How to start a campground business (in 4 steps).

If you’ve ever found yourself toying with the idea of starting a campground, the cards are in your favor.

As of late 2020, the campground industry reached $8.73 billion, making it one of the few industries that grew in spite of the pandemic. For RV park operators, it’s shown to be a sound investment, with campgrounds like Cypress Trail RV Resort quoting returns between 15 percent and 20 percent.

However, even though it’s a lucrative industry, knowing where to start can feel daunting. How do you design a campground? How much does it cost to operate an RV park? What are the best resources for campground owners?

Fortunately, there are a lot of places to turn for aspiring park operators, and setting yourself up for success is easier than not. So to consolidate your search, here’s how to start a campground business in four steps.

1. Research and design your campground.

Whether you’re buying an established park or building one from scratch, a well-designed campground could be an investment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Make sure you start off on the right foot with a clear plan and a reliable team to get your park off the ground.

Visit other parks.

Take it upon yourself to visit other parks and get a sense for what they’re doing well. Jot down a few notes, take pictures, and consider their design. Think through the layout and spacing of their sites, the location of their office, or the ratio of RV slips to tent spots.

Try and build upon what you think they’re doing well, and leave space for improvements. If nothing else, ask questions of other operators and get an idea of what to anticipate.

Find your niche.

At the risk of sounding cliche, every park is unique; and since there’s no “one size fits all” formula, it’s important to identify what type of campground you want to be, and who you want to cater towards.

Are you going to focus on seasonal business, or will you cater to weekenders? Do you want to draw in more families, or would you rather not deal with kids? Should you include glamping and tenting options, or will you only cater to full-hookups?

Knowing your market will only help in knowing your design.

Make the right hires.

From idea to execution, surround yourself with the right team of people to give your park the best chance at success.

You’ll need a vetted design group in order to provide a clear path to your vision (as well as prevent costly setbacks), a reliable contractor to serve as a project manager, and a staff that can accommodate your guests and day-to-day operations.

Consider additional variables.

No matter how detailed and thoughtful your plan is, there’s almost always something that pops up along the way. Whether it’s zoning, drainage, or environmental concerns, you’ll need to get as granular as possible and have resources you can count on.

Generally a good contractor will help navigate most hiccups, but it never hurts to have more support. For additional resources, consider joining a local campground association or developing a positive relationship with your zoning board early on in the process.

2. Anticipate costs and procure funding.

Again, owning a campground can be a great investment…so long as you’ve done your homework. Here are a few considerations to ensure the biggest bang for your buck.

Costs to consider.

The cost of running an RV park can vary depending on size, location, construction, or whether or not you’re starting from scratch. That being said, there are usually a few things you can expect.

For example, buying an established park ranges between $100,000 and $2 million, startup costs will run somewhere between $10,000 and $50,000, and cap rates will fall between 8 percent and 11 percent.

To get a ballpark of how much you can anticipate spending, add up your land costs, costs per site (factoring in the number of sites), building costs, and internet installation. From there you’ll have a pretty good idea of what you’ll need, but we also have a more comprehensive list of campground expenses to consider just in case.

Understanding financials.

Michael Elliott, aka the Campground CPA, says that a lot of new owners tend to drop the ball when it comes to properly understanding the financials behind a campground business. To give your park the best shot at success, be sure to study up on the following:

Capital expenditure budgets – to give you accurate numbers for future developments and expenses.
EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) – to find the industry-standard value of your campground.
Owner financing – a loan between the previous owner and the buyer of the campground.
Biggest expenditures for campgrounds – repairs/maintenance, and wages/salaries.
Profit and loss statements (P&L) – to see a campground’s cost and revenue during a fiscal year.
Expense ratios – total percentage of funds used for staff, marketing, and other related expenses.

Check out our conversation with Michael for more financial tips for campground owners.

Reporting and accounting.

Michael also mentioned that a lot of campgrounds fail to adequately record and track how their business is performing, and that “there are a lot of parks with no finances.”

For better forecasting, make sure you invest in a service like Quickbooks as well as a software that can tell you current occupancy, future occupancy, and prepaid deposits.

3. Create a unique campground experience.

The data is out, and 63 percent of consumers seek out experiences that they can’t find anywhere else. That same study listed “inspiration” and “meaning” as two of the most sought-out qualities a business could offer.

With that, here are a few ways your campground could go the extra mile in creating experiences not easily replicable elsewhere.

Invest in WiFi and amenities that guests want.

Before you build that new pool or add a playground, take some time to research what guests want out of their experience. We recently surveyed over 700 RVers asking them to tell us what amenities were most important to them.

Overwhelmingly, WiFi was considered “essential” (with quite a few RVers saying they’ll even pass on campgrounds that don’t provide adequate internet access), while trees, fire pits, and clean showers also made the top of the list.

The good news (based on our data), is that the most desirable amenities are generally pretty cost-effective, so you shouldn’t have to shell out too much to create a memorable experience for guests.

Provide unique accommodations.

Twenty-five percent of guests factor in a campground’s atmosphere in their decision to stay or return. Adding to that, a study found that “30 percent of North American travelers have glamped in the past two years,” and “59 percent of glampers go with their children, likely because glamping gives families the fun of the outdoors without the stress and hassle of traditional camping.”

Adding to that, it’s estimated a US market for glamping worth as much as $4.8 billion by 2025. This means that yurts, tiny homes, treehouses, or restored vintage campers could all be profitable ways to add a little pizazz to your campers’ stay.

For more inspiration and ideas, check out these 16 options for adding glamping to your campground.

Offer more than just camping.

More and more, owners are finding creative ways to utilize their property beyond just offering RV slips and or tent sites.

From breweries and distilleries like Devils Backbone and Shelter Point, wedding venues like The Hitchin’ Post, to even animal rescues like Discovery Wildlife Park (complete with bears, lions, wolves, and much more), there are a lot of ways to reimagine the use of your property.

Partner with local organizations.

In addition to joining a regional campground association, make it a point to identify local organizations and businesses in your community to bring your park more visibility.

Set up a booth at a festival, partner with a local business or non-profit, attend a trade show, facilitate local Scouts groups, or host community events (like outdoor movie nights or sports leagues).

It goes without saying, but the more your campground engages with the community, the more the community will engage with your campground.

Stay in touch.

Something as simple as collecting emails and reaching out could be one of the most profitable parts of your business.

A recent study that found email marketing is worth an average return of 4,300 percent, and that every $1 spent generates a little more than $44.

Make it a habit of creating mailing lists and collecting guest contacts whenever they book. Send them a thank you for staying, announcements for upcoming events, future discounts, and notes that let you know you’re thinking about them. Just make sure you don’t overdo it and spam them.

Give them the option to stay another day.

If you have extra spots, or the flexibility to move things around, consider giving your guests the option to stay an extra day. According to GuestReady.com, there are a lot of folks “who want to spend a week or two in a city and would prefer not to hop from Airbnb to Airbnb” or campground to campground. Maybe you could even make it a game and comp an extra night if they leave you a review or book in advance for next year.

Set a launch date.

Make the start of your campground a celebration! Just having a launch date can create a boost of revenue right out of the gate.

This past year, Athabasca County was able to take 150 reservations within the first hour, and more than 300 by day’s end. Their manager, Warren Vowel told us that “last year, it would have taken [them] more than 2 weeks and 3 staff members to call back and confirm all of the reservations that came in today.”

It’s not just them, as campgrounds like Lakeview Park are able to book most of their reservations for the year within the first 24 hours of making sites available.

4. Advertise your campground.

While there are a number of ways to market your park well, there are a few easy steps you can take to see results almost immediately.

Invest in quality photos.

We live in a digital age and we live in a visual age.

Websites and articles with quality and relevant photos bring in 94 percent more traffic than those without, yet somehow only 39 percent of online businesses have photos that don’t “disappoint customers.”.

The reason? Well, there’s a few. Quality photos create trust, they make your park standout, and they tell a story.

Fifty-one percent of customers respond better to images of actual people “because they’re more authentic and trustworthy than brand-owned creative.” Guests want to be able to imagine what it’s like to stay at your campground before they actually do, so adding a few eye-catching images could go a long way.

Consider hiring professional photographers, as well as sourcing photos from guests to showcase your parks’ best qualities, and then take time to share them on your website and social channels.

Take online bookings.

If you want to grow your business and audience quickly, taking reservations online is the easiest and most effective strategy.

Phone calls and emails add up but, thanks to online reservations, our campgrounds save an average of 300 hours a year in administrative tasks, while bringing in an added 25 percent in yearly bookings.

Plus, membership programs like Good Sam grant access to features like trip planners, targeted searches, and can even account for more than half of some parks annual reservations.

Run paid ads on Google and Facebook.

The reality is that most of your (potential) guests are searching for RV parks online. Forbes says that “97 percent of consumers use the internet to find local businesses.” This means that campgrounds investing in pay-per-click advertising (PPC ads) will likely have better success than campgrounds who don’t.

Specifically, our campgrounds have gotten the most bang for their buck running ads through Google and Facebook. For context, Moz’s Brian Carter, says that, on average, it costs between $20 and $32 to reach 1,000 people in print ads, Google AdWords and Facebook can do the same for about $3.

Furthermore, there are currently at least 246 million unique Google users in the States alone, and targeted ads allow you to tailor to specific audiences to ensure the highest return possible.

Respond to reviews.

For better or worse, reviews matter.

Currently, about 92 percent of consumers read online reviews and make their decisions to stay accordingly. To give this some more teeth, a study found that campgrounds with 1 to 1.5 stars bring in 19 percent less revenue than other parks.

Now, it’s certainly worth stating that even great campgrounds receive unfavorable reviews, and to some extent that’s unavoidable. However, you can still mitigate damage and turn negative comments into positive interactions by making it a point to respond and (thoughtfully) engage with disgruntled guests.

By promptly connecting, empathizing, and doing what you can to make things right, 95 percent of unhappy guests will return to your campground. Even responding to happy guests has a direct impact on the bottom line, considering parks benefit from 4.6 percent more reservations for every 50 positive reviews your campground receives.

As you grow your campground be sure to keep an eye on these review sites, and make a genuine effort to kindly connect with guests regardless of their experience.

It’s a good time to start a campground.

There’s never been a better time to operate an RV park. The outdoor industry is growing faster than ever, and people are ready to create memorable experiences.

To ensure your campground’s success, be sure to take time to:

Research and design your campground.
Anticipate expenses and understand your park’s finances.
Create unique experiences for guests.
Advertise your campground.

Looking to get started?

Taking online reservations is an easy way to offload administrative work and allow you to focus on the things that make your park unique. If you’re ready to make the jump, Good Sam Campground Solutions can help. Request a demo today!

3 Questions to Consider When Hiring Campground Management Companies

With more people camping than ever before, running a campground could be a lucrative investment worth more than $273K a year.

However, running a park can feel like a tall order. From managing reservations and staffing to maintenance and compliance, there are a lot of variables in this business. That being said, there are a number of campground management companies and services that can help; but how do you know whether they’re the best fit for your park?

What services do campground management companies provide? How much will it cost? What percentage of your business will you be giving up? How much control do you relinquish?

Whether you’re looking to grow your business or just take a little off of your plate, here are five questions to consider when hiring campground management companies.

1. What are your campgrounds’ goals?

Before you hire out to any other company or service, identify the goals and philosophy of your campground. From the design of your park to the type of guest experience you want to facilitate, it’s important to have a clear vision for your business.

How hands-on do you want to be with your property? Are you someone that wants to roll up your sleeves, or would you rather invest and manage from afar? Are you a mom-and-pop looking to make reservations easier on your staff, or are you a growing campground trying to keep a personable feel? Do you just want to maintain the size of your park and get out of the office a little more?

The benefit of campground management companies is that they’ll provide an all-in-one service for operating, marketing, and growing your park; and maybe bringing on an outside team would align perfectly with what you’re trying to accomplish.

If you want someone else to tackle the day-to-day and bring in business, they can be a great middleman, handling everything from staffing, training, to keeping your park compliant. Plus, if you’re eyeing retirement, a lot of management companies will even offer buyouts or gradual investment of shares, creating a natural off-ramp. However, this means fewer local hires and the risk of your park being managed by someone who doesn’t understand the culture you’re trying to create.

You might find that you only need a couple of services, or an extra hire to reach your goals. You know your business better than anyone else, and just because a full-service management company can “do it all” doesn’t mean it’s in your campground’s best interest.

2. How much are you willing to budget?

While it can be financially beneficial to operate an RV park, hiring out to a campground management company will eat into your profits.

On average, campground management companies cost around $30,000 a year (depending on the size of your park) and can take up to 30 percent of your revenue. Comparatively, campground management software, like what’s available from Good Sam, is only about $1,200 a year [1] (for non-members) and doesn’t eat into your profits.

The question really comes down to how much outsourcing your operation is worth, as bringing in a management company can still make financial sense for larger campgrounds looking to free up their plate.

3. What are the alternative solutions?

All of that being said, there are plenty of folks who successfully manage their own campgrounds. Whether you’re looking for softwares you can run in-house or teams to partner with, there are several à la carte options for park owners.

Reservations.

Reservation systems like Good Sam’s Campground Solutions take the heavy lifting out of running your park, allowing you to spend more time building out your business and connecting with your guests; from user-friendly tools and integrations for reporting and dynamic pricing to a drag-and-drop reservation grid that makes it easy to manage bookings and check-in campers.

This past year, 97 percent of Borden Bridge and Klahanie’s bookings came from online reservations, altogether eliminating the busy work of answering phone calls and emails; not to mention lowering cost considering Good Sam parks can get started for free (with guests only paying $1 per reservation).

Marketing.

There are a number of affordable ways to market your campground without having to break the bank. Consider joining a local campground association, leverage paid ads through Google and Facebook, or even teaming up with local RV dealerships.

If you really want to extend your reach, Good Sam provides marketing and advertising services for over 2,100 parks through the use of social channels, newsletters, and a network of over 2 million Good Sam club members.

Web design.

Statistically speaking, most guests are looking for your park online to decide whether or not they’ll stay.

Eighty-one percent of consumers research a business online before making a purchase. Adding a strong website could even grow your campground’s business by 15 to 50 percent, and quality photos could literally double your reservations.

The average cost of building a website is around $200, but there are plenty of free templates for you to build your own if you’re on a budget. If you’re looking for someone who understands the industry, RV Geeks and CIPR Communications have a lot of experience with park owners.

Finances.

When it comes to handling the finances of your park, Quickbooks is a great resource for small-to-medium campgrounds. With cloud-based packages for accounting, billing, and payroll, they can match your business needs; plus they have simple pricing plans ranging from $25 to $180 a month depending on the size of your park.

That being said, if you want to outsource accounting to a firm that deeply understands the RV industry, the team at Camp and Park Accounting provides focused services such as business consulting, cash flow analysis, and financial benchmarking. They’ve been in the industry for a while and can meet the needs of park owners in ways that traditional firms can’t. Understandably, their pricing structure is a bit more nuanced, however, they have customizable and affordable options based on the size of your business.

Making the right choice for your campground.

Full-scale campground management companies are able to provide the lion share of needs for campground owners, but they also come at a steeper cost. The question to ask is how much do you want to be hands-off, and how much of your profits are you willing to give up?

While handpicking individual services to help you run your campground requires more involvement, it also means more autonomy and fewer expenses. This will generally be a more attractive option for smaller and more mom-and-pop RV parks, but can also scale to larger organizations.

Regardless of where you land, make sure you have a clear understanding of your campground’s goals, how much you can afford, and what the alternatives are.

Want to get started?

As mentioned, Good Sam provides a number of services to give campground owners the tools they need to run their business without headaches. Whether it’s marketing and advertising, online reservations, or access to a network of over 2 million RVers, Good Sam makes managing a park as easy as possible. If you’re ready to get started we can help! Request a demo today.

How to Setup Wi-Fi at an RV Park (and Why You Need It)

You need Wi-Fi at your RV park.

Due to the pandemic, nearly 42 percent of the American workforce is currently working remotely. And by 2025, an estimated 22 percent of Americans will work remotely for good.

When it comes to camping, there has been a huge spike in popularity as a result of the pandemic. Some camping and glamping booking services were 400 percent busier than the same time last year.

With the rise in remote work, Americans are camping more often and staying longer—if they have decent Wi-Fi.

Which means if you don’t offer workable internet at your campground, you’re missing out on business.

The value of having campground internet.

According to outdoor internet expert Doug Rafferty, “Wi-Fi at an RV park is a MUST.”

Doug and his wife are full-time RVers and he’s been providing campgrounds like Charlie Brown with internet for years. According to him, successful campgrounds must have decent Wi-Fi and parks won’t continue to survive without it.

When it comes to bandwidth at an RV park, Doug says “the average campground just doesn’t have it right,” and that “Campgrounds will go out and spend $20k-$30k to build out a campground” but they often fail to invest in internet, and have terrible bandwidth as a result.

Our data validates Doug’s point.

In a survey of our own, 71 percent of RVers said that decent Wi-Fi was essential, and one of the most important amenities a campground could provide. We even had a few participants say that a lack of decent Wi-Fi was a dealbreaker, and reason enough for them to stay elsewhere.

Quality internet at your park is one of the most important investments you can make.

Before you decide to set up Wi-Fi.

Setting up the internet at an RV park can be daunting. Doug answered a few of our big questions on what to consider before setting up an internet provider.

How much will decent Wi-Fi at an RV park cost?

On average, you can find a high-speed provider with decent download speeds at around $250 a month. Depending on how rural your campground is, and the level of access to towers in the area, at the most you shouldn’t be paying more than $500 a month.

Should I charge for Wi-Fi at an RV park?

Doug says yes, and that “people are more open to it than before.”

A 2018 poll showed that 66 percent of guests would be willing to pay a daily rate for quality internet. There will be people who want to opt out, but as more and more millennials become full-time RVers, it is likely that paying extra for premium service will be expected.

It’s important to note that if you are charging extra for Wi-Fi that it should be high-speed access.

What if we’re a 100 percent leisure park? Do we still need good internet?

According to our survey, campers expect Wi-Fi that works at their campsite. They don’t expect blazing fast internet speeds, but they do want to be able to check email, load webpages, and share files.

Can I just offer Wi-Fi in the clubhouse instead of throughout the campground?

While working professionals would take advantage of an ethernet connection from the office, Doug found that “on average, a family will have two to three devices operating at the same time (per site).” Best practices suggest you should still have a signal strong enough to accommodate anyone throughout the park.

Best practices for Wi-Fi at an RV park.

Map out your campground.

Having a clear layout of your park will enable you to find all of the potential obstructions to a quality signal (trees, concrete, metal buildings, etc.) as well as the best and most central location for your router. A clear visual of the park will show you what to prioritize.

Invest in a quality wireless router.

When it comes to purchasing a wireless router, you’ll likely want to start with one labeled as Dual-Band, since Single-Band will be competing with bluetooth and cell phones, causing a greater amount of interference to your signal (and more campers complaining that the internet isn’t working).

If at all possible, put your wireless router or access point wherever it can have the widest and most unobstructed reach from buildings and trees, as these can all tamper with your signal.

Generally speaking, the center of your campground is probably the best place, pending any concrete or metal from nearby buildings.

When it comes to bandwidth, Doug says that campers don’t expect anything blazing fast, but that you should still have an average download speed of 5-10 mbps per site.

Doug said that even for his larger parks (100+ sites) this has been the perfect range, as there’s never a time where everyone will be online at once. A router that lists 802.11ac technology should serve you just fine. This will accommodate guests whether they need to work remotely or just stream Netflix.

To make your decision easier, PC Magazine also has a list of the best wireless routers to buy in 2021.

Strategically add a Wi-Fi range extenders throughout your park.

As mentioned earlier, even if you have a strong connection in your clubhouse or office, guests still want flexibility. One of the participants in our survey mentioned that “when [they’re] working, Wi-Fi and a place to sit down away from the rig is very important.”

Wi-Fi extenders (or repeaters) will boost your internet signal and allow it to reach more of your park. Once you’ve mapped out your park, pay attention to potential dead zones caused by obstructions and place repeaters accordingly to ensure more wireless autonomy for campers.

PC Magazine also has a list of the best range extenders to fit any budget.

Wi-Fi resources.

Business.org came out with a list of the best high-speed providers for small businesses. But if you’re looking to get started with a company that uniquely understands the campground industry, here are recommendations based on who our parks use:

Making a connection

If you’re looking to add value to your campground, adding quality wireless internet is the best place to start. Even if your hope is for guests to disconnect, as more and more working professionals become full or part-time RVers they’ll still need access to Wi-Fi, and won’t stay at your campground if you don’t provide it.

A better online solution.

Looking for a campground reservation software, advertising, and more to go with your park’s Wi-Fi? Good Sam can help. Request a demo today!