In a morning filled with company updates, Kampgrounds of America Inc. (KOA) officials highlighted a lot of the work the system has been focusing on in 2025, along with what franchisees can anticipate in the year ahead.
The updates were part of the opening general session hosted by KOA during its convention and expo in Raleigh, N.C., this week.
Toby O’Rourke, CEO and president of KOA, kicked things off with her general look at how the system fared in 2025. You can read more about her speech by clicking here.
Mark Lemoine, senior vice president of franchise operations; Brian Elsmore, senior vice president of information services; Andy Metroka, executive vice president of enterprise operations and chief information officer; Diane Echler, senior vice president of marketing; and Kim Wootteon, vice president of commercial strategy, all provided attendees with information on new technology and programs they can look forward to.
Metroka and Elsmore highlighted the work that KOA has been doing to develop new AI technology and keyed in on other technology updates to K2, KOA’s proprietary park management platform.
DIANE ECHLER
During her speech, Echler noted a smattering of celebrations that will be taking place in 2026, and will have people moving across the country, including the 250th anniversary of the United States.
“But for KOA, this isn’t just a celebration. It’s a demand generation opportunity,” she highlighted. “According to the U.S. Travel Association, 2026 travel is expected to spike 8% to 10% during the summer months. And that spike represents incredible potential to capture revenue for all of our campaigns.
“Bringing this moment to life, we’ve partnered with filmmaker Kurt Miller, son of famed outdoor director Warren Miller, who is currently in pre-production on an original KOA feature film, capturing the beauty and diversity of camping across America,” Echler added.
The 100th birthday of Route 66, which has 25 KOA parks located on it, is another big event for the system.
“According to AAA’s 2025 regional travel forecast, road-tripping across the Southwest and Midwest is expected to increase 7%,” Echler said. “So, campgrounds positioned along Route 66 could see a potential 3% to 5% occupancy lift during the centennial year.”
Other big events include the FIFA World Cup and the 65th birthday of the Trans Canada Highway in 2027.
Echler also noted that KOA was going to be releasing its “Freedom to Explore” campaign in 2026.
“We’re focusing on how it feels to be out there,” she said. “In fact, our North American camping report shows that for 83% of campers, freedom is the No. 1 reason they camp. For 62% of campers, spontaneity is what drives them. It’s the unplanned stop, the unexpected view and the freedom to choose what comes next.”
KIM WOOTTEON
Wootteon began her speech by focusing on KOA’s K2 Rate Chart, which aims to help modernize KOA’s rate structure. The rate chart is meant to provide demand trends, as well as an understanding of occupancy to make rate, length of stay and distribution decisions.
Wootteon also highlighted the company’s work on new campground dashboards, which will provide key data insights to park owners.
“Over the past year, the business intelligence team and the information services teams have been working hard at building the foundation for leveraging insights from data,” she noted. “This team has developed several things, the first of which is a robust data model that brings all the key sources of campground and system data into one unifying framework.
“They’ve launched a series of dashboards to help owners and teams visualize performance from occupancy and revenue trends to booking window and length of stay,” Wootteon said. “And we’ve introduced new KPIs for more accurate measurement of business health and to better identify opportunities, things like occupancy, average daily rate and revenue per available site.”
In September, a pilot program was launched that included 23 franchise owners. Wootteon told attendees that the dashboards should be coming for everyone in 2026.
Other highlights included work on group sales, marketing and revenue management.
MARK LEMOINE
During his speech, Lemoine noted KOA’s rising NPS score and told franchisees that it represented a clear vision and dedication on their part.
He also noted that KOA was going to be raising the bar in 2026 with a new minimum NPS score of 30 required for all parks, up from 15.
“This works to defend and protect the KOA brand,” Lemoine said.
He highlighted some of the work that KOA has focused on over the past year, including:
- The implementation of Stripe
- A royalty auto remittance
- Wi-Fi royalty reduction program
- New uniform options
- A housekeeping module
- New pavilion designs
Looking ahead, KOA hopes to focus on:
- A new workatKOA.com website
- Campfire services
- Ground monitoring interrupter issues
“Our success is measured not by what we say about ourselves, but by what our guests say about us,” he noted.
