue of the Giants HighwayNewly Renovated, Low Rates, Upside$1,625,000, 8.9% Cap Rate, 17% Cash Flow

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:

Phone: 518-725-2003Email: usresorts@outlook.com

“Specializing in RV PARKS andCAMPGROUNDS FOR SALE”

Over 30 Years Experience

www.rvparksforsale.comOur Experience And Expertise = SOLD

612 Sidney Baker St. • Kerrville, Texas 78028Phone: 830-896-5050 • Fax: 830-896-5052

Campground Brokers, wehave a 30-year proven track

record of selling parks!• We know the campground industry.• We help educate buyers to this industry.• We meet the buyer to remove contingencies.• We personally attend every closing.• We are available to help – before, during, and even yearsafter the sale!

• We promise to always tell you the truth…even if it hurts!

We would like the opportunity to help you in the same way; contactus at 800-648-1624 or email to: info@campgroundbrokers.com

MICHIGAN CAMPGROUNDS FOR SALESEVERAL CAMPGROUNDS AVAILABLEIncluding in North Central, South

East and West Michigan Regions

BRIGGS REALTYwww.briggsrealtyonline.com

616-942-1071

On I-10 Between Tucson and Phoenix82 sites on 10 acres. Office, Clubhouse,Guest Laundry, K-9 Camp, Heated Pool,Propane Sales, and onsite Steakhouse.

Call 520-560-4589

Southern Arizona Campground For Sale

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

FEBRUARY

10: California Association of RVParks and CampgroundsRV Park DayCasa de Fruta Orchard ResortHollister, Calif.Contact: debbie@calarvc.com

22-26: National School of RV Parkand Campground ManagementEastern CampusOglebay Resort, Wheeling, W.Va.Contact: 303-681-0401

23: Kansas Association of RV Parks and CampgroundsMembership MeetingFour Seasons RV AcresAbilene, KanContact: campkansas@ksrvparks.com

29-March 1: Louisiana Associationof RV Parks and CampgroundsMeetingEmbassy Suites; Baton Rouge, La.Contact: 255-752-1455

MARCH

1: Maryland Association of Campgrounds MeetingCherry Hill Park; College Park, Md.Contact: 301-271-7012

2-4: Missouri Association of RVParks and Campgrounds 48thConvention and Trade ShowRamada Oasis Hotel and Convention Center; Springfield, Mo.Contact: 573-337-0543

4-5: Ohio Campground Owners Association Spring Conference & Trade ShowEmbassy Suites Columbus AirportColumbus, OhioContact: 877-787-7748

14-16: Mid-Atlantic Conference & Trade ShowCrowne Plaza; Cherry Hill, N.J.Contact: 609-645-0145njcoa@campnj.com

16-20: Wisconsin Association ofCampgroundOwners “Roarin’WACO” ConferenceHoliday Inn Convention CenterStevens Point, Wis.Contact: 608-525-2327

17-19: Northeast Conference onCampingRadisson Hotel NashuaNashua, N.H.Contact: 860-684-6389

18-20: Colorado Campground and Lodging Owners AssociationAnnual ConferenceWooley’s Classic SuitesAurora, Colo.Contact: 303-974-7998

21-23: Michigan Association of RV Parks and CampgroundsSpring ConferenceTreetops Resort; Gaylord, Mich.Contact: 989-619-2608

29-30: Illinois Campground Association Annual MeetingSunset Lakes Resort; Hillsdale, Ill.Contact: 866-895-2267

APRIL

8: Maine Campground Owners Association Annual Meeting andTrade ShowPortland Sports ComplexPortland, MEContact: 207-782-5874

12: California Association of RVParks and Campgrounds SpringRV Park DaySam’s Family Spa Hot Water ResortDesert Hot Springs, Calif.Contact: 530-885-1624

17-19: Texas Association of Campground Owners Spring ShowKerrville, TexasContact: 817-426-9395

27: Arizona Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds Annual MeetingRawhide, Ariz.Contact: arizonaarvc@aol.com

MAY

4-5: Florida and Alabama Association of RV Parks andCampgrounds Annual MeetingWyndham Orlando ResortOrlando, Fla.Contact: 850-562-7151

JULY

11-15: National School of RV Parkand Campground ManagementWestern CampusMetro State University; Denver, Colo.Contact: 303-681-0401

AUGUST

15-17: Tennessee Association of RVParks and Campgrounds AnnualConference and Trade ShowSmoky Mountain Premier RV ResortCosby, Tenn.Contact: 865-685-5339

SEPTEMBER

27: California Association of RVParks and Campgrounds Fall RVPark DayRancho Jurupa Park and CrestmoreManor; Jurupa Valley, Calif.Contact: 530-885-1624

NOVEMBER

3-5: Campground Owners of New York 2016 Exposition for theOutdoor Hospitality IndustryTurning Stone Resort; Verona, NYContact: 585-586-4360 WCM

32 - February 2016 Woodall’s Campground Management

Manufacturers of Quality Recreation FUNniturewww.ParkEquipment.com

1-800-376-78972061 Sulphur Springs Rd

Morristown, TN 37813