b'KOA at Near Record Levels in 2020; K2 Now at All LocationsKampgrounds of America Inc.s (KOA) owners over- istration revenue deficit, set-came last springs COVID-19 closures to set new perform- ting new system performanceancerecordsduringthesummerandfallof2020, records in June, July, August,according to the companys 2020 annual report. September and October. Be-KOA also announced in March that all 520 of its tween early September andcampground locations are now operating on its pro- the end of December, regis-prietary reservation management system K2. trationrevenueswereupNorth Americas largest provider of family camping more than 25%.finished the year nearly on par with 2019, which was a KOAcampgroundspro-record year for the 59-year-old company. vided safe places for respon-In the first two months of 2020, KOA registration rev- sible recreation and a way toenues were up 10.5% over 2019 totals. But COVID-19 relax and recharge, ORourkeswept over both the U.S. and Canada in mid-March, said. The perfect antidote forbringing stay-at-home orders and other restrictions. Dur- stressistheoutdoorsanding the period from March 16 to May 17, KOA found itself KOAs delivered on that pre-more than 43% under its previous years performance. scription all across the UnitedWhen the stay-at-home orders were first implemented States and Canada.in March, we began advocacy work at the federal, state and During the summer, ourprovincial levels to ensure our campgrounds could be KOA website, KOA.com, sawdeemed essential and remain open, said KOA President itshighesttrafficeverandand CEO Toby ORourke. This work continued through- surpassed $1 million in dailyout the year as we first lobbied for long-term business to reservationrevenuefortheremain and then for short-term business to resume. veryfirsttimeonJune1,KOA helped its 522 campgrounds weather those ORourke said.first early months by reimbursing KOA owners for That daily record perform-100% of reservation deposits and cancellation fees re- ancebecamethenormforturnedtocampersinMarchandApril.That the rest of 2020 as campers rebooked canceled trips and took organization on board.amounted to more than $3.1 million in direct aid to advantage of flexible schedules at work and at school. By the Andy Metroka, KOA Vice President of Informa-KOA campgrounds. end of 2020, the majority of KOA campgrounds were at par or tion Services, said all 520 KOA locations are now onIt would be an understatement to say that KOA put above their record 2019 revenue performance. a single operating system for the first time in sev-their money where their mouth is over the past year, said ORourke noted that KOAs 2020 Annual Report is now eral years.John T. Baker II, owner of the Austin East KOA Holiday. available and can be viewed at: Its a huge benefit that we no longer have toIts one thing for a franchisor to say they have your back, http://koa.uberflip.com/i/1339414-2020-koa-annual-report. support two systems, Metroka said. Now every-but KOA proved it time and again during 2020. one is on the same modern system and we can allIn partnership with other industry representatives, K2 Reservation System at all Locations move forward together.KOAs lobbying efforts had a significant effect as local, KOA reached a major milestone the evening ofMarch Metroka said his technology team is continu-state and provincial governments began loosening re- 28 when the final three campgrounds were added to KOAs ously working on new K2 system features, and KOAstrictions. By June 12, all states and provinces were allow- innovative K2 reservation management system. owners and operators can expect an even more ro-ingrecreationalcamping.NorthAmericanswere I want to congratulate our KOA technology team on bust system in coming months.desperate to get outside and enjoy nature, and KOA this monumental achievement, said ORourke. The de- The development of the K2 reservation systemcampgrounds were there to fill the need as a safe vacation velopment and launch of K2 have been several years in is far from a one-and-done project, he said. Ourchoice. the making, and now all KOA campgrounds have been team is working right now on features that will fur-Campers flooded to KOA parks in record numbers transitionedtothenewK2system.Iappreciateour ther optimize campground occupancy and addduring that mid-May to early September summer recov- teams diligence, focus, long hours and grit in not only more functions that will increase the efficiency ofery period. By Sept. 7, KOA had made up most of its reg- building a formidable software, but in bringing our entire our owners daily operations.WCMCurt Yoder Retires From Kropf Industries Cavco Acquires ManufacturingAfter 35 years, Curt Yoder, vice president and features. the park model Facility in Ariz.; Will Hire 200co-owner of Kropf Industries, a park model RV Yoder was also instrumen-manufacturer in Goshen, Ind., has retired.tal in getting I have a partner, Don Kropf, and it was just segment and the RV Industrykind of a situation where I felt that it was a good Association backtogether S u s t a i n e dtime for me to step aside, Yoder noted. Were again.growth in demanda family business and he wanted to somewhat It is a good thing for all of forCavcoIndus-take the company in a different direction than us to be under the same tent triesInc.s parkwhat I wanted to go.again, he explained.modelRVshasStartingin1985inthesalesdepartment, Yoder said he is proud of Curt Yoder promptedtheYoder eventually acquired part ownership of the the growth that Kropf saw dur- companytoin-company in 1998. Don and Curt purchased the ing his tenure as co-owner of the company.crease its produc-company from Curts father-in-law, Bob Kropf We went from a nobody in the industry to tion capacity withand Bobs brother, Vern Kropf.building around 16% to 18% of park model RVs the acquisition of aWhen we first got into the business, park nationwide, he explained. And that is all out newtilt-upcon-model RVs were built as full slides, 12 wides of one plant. We also had a number of years cretebuildinginwerent even around then, he noted. And then where we were the No. 1 park model RV seller Glendale, Ariz., thepark model RVs evolved into 12-foot lights, and by volume in the retail segment.Phoenix-basedthe whole destination camping concept just Yoder said he has no plans on any future companyan-continued to grow and take off, and the units projects he might pursue. He is just enjoying the nounced. evolved and began to incorporate more home extra time with his family. Ben Quiggle WCM Its going to beour first air-condi-tioned, fully dedi- Bill Boor and Tim GageRoverPass Forms Partnership with Roadtrippers, Togo RV cated park modelfactory, stated Bill Boor, president and CEO of Cavco, which pro-RoverPass, a travel site that enables people Through this partnership, all of the bookable duces manufactured homes, park models and tiny homes.tobookRVparksandcampgrounds,anda inventory on RoverPass.com will be accessible Cavco plans to hire nearly 200 employees to staff the new facility,provider of reservation management software, on Roadtrippers.com and the Togo RV app. This which is expected to begin park model production late in 2021, ac-recently announced a strategic partnership with new deal adds convenience for Roadtrippers cording to a release. The new factory is located in an attractive area oftwo of the leading names in road-based travel: Glendale, close to restaurants and other attractions, including StateRoadtrippers, the travel planning app, and Togo and Togo RV users by increasing access to book- Farm Stadium.RV, the GPS navigation companion app that able RV parks and camping locations while eas- Until now, Cavco has produced most of its park models at its manu-simplifies RV ownership, according to a press re- ing the headaches that can come along with trip facturing plant in Goodyear, which it also uses to produce manufacturedlease. planning, the release states.WCM Cavcocontinued on page 36WOODALLSCM.com May 2021-3'