b'SMART OPERATIONSManage Parks with an Eventual Sale in MindRegardless of the type of buyer and the intended future use of the prop-erty, it is also necessary that the businesss accounting be fully trans-Peterparent and in order. You will also not want to wait until the last minute toPellandaddress any red flag issues that could either kill the sale.It was a couple of years ago when I lasttimetodefergeneralmaintenance,Regardless of the type of buyer andship with the previous owner, if the reg-wrote on the topic of preparing to sellprune your advertising budget or let yourthe intended future use of the property,istration references an email account your campground. Needless to say, sinceparks overall reputation suffer.it is also necessary that the business ac- that the previous owner can no longer then there has been a buying and sellingFrom the marketing perspective thatcounting be fully transparent and inaccess, or if the previous owner is de-frenzy. Everybody is aware of the sellersis part of my day-to-day work, I am fre- order. You will also not want to wait untilceased, you will have a problem on your market in residential real estate thanks toquently called upon to design new web- the last minute to address any red flaghands. In even worse instances, the do-regular coverage on the nightly news,sites for park owners who would like toissues that could either kill the sale ormain name registration might be in the where buyers have often paid premiumsmaximize the selling price of their prop- cause the sales negotiation process toname of a former webmaster or friend to purchase properties that have been onerty, and just as frequently called upondrag on needlessly. These might includeofthepreviousowner.Thatperson the market for just a matter of days. to design new websites for new ownersthings like an abandoned undergroundmight take a vindictive or otherwise un-As a campground owner, you are nowho have purchased a park (typically atstorage tank, a septic system that doesprofessional attitude or could have gone doubt fully aware that the market fora lower price than the property wouldnotmeetcurrentstandardsandre- out of business, or is impossible to lo-campgrounds and RV parks has gottenhave otherwise commanded) with anquirements, wetlands remediation orcate. In perhaps a worst-case scenario, hotter than hot. Are you doing every- ineffective online presence. This is theother potential environmental issues.the domain name could have been reg-thingnecessarytoprepareforthatcommon scenario that applies when aistered by a yellow pages type of com-eventual real estate closing?campground is being sold to new own- The Big Intangible Issuespany that always intended to maintain Particularly if you watch any of theers who plan to continue running theWhen it comes to running a businessits ownership from day one. countlessrealityTVshowsinvolvedpark in a similar (but presumably morethese days, there is a tangible brick andIt is time to research all of this prior with the selling of residential real estateprofitable) manner.mortar presence and there is also anto the closing, resolving any potential that are broadcast on cable networksIn other instances, corporate buyersintangible online presence. When youpitfalls, and being prepared to transfer such as HGTV, Dabl, Discovery Home orcome in with either entirely new plansare selling a business, you are sellingownershiptothebuyerwithoutany DIY Network, you realize that there is afor the operation of the park or with theboth, and it amazes me how frequentlycomplications. What applies to the do-growing industry these days involvedintention of totally reinventing the use ofclosing attorneys fail to address the ex- main name registration also applies to with staging homes to maximize sellingthe real estate. In these instances, spend- tremelyimportantonlineaspects.Iyour website itself and any associated prices and minimize listing periods. ing money on improvements that will behave routinely encountered instancesemail addresses. You want to be sure Staging experts work to improve theof little or no value under the propertyswhere the new owner of a campground,that your webmaster does not think that many visual aspects that help a propertynew use profile will not lead to returns onsometimes a year or two after the clos- he owns your website or that there are look its best, including cleaning, remov- investments at the time of closing. Noting, suddenly faces the rude awakeninganyunpaidfeesthatneedtobere-ing clutter, arranging furniture, bringingknowing in advance what a new ownerthat the campgrounds website is notsolved. You also want to take measures in rented furnishings, doing some basicmight have planned, particularly at aregistered in his companys name. Usu- in advance to separate any business-re-landscapingandpowerwashing,en- time when new concepts are evolving onally, this discovery occurs when it is timelated and personal email accounts that hancing lighting, painting and otherwisea continual basis, the best approach is toto renew, transfer or make changes tomight be associated with your domain. upgrading that all-important first im- keep your property as well maintained asthe registration or hosting services.If you have used a single account for pression. Learning from the examplespossible to maximize its curb appealIn many instances, it turns out thatboth business and personal email cor-within that programming, it should beand first impressions in the eyes of po- the domain name registration is still inrespondence, the new owner is going to clear that if you would like to maximizetential buyers, irrespective of their in- the name of the previous owner. If youunderstandablyexpectaccesstoall the selling price of your park, it is nottended long-term use.have not maintained a friendly relation- business-relatedcorrespondence.At the same time, you want to protect your privacy and see that any personal cor-respondence is not transferred over to the new owner and prying eyes. It might very well be time to both clear out per-sonal messages and to setup a new and separate account for your personal use. A word of caution: I have seen many in-stances where a new owner assures a former owner that he or she may con-tinue using a personal domain-based email account. In every instance, the new owner will recognize the fault in that logic and reverse that decision in very short order. Dont count on this any more than you would expect the new owner to allow you to keep your own set of keys for the front office. The bottom line is that you might be ready to realize the sale of your park sooner than you had ever imagined. Take the necessary measures so you can jump on the opportunity when it arises.PeterPellandistheCEOof Pelland Advertising, a company that he founded in 1980 that has been serving the family camping industry for nearly 40 years. His company spe-cializes in building fully responsive websites, along with producing a full rangeoffour-colorprocessprint advertising, for clients from coast to coast.LearnmoreaboutPelland Advertising at https://pelland.com or see their ad in this issue. WCM8 January 2022Woodalls Campground Magazine'