$2.50 u.s./$3.50 canada the independent...

WOODALL’S

$2.50 U.S./$3.50 Canada The Independent Voice of the North American Campground Business Vol. 46 No. 8 • August 2015

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INSIDE…New Champion CEO: Focus on Quality, Service 3Busy ’15 Summer for Jellystone Park Operators 4Parks Adding Amenities for Pet-Toting Guests 14Pet Products Important to Parks, Campgrounds 16Insurers Weigh In on Pet Risks, Responsibilities 18CRS Offers a Variety of Options for Recreation 20Pet owners love to travel with their furry companions, so pet-friendlyRV parks have a major business opportunity. Photo courtesy of KOA.

$2.50 U.S./$3.50 Canada The Independent Voice of the North American Campground Business Vol. 46 No. 8 • August 2015

RV parks roll out the welcome mat for travelers with petsRV parks roll out the welcome mat for travelers with petsRV parks roll out the welcome mat for travelers with pets

Camping Critters

Camping Critters

Camping Critters

2 - August 2015 Woodall’s Campground Management

PUBLISHER’S CORNER By Sherman Goldenberg

August 2015 Vol. 46 No. 8

www.woodallscm.com

Advertising:

Beverly Gardner, VicePresident, National Ad [email protected]: (574) 266-7980or (800) 831-1076 ext. 12

Ally Kollat, AccountExecutive, National Ad [email protected]: (574) 266-7980or (800) 831-1076 ext. 11

Wendy Thorne, AccountExecutive, National Ad [email protected] (574) 266-7980or (800) 831-1076 ext. 14

Art Direction:

Trina Nissley, Art [email protected]: (574) 266-7980

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: [email protected].

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

Contact Information: Editorial

Sherman Goldenberg, [email protected]: (574) 457-3370Mobile: (574) 457-6637Fax: (574) 457-8295

Justin Leighty, [email protected]: (574) 370-5052Fax: (574) 266-7984

Rick Kessler, Associate [email protected](734) 777-6830

Jeff Crider, Senior [email protected](760) 469-5905

Bob Ashley, Editor at [email protected](765) 675-4106

Publisher: Sherman GoldenbergEditorial Director: Bruce HampsonG& MED I A

GROUP

All general correspondence, circulation and display and classifiedsales inquiries may be directed to the following:Woodall’s Campground Management, C/O Beverly Gardner & Associates Inc.2901 E. Bristol St., Elkhart, IN 46514, Email: [email protected]

“Dust in the wind — all we are is dust in the wind.”OK, OK, I’m dating myself in quoting this nostalgic old rock

‘n’ roll song, a tune performed back in the day by a group calledKansas. But I’ve got a point in bringing it up because I’ve beentruly astonished at the unpredictable and angry weather pat-terns that have swept the nation this summer — and how help-less they make us mere mortals feel at times. They’ve impactedus all in a big way and have done a real number in many caseson both public and private RV parks and campgrounds.The headlines keep sweeping across my computer screen,

and I just keep printing them out and putting them in an expanding pile on the side of my desk: Flash floods swamp an

Allegany County, N.Y., campground. Rapacious winds drop trees on motorhomes atGullLake Resort in Brainerd, Minn. Ugly storms uproot 40 trees at Peaceful Waters Camp-ground in Park County, Ind. Drought-fueled fires force the evacuation of 130 special needskids from campgrounds in Southern California’s Angeles National Forest. A 25-year-oldMissouri man dies when a tree falls on his RV at Wakonda State Park in Lewis County, Mo.And lightning injures six at a Louisiana RV park located near the Texas state line.“It’s day after day after day,” observed Tom Gerken, a well-known independent Maine

insurance executive specializing in the RV park and campground business as a contractorfor USI Insurance Services. As proprietor of Tom Gerken Insurance, he’s actually hadonly one New Jersey client impacted thus far by the recent spate of ill-mannered weather.And he’s well aware of the fact that there’s little anyone can do about most of it, consid-

ering the nature of weather-related natural disasters. Then again, he reasons, maybe thereare some remedial actions park operators can take that might help them avoid worst casescenarios in some cases — like trimming back tree limbs that are likely to present hazardsbefore wicked storms hit — that may well prevent them from being as helpless as, ah, thewind-blown dust in that old rock song.“Of course, we are all helpless to a certain degree,” said Gerken. “But I believe that you

can improve your odds with some advanced planning, proper maintenance procedures,having emergency plans in place. Hey, you’re not going to stop Mother Nature by anymeans. But I think in terms of reducing damage, reducing the potential for bodily injuryor loss of life and that type of thing, emergency planning can go a long ways toward re-ducing those potential liabilities that might exist after the fact.”Maybe we all, to a certain extent, ought to listen to Gerken. WCM

A Camping Wildcard: This Wild & Crazy Weather

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WOODALLSCM.com August 2015 - 3

Cruise Inn RV Parks in July entered yetanother state with the addition of BaileytonRV Park & Willowview Cabins in Baileyton,Tenn.Cruise Inn has 36 parks open or in devel-

opment now in Alabama, California, Col-orado, Iowa, New York, Oregon, Tennessee,Texas, Utah and Washington.Located on 40-plus acres in the Northeast

Tennessee Valley just outside of Greeneville,Baileyton RV Park offers sites designed to fitany size RV, as well as grassy tent sites andfully furnished cabins for rent by day orweek. Amenities include free cable TV andWi-Fi access, laundry facilities, coveredpavilion, walking trails, three stocked fishingponds and a 300-yard driving range.“Park owners throughout the country

continue to see the value of joining ourbrand with all of our progressive, revenue-generating programs and comprehensiveresources. We look forward to workingclosely with Baileyton’s owners and areconfident we’ll have an immediate impacton their revenue, profitability and overallproperty value,” said Scott Anderson, pres-ident and CEO of Cruise Inn, which is basedin Coral Springs, Fla.Launched in November 2013 by a group

of experienced hospitality professionals,mostly from the hotel sector, Cruise Inn pro-vides membership opportunities to RV parkand campground owners and developers.Cruise Inn helps its members increase theirreturn on investment through higher guestsatisfaction; better revenue/yield manage-ment; meaningful loyalty programs; multi-ple booking channels; and effective sales

as interim CEO since January of this yearuntil the interim tag was removed June 3.While he said he was “just here to sup-

plement the team,” Anderson was emphaticin saying Champion will be driven by “clearand concise objectives that all meet thecompany’s goals and, more than anything,meet our operative principles.“I can’t be stronger on this point: I defi-

nitely want to include in this discussion howwe’re going to conduct our work life everyday. Any time there’s decisions needing to bemade on how to do something and how totreat a customer and how to handle a situa-tion with an employee, it’s all driven by whatour core operating principles tell us to do —things like doing it right the first time andtreating people they way you want to betreated. And making 100% sure the customeris satisfied.“That’s really the big push I’ve been on the

last three or four months both in my interimstatus and now in my permanent full-timerole,” he explained.A customer survey about two months ago

is also figuring prominently in Champion’s op-erations going forward.“We wanted to listen to what the cus-

tomer wants, listen to what we’re doing welland, more importantly, what are we not doingwell. Are we designing products that theyneed? Are we following up on our customerservice orders in a prompt and satisfactoryfashion? We had a gambit of questions,” heexplained.The survey results were tabulated and

Keith Anderson, the new president andCEO of Champion Home Builders Inc., has aspecific goal in mind. He wants the Troy, Mich.-based producer of modular and manufacturedhomes and park model RVs by its Athens Park

subsidiary, to become “known as the bestmanufacturer in the industry from a quality anda customer satisfaction perspective.”Anderson, who first joined the company’s

board of managers in 2013, had been serving

Champion Home Builders Inc. has a new CEOand a new agreement to produce Winnebago-branded park model RVs.

‘We wanted to listen to what the customer wants, listento what we’re doing well and, more importantly, whatare we not doing well,’ said newly named CEO KeithAnderson. ‘Are we designing products that they need?’

New Champion Homes CEO: Company Will Focus on Quality and Customer Satisfaction

and marketing.Cruise Inn maintains that it focuses on

providing key benefits to its members, in-cluding low fees, a simple contract, nopenalties, a voice and vote in all brand ini-tiatives, member-directed standards andbrand policies, innovative technology, train-ing, distribution marketing, worldwide salesand marketing, comprehensive support anda brand powered by trusted industry re-sources.In addition, Cruise Inn says it has a highly

qualified member-support team that pro-vides sales and marketing assistance. Theteam’s mission is to ensure consistent im-plementation of standards and procedures.Members also benefit from delivered train-ing programs and annual visits that ensurestandards are maintained. WCM

Champion Homes – continued on page 6

AmeriGO Suspends Ops,Seeks Financing Options

The National School of RV Park andCampground Management concludedits first-ever summer program at MetroUniversity in Denver, Colo., in July with18 students attending sessions coveringvirtually every aspect of private parkoperations, according to the CaliforniaAssociation of RV Parks and Camp-grounds (CalARVC).

CalARVC Ex-ecutive DirectorDebbie Sipe leda seminar on po-litical processes,while CalARVCpublicist JeffCrider con-ducted a semi-nar on how todevelop positive

media relations with print and broad-cast reporters.“Part of knowing the system is know-

ing the players,” Sipe told the students,who included current and aspiring pri-vate park operators.Sipe said it is crucial for private park

operators to reach out to their politicalrepresentatives, invite them to tourtheir park, and get to know them be-cause the relationships you establishtoday with your political representa-tives can pay dividends down the roadwhen you need their help supporting oropposing a proposed law or regulationthat affects your business.The same holds true for reporters,

said Crider, who worked as a business

and investigative reporter before be-coming a public relations consultant tothe campground industry, and who stilldoes some reporting for Woodall’sCampground Management.Park operators who make an effort to

meet with reporters face-to-face standa better chance of finding out whatkinds of story ideas are of greatest inter-est to reporters. Establishing and main-taining positive working relationshipswith reporters can also help ensure thatyou receive fair treatment in the pressif the day ever comes when there is anegative situation involving your parkthat generates media attention.Sipe encouraged park operators to

get involved in their local chamber ofcommerce as well as local service clubs,such as Kiwanis and the Lions Club,which tend to attract politicians andother influential community members.“Hold an open house just for your

local community and invite all of yourlocal politicians to come and visit,” Sipesaid. “Offer refreshments, tours and freeuse of all facilities for the day.”Other seminar topics covered busi-

ness planning; operations manage-ment; financial management; basicaccounting; hiring and employmentlaw; legal compliance; recreation man-agement; risk management; leader-ship; marketing; and other topics.The July session of the National As-

sociation of RV Parks and Camp-grounds (ARVC) Foundation’s School

ARVC Park Management SchoolHolds Summer Session in Colorado

The AmeriGO RV Club notified its50,000 consumer members as well asdealers, campgrounds and other part-ners that, effective July 17, it suspendedbusiness operations while still working toobtain financing for the fledgling nationalconsumer club.In making the announcement,

AmeriGO Chairman Joe McAdams saidthe interest from the RV industry andconsumer market for the AmeriGO con-cept has been “very gratifying and extremely strong,” but the club’s man-agement needed to suspend operationswhile it explored financing options. “We still believe very strongly that the

concept is much needed in our industry.We are continuing to search for addi-tional funding or a suitable partner withinthe coming months,” McAdams stated,adding that AmeriGO officials will updatemembers on further status changes aswarranted.AmeriGO was founded in 2013 by

McAdams and fellow RV industry veter-ans Joe Daquino and Mike Schneider,all of whom are former executives ofVentura, Calif.-based Affinity Group Inc.The independent RV consumer club

has been positioned as an affordablemembership organization that cultivatesa vibrant online community dedicated toRV enthusiasts throughout North Americawho enjoy benefits, services and dis-counts via partnerships with companiesacross the industry, including resorts andcampgrounds, RV dealers, and insurance,financing and warranty providers. WCM

Cruise Inn Network Adds Tenn. RVPark for 36th Member Campground

Scott Anderson

Debbie Sipe

CalARVC – continued on page 6


While summer is the busiest camping sea-son for family-oriented RV parks and camp-grounds across the northern U.S., it’s been anespecially busy summer for many of the morethan 80 Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts.One park is working on $2 million in up-

grades, while two landed on the Travel Chan-nel’s ‘Top 10’ list for family campgrounds. Yetanother is expanding its staff, facilities andactivities, and another one is finding rentaloptions to be a good investment.Major improvements are underway at the

Holmes County/Whispering Hills Yogi Bear’sJellystone Park Camp-Resort near BigPrairie, Ohio, including nine new cabins, anew swimming pool and expanded food serv-ice at the park’s on-site restaurant, accordingto an announcement from the park.“We’re pretty excited about the improve-

ments,” said the park’s Matt Smith, addingthat two enclosed waterslides and additionalwater features will also be installed in thenear future. Smith said the park is also build-ing nine new one- and two-bedroom cabins,including cabins that are designed to accom-modate people with disabilities. The restau-rant menu is also being expanded and willinclude homestyle cooking. These and other enhancements are part

of a $2 million improvement effort that willcontinue into next year.Smith also said that larger numbers of the

park’s 250 campsites are now available forseasonal campers who leave their RVs onsite for the whole camping season.The Holmes County Jellystone was previ-

ously known as Whispering Hills RV Park &Resort, which has been owned and operatedby three generations of the same family sinceWayne and Ruth Murray opened the park in1969.The Travel Channel listed two Yogi Bear’s

Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts — one inLarkspur, Colo., and one in Cave City, Ky.—

as two of the 10 top campgrounds for fami-lies.“We were very pleased and thankful to re-

ceive this recognition,” said Ian Steyn, whoco-owns and operates the Larkspur park withhis wife, Sally. Their park has 150 RV and tentsites, including roughly 30 rental park models,RVs, yurts, safari tents and tipis. The park alsohas a train caboose that serves as its gameroom and serving area for pancake break-fasts.Steyn estimates he has spent well into

the seven digits in improvements to the parkduring the past 10 years.“Since we bought this park in 2005, it has

doubled its original business five times in ar-guably the worst economic times,” Steynsaid, adding that business levels this year areon track to be the best the park has ever experienced.With rising business levels in mind, the

Steyns plan to more than double the size oftheir park to 400 sites and add numerous ad-ditional features, including ziplines and asplashpark with open and closed slides.

The “aeriala d v e n t u r epark” will havea “mountainand miningtheme to it,”Steyn said,adding that hehopes to havethe new ameni-ties and camp-sites underconstruct ionlater this yearwith the splash-park opening by2017.Of course,

serving as abase camp for

It’s a Busy Summer for Jellystone Park OperatorsThe Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort atLake Monroe in Bloomington, Ind., is addingstaff and recreation this year.

Holmes County, Ohio’s Whispering Hills Jellystoneis in the midst of $2 million in improvements.

N.Y. Campground’s Inaugural Balloon Festival Takes FlightMammoth Cave National Park is one attrac-

tion at Kentucky’s Yogi Bear’s JellystonePark Camp-Resort at Mammoth Cave.But the 121-site park has many others at-

tractions as well, including a 300-foot-longwaterslide, swimming pools, a jumping pillow,a miniature golf course, and a water warswater-balloon game. The park also recentlyadded more cabin rentals, a splash pad andan activity pool.“We’ve been doing a lot of improve-

ments,” said park co-owner Bill Pott. “We’rereally making it into a destination resort em-phasizing families.”The campground was also profiled by a

local newspaper, the Glasgow Daily Times,for its use of international employees in thesummer.Guests at the park don’t even need a tent

or RV to camp. The Jellystone Park MammothCave has more than 70 rental cabins, the lat-est seven of which were just installed lastyear.Finding similar popularity in its rentals, the

Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort atWichita Falls, Texas, announced in June thatit’s adding seven new budget-level cabinsthat sleep four to six people.The additions boost the park’s total num-

ber of rental units to 32, including one yurt.“Each cabin is unique,” said Debbie

Norton, who handles marketing and eventplanning for the park. “All furnishings havebeen personally selected and our guests appreciate this attention to detail.”

One state to the north, the Yogi Bear’sJellystone Park Camp-Resort at Lake Mon-roe in Bloomington, Ind., has hired new employees and significantly expanded itsdaily recreation program, which includes artsand crafts activities such as tie-dye shirtmaking, interactive games for children andfamilies and activities with the bears.The park has also renovated its play-

ground, created a new sandbox play area,added a new indoor recreation room for rainyday activities and completed a water playzone with water slides, water blasters anddozens of interactive water features, includ-ing a 30-foot tall Giant Hydro Storm thatdumps 500 gallons of water. This comple-ments the park’s other water attractions,which include an outdoor pool and kid’s poolwith splash feature and other attractions,such as a jumping pillow, kiddie train rides,nature trails, gem mining, and pedal karts.Lake Monroe Jellystone has also added

eight new RV sites, four new cabins and ren-ovated its 10 Hoosier and White Pine cabins,each of which now have new screened-inporches, outdoor furniture, outside barbecuegrills and concrete pads for parking.The interiors of the existing cabins have

also been remodeled with new futons, newsinks and kitchen appliances. WCM

Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort at Mammoth Cave, Ky., isadding additional amenities to become a family destination resort.

Campers at the Copake Kamp-grounds of America (KOA) Holiday inCopake, N.Y., were treated to a rarehot air balloon festival June 26-28,where kids and adults could take ex-citing tethered or full flights right fromthe campground.Participating companies were

David and Joel Berka of MysticalBreezes Ballooning, Todd Monahan ofSunkiss Ballooning and DariushFarzhad of Southern Tier Ballooning.Michael Hernandez, pilot for CloseEncounters Balloon Team, coordi-nated the event with the Copake KOAHoliday.

Gary and Cathy Reinard, familyowners of the campground, were justas thrilled as their campers. They eventook a flight themselves, witnessingthe beautiful vistas of upstate NewYork with a bird’s eye view, they said inan announcement about the event.The event was so picturesque that

a contest was held to choose the bestphotos. Peter Pelland of Pelland Advertising chose the winners out ofhundreds of submissions.It was part of a Dr. Seuss-themed

weekend which also featured a liveband.Copake KOA intends to make this a

semi-annual event; their next balloonfestival will take place the weekend ofSept. 25-27. WCM

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presented to each manufacturing plant as incentivized goals to be met by the end of theyear. “Now they are highly driven and finan-cially motivated to focus on these items,” Anderson said, adding one example of thesegoals has to do with the company’s ready-to-ship certification process.Now there is at least one senior executive

in every plant who has final approval beforea home is deemed to have achieved the increased quality standard before it canleave the facility.Survey results also led to the hiring of

Russ Sargent as the national quality-controlmanager, who reports directly to Anderson.“He has direct feed into me on how are wedoing plant by plant, product by plant from acompliance-control-satisfaction perspec-tive,” Anderson said. “If he says we have anissue, then we have an issue. If he says weneed to do something, we’re going to focuson it.”Anderson also was bullish on the growth

Champion Homes —from page 3 of the park model RV side of business, sayingeight of Champion’s 27 manufacturing pantsare devoted to park models, 45% of which findtheir way into campgrounds as rental units.“We’re super-excited about this growth

in this segment of our business and I can’tsay enough where I think the industry isgoing in this,” he said. “You have the geo-graphic and demographic and economicdrivers all pulling toward the need for moreand more, I’m going to call it ‘housing alter-natives,’ from small RVs to weekend getaways to cabins and cottages. If you lookat all the macro trends we think this is an element of the business that’s going to growand flourish for years to come.”Fueling his excitement is Champion’s

licensing agreement, announced in April,with Winnebago Industries Inc. for a line ofpark model RVs as well as the introductionof a new upscale “tape-and-texture” cottagemodel.Prior to his appointment, Anderson held

executive positions with major finance, mort-gage and insurance providers to the manu-

Manufacturers of Quality Recreation FUNniturewww.ParkEquipment.com

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factured-home industry. He served as presi-dent and CEO of Green Tree Servicing (formerly Conseco Finance) from 1995through 2012. Following Walter InvestmentManagement’s acquisition of Green Tree in2013, he served as Walter’s executive vicepresident and chief operating officer, leadingGreen Tree Servicing and assumed respon-sibility for Ditech Mortgage and Green TreeInsurance.“We are very pleased to have Keith

assume the leadership role at Champion,”said Timothy Bernlohr, chairman of theboard. “With the key role that financing playsin today’s manufactured-housing market,Keith’s extensive experience in commercialfinance and residential mortgage makes him uniquely qualified to lead Champion’scontinued growth and expansion.”Champion employs more than 4,400 peo-

ple worldwide, and has produced morethan 1.7 million factory-built manufacturedhomes, modular homes and mobile homesfor buyers throughout North America.—Rick Kessler WCM

of RV Park & Campground Manage-ment was its first summer session andthe first in the western United States.

The ARVCFoundation hastraditionally op-erated the Na-tional School ofRV Park &CampgroundManagement inFebruary at theOglebay Resort& Conference

Center in Wheeling, W.V. But the ARVCFoundation is now offering a summersession to better serve the needs of parkoperators and their employees, espe-cially snowbird parks whose busy win-ters make the timing of the Oglebaysessions difficult.For more information on the

National School of RV Park & Camp-ground Management, to apply for ascholarship, or to enroll for either cam-pus’ upcoming session, please visitwww.arvc.org/nationalschool or con-tact Barb Youmans at 303-681-0401, ext.118 or [email protected]. WCM

CalARVC —from page 3

Jeff Crider

California RV Park Enters TripAdvisor Hall of Famereviews and opinions submitted by travelers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period as well as the business’ tenure and ranking on thePopularity Index on the site.To qualify, a business must main-

tain an overall TripAdvisor bubblerating of at least four out of five, havea minimum number of reviews andmust have been listed on TripAdvi-sor for at least 12 months.TripAdvisor is the world’s largest

travel site, enabling travelers to planand book the perfect trip. TripAdvi-sor-branded sites make up thelargest travel community in theworld, reaching 340 million uniquemonthly visitors, and more than 225 million reviews and opinionscovering more than 4.9 million accommodations, restaurants andattractions. WCM

Anaheim Resort RV Park hasbeen recognized as a TripAdvisorCertificate of Excellence Hall ofFame winner, the park announced.The Certificate of Excellence

award celebrates excellence in hos-pitality and is given only to estab-lishments that consistently achievegreat traveler reviews on TripAdvisor.The Hall of Fame was created to

honor those businesses that haveearned a Certificate of Excellence forfive consecutive years. Winners in-clude accommodations, eateries andattractions located all over the worldthat have continually delivered a superior customer experience.When selecting Certificate of Ex-

cellence winners, TripAdvisor uses aproprietary algorithm to determinethe honorees that takes into accountthe quality, quantity and recency of

Louisiana Tourism GroupNames RV Park of YearLocated on the Louisiana side of Toledo Bend

Reservoir, Cypress Bend Park has been namedthe Louisiana Travel Promotion Association’s“RV Park of the Year.” It’s easy to understandwhy, television station KPLC reported.

“People come from all over the state,” saidKellie Ferguson of the Sabine River Authority(SRA). “We have bookings already a year aheadof time. We stay booked year-round basically.The fishing is good. People tube. People walk andenjoy the beautiful flowers.”

“People come from all over the UnitedStates,” said SRA board member Ned Goodeaux.“They pull campers in. We also have 10 cabins.Yessir. This is the Cadillac on Toledo Bend.”

A popular spot at Cypress Bend Park, locatedon Louisiana’s west edge, is the fishing pier. Youdon’t need a boat. Just a pole and some bait.

“Having access to the lake and access to afishing spot and the pier,” said resident camperDanny Tobin. “A lot of people don’t come in boats.This gives them the opportunity to fish.” WCM

Campground Insiders Named to California Statewide Tourism PostsTwo prominent campground industry

officials have been appointed to promi-nent positions with Visit California, thenonprofit marketing organization thatkeeps California at the top of people’sminds as a travel destination.

Gene H. Zanger, a co-owner and op-erator of the historic Casa de Frutatourism complex and its 300-space RVOrchard Resort in Hollister, was appointed to the Visit California board,while Debbie Sipe, executive director ofthe California Association of RV Parks &Campgrounds (CalARVC), was appointedto Visit California’s Rural Tourism Committee.Sipe will also serve on the California

Travel Association’s (CalTravel’s) Gov-ernment Relations Committee. CalTravelis California’s only statewide organiza-tion representing the collective voice ofadvocacy for travel, tourism and hospitality.Zanger is well known in the camp-

ground industry nationally, having re-ceived the campground industry’shighest honor for an individual: The StanMartin Memorial Award, which he received in 2010 from the National Asso-ciation of RV Parks & Campgrounds.Sipe, for her part, oversees CalARVC’s

government affairs and marketing ef-forts, including Camp-California.com, thestatewide travel planning website. WCM

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pages of meaningless content, amongother tactics, are no longer effective. “Instead, longtail keywords

(searches using a partial sentence orphrase, rather than one word, to opti-mize results), specific title tags and H1headers (<h1> or </h1> in html codethat keys on the focus of the page),video and social content, and mobilefunctionality rule today’s SEO world. Smart businesses take advantage of

analytics, researching how a site isbeing found, how visitors are flowingthrough the pages, and theentrance/exit pages. They stay on topof relevant, valuable content (includ-ing curated content), are active on relevant social sites, optimize theirYouTube videos, optimize their sitespeed and review their competitor’sSEO strategy. It is in these small-but-critical de-

tails that businesses can benefit fromhiring a web-aware SEO practitioner— all the better if they are familiar withthe outdoor hospitality industry.”

RV Park Development Heating Up As I’ve written in earlier columns, as

RV sales continue on a six-year run-upand as RVing and camping continueto gain popularity in the press, socialmedia and product marketing (see therecent series of credit-score ads beingrun by Expedient, all set in an RV), developer and landowner interest inbuilding new RV parks is heating up.There is certainly a need for new parksin many areas of the U.S., but I think aword of caution is called for at thispoint. In my opinion, developers should

exercise extreme care in evaluatingopportunities for new RV parks. Withthe recession of 2008-’09 still fresh inmind, very conservative planning ishow I am approaching clients with an

David Gorin

RV development in mind. In fact, inrecent months, I’ve discouraged several developers from moving forward when my analysis of propertyor location caused concern and raiseda red flag of caution and higher-than-acceptable risk.I’ve recently reviewed several devel-

opment prospectuses and have beensurprised by some of the plans I’vecome across that are being touted as“sound investments” by some of myconsultant colleagues, including:• One of the more interesting devel-

opments is a projected $100 millionRV park project that is planned to beessentially a time-share or member-ship park in St. Augustine, Fla. Whatindustry are they looking at as amodel?• A proposed high-end luxury RV

park with more than 400 sites locatedmidway between Phoenix and Los An-geles anticipates selling 100 sites priorto construction — a lofty goal by any-one’s standards.• On another project, I recently saw

a fundraising or feasibility studyprospectus that used a property appraisal from 2007 to justify today’svaluation. • And one of the industry’s long-

term condo developers, whose suc-cesses go back to the 1970s, is back atit again in Jupiter, Fla., building a newpark with sites proposed to sell intothe mid-$250,000s. And he’s back tothe Class A motorcoach-only model, apotentially limiting approach that, tobe successful, haas to be located in thebest of the best locations — Naples.Fla., Hilton Head, S.C., Napa, Calif.,Aspen, Colo. — places like that wherethe rich and famous like to hang out. While the time is surely right for

new park development, conservativeplanning is the key word. Take it easy,

There’s a lot of disparity of opinionon the value of search-engine opti-mization (SEO) for websites from twolong-time industry expert companiesin the campground market. Thosehave shown up over the last fewmonths on the Woodall’s CampgroundManagement website as well as otherindustry online publications.Given the differences in opinion, I

thought I’d turn to my expert — andfellow WCM columnist — EvanneSchmarder. Evanne is the architect ofthe industry-first Digital MarketingBenchmark Study for Outdoor Recre-ation, and coauthor of “Unconven-tional Wisdom Works,” the industry’spremier digital marketing handbook.She has been active in outdoor recre-ation marketing for more than adecade. Schmarder is an internationaldigital marketing speaker most recently addressing audiences in Germany, France, Australia and theNational Recreation Vehicle DealersAssociation (RVDA) in the U.S., and ago-to resource for online marketing inoutdoor recreation.Here’s Evanne’s two cents on the

“SEO: Yes or No?” question.“Regardless of what SEO camp you

belong to — snake oil, significant toolor somewhere in between — appear-ing on the first page of search engineresults still matters, and search-engineoptimization still plays a significantpart in online success. Keyword stuff-ing, non-relevant links and multiple

To SEO or Not SEO, That is the Question for Park Ownersplan carefully, study and know themarket and innovate in small incre-ments with small risk.

What Are the Industry Associations Up To?

The three leading industry associa-tions involved in RVs and camping arethe Recreation Vehicle Industry Asso-ciation (RVIA) representing the RVmanufacturers, the Recreation VehicleDealers Association (RVDA) repre-senting exactly what its name says,and the National Association of RVParks & Campgrounds (ARVC) repre-senting that group.To some degree with some more-

or-less openness, each organizationreports in some form to its memberswhat it is up to in programs and activ-ities, how much money they collectfrom each source of income, how theyspend the money on salaries, programs, tax-exempt activities andon non-exempt activities. Members and others who want to

know the real scoop on how the asso-ciations are operating can access theannual Form 990 Tax Return each organization is required to file withthe Internal Revenue Service. Thesereturns are supposed to be availableupon request to any member or to thepublic. The returns are also availableat Guidestar.org, an organization that tracks non-profits and their subsidiaries. A quick look at the three organiza-

tions returns provides one interestingfinding: RVIA is, of course, the bigKahuna with an annual budget for itsGo RVing campaign alone in excess of $15 million. The surprise isthat ARVC has surpassed RVDA in theNo. 2 position among our industryorganizations. ARVC reported revenue of $2.284 million in 2014while RVDA reported $2.075 million. Lots of other interesting facts and

tidbits are available on these forms forthose interested in learning more.

David Gorin is the former president of ARVC, former executive director of the Virginia Campground Association and is the principal of David Gorin Associates LLC. You may contact him [email protected]. WCM

RVB&WCMThe only letters you need toknow in order to stay abreastof everything happening in theRV and campground arenas!

www.rvbusiness.comwww.woodallscm.comPART OF G&G MEDIA GROUP

www.minigolfinc.com

www.yurts.com


www.rviashow.org


SMART OPERATIONS

listed as a contact for your own domainname — and they were looking for alikely buyer who was willing to take thebait. I have had instances where I havereceived several consecutive offers fromdifferent companies, all offering to sellme the same domain name. The fact isthat, in nearly every instance, none ofthese sellers actually owns the domainnames that they are offering to sell.Sound confusing? Read on.

Protect your existing domain name.First of all, protect your existing do-

main name from potential hijacking.Unless you are certain where your do-main name is registered, know that it islocked to prevent transfer and know itsexpiration/renewal date, do yourself afavor and perform a whois lookup. Go tohttp://whois.com and enter your do-main name. Confirm that you are listedas the registrant and that the domainstatus includes the words “Transfer Pro-hibited,” “Update Prohibited” and“Delete Prohibited.” You might be sur-prised to find that your webmaster orhosting company is the actual registrant(owner) of your domain name — thescenario that our client faced and some-thing that needs to be corrected imme-diately— that the email addressassociated with your name is an old AOLemail address that you have not used inyears; or that your domain is unlocked,which is roughly equivalent to the care-lessness of leaving your parked car unlocked on the streets of a major city.Whether you or your webmaster han-

dles your domain-name registration re-newals, you will know if it has beenallowed to expire because your websitewill suddenly become inaccessible. Thatin itself is not a reason to panic; however,you do not want to ever allow your do-main name to go beyond the Redemp-

PeterPelland

Be On the Lookout for Domain-Name Registration Pitfalls

Recent events have encouraged me torevisit a topic that I first brought to thepublic’s attention back in 2010. There isquite an online industry involved withdomain name registrations, the buyingand selling of domain names, and theconsequences that involve expirations.Generally speaking, the people involvedin these practices spend very littlemoney while in search of tremendouslylarge profits.About a month ago, one of our clients

— a campground in Connecticut —asked me to check into the availability ofa more desirable domain name to re-place the domain name that they hadbeen using (but that was actually underthe control of another individual, withthe strong potential for a future dispute.)When I checked the new domain name,I found that it was listed as “for sale” at aprice of $500. My client authorized meto intervene on their behalf, willing topay as much as $400. Over the next fewweeks of shrewd negotiations, I sud-denly found that the domain was released, and I immediately registered iton behalf of our client for our standardfee of $35 — not the $400 that they werewilling to pay or the $500 that the allegedseller wanted. What happened?Let me answer that question with an-

other question. Have you ever receivedan email from a company offering to sellyou a “premium domain name” that issimilar to your existing domain name?They contacted you because you were

tion Grace Period (RGP) status as out-lined in guidelines set forth by ICANN(the Internet Corporation for AssignedNames and Numbers). The guidelines(not rules) allow for a 30-day RGP term,after which your domain goes into“Pending Delete” status for an addi-tional five days. At the end of those fivedays, it is purged from the registry data-base and becomes available for anybodyto register. Unfortunately, some registrars add

their own unique rules to the guidelinesthat have been put forth by ICANN. Forexample, GoDaddy will make you payan $80 “redemption fee” on the 19th day.On the 26th day, they will enter your do-main into a 10-day “Expired DomainName Auction” and, if there are no bid-ders, will then enter it into an additionalfive-day “Closeout Auction,” seekingevery opportunity possible to profitfrom your oversight and increasing thelikelihood that you will be unable to recover your domain name. Only if thereare no bidders at this second auctionwill they release the domain.

Network Solutionshas an even worsepolicy, stating that your domain name issubject to deletion at any time after ithas been allowed to expire. They say thatthey “endeavor to provide a grace periodthat extends 35 days past the expirationdate” but that the “grace period is notguaranteed and can change or be elim-inated at any time without notice.” Net-work Solutions states that “aRedemption Grace Period (RGP) is notguaranteed and customers shouldrenew their domain name registrationservices in advance of the domain nameregistration expiration date(s) to avoiddeletion of domain name registrationservices.” Just when you thought thatGoDaddy’s $80 redemption fee was out-rageous, Network Solutions’ fee is far

worse. Their policy continues, “If we decide to provide the redemption serv-ice to a customer, we charge a fee of $299to redeem and renew a domain nameregistration during the RGP.”

The bottom line is that you should neverallow your domain name to expire.What happens when your domain is

in this Redemption Grace Period? Basi-cally, it enters a domain-name limbootherwise known as the domain-nameaftermarket, sort of like an enormousused-car sales lot or automobile auc-tion. What happens is that vultures ap-pear out of nowhere. The practice isreferred to by a number of names, with“domain tasting” and “domain frontrunning” being the most common de-scriptions. Many registrars also encour-age a process called “backordering”which allows interested buyers to moveto the head of the line during the RGP.Some of these same registrars have alsobeen known to provide information di-rectly to these domain tasters, wheneversomebody performs a whois lookup,checking on the availability of a domainname but then failing to register it im-mediately. Returning a few days later,you find that the domain name appearsto have (not coincidentally) just beenregistered and is suddenly listed for saleat a very high price. The seller is hopingthat you will still want the domain nameand will be willing to submit to what isessentially highway robbery.Typically, domain tasters work with a

registrar that will even allow them a five-day grace period to cancel out of the reg-istration if you, the potential buyer, donot agree to pay their fee. However it ishandled, these are people who are tryingto sell you domain names that they usu-ally do not even own, in many instancesrunning auctions of their own, drivingup the price if they find more than oneinterested potential buyer.

Knowledge is your best defense against fraud.

Understand that there are three basiccomponents when you own a website:The site construction fee (usually themost expensive component, unless youhave built a do-it-yourself site), the an-nual or monthly hosting fee and the do-main name registration fee. The domainname registration fee is by far the leastexpensive of those three components —unless and until you lose your domainname, when its recovery can be very,very costly. Our client was lucky in thisinstance and I have successfully inter-vened in many similar circumstances,but nobody in business wants to relysimply upon luck. Follow the steps thatI have outlined — and do everythingnecessary to prevent the loss of your do-main name from ever occurring.

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. WCM

www.campgroundmanager.com


MODERN MARKETING

Evanne Schmarder

Help Your Campground by Catering to a Pet-Loving Market

Boy oh boy, RVers love their pets.Whether it’s a pair of cow dogs exiting asmall Class C, an indoor/outdoor kittycat condo or a tank of turtles, chancesare as a park owner/operator you’veseen it all. It’s estimated that there aremore than 6 million pets traveling by RV.If you opt to accept pets at your park,what can you do to attract this sizableslice of the RVing — not to mention tent-camping — public?

The Basics: Your WebsiteBegin by making it clear on your web-

site that yes, pets are welcome at yourproperty. Be upfront about any restric-tions or special conditions to avoid un-pleasant situations at the check-in desk. Consider creating a pet page on your

site with the many details pet ownerswant and need to know: • Are there any breeds that you do not

accept? • Do you limit the number of pets per

site? • Are there additional fees for pets?• What are the pet rules? • Are there areas of the park off limits

to pets?

• Do you have a pet park or pet run?Is there a pet-friendly green spacenearby? Offer more value and peace of mind

by providing contact information, officehours and brief directions to a local veterinarian as well as 24-hour petemergency information.Show how warmly you welcome pets

with a series of sweet, “awww”-inspiringimages on your website. Assign a staffmember the task of capturing images ofpets enjoying your park, playing withtheir owners, making friends at the petrun or relaxing at a site. Schedule timefor your photographer to capture theimages and instruct them to get the pet’sname, breed, and age if possible. Run a Facebook contest asking for

funny pet videos. These can providemassive word-of-mouth benefits foryour business. Provide a list of useful — and fun —

apps that can make the pet owner’s lifea little easier and their stay perhaps a bitmore memorable. Jim Jackson, a mem-ber of the Escapees Pet Lovers group,suggests these, from silly to serious, inChris Davis’ Pet Lovers Newsletter:

• BarkCam (iOS) Camera for Dogs(Android) — If you’ve tried taking pic-tures of your dog or cat, you often findyourself frustrated when your preciouspet won’t look at the camera. This appmakes a noise that captures your pet’sinterest, causing it to look at the phoneand giving you the perfect photo-op.

• Dog Translator (iOS) — Want to

know what your pooch is barking about?Ronald Bell, the man behind the app,claims that the app is “like Shazam fordogs.” Just activate the app, let it recordyour dog’s barks and let it do its magic.

• Pet Acoustics ($1.99 iOS) — JanetMarlowhas been composing music thatis specially tailored for dogs, cats, horsesand birds. The melodies are meant tohelp your pets relax and help them remain calm.

• iKibble (iOS and Android) — Everwanted to know if something is safe foryour dog to eat? Simply install iKibble onyour smartphone and look it up.

• Pet First Aid ($3.99 iOS and An-droid) — This may be the best $3.99you’ll ever spend! Pet First Aid has all theadvice for giving your pets first aid. Keepyour puppy, kitten or adult pets safe.Learn how to give them CPR, treat injuries, poisoning, drowning and more.

Appreciating Your Four-Legged GuestsWelcome pets after a long day of

travel with a fresh, cool bowl of water atthe front door, a pet treat at check-in anda nearby place to stretch their legs andhave a “bathroom” break. You mighteven take it a step further by handing outa pet welcome pack that includes treatsfor later, a toy or chew, a temporary col-lar tag to record the guests’ site numberand a “welcome note” from your or thepark’s mascot pets. Add the vet and emergency informa-

tion to your site map, even if they are notan advertiser. If you have an information

board in a public area post the informa-tion there, as well. If predatory animalshave been sighted in the area make thepet owner aware so they can keep anextra eye out for the pet’s safety.Stock your camp store with a few pet-

friendly items such as food, treats,bowls, leashes and other items that caneasily be forgotten at home or used upduring a stay. If your park offers an activity pro-

gram, devise something that includespets. Interest animal lovers, travelingwith or without pets, with an animalprogram put on by guest presenters.Two memorable events in my recentmemory are “Animals Nobody Loves,” acollection of less-than-warm-and-fuzzyanimals presented by a zoologist, and apractice for dogs competing in disc dogcompetitions. Whether you are a pet owner, animal

lover or neutral on the subject, you’re inthe hospitality business. Making yourpet guests feel at home makes yourhuman guests appreciate your park allthe more.

Like what you see in Modern Mar-keting? Subscribe to Schmarder’s bi-weekly trend digest DigitalMarketing for the Outdoor Recre-ation Industry at www.roadabode.com. Ask her about her digi-tal marketing/social media diagnos-tics and tune-ups, content strategyand more at [email protected] or 702-460-9863. WCM

www.raindeck.com

ON CAMPGROUNDS

Reports from the field:

Bob Ashley

Arizona’s Running Leaf Verde RV Resort ‘Camp for Adults’

Scott Swanson, co-owner and direc-tor of operations at family-owned Run-ning Leaf Verde RV Resort in the Phoenixsuburb of Buckeye, characterizes the377-site park as “day care for adults.”“It’s not assisted living by any means,

but it’s like a camp for adults,” he said.That’s primarily in the winter, when

Running Leaf is a popular destinationfor snowbirds. In the summertime, it’sanother story.“I’ve got 50 people who live here full-

time, and there are 95 here now,” Swan-son said inmid-July. “Butthe temperaturehere today is 109degrees.”Running Leaf

is owned by 18members ofSwanson’s ex-tended family,although a coregroup of half-a-dozen sit on the

park’s board and make major decisions.Swanson, whose mother, Sandy Cata-

lana, also works at the park, said thatrunning Running Leaf is a far cry fromhis career in Los Angeles as a post-pro-duction associate producer of such TVshows as “Person of Interest,” “GilmoreGirls,” and “Eli Stone,” among others.“I tell my friends in L.A. that I wouldn’t

be doing this if I were younger,” saidSwanson, 50. “In L.A., I’m always on thego and it’s always stressful. There’s stress

here, but it’s not the same.”Swanson returned to the park, which

was founded in 1985 by his grandfatherAndy Anderson, five years ago with theintention of fixing it up some and sellingit. He became so enthralled that hechanged his mind and stuck around.These days, he spends nine months

of the year in Arizona and the rest of histime in Los Angeles, although he returnsto Running Leaf on most weekends.“I’ve really taken to the industry,” said

Swanson, who lives on-site in a Laredofifth-wheel. “It’s a different lifestyle thanwhat I had before. It’s like these peopleare on a permanent vacation. There isso much joy when you walk through thepark at night and see a group of a dozenpeople sitting around their campfire atthe end of the day.”With spring training sites for the

Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds15 miles away in Goodyear, Ariz., Marchis Running Leaf’s busiest month.“We are not like a weekend destina-

tion park,” said Swanson, who is explor-ing the purchase of another RV park inArizona. “It’s either spring training,snowbirds or over-nighters on their wayto somewhere else.”The family has invested $1 million in

the park — $200,000 a year — sinceSwanson’s return on such things as up-grading the electric service, water andsewer connections and building largerbathrooms, a new laundry and a dogpark. This off-season, Running Leaf’srec hall is being expanded.Customer service is emphasized at

Running Leaf, which was named LargeRV Park of the Year by the Arizona Asso-ciation of RV Parks and Campgrounds(Arizona ARVC), of which Swanson became president this year.Between November and March, Run-

ning Leaf has maintenance people onduty until 10 p.m., and guests are


Leaf Verde RV Resort went from a “fix-up-to-sell”proposition for Scott Swanson to a change in career.

Amanda was in computers.“We’ve been RVers for a long time

and thought we wanted to own a camp-ground,” Amanda said. “We were justready to get out of the city and we de-cided to do something crazy. We wentfrom a 3,000-square-foot house andnow we live in a little travel trailer withour two kids (boys 5 and 7) and a dog.“It’s an adventure; we’re enjoying it.”Sunday through Thursday, Double

Nickel draws mostly travelers headingto the Black Hills or Yellowstone Na-tional Park or snowbirds going back andforth during the shoulder seasons. Onweekends, the campground is popu-lated by local folks “who are looking fora quiet place for the kids,” Amanda said.“Business has been good,” she added.

“On weekends, we pretty much fill upfrom Memorial Day to Labor Day.”Double Nickel is open March 15 to

Oct. 30. “We close down in the winter sowe can travel,” she said.

* * * * *Rainy weather hampered the start of

the camping season at 42-site LakePepin Campground, located withinshouting distance of the MississippiRiver in Lake City, Minn.“It’s really been slow this year, but

we’re going to be pretty full in July andAugust,” said Merri Lea Smith, who hasowned the park with her husband, Den-nis, since 1990. “We’ve been having tomow the park between the rain drops.”The park, about an hour south of Min-

neapolis/St. Paul, was built in the 1960sby members of Dennis Smith’s family.Pepin Lake is the widest natural lake

on the Mississippi River and attractswater sportsmen.“It’s the birthplace of water skiing,”

she said. “We have fishing out here —walleye, catfish, bass, and they havefishing contests here and ice fishing inthe winter. The lake brings most of thepeople to the town. You can see eaglesflying above the lake and the trees in thefall have beautiful color.”While not sitting directly on Lake

Pipen, “You can see the lake from someof our spots and we are half a mile fromthe closet access to the lake,” Smith said.

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

escorted to their site and oriented to thepark’s amenities.“They are like doormen and we want

to give everyone custom treatment,”Swanson said. “It’s a hotel for RVers andwe want to tuck them into their space.”

* * * * *Amanda and Jeff Stoy performed

major surgery on Double Nickel Camp-ground in Waco, Neb., after they movedfrom Atlanta and bought the park inMarch 2014. They redesigned the camp-ground, cutting 103 sites to 55.“We’ve been working on making

everything pull-throughs,” AmandaStoy said. “We want to be big-rigfriendly. People would rather have apull-through than have to back intotheir site.”The couple also added an outdoor

cinema to show kid-friendly movies onSaturday nights and installed a dozenrefurbished pinball machines in thepark’s clubhouse. “A lot of kids haven’tseen them before,” she said. “They’reused to playing on handheld devices.”The move to a town with 200 people

45 miles west of Lincoln was a majorchange. Jeff had worked for CNN and

ScottSwanson


www.towercompany.com


GUEST VIEW

BrianSchaeffer

I get my common sense from my dad,who didn’t have a sixth-grade educationbut served our country in the military,never lacked for work and owed no mananything. Oh, he also told it like he saw it.I inherited that last trait, too, which occa-sionally gets me in a spot of trouble, butlet’s try some straight talk about market-ing, anyway.I was once meeting with an RV dealer

to sign up an ad. As he was writing thecheck for the ad, he stopped and said, “Ireally don’t need this ad.” His service bays,parking lot and driveway were full. So Isaid, “Why are you taking it?” His re-sponse was priceless — “Because I likeseeing my name in lights!” If this is yourmarketing philosophy then you might notget a lot out of my discussion below — butif you’re truly interested in what works,let’s take a couple of big marketing ques-tions and apply some common sense.What is the biggest marketing myth? In

my opinion it is “Print is dead!” We hear itall the time: “I’ve decided to go straightdigital/online.” Let’s counter this with sci-ence and common sense. If you are partof the 21st century, you probably have awebsite and, hopefully, you work with a

company that maintains free Google An-alytics on the site. This tells you whereyour traffic (folks who visit the site) comesfrom. You may even have direct access toyour analytics, or you can get a copy fromyour web-hosting company. Here’s the science part: The accompa-

nying image is from one of the most suc-cessful campgrounds in Texas — and youwill see that ‘Direct’ accounts for 30% oftheir overall traffic to their website. This iscaused when people simply type a web-site URL directly into the address bar ona browser as opposed to clicking on a link.Now, here’s the common-sense part: Howmany people do you think just woke upone morning and said, “I need to plug inthis random website and see what I get?”More probably, those folks saw the park’swebsite — printed on an ad — and de-cided to check them out by typing in theprinted web address. Do you really wantto miss out on all that ‘direct’ business?What do you do with the latest ‘hot’

website or ‘branding’ deal that is pitchedas a can’t-miss opportunity? I remembera husband and wife sitting in my office ar-guing about the validity of their Best Parksof America membership. At the request ofthe wife, we checked the Google Analyticsfor referrals from the Best Parks ofAmericawebsite. Unfortunately, the signsaying it was a best park was all they gotas the park had received less than 10clicks from Best Parks in the previous year. Upstart brands in our industry are

tough to evaluate and often it is recom-mended to remain on the sidelines and

Applying Straight Talk, Common Sense to Park Marketing see if the brand isgoing to make itbefore jumpingheadlong into abrand that ends updisappearing. The same is true

for website list-ings/links. Thereare some power-house websites inour industry. Youcan go to inde-pendent ranking sites likewww.alexa.com, which rank millions ofwebsites and check out where any web-site ranks. For example:

• KOA.com ranks 4,447th strongestwebsite, among all websites, in the U.S.

• GoodSamClub.com ranks 10,144thin the U.S.

• ThousandTrails.com ranks 18,732ndin the U.S.

• CarefreeRVResorts.com ranks31,465th in the U.S.The owners of the above websites have

spent tremendous amounts of moneypromoting the sites and the traffic theygenerate, page views and time on the sitegives them their high rankings. By contrast, I had a marketing client

call and ask if they needed to worry aboutupgrading their presence on a recently re-done site called mobilerving.com thatclaims to have 23,000 RV resorts listed andover a half-million visitors a year. Well, wewent to alexa.com and this site ranks267,538th in the U.S. Then we went to a

park whose website we host (throughTXAD Internet) and who has a beefed-uppresence on the site in question. His ana-lytics showed he received no referrals inthe last year from mobilerving.com. Are there some great opportunities for

marketing out there that are verifiableand that pass the common sense test?Sure. The best way to find out is using sci-ence and common sense. Look at youranalytics, ask your customers to naildown where they found you, and trackyour advertising. Also consider nichemarketing for advertising avenues thatbest suit your customer.

Brian Schaeffer is president of TexasAdvertising (TXAD). Its primary inter-ests include AGS, that publishes guestguides for campgrounds; TXAD Internetthat designs, builds and hosts camp-ground websites; and TXAD, whichpublishes state camping guides. Youcan reach Schaeffer at [email protected] or 817-426-9395. WCM

www.dawanglobal.com/support


A little more than two years ago LakeGeorge RV Park in upstate New York openedCharlie’s Bark Park, a 2 1/2-acre off-leash dogrun that just might be the standard by whichall other dog parks are measured.

Among its space, Charlie’s Bark Park fea-tures a large open area featuring shaded trailsand agility equipment, a 2,000-square-footpavilion and a 10,000-square-foot synthetic turfarea. There’s even a separate area for smallerdogs.

“I truly believe it’s one-of-a-kind in our in-dustry. You kind of have to see it to believe it,but it’s pretty exceptional,” said Dave King,president of Lake George RV Park. “We took alot of extra time and resources in designing adog park that would really exceed the expec-tations of all guests. We basically took whatwe thought were the best features of all theparks we looked at all over the country andtried to build it into a park here in our facility.”

The shaded trails offer ample open space,as well as a water-spraying fire hydrant, for thefour-legged friends to release all sorts of en-ergy. Eighteen different sets of BarkPark brandagility equipment from Playcore, featuringramps and hoops and tunnels and more, offereven more tiring fun. Benches and pet-wastestations, also by BarkPark, offer the same pawprints, dog bones and other pet-themed de-signs.

With its dark mahogany and timber frameaccents, the pavilion’s impressive architec-tural design reflects the Adirondack setting ofthe RV park. The building houses restrooms aswell as a visually attractive commercial-gradedog-washing station, two grooming stationsand vending machines dispensing pet treats,toys and other items. With two sets of gates,the pavilion also is the secure entrance and

exit to the dog park. Another highlight is the Adirondack-style

benches that serve as a barrier as well ascomfortable seating for pet owners.

The synthetic turf, Called K9 Grass, is man-ufactured specifically for use in dog park ap-plications by Forever Lawn. The material hasa net backing that, when installed over several

inches of aggregate, allows urine to drainfreely. King said there is no lingering smell, andthe grass only needs an occasional rinsingevery two weeks or so unless there’s rain.Vacuuming is also part of the maintenance,mainly to keep the netting free of leaves andother debris as well as to perk up the grassfibers.

“The comment I hear all the time is howhaving this off-leash recreation area just givesall these dogs such a great place to recreateand work off all that energy,” King said. “Ourexperience has been that the dogs who arebarking the most are probably the ones thathave been exercised the least, usually be-cause people just get busy enjoying their va-

cations and sometimes will leave the dogbehind. They don’t get out and use up all thatenergy and now they become a little disrup-tive.

“That was kind of a key to building the barkpark — to have a place where they could runall that energy off so when they returned totheir campsite they’d be as quiet as could be

and, in general, we’ve found that to be thecase. The number of concerns expressedabout barking dogs has diminished consider-ably since we opened the bark park.”

Located about an hour north of Albany inLake George, N.Y., Lake George RV Park fea-tures 400 full-hookup campsites on more than120 acres. The park has a lengthy list of exte-rior and interior amenities, and King said nextyear an outdoor pool will make way for a hugewater park.

For the second consecutive year, LakeGeorge RV Park was awarded a TripAdvisorCertificate of Excellence in 2015 and the parkregularly receives the highest ratings fromGuestRated.com and the Good Sam RV Traveland Saving Guide.

When it came time to design and buildCharlie’s Bark Park, all agreed that it must liveup to the high standards expected by thepark’s guests and first set in place by King’sparents, Victor and Jessica King, when theyopened Lake George RV Park in 1966.

They didn’t have to look far when determin-ing a name for the park, either. Charlie was amuch-loved basset hound and Victor King’s“right-hand man” during much of the 1980s. Aplaque and painting commemorating the twois planned for the park’s pavilion.

King said the majority of their guests travelwith their pets, which are nearly always dogs.Most other RV parks and campground ownerscontacted by Woodall’s Campground Man-agement said the same, with many estimatingas much as 60% to 70% of their guests travelwith one or more dogs.

Likewise, Lake George RV Park’s pet poli-cies are typical of those found at most othercampgrounds and RV parks in North America:

• Pets must be leashed at all times (unlessin the dog run).

• Owners must clean up after their pets. • Pets should never be left alone at your

site, in your RV or any other area of the park. • Proof of rabies vaccination should be pro-

vided upon request.

Operators of some of the top pet parks list their ‘best practices’ in making thebest of guests’ furry companions. ‘I think people who have dogs have biggerhearts,’ said Nancy Wright, manager of Shady Acres RV Park & Campground.

Terry Tuytan, owner of Stone Creek RV Park near San Antonio, Texas, built the agilityequipment for his park’s dog run and found decommissioned fire hydrants for $15 each.

RV Parks, Campgrounds Are Building Amenities To Attract Pet-Toting GuestsRV Parks, Campgrounds Are Building Amenities To Attract Pet-Toting GuestsRV Parks, Campgrounds Are Building Amenities To Attract Pet-Toting GuestsRV Parks, Campgrounds Are Building Amenities To Attract Pet-Toting Guests

RV parks and campgrounds are adding pet-friendly amenities, such as dogruns, as about 60% of all campers bring their pets - usually dogs - with them.


• Pets should be kept quiet and not disturbother guests. Many park owners said they have breed

restrictions, such as pit bull terrier and Rot-tweiler, that are either simply because ofowner preference or due to insurance policy.Other park owners said dogs are restricted ona case-by-case basis.

Desert’s Edge RV, also known as “The Pur-ple Park,” in Phoenix, Ariz., has two dog runs— the smaller of the two is about eight feetwide by about 30 feet long while the other oneis about 40 feet long — as well as a 5,000-square-foot off-leash area. While they’re stillexploring whether to add agility equipment,park supervisor Eric Vargas said they do havefire hydrants so the dogs can “mark their ter-ritory.”Vargas added that Desert’s Edge, unlike

other campgrounds in the area, does not limitthe number of dogs people can have. The firsttwo dogs are included in the rate, but after thatthere is a per-dog fee.“We’ll have people who show dogs that

aren’t allowed at other parks because theymight have six dogs with them. We’ve hadpeople with as much as a dozen dogs withthem. They might have to pay more, but at leastthey have the option of being able to stay withus,” he said.Desert’s Edge also has a dog washing-and-

grooming facility that gets quite a bit of use,especially during snowbird season when therecan sometimes be a line waiting to use the fa-cilities. “A lot of times people don’t have that option

because they’d have to bathe their pets in theirRV, and the size of those restrooms aren’t verybig. So they either have to do that or take theirpet to a groomer,” Vargas explained, addingthat Desert’s Edge supplies each pet-totingguest with an Emergency Pet Decal, which isessentially a removable sticker for the RV thatnotifies others of a pet inside.

Shady Acres RV Park & Campground inGreen River, Utah, built a dog park about four

years ago. Named “Arffy Park,” the encloseddog park has separate areas for small andlarge dogs as well as benches and picnic ta-bles for the pet owners to relax on.

Nancy Wright, Shady Acres’ manager, saidthe dog park is often everyone’s entertainmentfor the evening. She added that it’s importantfor 100-site Shady Acres to be pet friendly “be-cause we have dogs ourselves.” “I just feel that our customers are past that

‘children age’ and all of our customers havedogs rather than children. Dogs are so muchbetter behaved than the children,” she said.“It’s just important because that’s the kind ofpeople we want in our park. The kind of peoplewho love their dogs the way we do. I think peo-ple who have dogs have bigger hearts. They’reolder, they take care of their dogs like theywere their children and that’s the way we likeit. We have a KOA down the street that wants

all the children and that is totally fine with me.”Shady Acres does not allow pit bulls, she

said. “I’d be too afraid to have them around,”said Wright.

Randy Whistler, who operates Deer CreekValley RV Park in Topeka, Kan., with his wife,Sherry, said he determines whether a dog isnot allowed only after he’s met the animal.“There’s no such thing as a bad dog, just a bad

Charlie’s Bark Park at the Lake George RV Parkincludes a 10,000-square-foot pavilion.

Charlie’s Bark Park includes 18 sets of BarkParkbrand agility equipment from Playcore.

Special drinking fountains at Charlie’s BarkPark provide water for humans and pets.

Shady Acres RV Park & Campground in Green River,Utah, has an enclosed dog run called “Arffy Park.”

Known for its extensive access to data when it comes to campingtrends, Kampgrounds of America Inc. (KOA) realized about six yearsago that campgrounds were going to the dogs. According to its re-search of the entire North American camping market, 58% of campersbring pets along at least sometimes (23% sometimes, 35% always)and only 34% never bring a pet.Armed with this intel, KOA developed its Kamp K9 program of

fenced-in, off-leash dog runs, said Jef Sutherland, KOA’s senior vicepresident for franchise operations.“You want a place where your campers can go with their pets that

is consistent so that it doesn’t become a free-for-all. Campers needto let their dogs run, let’s face it. And if there’s not an appropriate areafor them to do that then they’re going to be running through the sitesor through the pool. You’ve got to have a place to take care of thesespecial ‘kids,’” explained Sutherland. “We wanted something that wecould brand and get in front of the campers so when they saw KampK9 outside their KOA, they know that there’s going to be a safe placefor their dog.”Most of the 485 KOA campgrounds across North America have

some sort of place where dogs can be let loose, but that doesn’t al-ways mean it’s fenced in or enclosed in some way. While that may beperfectly fine for some dogs, it won’t work for others.“What happens when they get off the leash and — whoosh —

they take off and are just gone? So the Kamp K9 idea is to have an en-closed, safe, fenced area for pets where the camper can feel prettycomfortable about turning their dog loose,” Sutherland said.To qualify to be branded as a Kamp K9, the dog run has to satisfy

certain specifications — including a minimum of 1,000 square feet, apet waste station, seating for pet owners, self-latching entrance gateand professional fencing. Optional upgrades include two-gated en-tries and self-closing gates, Sutherland added. Also not required, butencouraged by KOA, are separate dog runs for small and large dogs

as well as agility equipment.Kamp K9 program is all about “guest expectations that we are tak-

ing care of their pet,” Sutherland said.“As we all know, a pet is like a family member. In the same way

that we have a playground for the kids and we want safety and secu-rity for the kids, we want safety and security for the pets. That’s veryimportant to us. And as the guests get to understand the standardsaround Kamp K9, they’ll associate that with the good experience fortheir pet,” he said.Having a Kamp K9 is a requirement for KOA member campgrounds

to be able to brand themselves as KOA Resort, KOA Journey or KOAHoliday parks, a campaign started early in 2014 to distinguish and elevate certain KOA campgrounds in the eyes of the consumer.“That’s the initiative internally, that says if you’re going to be a KOA

in one of our new brand positions, one of the requirements across theboard is a Kamp K9 that meets the specifications,” Sutherland ex-plained. —Rick Kessler WCM

KOA Lets The Dogs Out In Kamp K9Top Pet Parks – continued on page 22

The KOA Kamp K9 program sets minimum stan-dards for member parks, such as the Port HuronKOA in Michigan, to construct off-leash dog runs.


Pet Products are Becoming More and More Important to RV Parks and Campgrounds

Thomas James, PresidentPetTravelCenter.comClemmons, N.C.800-384-1450Q: How is business in general these

days?

PetTravelCenter.com has been pro-viding worldwide pet travel resourcesfor nine years now. The business hasgrown to where we are serving peopleall over the globe. As manufacturerscontinue to produce quality items toget pets to where they’re going safelyand comfortably, we continue to offerthose selections to our customers. Welisten to our customers to determinethe types of things they are interestedin and look for in pet-travel products.

Q: What do you see happening inthe market? The pet industry is an exciting and

interesting place and, to rephrase theEnergizer bunny commercial, it keepsgrowing and growing and growing!With total industry sales of more than$60 billion, some project that it couldtop $75 billion in just a couple of years.

Even when the country was in a reces-sion, we didn’t see a decline in sales; infact, sales continued an upward trend.Since most people consider their petsto be members of the family, it appearsthat they don’t mind spending moneyon them. However, in a strong econ-omy, the pet industry typically reflectsthat growth even more.

Q: What’s new at your company thatyou’d like to mention?We continue to research new prod-

ucts that manufacturers bring to mar-ket to determine if they are a goodmatch for our customers’ travel, safetyand camping needs. We are alwaysadding new items to our product cata-log, but we pay particular attention tostyle, function, versatility and durabil-ity.

Q: What do you enjoy the mostabout what you do?It delights me to be able to provide

solutions for pet travelers all over theworld. Whether they are looking for aspecial type of carrier, planning to relo-cate somewhere else in the world orneed to find a pet-friendly camp-ground, we can help them with the in-formation and resources to help makegetting there a lot more enjoyable. Asour slogan says, “We Make Pet TravelFun and Easy.” We receive lots of unso-

licited comments from site visitors andcustomers. That is a testament to theexceptional customer service that westrive to provide. We’re proud of that.

Q: Do you have any pets? At one time or another, I’ve had dogs,

cats, gerbils, hamsters, fish... you nameit. Sammy Boy, a 22-pound NorwegianForest Cat, was the latest addition to thefamily.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Bob Hanson, National Account

ManagerPet and Playground ProductsEclectic, Ala.866-398-3992Q: How is business in general?The pet side is on the upswing. What

we’re finding also is that our outdoorfitness equipment is becoming a verypopular and unique amenity item.We’re seeing that a lot of campers wantto be able to get up in the morning, andif there’s a short trail that maybe hasfour or five different types of equip-ment on it, they really enjoy that optionof being able to get some different typesof exercise while they’re on their vaca-tion. And the equipment is low mainte-nance. So pet products and outdoorfitness products are the new moversand shakers for us, business-wise.

Q: It seems like the pet sector of thecamping/RV market just keeps gettingbigger, what are your thoughts?I see that, too, and from the best I

can tell from our research, I think thatjust has to do with demographicchanges in the U.S. In the ’60s, ’70sand ’80s, it was “family, family, family”and now we’re moving into a differentdemographic where a lot of peopledon’t have kids at home anymore. Likemy wife and I, we’re empty nesters andwhen we travel, our dogs are now our“children.”

Q: What’s new at your company thatyou’d like to mention? We have a new product that goes

along with our novice, four-piece dogkit that a lot of people are now adding.It’s a misting fire hydrant. It’s a way tocool pets in the warm weather with alittle pizzaz.

Q: What do you enjoy the mostabout what you do?I enjoy the interaction with the folks

that run and own the campgrounds.Camping people are just great people.So in my field, traveling around the U.S.and meeting all these people, it’s justfun to watch folks look at our productsand have that little “ah-ha” momentwhere they think, “Wait this is some-thing that would be good at my camp-ground.”

Q: Do you have pets?My wife and I have three dogs.

There’s Roxy and Maggie, they’re thesmaller ones that we take in ourcamper when we travel. They’re just lit-tle brown puppies that the kids pickedout. It’s good to have them out therewith us. The bigger dog is an EnglishSpringer Spaniel, she’s a hunting dog,and her name is Jenna.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Gary Sherman, PresidentEvolution Dog WashAspen, Colo.800-426-0760Q: How is business?Business in general is very, very

good actually. We’re probably grow-ing about 40% year on year. We justgot back from a tradeshow in LasVegas catering to multi-family apart-ment communities. The show floor isonly open about four hours for twodays and we had 200 people in thebooth. In terms of the campgroundside, we’ve got a few KOAs that havethe dog wash, and we’re hoping thatword will spread and more will seethe benefits of having it as anamenity.

Q: What do you see happening inthe market?

We haven’t had a lot of uptake yetfrom the RV community and I reallydon’t know why. Many parks are onlyopen certain months of the year, somaybe that is an issue for them to fig-ure out how they would recover thecost. But my thought is, if you have anamenity that someone else doesn’thave, then people are going to want tocome to your campground. It’s not aninexpensive investment, but to me, itmakes sense.

Q: What’s new at your company thatyou’d like to mention?We’re now doing business in the

truckstop arena as well, because 50% oftruckers travel with their pets. So we’regoing to be rolling out the dog wash totravel centers all throughout the coun-

The pet-products industry doesn’t show signs of slowing its $60 billion annual pace, and its rolewithin the outdoor hospitality sector continues to grow as well. Woodall’s Campground Man-agement checked in with a handful of industry leaders to get their take on the boom as well asthe innovative products and services they are offering to fuel it. Here’s what they had to say.

The dog wash at 1000 Islands/Ivy Lea KOA in Ontariois a popular amenity for pet owners visiting the park.

Pet Gear I-GO2Traveler

Kurgo BaxterPack

Evolution Dog Wash


try. And company-wise, we’re just aboutto have the dog wash certified to besold and used in Europe.

Q: What do you enjoy the mostabout what you do?It’s not just a business for us. I’m one

of eight members appointed by thecommissioner of the Colorado Depart-ment of Agriculture to the Colorado PetOverpopulation Authority, so we’re in-volved with shelters and rescues allacross the state. And I was involved ingetting a bill introduced and signedinto law which introduced a licenseplate in our state. It carries the tagline“Adopt a Shelter Pet” on it and thefunds from the sales of those plates goto shelters and rescues throughout thestate. And as for dog washing: It’s fun, itputs a smile on your face, it’s a bondingexperience with the animal.

Q: Do you have pets?We have three dogs that are all shel-

ter dogs, rescues — that’s somethingthat we obviously firmly believe in.There’s Cyrus and Willow and Charlie.Cyrus is a Lab/Border Collie mix, Wil-low is a Catahoula Leopard Dog/BlueHeeler mix and Charles is a YorkshireTerrier mix.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Chris Allen, Vice PresidentPoochie BowlEaton Rapids, Mich.517-388-1488Q: How is business in general these

days?Business in general is good. With

summer travel now in full swing wehave seen growth in our sales.

Q: What do you see happening inthe market? Over the last few years we have no-

ticed even more people traveling withtheir pets.

Q: It seems like the pet sector of thecamping/RV market just keeps gettingbigger, what are your thoughts?The camping/RV market, especially,

is growing bigger and bigger. With moreand more people treating their pets asone of their children, these “pet par-ents” are giving more consideration tothe ability to travel with their pets ver-sus boarding. I think that campgroundswill start seeing a need to offer pet-re-lated items in their general stores.

Q: What’s new at your company thatyou’d like to mention?This isn’t specifically related to the

Poochie Bowl as it is a separate busi-ness, but we have created a new busi-ness called Camp Fire Dogs. Camp FireDogs was created to offer campgroundsand RV sales/service stores the abilityto capture the pet market that is alreadyright in front of them. Camp Fire Dogsoffers pet essentials such as dog bowls,waterproof/odor-proof collars andleashes, but we also offer items that areeasy purchase add-on such as all natu-ral dog treats and gourmet dog cookies.By offering these items to a market thatis already in their campgrounds orshopping at their RV service stores, it’sa great way to increase margins.

Q: What do you enjoy the most

about what you do?The thing I love the most about what

I do is meeting people and learningmore about their pets. I’m the first toadmit that my wife and I treat our dogslike our children and I love hearing sto-ries and sharing photos with peoplewho do the same.

Q: Do you have any pets?My wife, Melissa and I have three

dogs: Dudley a 2-year old Bassethound, Stetson a 1-year old Beagle andStuart, an 8-month-old Basset.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Tom SeiterIntelligent Products, Inc./MuttMittRabbit Hash, Ky.800-697-6084

Q: How is business in general thesedays?Crappy – it really stinks! But it’s picking

up! Just kidding. It’s steadily growing.Q: What do you see happening in

the market? There’s more competition from off-

shore. We’re made in U.S., 26 yearsyoung, and facing more newcomersthan ever.

Q: It seems like the pet sector of thecamping/RV market just keeps gettingbigger; what are your thoughts?We agree. As the Baby Boomers

reach the golden years, pets are com-mon travel companions. Many youngerfamilies also include pets during theircamping activities. Naturally, pets needto do their business at destinations aswell as while on the road, so havingpickup tools like Mutt Mitts handy is amust when traveling. Pet-friendly campgrounds also have

a need to encourage pet owners to pickup after them, so providing a pet wastesystem is important to ensure a cleanand pleasant experience, and anymore, it’s pretty much expected. Oh,and by the way, we are an approvedKOA vendor.

Q: What’s new at your company thatyou’d like to mention?We’ve re-introduced the yellow out-

door Mutt Mitt dispenser, which ishighly visible for pet owners. They’rehard to miss. It’s also available in whiteand green. And retail packs of MuttMitts are a growing item in camp stores.

Q: What do you enjoy the mostabout what you do? It’s hard to nail down. I wear a lot of

hats.Q: Do you have any pets?I have a Lab/Rot mix, Molly, who is 8

years old, and three rescued cats. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Jeff UrsoGerber Tables/Great Outdoors DirectMadison, Wis.800-393-9923Q: How is business in general these

days?Pet Vendors – continued on page 26

Poochie Bowl

IPI Mutt Mitt station

www.jamestownadvanced.com

www.phelpshoneywagon.com


Most RV park and campground guests lovetheir pets — and most park operators do, too.But even those who aren’t pet lovers realizethat excluding pets would greatly reduce revenue opportunities.

But embracing guests’ love of pets comeswith some risks for campground operators.Occasionally dog bites happen, or a leash cantrip people up. And while you might think thedog’s owner would be responsible for any injuries, in this litigious day and age camp-ground owners are also liable, insurance professionals cautioned.“If you have a dog bite in your park —

whether you had anything to do with it or not— you get dragged in and it costs your insur-ance company, just to get you out of it, $10,000to $15,000,” said Guy Gagnon of Leavitt Recre-ation and Hospitality Insuranceof Sturgis, S.D.The reasoning is this: Guests are at your

property for enjoyment, and if they get injured,

part of the responsibility is yours. After all, ifthey hadn’t come to enjoy your property in thefirst place, they wouldn’t have been hurt.And don’t think it’s all pit bull terriers, either.

“I’ve seen a situation where a golden retriever,not a type of dog you expect to bite, bit some-one and caused serious damage to a little boy,”said Brittani Villandrywith NFP Poulous Insur-ance Agency in the Northeast.It’s something nobody wants to happen. “I had a dog bite claim where it was a sea-

sonal camper whose dog bit a child,” saidIrene Jones of Marshall & Sterling Camp-ground Insurance Program in Poughkeepsie,N.Y. “He needs a lot of surgeries. It’s a very upsetting situation for everybody involved because they thought this seasonal guest was

like part of their family.”While the dog owners had insurance on

their RV, it only covered $25,000 toward the dogbite, and that doesn’t go very far in that type ofsituation, she said.So what’s the best way to approach the

issue to try to prevent problems? One suggestion from David Berg, owner of

Red Apple Campground in Kennebunkport,Maine, and former chairman of the NationalAssociation of RV Parks and Campgrounds(ARVC) is to require a leash — a short one. “Idid away with Extend-a-leash,” the leashesthat allow dogs to run a varying distance fromthe owner. “I’ve lessened my liability becausethey’re always going to have that dog within six

feet. And I love animals,” he said.Whatever rules you decide to create, the

best approach is to have a written dog policyin hand to give guests at check-in, insuranceprofessionals said.“Develop a written policy and hand it to your

camper when they arrive,” said Bob Barberwith McNeil & Co., a program underwriter thatworks with Chicago-based Arch InsuranceGroup. It doesn’t have to be long and doesn’thave to be signed, but it needs to be availableto guests, he said.He suggested you consult with your insur-

ance agent to develop that policy to try to bal-ance guest needs with managing your own risks.

“If you’ve got a specific individual situationwith dogs, you’d better talk to who you’re in-sured with, you’d better talk to your agent,”Barber recommended. “Does he have a form?Does he have a program you can just drop intoyour campground and use as opposed to you

having to do everything as far as collectingdata or information?”For instance, “Some campgrounds require

proof of vaccination,” said Tom Gerken, aMaine-based independent agent of USI Insur-ance. “They have a dog registration form.Many full-time RVers who travel with their petsexpect that.”Jones said rules don’t have to put a wedge

between RV park owners and guests. “If youexplain it as ‘We want to keep having dogs,’ Ithink you can effectively do it,” she said. “Youdon’t want to not have dogs at the campgroundbecause they’re so popular, but it can affectyour rates.”

And Bryan Tolli of Leavitt warned, “It’s goodto have rules and to have signs and have paperwork, but if you’re not enforcing it, it’s notgoing to help your insurance company defendyou. You want to just make sure that you havethe rules in place and that you’re enforcingthem.”Villandry also suggested, “When someone

calls you to book a stay, ask them if they havea dog. If they do, ask if the dog has a bite history. If they do, say the dog needs to notcome on the trip.”Gagnon agreed, and said if a bite happens

in the campground, the dog needs to go. “If youdon’t get rid of the dog immediately, you’re heldto a higher standard from a liability standpointbecause you know that the dog has a propen-sity to be violent. If the dog bites again, you’reon that claim all the way. I would say zero tolerance. I don’t care how long they’ve beena seasonal in your park — and I’ve had thosecalls — zero tolerance. You get a report of anincident, that dog is out.”One potential approach would be to ask sea-

sonal guests to provide a copy of their home-owner’s insurance policy. “If you ask seasonalswho have dogs, ‘We want to continue to have

dogs because that’s important to us, would youplease provide your homeowners policy?’ Youwant to make sure their homeowners policy hasat least $300,000 liability,” Jones said.Of course, that’s not a guarantee. After all,

in the dog bite situation she talked about earlier,the dog owners rented their home and had nohomeowner’s insurance on which to fall back.And, Villandry warned that a lot of home-

owners’ policies exclude dog bites. So shesuggested that if you ask for a copy of the insurance policy, make sure to ask for the exclusions page, too.Barber said the point of all this insurance-

related preparedness isn’t to magically keepdog bites from ever happening. After all, thatwould be impossible. “You’re always going tohave claims,” he said. “You want to have your-self in the best possible position.” — JustinLeighty WCM

People Love Their Pets — But They Can Also Create Big Risks For Campgrounds

Guy Gagnon

Irene Jones

David Berg

Tom Gerken

Bryan Toli

Bob Barber

Brittani Villandry


www.bbelec.com


There appears to be a general consensusamong the pet-owning RVers who talked withWoodall’s Campground Management. Theirneeds and wants are simple: Ample (or at leastadequate) places to walk or run a pet, informa-tion and resources that can make a differencein an emergency — and simple considerationsthat make their stay convenient.For many, the ability to travel with their

pets is the top reason they choose RVing andoutdoor experiences. After all, physical ac-tivity and new friends that accompany petownership on the road are welcome parts ofthe lifestyle. Jane Rose and the third schnau-zer that’s traveled with her, Rambling GypsyRose, clock up to five miles a day. “Whilewalking with a pet, you often meet other petsand their people. Friendships often occur,both with the pets and people,” said Rose. The majority don’t shy away from pet

rules. In fact, every RVer we spoke with applauded park owners and operators whoset forth and enforce rules. After all, RVing pet owners — like all

guests — want a clean campground withwell-kept public areas and well-behaved an-imals. “I appreciate being asked for proof of im-

munizations, especially rabies,” Rose said. “Iwant to know that there are leash rules, petwaste pick-up requirements and that leavingpets tied up outside and unattended is notpermitted. I don’t take offense to being in-formed that improper actions on the part ofmy pet or me will get us thrown out. In fact, ifa park doesn’t have a pet policy we avoid it.”

Margaret Serafin and her English springerspaniel, Taylor, gave high marks to a park thatoffered a private key-entry dog park acrossthe street from the RV area. “In order to obtain a key you must show that your dog’svaccinations are current when you checkinto the park,” she said.

Walk the TalkWhether the RV door opens to big dogs or

small, there’s a common set of needs, wantsand “nice-to-haves” among this segment ofthe RVing population. The most frequentlycited are areas throughout the park to walkand exercise a pet. While it might seem like an over-the-top

obsession with the particulars of how andwhere a guest can walk their pet, this simpleaction is paramount to the enjoyment of theirstay, how highly they’ll recommend a parkand whether they’ll return. According to Chris Davis, who runs the

Escapees Pet Lovers BOF (Birds of a Feather)group, grass is important. She and her twodachshunds, Nugget and Mr. Tibbs, appreci-ate grassy areas near their site. “A greenspace in front of or behind the site is espe-cially helpful at night or if there’s inclementweather so the pet owner does not have to

go far to take care of their pet’s needs. Wecan often use the light on our RV exterior asopposed to using a flashlight, making thingsmuch easier,” she explained. Fenced pet areas are welcome and allow

the pet to run leash-free — providing it reallyis a run and not a postage-stamp-sized space.Serafin emphasized, “I want a good-sized dogpark for exercise so my dog can run leash-free, not just a fenced waste collection area.For the most part, dog owners pick up aftertheir dogs but if a park is going to accept pets,routine maintenance of their dog park, sameas they provide in their restrooms/showers, isa necessity to prevent the spread of diseasesto dogs or humans.” While it may seem like an obvious item to

place in pet walks or runs, Davis is alwaysgrateful to find a trash can to dispose of thewaste bags.

Adrienne Donatelli commented thatcampgrounds that have nice off-leash areaswith running water and some shade are fewand far between so they are very welcomewhen they are found. Her black lab Shadow,German short haired pointer Trish, and littleblond pup Baby Doll take advantage of theseprized outdoor areas whenever possible. While agility courses are an interesting

nicety, if the course limits an already small

space, pet owners prefer open space. Dog washes are not common or sought

after, but if available they may be used by petowners, especially washes with a raised plat-form to make it easier to wash the dog andones with a ramp for large dogs to walk up.Serafin pointed out a pet walk aspect that

non-pet owners may not consider: Gravelsize. “It’s unusual but I have encountered dogparks that are covered with very large-sizedgravel. Though maybe easy to maintain, it was very difficult for dogs of any size to navigate,” she said.

Give Them a Warm Welcome Parks have an opportunity to create a pos-

itive impression with pet owners such asRose, Serafin and Davis by providing a fewlittle welcoming extras at check-in. “It’s always neat when the park has a biscuit ortreat for my pets when we arrive as well as abowl of fresh water for them to enjoy,” saidDavis.

Juliet Whitfield, a certified dog trainer andowner of Tails from the Road, noted that she’dlove a park that is welcoming to pets and in-vites them to specific activities. “What wouldmake a pet-friendly park stand out? A happyhour that includes dogs, a happy hour at thedog park, activities that are designed for petsand pet owners, or an off-site visit to a dog-friendly place — a park that encourages social activities with pets,” she told WCM.Whitfield and others voiced a desire to be

able to find information on pet-friendlyrestaurants, activities, trails or other greenspaces that welcome their four-leggedfriends be it at the front desk, in a site map orposted inside the clubhouse or social room. Another critical point of communication to

pet owners? Emergency information. This in-cludes a local veterinarian, the nearest 24-hour emergency vet clinic and even petsitters in the event of a human emergency. On the topic of pet fees, several RVers are

open to paying them if required — but theyexpect an elevated level of service in return. There was much talk about size and breed

restrictions among the RVers with whom wetalked. Garland and Walter Clermont, travel-

ing with Inga and Gretchen, their two Germanshepherds, said this: “Breed restrictions areridiculous and should be eliminated. Camp-ground owners should simply say that theywelcome all ‘well-behaved’ dogs or just say,‘No dogs allowed.’ People can then choosewhich campground they want to stay at.”

Shirley Deasy has two small dogs, Win-ston — a cardigan Welsh corgi — and Nellie— a Scottish terrier — and noted that parksshould not discriminate based on size ofdogs. On an evening walk, an 8-pound Chi-huahua attacked one of her dogs. “Aggres-sive behavior should result in immediateremoval of the dog and owners from thepark,” she said.

Jim and Linda Jackson travel with Abigail,Mariah and Skeeter, their three small rat ter-riers, and have never been turned away froma campground. “Some have a limit of twodogs and that is fine for large dogs, unsocial-ized dogs or those that bark incessantly. Usu-ally with three small dogs the campgroundwill make an exception.”

Pets don’t talk — but their owners do Finding a pet-friendly park is a necessity

for a successful RV adventure. Park ownersand operators can take advantage of themany ways this is accomplished. “We always ask about pet policy and

amenities when contacting a park,” remarkedRose. “Finding this information has been madeso much easier by the Internet and we encour-age park owners to include pet info on theirwebsites. Fortunately for us, we’ve been onthe road long enough to rely on friends’ evalu-ations, one reason to love Facebook.” Serafinrelies on RVParkReviews.com and uses theGood Sam online directory or park websitesfor her pet information. Davis shares member-curated park

recommendations, observations and pet-welcoming websites as editor of the PetLovers BOF newsletter. “Knowing that so many of us travel with

pets and utilize this mode of travel for thatvery reason, I think it would just be good busi-ness sense for campground owners to caterto dog owners,” added Clermont. “Be creative, campground owners! Make ushappy and we’ll come back.” —EvanneSchmarder WCM

Here’s What Pet-Loving RVers Wish Park Owners KnewThis ramp that Garland and Walter Clermont put ontheir RV steps for Gretchen, their German Shepherd,helps illustrate her importance to them.

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Campground Recreation Isn’t a ‘One Size Fits All’Proposition — and CRS Offers A Variety of OptionsHow can a Wibit, Wedgie, Zulu, Iceberg

and Jungle Joe 2 help campgrounds attractmore guests and increase sales?Just ask the experts at Commercial

Recreation Specialists (CRS), a companyfounded by Ron Romens in 1999 with thegoal of transforming the outdoor hospitalityindustry. At CRS, they’re serious about fun,and offer those products — and more — tohelp campgrounds maximize revenue.Romens originally started in the outdoor

hospitality industry as a founder of RaveSports, a firm built around a single product,a unique floating trampoline that caught theattention of park owners with water-basedamenities. Two years later, Romens left to start Com-

mercial Recreation Supply — where he notonly sold the Rave Sports floating trampo-lines, but a variety of other unique floatingproducts built to withstand constant use ofvery active children, teens and adults in a

park setting.In 2004, the name was changed to Com-

mercial Recreation Specialists to conveythat the company was not only about supplying equipment, but they were a full-service resource that could design attrac-tions and guide customers throughinstallation, maintenance and operation toensure that customers were getting themost from their investments.Today, whether it’s a massive floating

playground, or an attraction like a splash-pad, playground or miniature golf course,CRS works with campgrounds and RV parksto best understand their goals and utilizewhatever space they have to create experi-ences that keep families coming back. “In much of the country, the camping

season is relatively short, so we want to helpcampground and RV park owners make thebest of what little time they are open,” saidRomens. “For many parks, access to water

is the big draw for guests. Water attractionsare often cited by guests as the reason apark is ‘recreation friendly.’”Any campground with access to a pond,

lake or river can take advantage of CRSwater-recreation products. Even those with-out existing water access can create it usingthe “water-based family recreation center”concept.“Campgrounds realize that water attrac-

tions are so successful, we are working withmany land-based parks to dig ponds to create recreation areas,” said Romens. With CRS, the service doesn’t stop after

the installation. The company will help parksdevelop an income stream to recover the investment costs and provide ongoing cashflow for the business. “We work with owners to use whatever

existing assets the campground has to enhance the camping experience and offerfamilies a reason to make return visits,

whether it is every weekend or once ortwice a year,” he added.

Creating a business modelThe staff at CRS works with camp-

grounds to help them develop a businessmodel that will support the investment costsand help get the most bang for the moneyspent. They recommend admission pricesand can show campgrounds other ways toenhance their revenue. Best of all, CRS can work with any

budget. If a campground only has a smallbudget to work with, they can develop a planto add an attraction or two each year untilthey create a full-fledged recreation area.Those campgrounds that really want to

attract families can develop a “family enter-tainment center” that not only includes awater park, but mini golf, a splashpad and/orplayground equipment. “We can show a campground how an

investment in some play equipment at theirpark can increase overall camper nights aswell as average revenue per camper by 3%to 15% or more,” said Romens. “We can even show owners data that

demonstrates how selling a recreation passfor a certain dollar amount can increasecamper nights percentage,” he added. “Sorather than spending $30,000 to create apark over time, owners may see the advan-tage of getting a loan to spend $150,000 creating a full-blown recreation center and recouping the cost by the sale of wristbands.”Financing for many of the projects is pro-

vided by the same companies that financecabin installations, so the lenders truly understand recreation and how profitable itcan be when done right, Romens explained. With a big recreation center, many camp-

grounds can augment their income by allow-ing daycare centers and day camps to buyaccess to the park on weekdays. Someparks have found that weekday birthday par-ties are a profitable enhancement as well.One Jellystone Park in Oklahoma sold 22,000day passes alone in 2014, he noted. Parks that benefit the most from CRS

services, he added, are those that make a

The Wibit by CRS draws crowds into the lake at Yogi Bear’sJellystone Park Camp-Resort at Lake Eufaula in Oklahoma.

Miniature golf can be as elaborate as a CRS customer wants, like the ArrowheadAdventure 18-hole course at Indian Trails Campground in Wisconsin.

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concerted effort to be family-friendly. Thisresults in more income for the parkowner, but also requires more work. Staffmust be hired to manage the activity orsell wristbands and there is some main-tenance required to keep up with the constant use. For example, the equipment must be

properly anchored and regularly inflated tomaintain the proper pressure. An ultravio-let inhibitor needs to be applied twice ayear and, at the end of each season, theequipment must be properly cleaned andstored. Parks also need to be willing to as-

sume some liability, but CRS can referpark owners to a variety of insuranceagencies that specialize in the specific

types of recreation offered at the camp-ground. Those firms can work with thecampground to institute policies and pro-cedures to reduce the risk of injury, whichkeeps costs down. “Commercial Recreation Specialists is

willing to present a comprehensive plan tohelp campgrounds set up a recreationzone, establish safety protocols and develop operational objectives. We don’tjust sell the equipment and leave the parkowners to figure out the best way to makethe system work,” said Romens. CRS also knows there isn’t one solution

that works for every location, which is whythey offer recreation solutions that can betailored to each region of the countrybased on the relaxation styles of peopleliving in those areas. For example, people in Arizona and

Florida are more relaxed and not as intensely focused on recreation as peopleare in the northern states where nice daysare a premium commodity. It’s for that reason that CRS offers both water- andland-based activities like splashpads, playgrounds and mini-golf courses to itscustomers so that they can find the bestsolution for their property.Just how important are recreational

opportunities in determining the reputationof a campground or RV park? It’s huge,Romens explained. “In guest-satisfaction surveys, recre-

ation is right up there with cleanliness ofthe bathrooms,” he said. “Everyonewants clean parks and clean restrooms,but families with children consider recre-

ation opportunities to be a huge factor indetermining which parks they’ll visit. Forthem, it’s all about the ‘stuff.’” “When kids can maneuver a high-ropes

course over water, activities like that addexcitement to the overall experience,”Romens added. “Best of all, recreation isrecession proof, and that was proven afew years ago when families postponedmega trips to Orlando and other furtherdestinations in favor of having fun locally,”said Romens. “One thing is for certain, theydidn’t stop wanting to have fun. Camp-grounds that can offer first-class recre-ation experiences will never have to worryabout surviving a recession.”For more information about Commercial

Recreation Specialists, call 877-896-8442or visit www.crs4rec.com. —Greg GerberWCM

Water equipment is a big draw at Smokey Hollow Campground in Lodi, Wis.

Playground equipment, of course, is an important recreationoption for parks like the Jellystone in Cherokee, N.C.

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Top Pet Parks —from page 15

dog owner,” Whistler said, adding they try tomeet every dog as they first enter the park fora number of reasons, including being able toplace a dog with its owner if ever the two areseparated. “But I want them to know who I am,too, so if he is running loose he won’t be afraidto come to me so I can take him back to wherehe belongs,” he said. Deer Creek Valley, which has 54 pull-

through sites and five back-in sites, has a 20-foot-by-50-foot fenced-in dog park adjacentto its playground. Two entry gates ensure dogsare secure coming to and from the dog park,which also has waste stations and a large expanse of grass. When RVs first enter thepark, Whistler said dogs are usually on thedashboard, eyes fixed on the dog park.“One of the things we’ve always believed

is a good dog is a tired dog. Turn them loose inthere and they can run around in there andthey just have a blast,” Whistler said. “It’s kindof funny because all the RVers will meet eachother out there and then their dogs will meeteach other. The RVers will sit down on thebenches and talk and the dogs will go play inthe park.”Deer Creek Valley does not charge extra for

pets, no matter how many.“We try to run the park and treat the people

the way we would want to be treated if wewere coming in here to camp,” Whistler said.“If you come in here today in your RV andcheck in I’m going to treat you exactly thesame way I’d want you to treat me if the situ-ation were reversed. It’s the same way withthe dogs. The dogs are part of the family. Thedogs deserve to come along with you. The dogdeserves to have his own consideration. That’s

what we try to do, we try to treat everybody asfamily.”About six years ago, Terry Tuytan, owner of

225-site Stone Creek RV Park near San Anto-nio, Texas, attended a conference where aspeaker talked about how the majority of RVerstravel with their pets and parks ought to providepet-friendly amenities as an attraction. By thenext year, Tuytan built two off-leash dog parks. “And they’re not just fenced-in areas,” he

said. “They’re actually agility parks. They’repretty tricked. Most folks are jazzed about it. I’ma pet lover and we have a lot of pets in the park.I think those are really what set us apart. A lotof campgrounds have off-leash areas, but Itook it to the next level and made it pretty nice.”With some help from campers, Tuytan built

all of the agility equipment. Each of the twoparks features a walking beam, seesaw, cul-vert pipe, “time-out” section, weaving obsta-cles and pyramid ramps. He also built benchesfor each park and, since the large park had

trees for shade, he built a shade shelter for thesmaller park. He lined the perimeter with rail-road ties and used pea gravel around theagility equipment, with the rest being grass.“I went online to look at buying this stuff

and, believe me, it was going to cost us $20,000per park,” he said, adding that local firefightershelped him locate four decommissioned firehydrants he bought for $15 each.The results of his efforts are two dog parks

that get a lot of use by a lot of dogs, he said.“I get a big grin on my face because one of

the dog parks is right by the office. I’m seeinga half-dozen dogs in there. They’re all out thererunning around and having fun and that, to me,is a kick. It’s like kids on a playground,” he said.

Normandy Farms Family Camping Resortin Foxboro, Mass., has a 1 1/2-acre dog parkcalled Freedom Tail Park built about six yearsago. Since then, Normandy Farms has addedadditional pet-friendly amenities, such as Canine Coopdog kennels and dog walking andpotty-break services.“They are definitely in demand for sure, just

because of the sheer volume of dogs that wehave,” said Kristine Daniels, director of mar-keting for Normandy Farms. She added that almost 60% of their guests travel with theirdogs and last year 4,500 different dogs stayedwith their owners at Normandy Farms, equat-ing to 31,045 “doggie nights” of camping.Freedom Tail Park is an off-leash, fenced-

in area that offers agility equipment, a dogwash and drinking fountain. The park recentlyadded a water-spraying fire hydrant, and adesignated area for dogs less than 30 poundsis also available. The Canine Coop is totally enclosed, includ-

ing a roof, so guests are assured their pets aresafe when they need to leave them for a time.The coop is also complete with a doghouseand water spigot and is available to rent on anhourly, but not overnight, basis. Like the dog-walking and potty-break services, the CanineCoop allows guests to visit nearby tourist des-tinations knowing their pet will be take care of.“We are a destination park, but often peo-

ple will take advantage of our proximity toBoston and Cape Cod. When you have yourdog with you it’s a challenge to be able to dothose things. So by offering those servicessuch as the potty break and the dog walkingservice, it allows people to enjoy those oppor-tunities while still enjoying time with theirpets,” Daniels explained.She added that dogs are given biscuits

when they and their owners first arrive at theresort. They also are given a nametag withtheir name and site number on one side, andthe campground’s pet policies on the other.Normandy Farms also rents pet-friendly

popup campers, cabins and yurts. The deckson these rentals are fenced-in to allow dogs toroam freely while on the deck, and Danielssaid these are so popular they typically rentout a year in advance.In addition, each year Normandy Farms

hosts a Dog’s Day Weekend. Included amongthe weekend’s festivities is a dog parade,where the animals get all dressed up andwalked around the park, and a local animalrescue will bring in dogs available for adoption.Guests’ dogs also compete in various contests, such as tallest dog, best trick andmost well behaved.—Rick Kessler WCM

Among its pet-friendly amenities, Normandy Farms Family Camping Resortin Foxboro, Mass., has a 1 1/2-acre dog park called Freedom Tail Park.

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GUEST VIEW

MaryArlington

Resources for Helping You GrowYourself — and Your Business

To run your business every day atpeak performance, to score a perfect 10every day in all areas of operations andcustomer service, ahh, that would beperfection! Then again, perfection is virtually im-

possible. Rather than perfection, when Ihad my RV park I strove to exceed expec-tations. Most park operators I know feelthat way; they want to provide greatguest experiences. I achieved it not only through TLC

and the addition of blood, sweat andtears, but also through growing myselfand through teamwork. Growth andteamwork included professional organ-izations and the expansive opportuni-ties and networks they provided. But the value of membership comes

from more than just paying your dues —you have to participate. Attend meetingsand events. Be an active listener. Share.Discuss. Absorb. Adapt. Apply new ideasto your business.Look at it this way: Education doesn’t

end when you earn a degree. It certainlydoesn’t end when you become a parkowner. That’s probably just the begin-ning. You have to stay current to stay vi-able and competitive. Actually, it’s betterto strive to stay ahead of “current.”Know the trends and advancements

in RVing, technology, tourism, tax laws,local codes and every facet of business.Take refresher courses in customer serv-ice. Apply new ideas. What was once agrand new idea quickly becomes thenorm as your guests and competitorsadvance with current trends. For instance, if you were the first to

offer Wi-Fi or a giant inflated jumpingpad, that’s great — or at least it was at thetime. Sadly, even exceptional productsquickly become the new average. Aver-age isn’t bad. It’s just average. Averagedoesn’t impress — and it certainlydoesn’t exceed expectations.Technology, alone, is ever-evolving at

warp speed and as it develops it impactsour lives in countless ways. Don’t let ob-solescence happen to you. Don’t let yourcompetition gain the upper hand. Andcertainly don’t disappoint your cus-tomers by being just status quo — or less.Look around your world. Wi-Fi didn’t

exist when I was in college. Website?PDF? Not even! Online reservations?Nope. Nearly every tool I use todaydidn’t exist when I graduated or evenwhen I began my own business, longafter college. How did I learn to use thesenewer tools so effectively? Through my active involvement in professional associations. Some of the more affordable and ef-

fective ways one can achieve continuingeducation, or self-growth, is through:• Participating in conferences, expos

and seminars provided by professionalassociations.• Reading business publications (now

mostly online, which also provides theability to instantly post questions or addto the dialog).• Networking; knowing others who

are far more proficient in their areas ofexpertise.I realized early on that my part —

paying my dues, attending, listening andapplying — was worthwhile. Hindsightproved it. In no particular order, associ-ations helped me increase occupancy,develop new amenities, reduce ex-penses, receive grant funding, broadenmy resources, strengthen employeebenefit programs, streamline operationsand much more. Associations provided me with a

team I couldn’t otherwise afford. I could-n’t have professionals on staff highlyskilled in human resources, accountingpractices, corporate law, risk manage-ment, media relations, grant opportuni-ties, marketing, tourism, legislativelobbying and so forth — but my associ-ations taught me and opened doors fornetworking with such professionals. Another perk: In my family and in my

own community, where my park owner’slife was alien, associations introducedme to people who walked my walk, whocould laugh with me and even lift mewhen I was troubled. I realize that schedules and budgets

limit your ability to actively join all of theassociations that are available to you.Become familiar with your options,study their goals and their programs,and go from there. At the very least, be-come involved with your local commu-nity chamber of commerce and withyour industry at the regional, state andnational levels of the National Associa-tion of RV Parks and Campgrounds(ARVC) and the U.S. Travel Association. Today, viable associations realize

members need not physically “come to-gether” to network. Electronic tools pro-vide the means to achieve this now,without taking us away from our office.Although I still strongly encourage in-person networking, some of my chosenassociations have partnered me withpeople in all American time zones (andbeyond); networking beyond the abilityto frequently meet in-person. I appreci-ate associations that have adapted pro-grams to include online networking.Travel expenses have decreased, and Ican even participate in many places inone day.Be the best professional you can be by

networking to create a team that com-plements and completes your needs, asyour needs change and as technologyevolves. Let associations be resources forhelping you grow yourself and yourbusiness.My belief is this: Joining a profes-

sional association should be about mak-ing you a better professional rather thanabout the association’s ability to directlydrive traffic up your driveway.

Mary Arlington is a consultant,speaker and executive director of theKansas Association of RV Parks andCampgrounds. Having sold her RVpark, Mary Arlington now works to helpother small businesses. Find her onlineat www.MaryArlington.com. WCM

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‘People like to see you doing things every year. They like to know you’re successful, and they like to see you puttingmoney back into the campground,’ said Jeff Hoffman, one of the second-generation owners. The park is co-man-aged by third-generation family members.

Wide lanes, lots of activities and plenty of shade serve asa draw for the Sandusky Bayshore KOA in Sandusky, Ohio.

When you’re a few feet from the shore of one ofthe Great Lakes and the closest campground to oneof America’s most popular amusement parks —Cedar Point on the shore of Lake Erie — it wouldbe easy to rest on your laurels.That’s not the case at the Sandusky Bayshore

Kampgrounds of America (KOA), however. Whilethe park has been around for 47 years, the family-owned operation is in a constant state of change,always looking to upgrade what they offer guests —all with an eye toward growing revenue.In the process, the sprawling RV campground

has grown considerably since Robert Hoffmanstarted with 36 sites in 1968. At that point, he in-stalled back-in RV sites served by 20-amp electricalhookups with no sewer or water.Today, the campground features 470 sites — a

mix of tent, RV, basic cabin and park model RV sites. This year, several tent sites are being converted to 28 deluxe patio RV sites with stonefire rings, Jeff Hoffman, Robert’s son and one ofthe owners of the campground, told Woodall’sCampground Management.“What I find is people like to see you doing things

every year. They like to know you’re successful, andthey like to see you putting money back into thecampground,” he said.That isn’t just about the facilities, either. The

improvements include vibrant events, like fishingtournaments and music festivals. While a recent attempt at a bluegrass festival didn’t draw thecrowds the Hoffmans hoped, the family didn’tabandon the idea entirely, instead switching thisyear to a country festival.

They also this year agreed to play host to a motorcycle group, the Widow’s Sons — an offshootof the Freemasons, not Hell’s Angels — for a largeveterans’ gathering in late July. That came aboutafter one of the group’s members stayed at the KOAduring Sandusky’s Bike Week, a growing annualevent that, added to the annual KOA Care CampsBig Weekend to benefit pediatric cancer camps,makes a fifth major “holiday” crowd for the Sandusky Bayshore KOA (on top of Memorial Day,Labor Day and July 4).Among the campground amenities is a snack

trailer that the park used to operate, Hoffman said,but this year they decided to contract with an employee to run it. “He’s happy to have the extra income and we don’t have to mess with it,” Hoffman explained. The campground also offerscatering to large groups.In addition, the office/store/lounge/game-room

building has something new this year, an ice creamcounter and coffee shop. “That’s doing better thanI thought it would,” Hoffman said.On the weekends,Alex Gooding— a third-gen-

eration family member who runs the park with Jeff’ssister, Pat Hoffman, as co-general managers —uses his culinary background to offer baked goodsto guests, from muffins to pastries.The proximity to Lake Erie recreation options is

another big draw for guests at the SanduskyBayshore KOA, and the addition of more family pro-gramming has increased the number of guestscoming to the campground from within 50 milesaway, said Gooding. “We’ve brought in a lot of activities and special events,” Gooding said. “Before

Nearly Five Decades In, ‘Good Enough’ Just Isn’t Good Enough for Sandusky Bayshore KOA’s Owner Family

CAMPGROUNDPROFILE

Alanna Ehrnsberger (left), co-owner Jeff Hoffman andoffice manager Jennifer Fultz pause at the front desk.


Campground OverviewName: Sandusky/Bayshore KOAAddress: 2311 Cleveland Road,Sandusky, OH 44870Number of Sites: 470; 260 full-hookup RV sites, 80 electricity-onlysites, 24 primitive cabins, 36 deluxelodging, the rest primitive tent sitesPhysical description: 20-acrewooded park which borders onLake Erie’s Sandusky Bay, with afishing pond, six buildings scat-tered throughout, one swimmingpool, a jumping pillow, a play-ground, a gem mine, game room,basketball court, volleyball court,horseshoe pit and bean bag tossarea. The park is urban, located justoff U.S. 6, though most sectionsare screened from the neighboringbusinesses along the highway. Thelocation is only three miles fromCedar Point amusement park.Season: May 1-Oct. 31 Rates:VariableWebsite: koa.com/campgrounds/sanduskyContact information: 419-625-1495

The pool is such a popular amenity that the Hoffman family plans to add a second.

it was just a campground.” For instance,there’s an August Wine and Cheese Socialwith local wines, cheeses, meats andmusic. There’s also a September fleamarket — a counterpoint to the springflea market — along with two musicevents at the campground. They also offered a fairy tale-themed Mother’s Dayweekend.Doing all this is generally fun for

Gooding. “I love the job, honestly,” hetold Woodall’s Campground Manage-ment. “Yeah, everybody knows it’s stress-ful because every job’s stressful — butdealing with people all the time, peoplefrom all over on their vacation, 90% ofthe time everybody’s really happy andfun. I get to hear great stories — and I getto tell great stories.”Of course, given the location, most of

those vacationers are headed to the singlebiggest factor in the campground’s occu-pancy, Cedar Point, which bills itself as“The Roller Coaster Capital of the World.”Cedar Point is the flagship amuse-

ment park of Cedar Fair LLC — whichowns similar parks across the U.S. andCanada, including California’s Knott’sBerry Farm, Kansas City’s Worlds of Funand Oceans of Fun, former Paramountparks King’s Island and King’s Dominionin Virginia and Canada’s Wonderland inOntario, among others.Cedar Point boasts a large collection

of some of the biggest, fastest rollercoasters on the planet, a fact that overthe years has drawn an extraor-dinary amount of positive pub-licity and name recognition.“We live and die off Cedar

Point,” said Jeff Hoffman, whoserves on the board of the OhioCampground Owners Associ-ation and on Sandusky’s Con-vention and Visitors Bureauboard.It’s an interesting relation-

ship for Hoffman, too. CedarPoint has its own lodging ac-commodations, includingcamping options on the penin-sula on which the park sits.Cedar Point’s Lighthouse Pointcampground doesn’t have tentcamping, but it does have 64cottages and 92 cabins, plus RV sites.Still, because of its limited land, as the

park grows its rides, Cedar Point has reduced its numbers of campsites, Hoffman said.On the other hand, when Sandusky

recently closed its airport — located justeast of the KOA — and sold the land toCedar Point, the rumor was that CedarPoint would acquire it to use as a camp-ground, Hoffman said. As it turns out,the amusement park is going to donate

the use of the land for athletic fields —but the uncertainty illustrates the ten-sion that arises when your main drawcan also be, in part, a major competitor.The other competition is Cedar Point-

related, too, with a bevy of local hotelsand motels also competing for visitors.That led to a still-unexplained mini-re-cession in Sandusky in 2000, Hoffmansaid. “In 2000 our company income wentdown 35%,” and it crawled back upslowly. “That was our own little recessionin this area,” Hoffman explained.During that time the dynamic of

camping in the Sandusky area reallychanged, he said.“We used to fill up with tents because

our average hotel room was $120 a night.Something happened. Hotel rooms now,you can get them for $69 during the sea-son during the week, which is amazing,”he said. “That beat the heck out of our tent

business,” he continued. “We made greatmoney off of tents because you don’t givethem anything. But we’ve been makingthe move to accommodate the RVs evenmore and probably will continue addingsites for RVs and adding some more seasonals.”While 2000 was rough, in 2008 and

2009, the campground didn’t take anyreal dip. “I wouldn’t say we’re recession-proof, but we held our own. We stayedeven or actually grew,” Hoffman said.The Hoffmans decided to become a

KOA franchise in 2009 during the national recession — which never reallyhit the campground. But even the transition to KOA has a story behind it. “I (initially) wasn’t a big fan of fran-

chising or KOA,” he said. But the familyalso owns three other properties, includ-ing a hotel adjacent to — but completelyseparate from — the KOA. In fact, theyused to own two other campgroundsand another 10 properties, includingmanufactured-housing communities

The basic cabins predate the park joining KOA, but still draw high marks for guest satisfaction.

Cedar Point is a big draw for thecampground, bringing theseKOA campers to Sandusky.

and a motel, though they’ve consoli-dated their operations over the last several years to the KOA, the Knight’s Innhotel and two MH parks.“Knowing through the Knight’s Inn

that this generation is more of a fran-chise generation, they look for consis-tency,” Hoffman said. So he had a changeof heart about joining the franchise. In addition to the existing brand

recognition, it’s nice to have the market-ing muscle of KOA. While Gooding is thepark’s marketing guru for YouTube, Face-book and the park’s events webpage, “wecan’t do the social-media marketing thatKOA can,” Hoffman said.That extends to search engines, too. “If you put in ‘Camping Sandusky’ or

‘Camping Cedar Point,’ we pop up because they (KOA) pay the fees to moveus in Google. Generally when we check,we’re the first or second choice on almostevery Web search.”“The other thing is their operating

system and the way you can run yourcampground,” he added. “One of thegreat things with the KOA system is Iknow, by site, how much revenue I’vegot; I can tell by area. A lot of the changesthat we’ve made are based on that infor-mation. The sites we’re putting in, thosewere tent sites that we really weren’t getting revenue off of.” That helps the family make strong

business decisions: What sites shouldbe converted to a different type? Whatsites can be blocked off for use in amusic festival?“KOA does a survey that we get rated

on, our NPS (net-promoter score) andwe do beautifully. Then you go down and ‘Train’ gets zero,” Hoffman said.“The No. 1 problem we have that we can’tdo anything about is the trains.” A freightline, he explained, runs parallel to U.S. 6on the other side of the highway, a fewdozen yards from the south side of thecampground.Still, the Hoffmans have tried to make

lemonade out of that lemon. The parkmaps show the train tracks, though witha quaint steam locomotive depicted onthe tracks. “How do I beat that? We’veeven joked about having shirts madesaying, ‘What train?’”On balance, though, the location gives

the Sandusky Bayshore KOA lots of benefits, he asserted. “We have the con-venience of city water and sewer andwe’re close to the destination park.”The Hoffmans are still trying to decide

whether to adopt the KOA Holiday orKOA Resort brand. While their guestsgenerally stay for a couple of days on a trip to Cedar Point, more and morepeople are coming to enjoy the park’samenities over the weekend from nearby

areas like Cleveland, Hoffman said.“We’d like to add an entertainment

venue with an inside stage facing outward. We could use that for concertsand dinners,” he added.They also plan to add a second swim-

ming pool and expand the playgrounds.They’ve also upgraded the parkwide

Wi-Fi to an Ohio-based company’s sys-tem. “We scrapped our old system lastyear and put a whole new one in,” Hoff-man said. “I used to run the old system.With this one, the company monitors it.They check the radios and all nine towersto make sure they’re all working and theyknow how many people are on eachtower,” he described. “We’ve looked andwe’ve had more than1,000 users at onetime. We’re lucky because we can have a100-megabyte pipeline, which mostparks can’t have.”And as always, they’re looking for the

best way to keep guests happy and tomaximize revenue. “We’re going to beadding more RV sites, and we’re debatingthe mix between seasonal and overnightsites,” Hoffman said.Whether it’s facilities, amenities or

entertainment, Gooding said, “Each yearwe’re always trying to keep going up.” —Justin Leighty WCM

http://koa.com/campgrounds/sandusky

ADVERTISERS’ INDEXAirwave Adventurers Inc...............................28Aquatic Adventures ........................................23B & B Electrical ...............................................18Book Your Site .................................................19Campground Investment Opport. ...................27CheckBox Systems .........................................22Classified Ads ..................................................26Dawan Global ....................................................9Dogipot ..............................................................21Dri-Dek ..............................................................23Frosty’s..........................................................4 & 6Hialeah Meter ....................................................2Jamestown Advanced Products...................17Kampgrounds of America ................................7Keystone Kabins ..............................................21

Mini-Golf Inc. .....................................................8Mission Management.....................................10Mutt Mitt ...........................................................26Pacific Yurts .......................................................8Pelland Advertising. .......................................22Phelps Honey Wagon .....................................17RainDeck...........................................................11RVIA .....................................................................9Silver-top ..........................................................21Southeast Publications ..................................26TengoInternet .....................................................2Tower Company ...............................................12Utility Supply Group Inc. .........................5 & 28Workamper News ...........................................23YES – Your Electrical Solutions......................6

Advertiser Page # Advertiser Page #

Classified Advertising Rates are $1 per word, minimum $15 per ad. Payment mustaccompany order. Closing date is the first of the month preceding month of pub-lication. Published monthly. Make remittance payable to Woodall’s CampgroundManagement, 2901 E. Bristol St., Ste. B, Elkhart, IN 46514

CLASSIFIEDS

HELP WANTEDCAMPGROUND MANAGERSTravel Resorts of America is expandingand is seeking both experienced andpotential managers to join our profes-sional management team as opera-tions managers, assistant managers ormanagers in training. For more infor-mation about current and future open-ings, please contact Robert Bouse [email protected]. “Have Fun,Make Money” with an industry leader!

SEEKING A CAMPGROUND MANAGERHighly Successful Camping Resort islooking for a qualified manager to over-see all operations of the park. Workingknowledge of Campground Managerand Quick Books Pro is a plus. Position isin Cape May, New Jersey. Send resumeto [email protected]


It has been a banner year for all of usat Gerber.

Q: What do you see happening in themarket?It is my understanding that the camp-

grounds are doing well so far this year,which is great for all of us. I see this trendcontinuing in the campground industryat this point.

Q: It seems like the pet sector of thecamping/RV market just keeps gettingbigger, what are your thoughts?Dog Parks are one of the fastest-

growing trends not only in the RV seg-

ment, but also the park and recreation,multi-family housing, and homeownersassociation segments as well. It is one ofthe fastest-growing trends in outdoorrecreation today.

Q: What’s new at your company thatyou’d like to mention?We have a brand-new misting fire hy-

drant that was released in March of thisyear. It gives off a 10-second mist oncethe push-button is activated. We haveplans to include a wash-station line thisyear, and also make some additions toour waste-station line.

Q: What do you enjoy the mostabout what you do?

Working with customers and mycoworkers.

Q: Do you have any pets?We have a Pug named Cubby and an

Australian Shepherd/Boxer mixedname Makwa. They are both rescuedogs with very different personalities,one quiet and one active.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Linda Rosado, Marketing and Brand

ManagerDOGIPOTOrlando, Fla.800-364-7681Q: How is business in general these

days?Great! Since 1994, DOGIPOT’s goal

has been to keep pet-friendly areasclean for the health and safety of every-one to enjoy the great outdoors.

Q: What do you see happening in themarket? Dog owners are becoming more re-

ceptive to picking up after their pets forthe health and happiness of everyone.

Q: It seems like the pet sector of thecamping/RV market just keeps gettingbigger, what are your thoughts?More and more families want to

make sure they include the family pupin their outings and we are happy thatDOGIPOT is the No. 1 choice for pick-up bags.

Q: What’s new at your company thatyou’d like to mention? We have recently designed a line of

pet products — bowls, crates and dog-houses. They’re all available atwww.DOGIPOT.com

Q: What do you enjoy the most

about what you do? It’s exciting to see that we are making

a difference in the world by providing atool to keep families and pets clean, safeand happy.

Q: Do you have any pets?Yes I have three Bernese mountain

dogs: Fuji, Hawk and Killi.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Elizabeth Caldwell, Marketing

ManagerJamestown Advanced ProductsJamestown, N.Y.800-452-0639Q: How is business in general these

days (pertaining to pet products line)?At Jamestown Advanced Products,

we continue to see growth with our dog-park products and packages. We havereceived a lot of really great feedbackfrom our customers, because with hav-ing three different packages to choose

Pet Vendors —from page 17

Pet Vendors – continued on page 28

DOGIPOT

www.muttmitt.com

http://southeastpublications.com


CAMPGROUND INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

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: [email protected]

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

“Specializing in RV PARKS andCAMPGROUNDS FOR SALE”

Over 28 Years Experience

www.rvparksforsale.comAbout SOLD Out, NEED Listings

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: [email protected]

Campgrounds/RV ParksME - NH - VT - NY

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

DON D SELLS #145………………………………………………

This month’s featured listings:Famous Maine landmark, tours, 60 site CG,gift shop, FUN, much more . . . . . .Only $749K100 sites, 200 canoe/kayaks, 1,000' majortourist river, house. Great Equip .Only $1.25M60 sites, pond, pool, house, rentals . . . .$549KQuality 175 site Park Loaded! Pool, 2 apt,Lg Act Blg, Near Mtns & Lge LAKE . .$1.395M80 sites, river, pool, Country Store, QualityTake Out, House, LOCATION! . . . . . .$1.295M100+ sites, pool, 2 homes, Pretty Park .$775KContact Don for these and other listings.www.BuyaCampground.comDon @BuyaCampground.comRE Broker, Campground Specialist.

603-755-3944

PARK BROKERAGE INC.

John Grant/Park Brokerage Inc. 11510 Caminito Garcia, San Diego, CA 92131

[email protected] • Fax 858-530-2368

www.parkbrokerage.com

Dardanelle Resort, Top of the SierraNevada Mountains, Sonora, CA6,500 feet on the Stanislaus River, 34 RV, 8 Cabins, 5 Motel Rooms, Restaurant, Store,Outside Bar, Large Tent/Group Area$1,150,000, Seller Financing

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

Kern River RV Park, Near Sequoia National Park, CA80 RV Sites on the Kern River with 8 CabinsWhite Water Rafting Center of CA12% Cash Flow with Low Rates$3.625M with 5% Seller Financing

MICHIGAN CAMPGROUNDS FOR SALESEVERAL CAMPGROUNDS AVAILABLEIncluding in North Central, South

East and West Michigan Regions

BRIGGS REALTYwww.briggsrealtyonline.com

616-942-1071

For Sale By OwnerFor Sale By Owner

7th Ranch and RV Park

Adjacent to the 3rd largest tourist attraction in Montana, located nextto I-90, and nestled in the middleof the Big Horn and Little HornRiver Valley, this 625-acre propertyis a gentleman ranch, home,campground, and activity centerfull of Montana history, tradition,lifestyle, and excitement. Spaciousand friendly, this property hasbeen built and maintained to topstandards and awaits the secondowner to continue in the traditionof hospitality and convenience.

Offered at $1,900,000

Contact Dan Kern, BrokerBig Horn Real Estate

406-696-4676

CULLMAN CAMPGROUNDFor Sale by Owner

75 sites all full hookups, 67 pull thrus. Largeowner’s house, double-wide and single-widetrailers, office bldg., has bath houses andlaundry. 40 beautiful acres with pond andcreek. Lots of vacant land for expansion.Great location; off busy I-65 in mid north Alabama. OPEN all year. $1,100,000,000. 256-734-5853 or email:

[email protected]

TO PLACE YOUR AD IN THIS

SPECIAL SECTION:

Beverly Gardner & Associates 574-266-7980•Fax: [email protected]@g-gmediagroup.com

www.campgroundbrokers.com

www.campgroundsforsale.com


CALENDAR OF EVENTS

AUGUST

4-6: Tennessee Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds Conference & Trade ShowClinton/Knoxville KOAClinton, Tenn.Contact: 865-685-5339, [email protected]

SEPTEMBER

14-20: America’s Largest RV ShowHershey, Pa.Industry days: Sept. 14-15Public days: Sept. 16-20Contact: Heather Leach888-303-2887, [email protected]

15-16: Northeast CampgroundAssociationGreat Escape to ConnecticutLone Oak CampsitesEast Canaan, Conn.Contact: 800-422-2267

OCTOBER

20-21: Ohio Campground Owners AssociationFall Conference & POOTHilton Columbus/PolarisColumbus, OhioContact: 877-787-7748

NOVEMBER

3-6: National Association of RVParks and Campgrounds OutdoorHospitality Conference and ExpoOcean Center Convention CenterDaytona Beach, Fla.Contact: 303-681-0401

9-11: Pennsylvania CampgroundOwners Association Convention and Trade ShowPenn Stater Hotel


State College, Pa.Contact: 610-767-5026

10-12: Leisure Systems Inc. (LSI) Symposium and Trade ShowNorthern Kentucky Convention Center and Embassy SuitesCovington, Ken.Contact: Dean Crawford, 513-831-2100 ext. [email protected]

12-14: Campground Owners of New York 2015 Exposition for the Outdoor Hospitality IndustryTurning Stone ResortVerona, N.Y.Contact: 585-586-4360

15-18: Camping in Ontario/OPCAConvention & CampExCaesars WindsorWindsor, OntarioContact: [email protected]

16-19: Kampgrounds of AmericaConvention and ExpoOcean Center Convention CenterDaytona Beach, Fla.Contact: 406-254-7416,[email protected]

FEBRUARY 2016

23: Kansas Association of RV Parks and CampgroundsMembership MeetingFour Seasons RV AcresAbilene, Kan.Contact: [email protected]

MARCH

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

Pet Vendors —from page 26 people. I love that I have a chance tolook at trends in the campground in-dustry and look at creative ways forJamestown Advanced Products to en-hance those trends and the experiencesof our customers. I also love having con-versations with our customers, hearing

their testimonials and receiving picturesfrom them. I feel a great sense of pridewhen I hear customers rave about thequality of our products and our cus-tomer service.

Q: Do you have any pets?We’re all dog lovers at Jamestown Ad-

vanced Products! The owners of thecompany, Lee and Wendi Lodestro,have two giant schnauzers. Many mem-bers of our staff also have dogs. Person-ally, my husband and I have two dogs.Ramsay is a 6-year-old Yorkie/Jack Rus-sel mix, and Harley is a 2-year-oldYorkie/Cairn mix.—Ty Adams WCM

from they are able to install agilityequipment based on the size of theirspace and their budget. Additionally, we have many customers who chooseto purchase from our dog agility line a-la-carte.

Q: What do you see happening in themarket?Pet products continue to gain in pop-

ularity. Campground and park ownersare seeing this rising trend, and in-stalling pet-friendly areas, completewith agility equipment, which in turnkeeps dogs well-exercised.

Q: It seems like the pet sector of thecamping/RV market just keeps gettingbigger, what are your thoughts?I think that people have really em-

braced their pets as part of the familyover recent years, and as a result theirpets are going everywhere — includingcamping and RVing.

Q: What’s new at your company thatyou’d like to mention?Our engineering team is working on

adding products to our agility line, sostay tuned to see what we will be debut-ing soon.

Q: What do you enjoy the mostabout what you do?In my position, I get to do a lot of re-

search and speak to a lot of different

Dog Bone Bench

http://www.go-usg.com

www.airwaveadventurers.com


$2.50 u.s./$3.50 canada the independent...

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