b'BY BEN QUIGGLEReservation/Management SoftwareCompanies See Uptick in Business, Release New Features to Assist OwnersThere is no debate that consumers are de- We are seeing a lot of customers whomanding more out of their vacations and that are looking to transition from pen and paperhas trickled down to the RV park and camp- or are using an older reservation system thatground sectors.is not cloud-based, said Billy Chism, presi- Park owners are looking for resourcesFromnewglampingaccommodations, dent of Stainless Software Inc., which mar- that allow them to access their parksamenities, food service options, site add-ons kets its Premier Campground Management data and information from anywhere.and so on, there are a lot of moving pieces a software. They are asking a lot of questionscampground owner must track.about the cloud and how it works. OwnersThat is where a reservation and property want access to their parks information frommanagement system steps in.anywhere, and they are looking to minimizeAccording to many reservation and man- the amount of work they have to do.agement system experts, the right software Jeff Reed, CEO and founder of Staylist,can ease an owners workload and give them said that he has seen a jump in the number ofbetter insights into how effectively their parks parks coming on board due to the interest inare operating.being connected to a cloud-based system. While some park owners rely on anti- Especially since the coronavirus crisisquated technologysuch as a pencil and hit, more campground owners are now un-papermany owners who have made the derstanding the value of the cloud and itsswitch to a more updated approach are re- ability to allow them to work from anywhere,portedly finding that the change was worth it.he explained. We are seeing development groups that Ratemanagementtoolsincludingdy-own a chain of parks, and even smaller camp- namic pricing and lock site features have en-grounds with owners wanting a modern ap- abled owners to see an increase in revenue. ing is a simple way to in- to look for built-in surveys that they can au-proach, looking to infuse mobile technology We saw 47% of all crease revenue.tomatically send to their guests that will giveand interact with their guests through these reservationsthatof- Siteselectionand them that data. We also offer a program thatchannels,explainedMatthewfered the ability to lock a our interactive booking will automatically send emails out to guestsGalbraith,directorof siteonCampspot get maps are also very pop- encouraging them to rate their stays.operationsforRMS locked in 2019, noted ularaswell,heex- (800) 579-9796NorthAmerica.Our Casey Cochran, director plained. The ability for www.advanced-outdoor.bizsystem does a lot more ofbusinessdevelop- guests to see how farthan just check-in peo- ment at Grand Rapids, Brad Illich their site is from ameni-ple and take payments. Casey Cochran Mich.-based Campspot. ties or see a photo of each site means guestsFor years, business They were getting locked with fees ranging have full control over their stay and are moreMatthew Galbraith owners have been utiliz- from $5 all the way up to $100, and that is just likely to be happy campers.ing the cloud to keep up to lock a particular site.to date on things that are occurring at their At NewBook, Brad Illich, founder andbusinesses, even while they are away.CEO of the company, noted that dynamic pric-Astra/Aspira/Reserve AmericaMatt Smithson, director of business devel-opment at Aspira, said that the company iscontinuing to market its Astra CampgroundManagersoftware as itsreservationandparkmanagement product tocampgroundowners.The company acquiredAstrafromMissionManagement alittleover a year ago. Thecompanyalso Matt Smithsonoffers its Aspira software and still operates ReserveAmerica.comand BookYourSite.comAdvanced Outdoor Solutions as campground search portals.Matlacha, Fla.-based Advanced Outdoor We had a record-breaking year in 2019,Solutions provides three systemsits own with a ton of new clients signing on with us,Mosaicsoftwarewhile also being a distrib- Smithson explained. Real Log Park Model Cabins utor for Rez Expert by Digital Rez and New- Smithson said that Astra has been work-Book, according to Kathleen Walsh, founder ing to upgrade its software to allow the com-of the company.pany to use more HTML and also improve itsWalshsaidthatgrid and map functionality.Advanced Outdoor So- We are set to launch our new grids Real Rustic Log Cabins lutionshasbeenin- and maps here shortly, he noted. Wecrediblybusyduring also brought in a third-party consultant Turn-Key! the first quarter of 2020. who put us through the wringer security Durable and Appealing She noted owners are wise and that has led to a large number of Highly Profitable looking for a reservation updates to make our software incredibly Pays Off Within 1-3 Years Kathleen Walsh platformthatallows safe to use.Park Model Cabins them to market their parks, too. Astra offers site locking capability, and theStarting at $27,900 In order to do that, you need some very company is doing final testing on a dynamicgood analytics that you can grab from your pricing tool, according to Smithson. Located in Lancaster, PA software,shenoted.Youalsoneedto (800) 547-9147proactivelybeabletoreachouttoyour www.astra.campgroundmanager.com717-445-5522www.LancasterLogCabins.com guests. So, I have been encouraging owners Reservation Softwarecontinued on page 3212 -May 2020Woodalls Campground Management'