First I want to say that I have not logged in for a couple of years. I made this suggestion about having a place for owners to come to and receive help but after checking a couple of time i gave up. Today I was searching for help and found this forum. Heres my question I own an RV Resort 18 sites in a location 30 mile from a walmart size town. Today a visiting rv guest want thing to do but also wanted a place away from the big city. What can be offered to RVers that want to get away from the large 100 site rv resort an come to a small quiet very clean resort in a small town. All we have right here is a fishing town near the Gulf lots of nature. Also all of our coast are protected. It is hard to please everyone but what should we do.
I'm staying overnight at an RV park in a small town. they have special dinners and bar b ques for guests once in awhile. They are having one Sunday, I will miss out. Try that! Oh yeah. Make sure you have free WiFi (but tell guest that email only, don't be streaming movies or the bandwidth will be sucked down). Sparkling clean bathrooms.
I would think most peoples expectations for an 18 site campground would be modest. larger level sites...maybe with some stone put down. Up to date site hook ups. keep your entrance roads free of pot holes. Keep any kind of clutter/junk out of site of the customers. Mike
As full-timers we really aren't expecting you to provide us anything other than a reasonably-sized, clean and level site with good hookups and a generally well kept park. A little bit of privacy is a plus as is modest landscaping that adds visual appeal. We don't care about activities nor are we likely to take advantage of breakfasts or dinners. We don't use your bathrooms nor your laundry. We might use your WiFi, but we carry our cellular connection and it is often faster than yours. All of this is true whether or not we are staying for a night or a month. Your quiet, attractive 18-site park would be perfect for us. I know there are quite a few RVers like ourselves who don't need all these amenities and who are just as happy if the park doesn't have quite as many kids, but we aren't interested in the geriatric atmosphere of the "over 55 parks" either. It's hard to precisely describe what we're looking for but we've been to a number of small private parks in the past couple of years that we found to be nearly perfect.
So we're talking a small park sort of out in the country. As with any park, I want truth in advertising. If you're a small, quiet, peaceful park with not much to do except maybe fishing or taking a stroll & checking out other's rigs there's nothing wrong with that at all. Sometimes that's what people are looking for to just spend a few days 'vegging out', or especially for that overnight stop where we're tired & all we want is a quiet place to sleep. As long as your website or whatever advertising reflects that you should get no complaints because your guests will know what to expect. It's up to me to be sure that I pick a park that suits me. Just don't tack 'resort' onto your park's name or have pictures in your ads/webpage that exaggerate what's there. 'Resort' sort of implies activities & facilities that you may not have. And I think we've all seen deceptive pictures or wording on park advertising. Not saying you do at all by any means. As far as general stuff goes; a clean park with nice landscaping & roads (doesn't have to be Versailles). Rules that are enforced (pet peeve). And a welcoming staff. I think you'll be able to keep your park full just with that. But if you want to provide more things to do maybe a brochure that lists what's available in the area (any scenic drives, parks, coastal walks, town museums if there are any), a horseshoe pit, or a ping pong table. Not real expensive additions.
Hi, Squeaky clean bathrooms with lots of hot water. A list of area attractions, the times they are open and a map to show how to get to them. Recommendations for the nicest place to eat in town; also for the "best bang for the buck" restaurant. (RV'ers love a barguuuuuuuuuuun). Unless you are close to a food store, some basics such as eggs, butter, and bread. Briquettes and starter fluid would be good, too. Wifi is nice to have...I'd rank it ahead of cable tv, personally.
Exceptionally wide, level sites. Grass to set my folding chairs in, and veg-out with a glass of wine. Some vegetation between sites to provide the illusion of privacy. 30 AND 50 amps at each site. Clean water. Clean bathrooms, showers. (RV's generally have tiny facilities.) TV and WiFi. (This may be easier with your smaller park.) A friendly person to greet and welcome me. Ahhhhh, vacation. B)
QUOTE(sjsaxt @ May 30 2013, 06:50 PM) [snapback]33629[/snapback] Today a visiting rv guest want thing to do but also wanted a place away from the big city. What the heck did he want to do? You already have fishing and lots of nature - that's what you get away from the big city. If, however, he want's to go to a 5 star restaurant, buy his wife something from Macy's, then attend the opera - you'll never please him.
The truth is important to us. No surprises. If you are next to a railroad, put that in your ad or it will end up in your review. We normally don't do too much in the way of activities. Friendly workers are a big plus also.
If you (and this is the generic "you") tell me when I call that you have great Wi-Fi that reaches all over the park, don't let me find out when I get there that it doesn't reach over there or in that section or tell me if I can't get it, it must be my computer that's at fault, when I hear from the person next door that the Wi-Fi's been out for three weeks. Just be honest with me. If I have to go to the laundry to get it, OK, I can base my decision on whether to stay at your park on that. If Wi-Fi shuts down when the office closes at 6:00 p.m., ditto. If your Wi-Fi is unreliable, same same. Just don't lie to me. When I get lied to, I put it in my review.
sjsaxt, On the subject of "honesty", why do you call your RV park a resort? We have often seen reviews and forum threads where people complain about RV park owners calling their parks "resorts". Most RVers expect a pool and other recreational facilities at a "resort". So, for starters, don't call your park a resort if you do not have "resort" accommodations that people expect from a resort.
QUOTE(Jerry S. @ Jun 4 2013, 10:19 PM) [snapback]33704[/snapback] sjsaxt, On the subject of "honesty", why do you call your RV park a resort? We have often seen reviews and forum threads where people complain about RV park owners calling their parks "resorts". Most RVers expect a pool and other recreational facilities at a "resort". So, for starters, don't call your park a resort if you do not have "resort" accommodations that people expect from a resort. Why in the world do so many people get so worked up about the word resort? If I remember the definition it is simply a place where people go to spend their vacation. The ski resort I go to doesn't have a pool. Should I be upset? The Motel 6 down the road does have a pool. Is it a resort? I really think we can find things to be upset about that are much more important than this.
And why would someone get worked up that somebody got worked up because somebody else got worked up over the word resort. This could go on for a while!!!
All I was trying to do was let the original poster know that one thing people want from a park is an clear description of a park. He asked what people wanted and I think an honest desription of the park is one of those things. As I mentioned, the use of the word resort has been a sore point on this site for years. I have read many reviews and posts where people have said that the were either deceived or disappointed because the owner called the park a resort. It is evidently important to some people who use this site.
QUOTE(Jerry S. @ Jun 6 2013, 11:40 PM) [snapback]33725[/snapback] All I was trying to do was let the original poster know that one thing people want from a park is an clear description of a park. He asked what people wanted and I think an honest desription of the park is one of those things. As I mentioned, the use of the word resort has been a sore point on this site for years. I have read many reviews and posts where people have said that the were either deceived or disappointed because the owner called the park a resort. It is evidently important to some people who use this site. I strongly agree with Jerry on this. There are plenty of CG's that advertise that they are "an easy exit and entrance from the highway" and that they are "great for an overnight" while on your way to your destination. When they advertise like that I know exactly what I should hope to get--a clean site with good hookups and maybe WiFi, but not much more. Resort is a "loaded" term that connotes, in many peoples' minds a place that offers additional amenities and is, itself, a possible destination. Sure, you could be a destination CG without any of this if you happened to be next door to Disney World, but I don't think that's what is being discussed here. If your CG offers neither a destination location or the amenities to make people want to stay for a couple of nights, let alone weeks, then I would say you haven't earned the right to call your CG a resort.
Jerry makes a good point. Who doesn’t want an honest description of the park. I agree with sammytoo that by definition a resort is a place where people go for relaxation and recreation. However, just as “campground” connotes a rustic, secluded spot possibly in the woods, “resort,” (as docj pointed out) calls to mind a place with lots of amenities and activities. It is good that there are hundreds of RV parks that provide just the basics for RV travelers (overnighters). When we are trying to get to our end destination, these are the types of parks I try to find. They serve a very good purpose, but it is not very accurate to call them a resort. I guess in today’s world the competition for business has gotten so cut throat, “Plain Jane” park owners feel they must pump up their description to get people to go there.
I would bet there is a market for Plain Jane RV parks (maybe that's a good brand name other than being insulting to people named Jane). I have encountered numerous references on RV forums where people have noted interest in low-cost places to stay that don't offer anything more than a safe place to park and hookups. They would be like the Knights Inn, the Motel 6, etc of RVing. Of course, an RVer can park at a Walmart for nothing so the very cost sensitive part of the market doesn't need you but I think there are plenty of people who would be interested. If you really were creative you could have these parks be gated and unattended with credit card readers at the entrance. Your credit card receipt would provide a 24-hour security code for the gate, etc, etc.
