Industry Videos

Jeremy and Stephanie Puglisi, the hosts of The RV Atlas podcast, give WCM's Park Update a look at what they are hearing from RVers as the 2023 season gets underway. The show takes a look at RV repair issues, overcrowding and campsite pricing. The Puglisi's note their concerns about campsite pricing as prices for sites have increased over the last several years, highlighting the need for resorts to offer "resort-level" service and more. Plus, Ben Quiggle, co-host of the show, admits that he tent camps and has never camped at a private park.

Scott Bahr, president of Cairn Consulting Group, chats with WCM’s Park Update about the recently released 2023 North American Camping & Outdoor Hospitality Report, which the Cairn Consulting Group compiles data for. In its ninth year, the annual report has become a staple for outdoor hospitality professionals looking for data on recent trends and camping behavior. Bahr speaks on some of the key takeaways from the report, highlights emerging trends and notes some surprising facts during this show.

Rob Schutter, Camp Jellystone's president, joins WCM's Park Update to talk about the health of the Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park Camp-Resort franchise system and its continued plans for growth. The system is currently working on a number of new development projects, as well as focusing on introducing more single-park owners to the franchise system too. Schutter speaks on the process of transitioning to be a Jellystone, offers some insights into the health of campstore sales and merchandising, speaks about challenges the system is facing, and more.

David Basler, chief strategy officer at the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (National ARVC), joins WCM's Park Update to chat about the association's recent release of its 2023 Outlook Report, which offers insights into park ownership trends and the overall health of the industry. During the show, Basler highlights trends in corporate ownership of parks, offers insights into what park owners are investing in, chats about challenges the industry faces and more.

Glenna Hecht, founder of Humanistic Consulting and an HR Guru, joins WCM’s Park Update to chat about challenges when it comes to hiring people in today’s economy. Hecht is a popular speaker at Kampgrounds of America Inc.’s (KOA) annual conference and talks during the show about how park owners can find employees and some of the tools they can use to keep employees, whether they operate a seasonal business or not.

Travis John, the founder of CampersDAO, joins WCM's Park Update to chat about the blend of technology and the outdoor hospitality industry as he works to buy a park through a blockchain method. The unique method will initially offer 10,000 memberships beginning on Earth Day (April 22) that will help fund the purchase of an RV park.

Sarah Smith, co-founder of The Dyrt, and her husband, Kevin Long, CEO of The Dyrt, join WCM's Park Update to dive into the company's recently released 2023 Camping Report. They note that finding a campsite is still difficult for campers, highlighting campsite rate trends, demographic changes and more.

Cara Csizmadia, the membership coordinator for the Canadian Camping and RV Council (CCRVC), joins WCM's Park Update to talk about the association's upcoming virtual conference and some of the highlights that attendees can expect. She also dives into the health of the outdoor hospitality industry in Canada and some of the trends park owners are noticing coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mike and Melissa Crowe joined WCM's Park Update to chat about the progress of their new venture, Mitten Getaways Glamping Co. Currently, the couple is looking for a piece of land to purchase with the idea of building a small, tranquil glamping park in northeastern Michigan. The Crowes talk about some of the challenges they have faced while trying to find a piece of land that fits their vision, the ideas they have on what the park will provide, the steps they have taken to educate themselves about the industry and more.

Joel Holland, founder, and CEO of Harvest Hosts and the new program CampersCard, joins WCM's Park Update to chat about how CampersCard benefits park owners and how the program is a natural extension of the work Harvest Hosts does to work with park owners. Holland also discusses the recent issue Harvest Hosts dealt with in California when one county went after several Harvest Hosts sites and the work the company does to ensure they stay on the right side of local laws.

Zach Stoltenberg, from Clockwork, an architectural firm, joined WCM's Park Update to chat about the work the company has been doing on new development and expansion projects. He spoke about some of the keys to designing a park the right way and what developers should be considering as they build out a park. He also discusses current industry trends and other topics.

Nick Purslow, the regional chief executive officer of Glampitect, joins WCM's Park Update to discuss the growth of Glampitect, the services it provides to park developers and owners, and about the expansion of glamping in North America. Purslow also talks about the differences in glamping between the UK and North America, and on some of the challenges that park developers face as they look to build a glamping park.

Rue Mapp, the founder of Outdoor Afro, joined WCM's Park Update to discuss the organization's efforts to provide access to the outdoors to underserved groups. She talks about the success and growth of her organization and the overall growth of more diverse populations taking part in RVing and camping. Enjoy the show!

Danielle Todd & Lori Severson, organizers of the Campground Owners Expo, along with Dennis Steinman, founder of Plainscraft Covered Wagons, join WCM's Park Update to talk about the upcoming Campground Owners Expo in Branson, Mo. Severson and Todd both note that they are expecting an even larger show than last year, along with more experiential opportunities and educational sessions. Steinman highlights the expo portion of the show, which is expected to be even larger this year. Enjoy the show!

Toby O’Rourke, the CEO and president of Kampgrounds of America Inc. (KOA) joins WCM’s Park Update to talk about the tremendous growth of the company — over 300% since 2011 — and the health of the industry as KOA continues to aggressively expand. O’Rourke discusses KOA’s new headquarters which are being built in Billings, Mont.; how competition has impacted its ability to acquire parks; the company’s decision to build more parks; its expansion of the Terramor brand; how KOA is encouraging its parks to add EV chargers and more. Enjoy the ...

Kama Humphrey, KOA’s director of training and events, joins WCM's Park Update to discuss the franchise system's upcoming convention in Orlando, Fla., from Nov. 14-17. Humphrey notes that the conference will feature a variety of educational sessions, an IdeaXchange, a large expo and some exciting entertainment options.

WCM's Park Update featured David Basler, vice president of membership and marketing at the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (National ARVC), and Susan Motley, National ARVC’s senior director of education and events, during its most recent show at 3 p.m. EDT on Oct. 18 and discussed National ARVC’s upcoming Outdoor Hospitality Conference and Expo (OHCE) in Orlando, Fla.

Nearly a year after being acquired by Sun Outdoors, Camp Jellystone is ready to gather its franchisees at the Embassy Suites Hotel and the Charleston Area Convention Center in North Charleston, S.C., from Nov. 6-9. Marley Behnke, Camp Jellystone’s director of franchise education, joins WCM’s Park Update to give a preview of the conference and what attendees can expect.

Go RVing is celebrating 25 years in 2022 and WCM’s Park Update caught up with Sarah Neely, senior manager of strategic marketing at Go RVing, and Courtney Bias, director of strategic marketing at Go RVing, to celebrate the milestone and get an update on what the organization has been working on and what it is focused on for the future.

Jeff Sims, senior director of state relations and program advocacy at the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (National ARVC), joined WCM's Outdoor Hospitality Update to discuss the current legislative work he is focused on, the importance of National ARVC’s work on getting RV parks and campgrounds classified as "essential businesses" and more.

Greg Emmert joins WCM’s Outdoor Hospitality Update to chat about park ownership, different experiential events that park owners/operators can offer involving a park’s natural environment and his new consulting business. After owning a 240-site Kamprounds of America Inc. park in northeast Ohio, Greg moved on to a new chapter. While owning his park, Emmert used to host nature-themed events including stargazing, nature walks, insect hunts and more.

Christine Taylor, a Principal Partner at The Towne Law Firm, P.C. in the firm’s Albany, N.Y., office, joins the show to discuss current legal topics impacting the outdoor hospitality industry, as well as explore the liability issues park owners face when it comes to active shooter events or other violent incidents.

Joe & Rose Duemig, co-founders of App My Community, joined WCM to talk about the growth of App My Community, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary in 2022. They also discussed the current state of RV travel, having completed a marathon RV trip with their six children last fall that involved more than two dozen states over the span of four months. The family also hit the road this past spring for a shorter trip.

Ali and Eric Rasmussen, the founders of Spacious Skies Campgrounds, which now owns 10 parks along the eastern section of the U.S., joined the show to talk about the company's incredible growth, including its recent one-year anniversary, why the Rasmussens began buying parks, what they look for before acquiring a park, how they have rapidly scaled the size of their business, challenges they are facing, the future of the company…etc.

Margaret Bailey, senior vice president of CHM Government Services joins WCM’s Outdoor Hospitality Update to talk about campgrounds in the public sector, public/private partnerships, RVIA’s recent National Campground Market Survey — which CHM helped produce, how public and private parks can better meet the needs of campers, how recent public funding is going to impact public and private parks and much more.

To help park owners sort through some of the electrical questions they may have and to gauge recent trends and how they impact park owners, WCM’s Outdoor Hospitality Update invited Mike Sorensen, the president of Wild Energy Inc. and Darren Foley, from Utility Supply Group, to sort through the details and answer audience questions.

Gas prices have moved up over the past few weeks and inflation is also at an all-time high. This all begs the question, how will this impact RVing and travel in general this summer? To help us sort through these issues and more WCM’s Outdoor Hospitality Update is excited to be bringing on Lloyd Lauland, president of RVC Outdoor Destinations, and Monika Geraci, director of public relations and communications for the RV Industry Association.

WCM’s Outdoor Hospitality Industry catches up with former Kampgrounds of America (KOA) CEO Jim Rogers. Rogers’ career in the hospitality industry started 50 years ago when, as a new graduate from the University of California-Berkeley, he joined Kampgrounds of America Inc. (KOA), as a management trainee in 1972. After time away from KOA, he returned to KOA in January 2000 to become the CEO of the company. Rogers focused on strategic partnerships and corporate growth as KOA’s chairman and chief executive officer. Rogers retired from KOA in 2016.

WCM’s Outdoor Hospitality Update invited Mia Caetano Johnson, a commercial real estate broker with Northeast Campground Brokers, to discuss when is the best time to sell a park, what owners should do to prepare their parks to be sold, the process of selling a park, how to prepare for family transitions and more.

Eric Stumberg, TengoInternet’s CEO, joins the show to talk about some of the interesting highlights of the company's 2022 State of the Industry Report, including how the industry is meeting customer expectations, the trend towards premium internet access, and how Wi-Fi impacts the guest experience. Stumberg also touched on other tech trends as WCM works to prepare owners for what is expected to be a busy 2022.

Many park owners have seen insurance rates move up as more natural disasters occur, the COVID crisis continues, parks add more amenities and features, and so on. Other issues impacting the outdoor hospitality industry include employee concerns, ADA issues, cybersecurity and more. WCM’s Outdoor Hospitality Update invited Chris Hipple, vice president of Leavitt Recreation & Hospitality Insurance, to the show to discuss insurance trends and the outlook for 2022.

You could win a Factory-to-Fabulous Keystone Springdale 1750RD, renovated by the Flipping Nomad, Cortni Armstrong! Support HoldYou Foundation and Win Amazing Prizes! We also get the 2022 Camping Forecast with Ben Quiggle, editor of Woodall's Campground Magazine. All that and the latest news of the week.

Having an RV or towable in an overnight traffic jam can be a life saver! This week we sit down with a new RVing couple got stuck in a winter jam while detouring on their way home. Bob also chats with Matt Olds of East to West RV about their current models and why quality matters. All that and the hot travel and RV news of the week!

Our economy has been turned upside down by the Great Resignation, and everyone you talk to now is understaffed. So, take a step back and consider what that really means, as well as how you treat your customers. Consider some approaches to ensuring that your customers are satisfied. Save some time for yourself, save some time for your customer, and let's make everyone happy again by providing excellent customer service.

WCM's Outdoor Hospitality Update invited Scott Foos, CEO and co-owner of Horizon Outdoor Hospitality, and Billie McNamara, general manager of Loon’s Haven Family Campground in Maine, onto the show to discuss how managing a park has evolved over the years due to customer demands and the changing of technology.

WCM started off the show with its co-host Ben Quiggle, editor of Woodall's Campground Magazine, and Mike Gast, former vice president of communications at Kampgrounds of America Inc. (KOA) and a senior writer for RVTravel.com. Kama Humphrey, from Kampgrounds of America Inc., joined about 20 minutes in as the show discussed work camping trends and best practices for hiring work campers.

WCM's Outdoor Hospitality Update is joined by Trent Hershenson, vice president of marketing for Leisure Systems Inc. (LSI), and Duncan and Kitty Winship, the owners of Papoose Pond Family Campground & Cabins in Waterford, Maine, as the show dives into families and what they are looking for when it comes to RVing and camping.

Broadcasting live from The Glamping Show USA, today's guests are David Korse, owner/operator of The Glamping Show USA, and Scott Cory, the owner of the Ventura Ranch KOA Holiday. We will be diving into how you can incorporate glamping at your park and how the glamping industry has taken off in North America.

Niki Benedict, correspondent for the "RVBusiness on the Road" video series for RVBusiness and its sister publication, Woodall's Campground Magazine, recently traveled through Colorado where she met with the owner/managers of Aspen Acres Campground, which is located in the Isabel Mountain Range in Rye, CO. at 9,200 feet of elevation.

With sites filling up it is no surprise that campers have come up with some inventive solutions to try and nab the perfect campsite — not to mention try and profit off them as well. Our guests, Mark Koep, founder of CampgroundViews.com, and Kathleen Walsh, founder of Advanced Outdoor Solutions, are going to talk on the issues park owners are noticing and how they could impact the future of the industry.

Joining us this week is Michigan-based RVer and creator of the RV Lifestyle website, podcast and YouTube channel, Mike Wendland. Mike, along with his wife Jennifer, recently published a book entitled, “The Complete Guide to Boondocking.”; Harvest Hosts‘ Chief of Staff Wes Clark; and Amir Harpaz, owner of Fort Myers, Fla.-based Harp Development and several parks. He is also a board member with the Florida RV Park and Campground Association.

Campgrounds can be taxed in many different ways, depending on the elections, the owners, personal taxation strategies and how the entity was formed. However, an operating campground is not one of those. Schedule E is for passive activities and in most cases operating a campground will not qualify as a passive activity.

This week's guests were Barb Krumm, Director of Marketing & Public Relations at Ocean Lakes Family Campground in Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Nanci Dixon, a writer for RVtravel.com, where she covers “on the ground” campground issues including crowding and etiquette (along with a lot more); and Lana Thiesen, manager of Centennial RV Park in Fort McMurray, Alberta

WCM's Ben Quiggle and Mike Gast, former VP of communications for Kampgrounds of America and a senior writer for RVTravel.com, welcome Phil Ingrassia, president of the RV Dealer’s Association (RVDA), and Chris Andro, chairman of the RVDA board of directors and owner of Hemlock Hills RV Sales in Southington, Conn., to the show.

Struggling to find an RV campsite? RV Spot Drop may be what you need. It's an automated system that finds site openings directly from the campgrounds in the area you need. Camper Report also discusses the growing career opportunities in the RV industry with the president of RVTI, Curt Hemmeler, and the benefits of correctional trade career paths.

The NXT Entrepreneur podcast spotlighted Terry, CEO and Sam, COO of Spot2Nite. Spot2Nite is an app that allows you to book RV camp sites in real-time at a moment's notice. This fast-growing app that is available for Iphone and Android users launched in March 2021 and has 13,000+ people already using the app.

Monika Geraci, senior manager of marketing strategy and operations at the RV Industry Association (RVIA); Shane Devenish, executive director of the Canadian Camping and RV Council; and Dick Grymonprez, the PMRV representative on RVIA’s board and director of park model sales for Skyline Champion, joined us for this look at the RV/PMRV industries.

There are a number of state and national associations that are working to ensure the voices of the outdoor hospitality industry are heard whenever changes are proposed to rules, laws, and regulations that may impact business owners. Join us as we highlight the work that the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) and the Canadian Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (CORR) do at the federal level to ensure the outdoor hospitality industries in both countries play a key role in legislation that may impact the businesses they represent.

Over the last few years many countries, states, and provinces have been moving to legalize marijuana. This has created a demand for tourism specific to the niche as well as a new for park owners to adapt as consumption becomes more visible. Join us for an in-depth discussion on this changing landscape.

Mark Koep, founder and CEO of Outdoor Business Pros, spoke with WCM about his new venture Outdoor Business Pros and what it offers to RV park and campground owners, developers and those looking to enter the outdoor hospitality industry. We also discussed the upcoming "Buy, Build or Sell Conference."

WCM Fireside Chats welcomed Shane Devenish, executive director of the Canadian Camping and RV Council (CCRVC) and Joss Penny, executive director of the British Columbia Lodging and Campgrounds Association, along with a number of other Canadian park owners to talk all things Canadian as we looked at the burgeoning RV park and campground sectors.

WCM Fireside Chats took a look at winter camping during its weekly show on Monday, Oct. 26 at 11 a.m. (EST) Our guests this week included Johan Feddema, owner of Riverview Campground in Alberta; Brandon Manzardo, guest services manager of Surf Grove Beachside Campground in British Columbia and Walter Freeman, owner of the Benton Kampgrounds of America Journey.

The Outdoor Recreation Roundtable - in partnership with member organizations from across the outdoor recreation industry - held a briefing October 21 to educate Congress, agency officials and industry partners on the ways COVID-19 has changed how Americans recreate outside, and the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Joe Moore, the supplier council representative on the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds’ (ARVC) Board of Directors, a frequent speaker at conferences and founder and owner of Moore’s Campground Consulting; and Duncan Winship, co-owner of Papoose Pond Family Campground & Cabins, joined us on Monday, Oct. 12.

We spoke about fall activity planning amid the COVID crisis with Marley Behnke, director of franchisee education at Leisure Systems Inc., which franchises more than 75 Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort location in North America, and co-owner of the Jellystone Park in Caledonia, Wisc., for the past 16 years; and David Lovell, regional marketing manager for Sun Communities Inc. and Lake Rudolph Campground & RV Resort.

We talked about the impact that virtual learning could have on campgrounds and RV parks as most schools look at starting the year off with virtual learning. Joining us was Greg Emmert, whose family owns the Homerville KOA in Homerville, Ohio, Kimberly Wootteon, co-founder of Right Coast Creatives, a marketing firm that works with RV parks and campgrounds, and Brittany Holifield, a full-time roadschooler.

Joining us on this week's WCM Fireside Chat was Valerie Boone-Austin, owner of Hyclass Ocean Campground; Amir Harpaz, a Florida Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds board member and owner of multiple parks, including Cypress Trail RV Resort; and Mandi Cote, general manager of Old Orchard Beach Campground.

We had Darren Ing, director or the Michigan Association of Recreation Vehicles and Campgrounds, and Mark Lemoine, the owner of the Coloma-St. Joseph Kampgrounds of America (KOA), on the show to talk about Michigan reopening to recreational campers and the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on campground owners in the state.

The Camp & Park Accounting team hosted this live webinar to bring you up-to-date on the latest news as it relates to the economic impact this epidemic is having on the industry. It provides updates and suggestions on a wide range of topics including Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, tax extensions, cash flow planning, and revenue management.