I am looking for RV'er feedback, advice and input on features to add to our park. We own and operate a small full-service park in Port Orford on the southern coast.Oregon (www.campblanco.com). We currently have 25 spaces, free wi-fi, on-site propane, RV parts, full hookups and more, but are always looking to hear what our guests most look for in a park. Please drop us a reply letting us know what services or features you most look for in choosing a stopping point along the way, and what sources you use most to look up parks ahead of time. And if you see our website, what is it missing? We would really appreciate your thoughts! Thanks!
Your website was great. My only concern would be the 20' wide spaces. By the time you put out slides on both sides, you would be clearing barely 3 ft. on each side. We generally look for park that have wider spaces than that, but would not rule one with narrower spaces out, if push came to shove. I do like the fact that you have free cable tv and wifi - those are big pluses. We do have a satellite dish in our motorhome but prefer to not have to set it up if it is just an overnight stay.
jeffymac: There are a number of postings from park owners, that have requested the same information. My requests are common place and simple. I personally like wide interior roadways, long pull throughs with easy accessibility in and out, full hookup level sites w/ 50 amp electric service, trimmed trees, (to avoid damage to the motor home and your trees), an escort to assigned site, setup sites for the overnight traveler, and a fee that is affordable and fair for both of us. Do not enlarge beyond your ability to maintain your park. For campground information We use this forum for reviews, and also the Good Sam Directory for our info. And lastly, above all, smile and say thank you. A sincere" thank you" is imperative, and illustrates that you appreciate our business. Thank you for asking, and "good luck and best wishes" in your endeavor.
jeffymac, Our favorite area to visit is the Oregon coast and we do so each summer! Now for some corrective criticism about your website. The cardinal sin of a website is to make it easy for a visitor to go elsewhere outside of your site when you have a business website. Almost everything on the main page of your website takes you elsewhere outside of the site, many will not return after leaving. Visit a lot of RV campground websites that are listed in the review section around the country and the majority of them keep you in their website for good reason. You have a nice little park in a nice area but I certainly would change some things on your website. I know as I have designed several websites. Another thing is why advertise other businesses like Woodall's and the clubs on the main page as you are trying to promote your business not theirs (and a lot of folks don't care for the directories anyway), should be on a separate page. Put your campground photos, the entrance, amenities etc. on the main page. Hope this helps, you asked :lol: Gene
We stayed at your park in November. It's a very nice area and we enjoyed our stay. A couple of things have already been mentioned - the narrow sites - which didn't apply really for us as you put us closest to the boat and no one was in the site beside us, the roads are quite narrow for big rigs, most rigs these days need 50 amp. We had a lot of power dips while we were there. Although we had internet satellite, the wifi was great as a backup. Your hand delivered gift was very thoughtful and I've never seen that before. Also enjoyed the personal service. Your website looks great although there is a lot of reading to do. It's all very interesting. I really liked Port Orford - best weather we had when coming down the coast for any period of time. Sandra
I would want wider than 20 ft. sites for me. We have a slide on each side so that wouldn't give us much room between sites. I also like to have a pool and hot tub. Looks like a great place to visit. The rental boat is a cool idea for a night. Always remember to smile it makes a huge difference. Good luck to you!
Thanks to you all for the great feedback. I agree the sites are somewhat narrow for today's bigger RV's. We bought the park 2-1/2 years ago from the couple who built it in 1990 when the RV's were much smaller. We will be working on that soon to make more space. We will also be overhauling our website, which was built for free as a favor from an old employee to get us "off the ground" with a website back in 2003. It will feature more about Camp Blanco RV Park itself, with more photos and less "leading" to other sites (that has been bugging me too Gene!). As we said in the Good Sam article, we have a great time doing this and love to spoil guests with anything we can do to make them remember their stay here (like the goodie basket all overnight guests receive). We'll keep FREE WI-FI, helping guests park and set up, smiling, and making sure you all know how much we really do appreciate your business. And, sorry Gene....but we will continue to advertise our affiliation with Woodall's, The Good Sam Club, etc., as about 65% of our guests are members of those organizations and most use the directories (but I do value your opinion ) Thanks again to everyone and to Sandra for staying with us. Please keep Camp Blanco RV Park in beautiful Port Orford on your list of stops down the Oregon coast.
We travel in a 40' motorhome about 6-9 months of the year and like to stay in campgrounds that have sites large enough to accommodate us...we look for campgrounds that have good size sites - meaning enough space between sites so we don't feel jammed in...most KOA parks are too old/small for our size motorhome, for our taste. We prefer a 40-60' wide by 60-80' long site - these size sites give everyone a good experience, especially if there is some nice foliage/trees between the sites. If your sites are close together...you're just the same as all the other campgrounds you compete with. My suggestion would be to select a type of camper you want to attract (and have the facilities to attract) and advertise to that group....whether it be tents, family campers, fishermen, larger motorhomes, adults - whatever. A campground really can't be all things to all people. Pick your target and put in the resources/facilities to make that market segment happy and you can't lose. We have found that the Trailer Life and Woodall's reviews are generally quite optimistic, in our opinion.
Jeff & Angie, I must say that your website is much improved from the old version! Keep up the good work and we may see you someday as we travel the Oregon 101 frequently.
My family and I have been full timing since last November and have traveled through nine states in our 40 ft. 5th wheel, and the common amenity that I look for is wide roads and spaces as some of the other posts have stated. Pull thru sites seem to take the most real estate, and many sites that we've stayed only have a few with the exception for the Gallup NM KOA which almost every site is a wide pull through.. Also, the newer RV's have their hookups towards the middle of their rigs, and I've noticed that the older RV Parks have all of their hookups at the rear of the sites. I realize this is an expensive thing to change, but it can be something for a park owner to think about when talking about upgrades. Finally, a friendly staff is important to us since most of our memorable stays have been at parks where there were nice people working there.
