b'he noted to WCM. Its a combination of different seemed to help them launch their product. things, but there has been a really significant up- I do know early this year when some camp-take. groundswereshutdown,Ihadseveralcamp-The company is working on new updates to its grounds that told me they used that time off to tryWindows-basedreservationmanagementplat- to evaluate the new reservation systems and makeform, according to Johnson. A new update this past a switch, he said. So, it actually turned out to beSpring included dynamic pricing, rental manage- probably a good thing.ment and a number of other additional updates Firefly was also able to sign on a number of sum-and features.mer camps that made a pivot due to the pandemic. We have also been working on COVID-related They were able to rent out cabins to familiesfeatures that help our customers better manage the and had to make decisions pretty quickly on whichissues that COVID is presenting, he explained. We reservation software to use to accomplish that,spent a lot of time this spring on helping customers Adams noted. leverage their software in new ways to be able to Firefly is constantly adding new features as it on-work remotely. boards parks, explained Adams, mainly due to thedifferences in each park it is working with. One thing that weve had to add recently due toCOVID was a buffer day between reservations forcabins, he said. Some states required a minimummaking up for the losses for the down period it suf- of 24 hours for cleaning and disinfecting betweenfered.reservations.We are doing much better than we thought, butobviously the year hasnt been great for anybody,he noted. The company has been focused on developingnew features for its software. Wedevelopeddigitalsign-informsthatcampers can sign before or after they check-in,Gibbs explained. They are also configurable andflexible so that owners can set them up howeverJohnson is also rolling out CampWorks Connect, they want them. which is a smartphone app that park owners can Gibbs said that advanced reservations seem tobrand with their parks own name. It will also in- be up for the southern parks they service. He ex-clude an advertising piece that will allow park own- pects that 2021 is going to be another big year for The company has also recently added in integra-ers to sell advertising space to local businesses.the outdoor hospitality industry.tion to an actual terminal that owners can use to(320) 300-4157 The company is focused on expanding its reach swipe credit cards, rather than just keying it inwww.viswrks.com/CampWorks/ in the new year.when a customer arrives, said Adams. A lot of owners need help with marketing, so our www.fireflyreservations.comDigital Rez platforms going to expand into that area, GibbsDigital Rez provides reservation explained.MySitesmanagement software under the (800) 811-5988 Launched by SEPI MarketingRezExpert moniker in the U.S. www.digitalrez.com; www.rezexpert.com about two years ago, MySitesisThom Gibb, chairman of the seen as a natural fit for a com-boardatDigitalRez,told Firefly pany that has been focused onWCM that the company expe- A new entrant into the reservation system/prop- promoting outdoor recreationrienced a 50% to 75% loss in ertymanagementfield,Firefly wasstartedby for decades, according to Brianrevenue when the COVID crisis Bradly Adams and his brother at the beginning of McGuinn, director of SEPI Mar-began, but then rebounded.2020.keting. Thom Gibb Still, the company has been Adams told WCM that the COVID crisis actually Brian McGuinn We were talking with ourclients and through our work withthemwouldcomeacrossvariousreservation software platforms thatwe just didnt understand some ofthe logic or flow behind, McGuinntold WCM. We felt like we could cre-ate an interface that would work bet-ter, not only for park owners but forthe campers as well.The system features a number ofintegrationsandallowsuserstomanage a number of items from theplatform, including inventory, meterreadings, bill invoicing and other ca-pabilities. Itsverymobile-friendly,andthats one of the things that we try todo with all of our platforms because,Imean,thatswhereeverybodysgoing now, McGuinn noted. So far, just under 100 parks havesigned up to take part in the plat-form, said McGuinn, and he noted20 -December 2020Woodalls Campground Management'