Thanks for asking! We're pop-up campers too. Clean bathrooms are a big plus, so are clean and spacious showers. No concrete pads for us, just a level grassy spot with a bit of privacy, a fire ring, picnic table and some run-around room for the kids and we're set. Please sell firewood & ice. Maybe ice-cream treats too. We don't need a pool, but my kids love minature golf. Somehow get listed on the Internet - that is how we usually pick CGs. Include lots of photos of your sites and office area. Indicate if you're near any interesting activities (museum, waterslides, hayrides, etc). Good Luck! We need CG owners like you.
As a full-timer who travels cross country, I like the idea of an overnighter specific campground. We have a 36 ft. 5'ver with quad slides, and so much of the time when we pull in for just an over-night in order to find a big enough site we are banished to the back of a campground where the 50 amp spots are. Not convenient when we pull out at 5am the next morning, as I'm always afraid we'll wake our neighbors up. Instant phone and wi-fi are also very helpful, since we do all our business and communication on the road. I will admit, we never use the laundry or shower since we have them on board. A friendly and helpful office staff is a must, or the whole campground will get a lower rating from us. Sound's as if your heading in a great direction. Good Luck! Looking forward to staying with you next time we are through your area.
When you're about to open your park, be sure you have a website up and running. This will help generate business and will help people make a determination as to whether they are your "target market". The websirte doesn't have to be fancy, but it should list your amenities, number of sites, hookups, prices, rules, credit cards, discounts, address and telephone number. You'd be surprised how many bad RV Park websites there are.
It sounds like the park will be very nice. My family and I are currently on a 14 day trip in Oregon and have been camping for over ten years. Remember that about 5% of all campers are full-timers and have washers/dryers. For us, the response we get at check-in is extremely important. Treat your guests like you would want to be treated (I know, very elementary but how often are you treated poorly at check-in?). Charging extra for tow vehicles, over two occupants, dogs, cable, etc. gets very old. If you want to charge for all of that, simply have your daily rate $38 (or whatever). I get very turned off when I am nickle and dimed to death. I think Wi-Fi is important and should be included in your daily rate. I am currently utilizing it in the campground I am in and it is handy. Sure, this is not really camping when you are using a laptop and checking email but it appears this is where the camping experience is taking us. One additional suggestion, have a list of things to do in the area available at check-in. Add as many things as you can so it looks like there is a lot of stuff to do in the area. Gives people choices of things to do during the day. Maybe add in good restaurants in town (I know you are having your own--another great idea). GOOD LUCK!
QUOTE I think Wi-Fi is important and should be included in your daily rate. I disagree. I also don't want to pay for cable. We don't take a T.V. or laptop with us, so why should we have to pay for those services. I know someone will come back and say they don't use the pool so why should they pay for it. I don't see any way to monitor that since there isn't a pool at every site. By the way, we seldom use the pool either.
I agree with Cheryl, Wi-Fi should not be included in the daily rate. What I would want in an overnight park is easy accessible pull thru sites, laundry facilities and a fully stocked store. I also think a self serve coffee bar would be great! If we're just stopping over night I don't want to have to make coffee in the morning before we head back out......and I need my coffee! LOL Also there are more and more families RVing so having an area (open field, small playground) for the kids to run and use up some of that energy would also be nice, but not mandatory. Good Luck!
I cannot understand why the RV Park industry doesn't do like the motel industry. When you stay at a motel, you pay one flat rate, and that is it. If you do, or do not, use the air conditioner, the shower, the telephone, the cable television, the pool, the exercise room, or any other amenity, it makes no difference. The rate is the rate. Period. This concept of nickle and diming campers is very annoying and, I suspect, is really beginning to turn off campers.
Only the minority that forgot what a vacation really is. It is the time to "get away from it all." To relax without the hassles of work, etc. Try leaving your laptop at home next time you go. See how energized, recharged and relaxed you are when you return.
B) Well....I understand that you're creating this park and catering to overnighters but why do the people in the big motor homes think that they are the only ones that would want that? We have a 34' 5th wheel with one slide and we like to travel with our 3 kids (10, 8, 6). There are many times where our final destination is several days away and all we need in a place to park, eat, sleep and move on....but if we arrive at 5:00 or so after a long day in the truck it's great to have at least a playground to send the kids to so they can run off some energy. A pool to cool off would be wonderful but I wouldn't expect one in an overnight place and probably wouldn't want to bother with all the wet clothes for that short a time. I also wouldn't need the wifi (I'm on VACATION!) but my hubby does like to have cable (I could do without the TV!). If we're only at a place overnight the pull through's are fantastic and, depending on our arrival and planned departure time, make it possible to set up without unhitching because they're usually very level and there's no need to move the truck out of the road if the site is long enough. Wouldn't really care one way or the other if there were trees and wooded sites or concrete padded sites. When we're at a cg to stay we like trees and fire rings, etc. ... but for just the night it wouldn't matter much. I will say that the trailer stays neater with the concrete pad...but no biggie. I wouldn't think a laundry would be necessary if most of your clientele was coming and going in one night. If you really wanted to have it, get one of the newer dryers...they dry just as fast as the washers wash - and I doubt you'd need more than 2 anyway. A small store where you could purchase, at a minimum, fresh milk and OJ, some eggs and bread and basic snack foods would be a blessing. When we travel we try to eat in the trailer at rest areas and with 3 kids a loaf of bread doesn't go far!!! Another pet peeve of mine is cg's that charge one rate for a family which THEY decide is 2 adults with 2 children under 18. I HATE seeing a charge for "Extra Child". I do not have an Extra Child....I have the three children I was intended to have. If I was bringing one of my children's friends or a nephew, etc., I would not only not MIND paying for that child as an extra, I would expect to. But not for my own kids
Thanks for asking. I'm another popup owner. My kids are grown and don't travel with us, but my wife and I always travel with two dogs. Most of the things we look for have been covered in the earlier posts, especially the ones from popup and dog owners. I'll just emphasize three things. First, most of our trips are at least a week long, so we really are interested in having laundry facilities at the campground; but if you're going to have them, please keep them repaired. Second, please remember that popups have thin walls -- noise is a killer for us. If you're near a highway or railroad, plant some bushes for a sound barrier. Finally, as someone pointed out earlier, don't assume that the popup guys don't need shade or full services and don't assume that they're all weekenders. Many campgrounds cram in a few tiny bare sites for their popup customers -- when I see that, I go elsewhere (by the way, I don't mind paying the higher price for a full site). You're probably overwhelmed with all the "help" you've gotten here. Hopefully some of it will be of use. You obviously care what campers think and that will go a long way toward making your place a great one. I live in SEMO and come up your way every now and then. I look forward to seeing your campground.
It might be helpful if, while waiting for your park to be approved, if you rent an RV and go travel some of the parks. Find out what you like, what you don't like, etc. One of the most important things you can do for your park is to have nice, friendly staff. We've driven away from more than one park when we find rude, crabby people working at registration. I'd rather stay overnight at a freeway wayside rest than deal with some of the Crabby people that I've met managing or working at RV parks. Good luck! Julie
Today we all use our RV’s differently. As much as some say leave your TV’s and laptops at home, there is no way I would. I use the laptop to keep in touch with my office, allowing more time I can travel around and still continue working. I use the laptop to stay in touch with my children and grandchildren. There is nothing better to put a smile on old grandpa, than receive a picture of my grandchildren while we are on the road. I enjoy watching the news, and if it’s a rainy day, nice to sometime put in a movie, pop some corn and snuggle with the Mrs… Now when we were going on vacation or long week-ends with our children, I had a whole different out look as to what was important to me… but as time goes by, and the children are raised, We use the 5th Wheel differently. As far as an “overnight campground” I think it would be tough to compete with the Wal-Mart’s, Truck Stops and Road Side Rest’s with only 17 sites. People who are traveling in my opinion, are looking for a quick, easy in and out, with limited amenities. However I do think you could make money if it were a resort of some sort… providing top notch amenities and services. Going overboard… there is a certain “nitch” of people who will pay big dollars to be pampered! Morning newspapers, delivery from your restaurant, massages, WiFi, Cable TV, and anything else you can think of. Maybe I wouldn’t use a Resort like this normally, but there are those who would. As someone else posted… if you have the availability of additional land, then there would be many avenues you could go with a new campground and make money. I hope this helps, and certainly… Thanks for asking. I think all of the suggestions are great! RVman
My wife, child and I are starting to make more cross country trips and are looking for "over-nighters". Only pulling a 28' Airstream so I don't need the room of the huge motor coach with quad slide-outs. One thing I would like to see is a parking area for true over-nighters that don't want to stop at a Wal-Mart. Maybe a large parking area similar to a rest stop but with security, lower lighting, and wider parking spots. Maybe a lower fee since they will probably use the dump station and maybe have electrical outlets in case the A/C is needed to sleep comfortably. Good luck and thanks for asking for input.
We have a 35-foot diesel motor home and have had a pop-up, travel trailer and fifth wheel in the past. Once we moved past the pop-up, we really enjoyed concrete sites. Greenery between sites is nice and can be achieved without having large over hanging trees that are difficult for class a rigs. A few sites at one end of the park designed for pop-ups -- smaller sites, but more room with trees in between--might be a good idea. But if you're catering to overnighters, you don't need to spend money on a pool, etc. Clean, easy to maneuver into sites, and good electric are the most important for overnighters.
PERIMETER SEPARATION I read most of the replys and see that there are as many opinions as there RV'ers. So heres one more, and I don't think anyone mentioned this: the perimeter separation between the RV park and its surroundings. The park may be the best ever built but if we have to look at the back of an apartment complex, or factory, or run down homes, much is for naught. Creating the separation is often difficult and expensive. How the separation is created will obviously have much to do the environment you are dealing with. While no specific suggestions are offered here, the advice is TO CAREFULLY CONSIDER HOW THIS SEPARATION WILL BE HANDLED. Howard
One of the things I dislike is the add on charges, that are not listed in the camper book...one place asked for $1 a night extra for our dog...she is a 9 lb Dachshound..those extras not listed kinda of turn me off the campground...be up front with the customers... Good luck
QUOTE(Beastdriver @ Aug 17 2004, 08:04 AM) I cannot understand why the RV Park industry doesn't do like the motel industry. When you stay at a motel, you pay one flat rate, and that is it. If you do, or do not, use the air conditioner, the shower, the telephone, the cable television, the pool, the exercise room, or any other amenity, it makes no difference. The rate is the rate. Period. This concept of nickle and diming campers is very annoying and, I suspect, is really beginning to turn off campers. As a campground owner: I agree with all in one pricing like a motel. We have been doing it for years and most of our campers like it. They do not like to be nickle and dimed to death. As my husband said - we make all campers honest. We used to have complainers that we should supply a/c free (because it was hot out) or cable (because the tv reception was poor), etc. We used to have to go to a camper to collect $ for a/c or cable use. Bad situations created bad feelings. We do not have that anymore. Thanks for listening.
Most of these suggestions and comments are excellent and should be helpful to you. But, of course, you've got to get people to come to your campground first. I want to share with you how we go about selecting campgrounds. We just completed our planning for next year, about a seven or eight month trip, and I thought it might be helpful to you to know what we look for and how we go about finding it. We have a 40' diesel with slides and a toad, so what we look for might not be important to a pop-up camper, or a smaller travel trailer, but should be important to larger fifth wheelers, and larger travel trailers. The first thing we do is go to the Trailer Life listings on line (yes, that Trailer Life that has the worthless rating system but does fairly accurately list most of the campgrounds in the U. S., Canada and Mexico.) We then call up every single listing anywhere near our intended route (near is defined as being within 50 miles of our route). The first thing we check for is whether or not the sites are paved, and if they are at least 55 or 60 feet long. If a campground does not have a paved site, we don't stop. We'll drive WAY out of the way to find one that has paved parking pads, and will pass by dozens of those that do not. Next we look for hookups. If a site doesn't offer 50-amp service, we put a question mark beside it on our list. We may or may not stay there, even though it is paved, depending on what else is available. Next, we look to see if the sites have water and sewer hookup. No water and sewer, no stays for us. The next thing we check is the site width. If it ain't wide enough for slides and a little comfort room, then we mark it off our list. Next, we check on side-by-side hookups. Generally, we don't like to stay at a place that has these, but we simply put a question mark on our list and may or may not stay, depending on what else is available. Our next step is to try to determine if the park has a free wi-fi internet hookup. If it does, we put a plus by this park on our list. If it doesn't we won't mark it off because we have an internet satellite dish which we can use, depending on tree location. Next, once we have satisfied ourselves on the paved parking pads, hookups, amperage, width, internet hookups, etc., we then go to the website of the park if it has one. We carefully review the website to see what they offer, but are particularly interested in pictures of the SITES. I get very suspicious when I see a website that has tons of pictures of people, the store, the laundromat, and so forth, but few if any pictures of their sites. This sends message to me that I probably won't like their sites. I am also suspicious of a campground that won't spend a few bucks on a website. Once we've looked at all of the above, including the website, we make a list of choices, based on this information. Our final step is to go the RVParkReviews and read these reviews which are the single most imporant input item we have. If everything else we've found on a location to that point looks good, but the park receives poor grades and comments on RVParkReviews, out it goes. Zip. No further consideration. In reading RVParkReviews, as the webmaster recommends, we try to look for several reviews on each location. We don't pay much attention to reviews with inane comments such as "they were rude in the office" or "the camper next to us was noisy." We are far, far more interested in the campground in general, its amenities, and its location. You'll note that I have not mentioned price. We are certainly not rich (far from it), but getting a cheap price for a bad campground is no bargain. Likewise, paying a bit more for an outstanding park is well worth it. Bottom line is this: We are rarely surprised. It does happen, but not often. The only exception to this is the northeastern United States where no system is worth very much because you have so few quality parks to choose from. Everywhere else, it works fine. So, my advice to you is this: Do all the things that are suggested herein, if possible, but then have a complete, thorough website with plenty of site photographs. Good luck!
Well, I guess you could make more people happy by having one section with shade tree's and another without. I don't see much reason for the LAN (internet) plug-in jacks at each site. It's not likely that anyone's coach will be wired for it, so you might as well put phone jacks in instead. Save your WiFi equipment purchase for last as it's My biggest complaint with most overnight parks is road noise. Please put your park far enough away from the interstate that I won't hear it all night long!
TravelGuy: I don't understand your comment about LAN plug ins at each site, and saving money on Wi-Fi. Seems to me that Wi-Fi would make expensive wiring to each site and LAN plugs at each site unnecessary and would be far, far less expensive? Am I missing something here or was it just a typo? Thanks.
