Editor’s Note: This column was written by Dr. John Shim, who practices medicine in Florida while operating the Association Island KOA as its CEO. The necessity of remotely managing the family business required drastic changes in every part of operations. The resulting changes, such as developing the AI Camping app, led to doubling the island park’s revenue.
In my prior article, The Value of Creating Relationships with Community Officials, I described how mobilizing the leaders of a local community solved one of our biggest issues, which was obtaining broadband access to the Association Island Kampgrounds of America (KOA).
Now I would like to describe why we needed broadband access. Being on an island, more than a mile into Lake Ontario, we had a very unreliable telephone line to the main office.
While we love the location of Association Island, it has its challenges. When I first surveyed our needs, it became quite apparent that guests, staff, and potential future customers had significant difficulty calling and communicating with the Main Island Office.
The copper wire telephone lines were not reliable, and even if the phone call came through to the island, the quality of the call was very poor with many dropped calls and severe static. Frustration is the kindest term we could use. The park’s owners could not even reliably access the Island Office by the landline telephone. After spending more money on more copper lines, there was no improvement, just added costs.
The staff, out of frustration, stopped answering the landline telephone calls and relied on voice mail. I wonder how many customers we lost. It was a testament to the natural beauty of the location, despite the lack of direct communication, that we continued to have a strong base of repeat business.
As the new CEO of the park, I assumed my role in January 2018, I knew that was not good enough. We needed a way to get to a real-time dialogue. I knew any effort to attract more guests was thwarted because of the lack of communication. Online reviews had meaning. The bad ones about our phones and communications were mounting. It was becoming the proverbial existential threat to our business.
Broadband internet did change things for us. Our strategy was to provide voice over internet phone access, with the redundancy of back up via the slower DSL lines. We still needed the backup copper wires for regulations requiring phones in critical areas.
Our new broadband telephone system, while still not perfect, was a significant improvement. We retrained staff who did not answer the calls because of habits formed from prior call quality. Those who could not adapt to the standard protocol of answering the phone were transitioned away from the office. We had great relationships with our internet VOIP phone system provider, XCOMM Communications. Our tech company had done several projects with them, and they provided tremendous technical backup while we installed the new system.
Our complaints about the lack of communication dropped significantly. We could now start the process of outreach and marketing. I tell our staff all the time that If we ask People to give us a chance and give us a call, then We better answer the call. With reliable communications, we now had a path to expand our customer base.
Prior to the microwave broadband, we charged for satellite internet access system to our guests. It was very slow. It was costly to us, as we needed multiple satellite accounts. Our old satellite-based internet distribution system was outdated. It was a constant sore point with our guests. With the new Broadband technology, there was a significant improvement. It is still not perfect, but, as the owner of a tech company, I was no longer embarrassed by our internet speeds.
The installation fee of the new internet system may have been prohibitive for some. The improvement of access justified its price. It is a part of our marketing campaign. The new free Wi-Fi system became a fast way for guests to share their experience and the amazing views of the Island in real-time. The sharing of photos with friends and family was a grassroots organic outreach benefit. By providing free Wi-Fi access, we eliminated another source of negative reviews. As part of our marketing campaign, it was no longer an expense, it was a strategy.
The next improvement to our communication pathways was having a totally off campsite reservations staff. During the peak season, especially during the Thursday and Friday rush to check-in guests, the on-island office staff has very little time to stay on the phone with potential guests trying to make reservations or field questions about our Island. We are very fortunate to have our reservations manager located off-island, independent of the Island broadband system, but still using our Voice over IP integrated phone system. They can make the reservations, field the questions, and if necessary communicate with every guest in case there is a power outage.
Our off-island reservations manager spent two full seasons on the island and knows the intimate details about our island and our process. Guests who call have no idea that she is not on the Island. With our integrated communications, she can also respond to emails and provide the support to both guests and on-island staff. In my opinion, though we have a seasonal campground from May 15 to Oct, 15, having a full-time off-island reservationist has tremendously improved our guest relationships, increased our reservations, and provides an intangible sense of security to potential guests not familiar with our island campground.
I have been blessed with the ability to work with a complete tech and software development team. I have tasked them to find solutions. The team is constantly looking for ways to improve processes. During the current COVID crisis, their expertise has been invaluable. The improvements this year were out of necessity, as we all had to respond to the health concerns of our guests. The concept of social distancing and contactless transactions needed integration into our processes. Through the software team’s efforts, we integrated texting, waivers, and online ordering and reservations (except for RV sites) and streamlined curbside check-ins via our AICamping mobile phone App.
Not only did we develop a Pandemic ready way to interact with guests, but because we made it easier for guests to order, and pay for services such as restaurant delivery, boat reservations, golf cart reservations, Ontario Lodge reservations…etc., our sales increased significantly.
All of this would not have been possible without the broadband access or the technical expertise of our team.
