Tip of the Month: December

Northern Campgrounds
Now that the snow is swirling around the park, there are very few demands on your time. Oh yes, you have a ton of book work to do and there is usually work that can be done on the inside of some of your buildings, but this is an ideal time to curl up with a good book, or rather, report. Take time this month to review the research done over the past twelve months by the local Chamber of Commerce, the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the state tourism office. Try to see where the visitors to your area are coming from and who they are. Then go back to your registration information and try to see how your customers fit into the local or state research data. Think of new ways to reach new customers next year using this research.

Southern Campgrounds
As your park begins to fill up with campers for another winter it is time to review your calendar of activities and make sure you are organized for the rest of the season. One of the best ways I’ve seen a campground organize these activities is to use a three ring notebook and start a sheet for each activity. List the activity, the materials needed for the activity, any deadlines such as the date you have to provide a guarantee to the bus company for that trip to Mexico, or the restaurant for that special New Years Eve function. Note how and when you will “sell” the activity to the campers, as well as who is responsible for each phase. If all of this is written down in advance, there is less chance of a major slip up when the time comes for the event.

 

Tip of the Month: January

Northern Campgrounds
While you are still locked into the depth of winter, summer is not too far away and your customers are already planning where they are going to go on vacation. Now is the time to double check your schedule for attendance at travel shows in your key markets. Are you registered for the show? Do you have enough handouts? Is your booth in good shape? Are your work schedules all done?

Southern Campgrounds
Your campground is full and you don’t think you have any extra time but now is when you need to do your research for next year’s marketing program. Talk to your present customers find out why they selected your park. Ask if they have friends who might like to come to your park next year. Prepare a kit that this year’s customers can take home to their friends selling the benefits of staying in your park. Remember that the bulk of the automobile industries advertising is designed to make people who just purchased a new car feel good about their decision. These kits can also make your current customers feel good about their decision to stay with you.

 

Tip of the month: February

Northern Campgrounds:
Now is the time to start planning for all of those important spring repair projects as well as the new improvements you plan to build. The best organized campground owner I ever saw was an engineer by trade and around this time of the year he created a notebook with a loose-leaf page for each major project. On this page he listed what needed to be done, how it was going to be done, what materials would be needed, how long he thought it would take and who was going to do it. You should also note if this project needs any type of permits. By taking the time to think these projects through now, you can purchase the materials needed for all of your spring projects at one time saving both time and money.

Southern Campgrounds:
Now that you are in the peak of your snowbird business, it is even more important to keep everyone interested in the activities on your park. This is a good time to talk to your customers and try to determine what activities are the most popular and the see if you can clone the best ones with new activities with the same appeal.

Tip of the Month: March

Northern Campgrounds
There is an old adage that says “a bad sign is a sign of a bad business.” As your customers come down the highway the first impression they will have of your campground comes from the highway signs. What do your signs say about you? Have you ever heard someone on an airplane say, “if the drop down trays are broken and dirty, how well have they taken care of the engines?” Take time this month to drive around and try to look at all of your signs as if you are seeing them for the first time. Then make plans to repaint or repair as necessary.

Southern Campgrounds
This is the month that many of your seasonal customers begin to think about going home. Many of them will leave towards the end of the month. Now is the time to begin to promote your park for next winter. Ask if you can make a reservation for them. Offer a discount for booking now for next winter. When they get ready to leave, be sure to give them a few of the kits you put together last month to give to their friends back home asking them to come down next winter. You might even want to give your regulars a coupon that they can give to their friends that is good for some type of discount for any of their friends who are new customers.

Tip of the Month: April

Northern Campgrounds
Now that spring breakup has occurred, you need to take a hard look at your roads. Be especially critical of the main entrance road. If it is paved, do you have new potholes? Are there breaks in the pavement? If it isn't paved, does it need to be graded? How about dust control? It is important to take care of the roads as early as possible, before campers begin to show up and complain about the condition of the road or complain about the equipment working on the roads.

Southern Campgrounds
Most southern campgrounds will now switch over from the majority of their customers being monthlies to a summer with a few transient campers each night. Now is a good time to get ready for these new customers. What changes do you need to make in your store merchandise? How are your directional signs looking? Do they convey a good impression for these campers who have never been to your park before? Do you need to change some of your rules and policies now for these new customers?

Tip of the month: May

Northern Campgrounds:
It’s not too early to start to think about how you are going to control the weeds that sprout up throughout your campground later this month. While both the federal and state government now regulates the entire field of pesticides, herbicides are not as tightly regulated so even without a pesticide license you can purchase some very good commercial herbicides. The best thing to do is to take a look in your telephone book under Agricultural Chemicals. Then go to a suppliers store and ask them what will work the best for your situation. Usually if you apply a tank combination of a burn down herbicide and a preemergence chemical you can control weeds in your sites for a year. The other alternative is to hire a commercial applicator to apply the necessary chemicals.

Southern Campgrounds:
There is a real temptation to take it easy this month. The snowbirds have all headed north and it is too early for any summer vacation business. This month however, is an ideal time to take stock of your campground or RV Park. Take a clipboard and several sheets of paper and walk through the park. Make a note of everything that is broken or in need of repairs. What needs a new coat of paint? What looks worn? Now take this list and develop a comprehensive maintenance list. A three-ring notebook works well. List each project on a page, what needs to be done, what materials are needed, who will do it, and then set a date to make the repairs.

Tip of the month: June

Northern Campgrounds:
As schools let out and your business begins to pick up you will be adding new staff members. No matter how busy you are you have to take the time to train these new hires. Often we think about showing the new front desk people how to register campers and where to find things, but did you ever think about how many of your customers talk to the people cleaning the fire rings or mowing the grass? At Walt Disney World, they brief the employees who pick up the garbage each morning on what attractions are new, which ones are closed and any other changes to the park. Their research shows that these employees talk to more visitors than any other employee. It is critical that you take the time to train all employees on all phases of the campground’s operation and on customer service.

Southern Campgrounds:
Last month I suggested that you pull together a complete plan to handle all of the necessary repairs and maintenance items. This month is a good time to take a look at your longer term needs. What new capital improvements would enhance your park and improve its competitive position against the other RV parks in your market? This is especially true of snowbird parks. Your customers come back year after year as long as they feel they are getting good value for their money. How often have you had a customer come back in the fall and the first thing he asks is, “what’s new this year?” It is important to make at least an improvement or two each year even if it is a minor one.

Tip of the month: July

Northern Campgrounds:
For most northern campgrounds July is the month when your business begins to peak. It is also the beginning of the most stress on the campground facilities as well as on the staff. This is a good time to review the cleaning schedules for all of your facilities but especially the restrooms. Do you need to start earlier in the morning? Do you need to end later at night? Do you need to have a staff member check the facilities every hour or two. Do you need to do a daily inspection yourself? Do you need to augment the staff? What was enough manpower last month may not be good enough this month and next.

Southern Campgrounds:
While you probably have some campers at your park this time of year, things have settled down since the hectic winter season. Now is a great time to pull out last year’s marketing plans and see how effective they were. Did you increase camper nights? How about total revenue? Are there any changes in the type of customer you are attracting, or do you plan to try to reach a new market this year? Once you have reviewed the results from last year, it is now time to write your marketing plan for the next twelve months.

Tip of the month: August

Northern Campgrounds:
Most of the northern campgrounds have fairly extensive stores in their campgrounds with a lot of seasonal items like Tee shirts, local jellies and other souvenirs. While you still have a good thirty days left of the camping season, it is now time to review your store inventory. Do you have items that you really thought were great when you went to the gift show last winter, but the campers haven’t been buying them? Did you order too many yoyos this year? Now is the time to run clearance sales. If you wait until next month, you won’t have enough customers to sell the merchandise to even if you mark it down to below your cost. You know you can’t eat Tee shirts next winter so you had better get rid of them now. [Tim note: sell em on your Web site. You do have an email newsletter, don't you?]

Southern Campgrounds:
Last month you reviewed your past business and redid your marketing plans for next year. This month is a good time to reach out to your past customers and invite them to spend the winter with you again. How about a Christmas Letter in August? Tell them what’s happening in your town. Is there a new post office, a new shopping mall, is Wal-Mart expanding? What’s new in your park? Have you added new laundry equipment, repaved the roads, planted some new trees, or added a new pool table? Have you heard any news from some of the regulars for example, do Joe and Sally have a new grandson, or do the Smiths have a new dog? Write the letter in a style that makes they feel like they are part of the family and let them know you want them back. Ask them to let you know what’s new with them and save these responses for another letter around the first of October.

Tip of the month: September

Northern Campgrounds:
The campers are gone and the temptation is to put your feet up and take it easy. You are still getting a few campers on the weekends and some of the senior citizens are coming through to see the fall color but in general you now have some time available. This is a good time to begin to shut down parts of your campground that you aren’t using. How about that restroom way out in the back of the park? How about some of your camping cabins? This is a great time to get a jump on next spring by doing any remodeling, deep cleaning or repairs to these facilities. Then when you are really busy trying to open up next spring, these facilities will be ready to go.

Southern Campgrounds:
While the northern campgrounds are in the process of shutting down, now is the time for you to take a real close look at your park to make sure it is ready for the onslaught of snowbirds. Take that clipboard in hand again and make a thorough inspection of the park, noting anything that looks shabby. How are the site markers? Do they need a fresh coat of paint? How about the garbage receptacles? Are they clean and neat? Is the dog run clean and groomed? Have you gone over the clubroom to make sure all of the summer’s dust has been cleaned up? Take a tester out with you and make sure all of the electrical, phone, TV and water hookups are in good working order. It’s a lot easier to make sure everything is up to snuff now in place of having to panic when the snowbirds show up and tell you something isn’t working.

Tip of the month: October

Northern Campgrounds:
By the beginning of October most of the northern campgrounds are running out of campers. The one exception is those parks that cater to fall hunters. For the rest of us this is the time to make sure all of the water lines are blown out so they won’t freeze. Don’t forget to drain the toilets in all of the restrooms and be sure to eliminate the water in the bottom of the toilets. Just to be sure a good idea is to add a small amount of antifreeze to the storage tank in the back of each toilet and then flush them. Don’t forget the irrigation lines as well as the water to the sites.

Southern Campgrounds:
One of the places that tourists get their best information about where to go camping is from the people working at service stations, chamber of commerce offices and welcome stations. This month is a good time to take a supply of your rack cards and call on all of the service people in your area and make sure they are familiar with your property. If you have some real good locations that talk to a lot of new visitors to the area you might even want to take them some of your tee shirts, caps or even a pizza.

Tip of the month: November

It makes no difference whether your campground or RV Park is in the North or South. This month you need to plan to attend the various meetings of your campground associations. At these meetings you will have the opportunity to learn how the other parks in your area are doing and plan common marketing programs to grow the industry. During November many of the state campground owner’s associations will hold a planning meeting. This is also usually the month for meetings of Kampgrounds of America Franchisees, The Jellystone Symposium, and the ARVC convention. One of the best places to learn more about these meetings is at the web site of the National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds at: http://www.arvc.org