b'What Lies Ahead?Outdoor Hospitality ProfessionalsForecast 2021 Camping SeasonNo one in the RV industry saw 2020 coming. But what about the 2021 camping season? Howis it going to be impacted? Mike and Jennifer Wendland, creators and authors of the popular online blog RV Lifestyle,gauged what the 2021 season might hold by speaking with a number of RV influencers and in-dustry experts.The good news is, most see less uncertainty and turmoil, a return to RV shows, and a slighteasing in campground overbookings.But in predicting the 2021 camping season, there are a lot of wildcards still in play and theturmoil of 2020 will still be a part of the 2021 camping season.Theres a lot of meaty insight, RV industry statistics and wisdom in their predictions.Woodalls Campground Management(WCM) was unable to print everyones predictions. Toread all 24 you can head to www.rvlifestyle.com/2021-camping-season-predictions.Mark and Julie BennettMark and Julie Bennett are authors of the bestselling book Living theRV LifeYour Ultimate Guide to Life on the Road, and co-creators of the will settle down and other forms of travel open up. And twomany of those who jumped intoRVLove blog and RV Success School and Hit the Road RV Summit. RVing quickly without doing the proper research will come to realize they dont want to dealwith the hassles that come with RV ownership. The ongoing need for repairs and maintenance,The 2021 Camping Season will be huge! plus the challenges of finding campground bookings and affordable storage, will be too muchRV Shows Quartzsite, Ariz., is going ahead in January, so is Florida, for some, and we see a glut of used RVs hitting the market within a year from now.it seems. The California RV Show was permanently canceled. We do RV Rentals Demand will remain very strong for the foreseeable future and be a big area ofsee RV shows happening around the country, regionally and locally, but growth, especially as more used RVs come up for sale. More dealers will offer the option todont expect the attendance levels of years gone by. RV buying practices have had to adapt, rent. Many RVers will rent their RV to offset their costs, or even buy additional RVs, to get intoand online research and shopping still will be preferred. But people want to see RVs in person, the RV rental business, similar to how many homeowners got into the AirBnB business andwhich they may prefer do at local dealerships rather than big, crowded shows. We see more bought more properties to capitalize on that trend.virtual events becoming accepted and the norm in the future.RV Parts With supply chain shortages being an issue across the board, the RV industry isCampgrounds These have been overcrowded in many parts of the country due to the influx feeling it, too. We see the shortage of parts being an ongoing concern for RV manufacturers,of new RVers and increased preference for RV camping in general. Prices are going up which RV repair shops, and RV owners alike until the supply chain catches up. This will cause addi-may deter some RVers and drive them to invest in off-grid systems with solar and batteries to tional frustrations for customers (especially newbies not used to this) who may experience ex-avoid or reduce camping costs. We also predict some developers who previously focused on tended delays while waiting for replacement parts. This may be the catalyst that sees moreresidential and commercial property will pivot to invest in building or improving more camping used RVs on the market as owners try to offload them.resorts around the country based on the demand. RV Remote Workers With more companies now seeing the benefits of a remote workforce,RV SalesSales will continue steadily in 2021 but soften compared to 2020. We do see an we believe many people will see an RV as an ideal way to travel while working full time, as weincrease in used RVs hitting the market by the fall for two reasons. Onethe pandemic concerns Industry Predictionscontinued on page 21WOODALLSCM.com January 2021-17'