December 2008 Newsletter

1. Article: Why you Should Consider Joining an RV Club
2. RV Parks and Campgrounds For Sale
3. Comments
4. Featured Listings
5. RV Park and Campground Memberships For Sale
6. RV Park Employment
7. Links to some interesting articles we have found this month.
8. Tell us what you think and send us your articles!

There are plenty of RV parks out there and plenty of lots available in them. So if you want to fill them, you need a proactive, aggressive strategy to attract and retain customers. One of the best options to help keep your lots filled is as simple as joining an RV Club. These clubs, which cost you nothing up front, can open the door to many more customers than you would imagine, and definitely put your RV Park on the map as an in-demand destination.

So what is an RV club? An RV club is a business that promotes a defined group of parks as participating in their program – a program in which travelers get a discount on each night’s stay at the participating parks (ranging from 10% to 25% off the normal rate). The best non-RV example of this type of arrangement is AAA. You are probably already a member of that group yourself, so you understand the concept and what the benefits are. There are several RV clubs in the U.S., including Good Sam and Passport America, which have large followings of loyal RV members. These members only stay (if available) in the RV parks that are members of their association.

As an RV park owner, there are many, many reasons to join these groups including:

• Instant access to a huge database of customers who choose their route and overnight stops exclusively among participating RV parks – and who never stop in RV parks who are not members of their group.

• Greater credibility. Most RV parks that are on these approved lists have undergone some degree of scrutiny to make sure that they are acceptable. By virtue of putting their logo on your sign, you send a subliminal message to non-members that “this is a safe, quality place to stay”. I bet that when you are traveling, you give greater credibility to restaurants that have the AAA logo on their door, right?

• They are free to join. That’s right: FREE. You have no risk at all. If they bring you no business, then the whole test project cost you z-e-r-o. How many other opportunities out there are offered to you in a no-risk format? Probably none.

• You can track exactly what each club is doing for you. Since the members have to identify themselves, you know exactly who the club brought you, and who they didn’t. You may find that one certain club brings you a huge amount of customers. If that’s the case, you might want to expand your advertising or marketing to that group, inside their marketing and travel publications and website.

So why would you not want to join one or more RV clubs with your park?

• The biggest complaint is that you can’t afford the discount. But does that really make any sense? Let’s face it, most of owning an RV park is fixed cost. You have the same expenses if 100 people stop in or none. Sure you have a little extra electric and water/sewer expense, but big deal. That’s only a tiny portion of the daily rent. Every customer you bring in is a blessing. If they pay you $20 instead of $30, that’s nothing to worry about. You should be thankful for the $20. That customer would not be there if it was not for that RV club. You know that for a fact – they registered under that club. It’s not like you are discounting the rent permanently on all the spaces, just promotionally for those club members.

• Maybe you want to miss out on lots of customers because you hate the hassle of checking them in, and prefer the park to be empty because it is quieter. If that’s the case, it’s time to sell your park to someone who really wants to maximize it. You can use the proceeds to buy a quiet lake cabin.

If you want to hit your budget for 2009, consider joining an RV club. It’s a great way to attract new customers who have never considered your park before, and reach a large, untapped market. And just putting those logos on your sign will help bring in non-members who have passed you by before.

Diane,

Thank you, yes the most inquiries on the property came from rvparkstore.com.  The potential clients were all within the western US with the most leads generated out of CA.  I did receive 2 leads from Washington State, 1 from Idaho and Oregon and 4 within Nevada.

In the event I relist the park I would most certainly advertise with you again.

Good day,

Jeff Giesler

Dickson Realty

Sugar Mill RV Park is a full service RV park and campground situated on a 54 acre plantation

We recently sold out RV Lot and our Thousand Trails membership as a result of the ads placed on RVParkStore.com.  Interestingly, we were first contacted by our buyers over a year ago.  Enclosed is a check for $100 for our listings.  Thanks for providing a great web site!

This section of RVParkStore.com is growing quickly.  Memberships are being listed and sold quickly.  With about 200 memberships currently for sale, this continues to be the prime outlet to buy and sell campground memberships.

Best of all, when you are selling your membership, we do not charge you up front to do so.  You only pay us if you are successful in finding a buyer from RVParkStore.com.

Are you searching for good quality employees or looking for a position with an RV Park?  Then be sure to visit our ever growing employment listing sections.