We frequently get inquiries on the "Park Owners" side of our web site from readers that are interested in building an RV park -- and want to know how to get started. We usually try to respond to these inquiries, but our reply always makes it clear that we don't consider ourselves as experts in RV park constructions. In our travels we do make it a point to discuss the "business of RV park ownership and management" with park owners and managers. And we've published a number of articles about what we consider the essential elements of a successful RV park or campground. In that sense we may qualify as "students" of RV park construction, ownership and management. But the best advice for the development of specific properties will always come from those who have fine tuned their skills in RV park management, and are now available on a professional consulting basis.
With that disclaimer, we'd like to pass along a few thoughts that we think are germane to those who write to us to ask our opinion on "starting an RV park". By doing so here we will answer those queries, within the limitations first noted, within the scope of our experience and "amateur competence". We list below the considerations we think would be park owners would want to consider and evaluate before launching an RV park.
1. Location. And as many in the real estate business would likely say, "location, location, location". The success of most RV parks is found in capitalizing on the attractiveness of the park's location to potential guests. Generally parks tend to be somewhere along the spectrum of "overnight parks" to "destination parks". It's essential to know where a proposed new park will be along that important line. Some locations, usually close to major highways (though hopefully not so close as to be unduly noisy) will be situated conveniently for those who are "en route" travelers. The more well traveled the route by RVers, obviously the better the opportunity. Other parks settings represent places RVers will like to go for recreation. Beaches, lakes, scenic country settings, and access to major recreation activities such as golf, hiking, bird watching, or the cultural attractions offered by major cities. Overnight parks need to be geared for the short term visitor, with amenities and conveniences geared to cater to overnight guests. Destination parks are often more "resort oriented", and the park itself may well contain or be adjacent to the types of features that RVers seek when looking to enjoy a popular area for several days to months. As a practical matter, most potential park locations will have elements of both overnight and destination parks. But it's crucial to analyze where along the spectrum the location best "fits", so that park design and marketing efforts can be properly targeted.
2. The Target Audience: Once the analysis suggested about location has been made, it needs to be refined to consider the type of RV guest that would most likely be attracted to it. Here we encounter considerations of what type of guest the park is most likely to attract -- the answer to which will be greatly influenced by park design. Do you want primarily short term guests, whose need will be primarily for basic accommodations? Or are you seeking to entice larger, high end RV owners by offering a design and park amenities more essential to this segment of the RVer population? Here's where a careful marketing analysis is critical, because it is essential you know in advance which "type" of park will have the most appeal to your "natural RVer audience". The term "natural RVer audience" is meant to describe the type of RVer most likely to be attracted to an RV park at that particular location -- and of the design you have decided is optimal for that location. We could write an entire thesis on this concept, but for simplicity we simply wanted to identify this essential factor. By ensuring your park design, and future marketing efforts, have a focus on your "natural RVer audience", you'll have identified another of several factors that will influence your success. Most new to the business of developing an RV park will likely want some expert help here.
3. RVers versus Residents: While it may seem too simple to require consideration, this is a crucial factor that requires careful front end analysis. Some people own RVers to enhance their travel experience. Others own them because they need a place to live. Of the latter group, some are full timers. They will typically have sold their traditional home, and are enjoying "life on the road". These folks clearly belong in the category of RVers who own their RV to enhance their travel experience. Others whose only home is their RV have chosen the RV as a practical and economical residence. Typically these folks live and work in the local community, the only difference from others in the community being their particular home has a set of wheels. Some parks cater to those whose RV is primarily used as a permanent residence. Other parks focus only on RVers (including full timers as previously defined) who are using their RVs to enhance their travel experience. Many parks will have elements of both "residents" and "travelers" -- but it's a juggling act that needs to be considered with great care. RV "travelers" enjoy being in the company of others who are enjoying that type of RV lifestyle, and in some cases will avoid parks that give the appearance of being mostly permanent residents. Because most parks are seasonal, it's not uncommon to find an increase in "residents" during the slower off-season months -- for the practical reason of keeping some income stream during slow periods. However many parks will significantly decrease or even eliminate "residents" during the peak season, both to get the benefit of the higher daily or weekly rates, but also to ensure the park is attractive to RV "travelers" in season. To the extent a park caters to both travelers and residents, we think they are most successful when strict rules are enforced concerning the appearance of RVs and their immediate surroundings. Note: for the balance of this article we will focus only on parks that cater entirely or primarily to "traveling" RVers.
Park Design and Layout: Parks built 10 or more years ago often find that they are simply not designed to accommodate today's much larger and wider RVs. The notion of slide out rooms -- which sometimes number as many as 3 or 4 -- was simply not contemplated when designing RV spaces through the mid-90's. And the bigger, longer, taller rigs now require wider interior roads, with adequate space for making turns. Trees are usually a welcome part of the landscape. But if they are not trimmed so as to easily accommodate the tallest of rigs, they will cause owners of the increasing percentage of "big rigs" to stay away. It's simply too expensive to repair the damage -- even if cosmetic -- inadequately trimmed trees can cost. And as the average size of RVs has increased, so to has been the demand for pull through spaces, rather than back in spaces. It's a fact of life that not all RVers are expert at maneuvering their rigs. And they'll invariably select parks that have a deserved reputation for being "big rig friendly". Even those with much smaller units appreciate parks that are easy to navigate and have spaces that can be easily accessed without "obstacles" -- either natural or man-made. Back in spaces come in two distinct flavors: Easy and challenging. The trick is to make them "easy". Here's where the layout needs to provide sufficiently wide interior roads to permit the considerable road width to back very long rigs, especially large fifth wheel units, easily into a space. And it's far easier to back into a well slanted space than it is a space that is perpendicular to the roadway. Finally park designers will invariably appreciate that RVers can back into a space if the backing turn is made towards the driver's side, since the driver does not have to rely entirely on the mirrors to accomplish the backing maneuver.
Site Size: Here's the ultimate trade off. The same property that can accommodate perhaps 100 sites that will give a feeling of being quite close together, may only accommodate 60-75 sites that will feel "spacious". Without question RVers strongly prefer spaces that provide adequate room, a feeling of uncrowded spaciousness, and to the extend possible some landscaping that provides both a defined "property line" and a degree of at least perceived privacy. Sociological studies have concluded that RVers will have a very strong sense of "ownership" of their space. This is perhaps why our own surveys reveal that at the top of the list of RV park guest dislikes is other people "walking through their site". This keen sense of an RVer having his or her own space is also revealed by the frequent insistence that they be assigned to a particular site within the park. Economically smaller sites mean more spaces, which should translate to more RVers per night that can be accommodated, and more revenue. Right? Well, not so fast. More RVers will pass up parks with sites they deem are too close together ("packed in like sardines"); and they won't be willing to pay as much for these smaller sites. Yet in some circumstances a careful assessment of the "natural target audience" before the park is designed may help provide some useful indication of where a park should be in terms of "site size". Surely any park that wants to cater to the "RV Resort" crowd will need to ensure the sites are comfortably spaced.
Which Amenities to Include? Our sense is that as more parks have offered an more complete set of amenities, RVers have begun to expect them. Water, sewer, and up to 50 amp power is becoming the minimum requirement for most big rigs. Cable TV is nice, but an increasing number of rigs now have satellite access. A telephone is becoming increasingly important -- not for phone calls, but for modem access. Typically where a site phone is available, an RVer will expect to pay a reasonable extra nightly fee for its use. It would seem foolish today to build a park which did not include a phone line to each site, even if only a very few would be initially activated. Clearly tomorrow's requirement will contemplate ways to accommodate high speed data transfer -- even though it is difficult to forecast with accuracy what infrastructure needs that may require. Most of the better parks today offer modem access for laptops in one or more public places within the park, often an office, clubhouse, or laundry room. Yet with increasing demand for modem access, and increasing demand for longer online times, this solution will for many parks in the future be perceived as "inadequate". A clubhouse is extremely important to attract group business -- rallies held by various RV clubs and organization, or sponsored by manufacturers, dealers or others. This can be a lucrative business for parks, but can only be captured if it offers an attractive clubhouse facility with accommodations for social events. (In our view the ability to capture a continuing stream of RV club rallies will increasingly become a key to financial success.) A laundry room with sufficient machines to handle the anticipated traffic has become a normal expectation. And of course the key facility will be the bathroom and shower facilities. This usually rates as the "most important" consideration for most RVers. What's looked for here is not just a clean, modern design, but frequent quality maintenance to ensure they remain in that condition.
Family Attractions: Here's another example of why its so crucial to correctly forecast what a park's potential "natural target audience" will be before proceeding. It may be true that 20 years ago the profile of RVers equated to "retired". Not so these days, as increasingly younger families are finding the may pleasures of family weekend outings, or summer vacations, using the incredible number of new RV types and options available today. Some parks have found that families with young children are a prime target audience, and have included a number of amenities that appeal to children. Yet others have concluded that if their clientele has too many children present, their more senior guests may soon be heading for other places that have cultivated a clientele of more mature years. Indeed, in some of the most popular snowbird parks in the sun belt states it's not at all uncommon to find RV resorts that either prohibit children altogether, or strictly limit when and how long they can be in the park. It seems logical to conclude that parks attracting primarily young families are likely to lose business among RVers who do not travel with children; and parks that cultivate a more senior clientele are less likely to be attractive to younger families. Therefore when planning the types of amenities to be included in a new park, it's essential to make informed judgements. Playgrounds and game rooms full of coin operated amusement devices will attract children; parks with horse shoe pits, pool tables, and club houses are more likely to attract other than young families. This is not to suggest that a careful "mix" is not possible; but it does point to the need for a very careful front end analysis of just how that might be accomplished.
Barriers to Development: We suspect many would be RV park builders under estimate the obstacles to constructing a new park caused by regulations and permit requirements. While most new businesses pose some permit issues, RV parks will often have far more issues to deal with. Environmental concerns have resulted in lengthy and expensive permit processes, often with public opinion and even political issues thrown in for added complexity. Part of this is caused by an outdated -- but for some quite real -- impression of an RV park (or even RV Resort). Going back 50 years or more, the term was always "trailer park". And the term "trailer trash" referred primarily to itinerant persons who primarily for economic reasons lived in a house trailer. Unfortunately the images of the past still haunt the new, modern RV industry -- an industry that now caters to an entirely new breed comprised in significant part of high end buyers, and units that not infrequently cost more than a lavish home. With those lingering images, however, it can be difficult to engender community support for a new RV park, even though the economic impact on the surrounding community can be extremely positive. With these daunting "barriers to entry" it's not surprising to hear predictions from the National Association of RV Park and Campground Owners (ARVC) that in the future the difficulty of building new parks may well lead to a shortage of RV park spaces. Older "mom & pop" RV parks will be bought out and refurbished by new corporate owners. And potentially these new "chain" parks will offer significant competition to smaller, less sophisticated individually owned parks. While these are unknown and not easily foreseeable outcomes, they at least deserve the knowledgeably consideration of individuals wanting to own an RV park.
Park Management: Probably the single most important aspect of any RV park is the quality of the management and staff. First and foremost it must immediately project a friendly, helpful image. The old adage "you don't get a second chance to make a first impression" applies in spades here. RV parks are in the hospitality business -- and unless they both understand that fact and gear their entire operations to it, they will not be successful. This has implications for hiring, retention, training, and even pay rates. While a complete discussion of this is beyond the purpose of this article, we've published an earlier article that we think outlines the importance of cultivating a friendly, inviting, and professional image for an RV park. Beyond issues of projecting an attitude, todays park owner must have a thoughtful business plan, strong internal accounting and computer systems, and a carefully planned marketing strategy. Effective use of the internet as a marketing tool is, we think, increasingly essential.
Summary: We end where we began: We do not consider ourselves expert in RV park design or management. However our many years of RVing experience, augmented by the continuing exposure to reader opinion gained by maintaining these pages, provides us with an appreciation for what we consider some of the more fundamental considerations for those contemplating entry into this business. Surely any aspiring RV park owner would want to take advantage of all existing resources available. These would include discussions with existing park owners; membership and active participation in ARVC and/or the local state RV park owners' association, and even staying tuned into the conversations that comprise this web site. But an identification and understanding of the issues germane to RV park development and management is still not enough. What is truly needed is a careful application of these considerations to a specific parcel of property being considered as the site of an RV park, and an evaluation of all relevant considerations applicable to that specific location. This latter undertaking may well benefit from an objective professional evaluation of a qualified expert, and prove a valuable preliminary investment.
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