The industry’s Colorado and South Dakota state associations are concluding another year of service, continuing a tradition of more than 50 years dedicated to owners and managers of outdoor hospitality businesses. Their partnering organization, the Rivers & Rockies Outdoor Lodging Coalition (RROLC), which spreads benefits across 11 additional states, is also wrapping up its membership year, according to a press release.
As the organizations look ahead to the upcoming year, the coalition’s leadership and staff are enthusiastic about building on earlier successes and expanding the value the associations provide to members. Membership is open to outdoor hospitality businesses in the displayed 13 states and to the support businesses that serve them.
“This past year brought many successes, including the addition of new members, multiple Helplines, territory-specific camper data reports through our partnership with CampLife, access to a digital site map program and a variety of self-paced online workshops (especially one which helps members an AI analyst tool unique for their specific business),” said Rivers & Rockies President Tyler Burr. “Some members also continued saving on music & movie licenses, propane & fuel, laundry equipment, office & pool supplies, retail inventory and any of a couple of dozen other business needs.”
“Internal energy is high as we launch new benefits and revamp long-standing ones,” noted CEO & Executive Director Mary Arlington. “Businesses must evolve to stay aligned with member needs and with societal advancements, yet we also need to study the effectiveness and efficiency of existing benefits. When a benefit generates little interest, we investigate why and determine whether to improve or discontinue it. Members have spoken, and the Board has listened.
“For example, we’re replacing our email tool to streamline how we communicate with members on industry trends, cost-savings options, educational content, actionable items, billings and most certainly advocacy, which all have different urgencies and shelf lives,” she added. “Enhancements are being applied to our industry supplier directory and other tweaks are being applied to our Autumn Gatherings.”
“We have served as a valuable bridge between suppliers and the camping businesses,” explained Burr. “For our third year, our supplier benefits are a completely fresh menu, providing connection opportunities at various times of the year and in different ways. From my perspective, one of the greatest rewards is learning through Mary Arlington about the growth and developments across the supplier side of our industry. She keeps tabs on the newcomers, and she makes us aware of their wins.
“We celebrated with CampLife when they shared details on their new email marketing program, and we were delighted to applaud Heidi Doyle on her new position with Electrical Works,” he added. “Our industry is constantly evolving, and Mary does an outstanding job of keeping us informed about the people, companies and developments shaping the future.”
“What isn’t changing: our Rivers & Rockies Helpline (including our legal hotline), the educational networking opportunities, our camper data reporting partnership with CampLife, and well, likely nearly all of our other programs the members appreciate,” stated Arlington.
After hearing from our members, the association chose to open the renewal window several months earlier than normal, and it’s been well-received. Of course, new members are always welcome to join, and RROLC is able to quickly activate new-member benefits. Officially, RROLC launches its third year on Oct. 1, but no time is too early to get started.
“On behalf of our Board of Directors and staff,” Burr said, “I want to express our appreciation to every single business that has supported this new industry initiative called Rivers & Rockies. It’s truly an honor to see what’s been achieved in our first two years!”
You can learn more about the associations at RROLC.org.
