Association and individual campground marketing was a focal point of discussion at the Iowa Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds Spring Meeting March 26 at Doggs RV Park in Iconium, Iowa.
“We have produced a directory for four years and it’s well done,” Beth Saxton, association president and manager of Colony Country Campground in North Liberty, Iowa, told Woodall’s Campground Management. “The question becomes, is that what we want to keep doing, or is there another vehicle to get the same information into? As we see people change from print to web-based information gathering, it’s hard to guess what to do,” she said.
The issue wasn’t resolved among the 19 members — representing seven campgrounds — who attended and it will be revisited at the annual meeting in the fall, she said.
Still on the subject of marketing, members discussed the pros and cons of promoting their campgrounds at RV shows held early in the year in Iowa. The show managers would like to have a campground presence at the shows, Saxton said, but the expense is prohibitive for many individual campgrounds and it might be better done by the association on behalf of all members.
Kathy Bowermaster, publications manager for Iowa Tourism, spoke at the meeting and outlined the print and online services available through her state agency,
Mary Arlington, a Kansas campground owner and a board member of the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC), also spoke at the meeting and outlined the benefits of ARVC membership.
Serving as association officers this year with Saxton are: Vice President Chip Smith, Walnut Acres Campground, Monticello; Treasurer Jeff Krug, Crossroads RV, Mount Pleasant; and Secretary Peter Greiner, Indian Hills Inn and RV Park, Albia.
The annual meeting will be Oct. 22 at Sleepy Hollow Campground, Oxford.
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