I dissolved into giggles reading a recent review. Folks checking in, probably after a loooong day's drive, asked how to get a massage. (Hot tub, steam bath, cool pool...sure sounds nice to me!) After much hahahah... "a massage while camping at an RV Park?" Then it hit me. This park called itself a: RESORT Wake up call! The hospitality industry's boundaries have blurred, big time! You step into another realm, if you decide to put "Resort" into your park's name. Come on. Most of us have been to a Las Vegas-type resort. Some of us have (or still do) travel extensively. You remember the attention to the details, the check-in process, how your room looked, smelled, etc. Even the Budget Bargains compete with each other for the traveler's buck. RESORT Camping and RV Park now means: 1. The WiFi needs to fry birds! Especially critical if there is some local cell-phone 'dead zone' issue. 2. Cable TV with ALL the channels. 3. The bath and shower facility has to be on par with RESORT Hotels. No spiders, stick-on clothes hooks, moldy plastic curtains, or quarter pay slots! You must have unlimited hot water, complimentary soaps, and assorted foofoo in a tasteful basket. (If you can locate those mirrors that make us all look fresher and younger...that would help too.) 4. Check-in must be conducted with professional courtesy, a welcoming smile and a flourish of appropriate customer support. 5. A Resort has a concierge services: Maps, information on local attractions, dining, fishing licenses, tickets to whatever and whenever. Beauty shop, massage, RV wash and detail, dog grooming and vet services. Help me out. What else is a MUST, in this century, for an RV RESORT ? B)
QUOTE(FosterImposters @ May 11 2010, 04:14 PM) [snapback]22057[/snapback] I dissolved into giggles reading a recent review. Folks checking in, probably after a loooong day's drive, asked how to get a massage. (Hot tub, steam bath, cool pool...sure sounds nice to me!) After much hahahah... "a massage while camping at an RV Park?" Then it hit me. This park called itself a: RESORT Wake up call! The hospitality industry's boundaries have blurred, big time! You step into another realm, if you decide to put "Resort" into your park's name. Come on. Most of us have been to a Las Vegas-type resort. Some of us have (or still do) travel extensively. You remember the attention to the details, the check-in process, how your room looked, smelled, etc. Even the Budget Bargains compete with each other for the traveler's buck. RESORT Camping and RV Park now means: 1. The WiFi needs to fry birds! Especially critical if there is some local cell-phone 'dead zone' issue. 2. Cable TV with ALL the channels. 3. The bath and shower facility has to be on par with RESORT Hotels. No spiders, stick-on clothes hooks, moldy plastic curtains, or quarter pay slots! You must have unlimited hot water, complimentary soaps, and assorted foofoo in a tasteful basket. (If you can locate those mirrors that make us all look fresher and younger...that would help too.) 4. Check-in must be conducted with professional courtesy, a welcoming smile and a flourish of appropriate customer support. 5. A Resort has a concierge services: Maps, information on local attractions, dining, fishing licenses, tickets to whatever and whenever. Beauty shop, massage, RV wash and detail, dog grooming and vet services. Help me out. What else is a MUST, in this century, for an RV RESORT ? B) this is so funny ...also a must bed turn down service and the cute towel animals you get on a cruise. on your bed each night...
We watched a show about bus conversions (we are bus nuts) the other night. These are RV's that cost from $700,000 to $1,500,000. They showed an RV RESORT that even has "room service" and they will bring you whatever food or drink you desire. I'll stick with my old 1952 Trailways bus conversion and plain old campgronds.
I think we watched that same show. Some $$$ incredible buses. Have made many friends in the RV Park business, during our travels. One in particular toyed with adding "Resort" to their park's name. The bottom line, depends on your region and market. The name carries a lot of expectations (or perhaps baggage would be a better term.) They opted not. After talking with all their RV customers that summer, the overwhelming majority want a more "get away from it all" camping vibe, vs the high-end Resort Hotel vibe. They had a couple in a very high-end rig, who particularly captured the essence. He said he hates to fly (has to do it too much), wants to dissappear periodically, and can get "resort" anywhere in the world. What he wanted, was the hands-on satisfaction of driving his own rig, parking it anywhere in the US and just appreciating the simpler things in life. A good bon-fire, a good view, and a good glass of vino. He expected (just like the rest of us) his cell phone to work, his computer to work, clean water and professionalism. Said he could make his own power, and preferred his own bath and shower. It didn't matter that his passport was a different color than ours. We were on the same page.
Well, Crown Villa RV Resort in Bend, OR, does offer "concierge" service..... At $50 a night (last I checked), it better have SOMETHING ritzy! Hey, if you want all that foo foo stuff, check into a hotel! JJ
I always do the same service for my wife. Anything she wants, she just asks and I have it in a jiffy and it's free.
QUOTE(Lindsay Richards @ May 13 2010, 09:53 AM) [snapback]22081[/snapback] I always do the same service for my wife. Anything she wants, she just asks and I have it in a jiffy and it's free. My husband says nothing free....he will be paying with the rest of his life!
QUOTE(Lindsay Richards @ May 13 2010, 10:53 AM) [snapback]22081[/snapback] I always do the same service for my wife. Anything she wants, she just asks and I have it in a jiffy and it's free. What a good man!
