KOA Sponsoring U.S. Teams at Winter Olympics

“We are very excited about our newest sponsorship with Kampgrounds of America,” said Darrin Steele, CEO of the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation (USBSF). “KOA is a great company and proving to be an enthusiastic partner. The timing of this couldn’t be better as we are in our final push toward the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada. We depend on sponsorships like this one with KOA, and it puts us one step closer to reaching our fundraising goal for the season.”

For Kampgrounds of America, the connection to the Olympic movement is a natural, according to a news release.

“KOA is all about pride, franchisee teamwork, excellence and outdoor fun,” said KOA CEO Jim Rogers. “The Winter Olympics bring the world’s elite athletes together to demonstrate the very best in outdoor recreation. Both KOA and the USBSF share a passion for dedication, hard work, competitive excellence and national pride and we are proud to be a member of the USBSF family.”

Oscar Tang, chairman of KOA, is serving as an honorary USA bobsled and skeleton team captain for the Winter Olympics and will attend the Winter Games.

Other team sponsors include Allianz Life Insurance Co., Under Armour Athletic Gear and Luminox Watches.

The team’s final three World Cup events are under way now through Jan. 10 in Konigsee, Germany; Jan. 11-17 at St. Moritz, Switzerland; and Jan. 18-24 at Igls, Austria. Winter Olympic bobsled competition begins Feb. 20 in Vancouver, and the skeleton competition will get under way Feb. 18.

Based in Lake Placid, N.Y., the USBSF is a non-profit corporation and national governing body for the sports of bobsled and skeleton in the United States. It is recognized by the Federation Internationale ed de Bobsleigh and Tobogganing as well as the United States Olympic Committee. The USBSF is responsible for the selection of the U.S. team, and enables our U.S. athletes to achieve sustained competitive excellence in Olympic competition and promotes the sports of bobsled and skeleton nationally.

Kampgrounds of America Inc. is the world’s largest system of family campgrounds, with 475 locations in the United States and Canada. KOA is dedicated to providing the best possible camping experience to the nearly six million campers it hosts each year. KOA was founded in 1962 on the banks of the Yellowstone River near Billings, Mont.

RPTIA Adds KOA’s ‘Lodge Guy’ to Its Board

Mike Atkinson, Kampground of America Inc.’s (KOA) facilities development manager, has been elected to the Recreation Park Trailer Industry Association (RPTIA) board of directors.

Newnan, Ga.-based RPTIA is a nonprofit trade association that represents and provides information and assistance to all segments of the park model and trailer industry, government agencies, media and product owners or potential owners.

Atkinson, known to KOA franchisees as ‘The Lodge Guy,’ is considered to be one of the leading experts on park models in the camping industry, according to a news release, and has been facilities development manager for Billings, Mont.-based KOA for three years.

Since 2006, Atkinson has collaboratively designed, engineered, manufactured, marketed and sold a new line of park models specifically for the outdoor hospitality environment, branded the KOA Lodge. Prior to working with KOA, he was a franchise owner himself, as well as a business owner in the construction and engineering fields.

“I am looking forward to sharing a campground perspective that incorporates an understanding of marketing, sales and end-user demands,” said Atkinson. “I’m honored to help RPTIA successfully navigate future challenges and leverage exciting opportunities.”

Airstream’s Wheeler, KOA’s Rogers on Today’s Video

Watch today’s video featuring Airstream Inc. CEO Bob Wheeler and Kampgrounds of America Inc. CEO Jim Rogers.

Rogers and Wheeler were interviewed today (Dec. 29) on the Fox Business Network. The two were interviewed concerning the rebound of the outdoors industry from the 2009 recession, as well as the prospects for camping and RVing in 2010.

On the Line: KOA Shifts To Park Model ‘Lodges’

 

 

Jim Rogers

 

Publisher’s Note: KOA Chairman and CEO Jim Rogers is arguably the industry’s most relentless marketeer. A former Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. executive, he has etched KOA’s yellow brand into the American psyche and now looks to change the face of KOA’s 463 parks — and American campgrounds in general — with the infusion of more and more sedentary camping “cabins” and “lodges.” Here are the highlights of an interview conducted during KOA’s Nov. 17-20 convention at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott in the Houston suburbs.

RVB: The general atmosphere of your convention was pretty positive, given all of the headwinds that the American economy has faced recently.

Rogers: KOA has just come out of its strongest summer in 47 years. If you take camper nights and registrations for the period of June, July, August and September, we’ve just exceeded anything we’ve done in the past. Where we hurt in 2009 and anticipate hurting this winter and probably early 2010 is in the Snowbird markets that are more dependent on a fixed-income lifestyle. What we did not see last year in America is the transient Snow Bird.

So, we had the resident Snow Bird that headed into Texas and Arizona and committed to three or four months, but the people who were going down and spending a month here and there did not show up. And that’s what we don’t have any certainty about.

Having said that, the cruise lines are indicating very strong advance reservations, which to me is the same market that we look at for this transient Snowbird. But it’s hard to predict that. Again, we anticipate the 2010 summer will be as strong as 2009’s was, if not a little better.

RVB: Looking back at September of 2008 and the economic meltdown that occurred then, could you have imagined that you’d be sitting here now coming off a near-record 2009, with gains anticipated in both camper nights and revenues?

Rogers: No. We went into our plan for 2009 very concerned. The surprise was that we quickly became the affordable (lodging) option. America traded down. They traded down everything they’ve done, and we exceeded expectations. They’ve gone to Costco more aggressively than they did previously, as they did with the camping alternative. If people were going to take a vacation, instead of staying at a Marriott or going to Europe, they decided to go camping again.

There were record tent sales last year in the United States. People found a different way to get outdoors. And, again, we continue to see people staying closer to home – even though Yellowstone Park, a distant destination, posted a record year.

And when they went to a KOA campground, they didn’t find their grandfather’s campground. They found the latte machine, they found (park model) lodges that had a bathroom and kitchen in them for $125 and a swimming pool and they were surprised. They were hooked. We continue to see 14-15% of our campers are first-time-ever campers. And among the first-timers, 50% are families. That’s great news for us that we are bringing in new people to experience KOA and the campgrounds that we’ve got. That’s going to play well long-term.

RVB: So, what do you really think these newbies are looking for in terms of camping accommodations?

Rogers: Anyone who has an investment in an RV brought their gear out of the garage this year. They might not have used it for a while. But our greatest growth will be a double-digit increase in camper nights in the lodge business — the 400-square-foot park model that offers a kitchen and a bathroom and a deck out front. That’s where our greatest growth is, and that’s why we’ve developed the new models with three suppliers, General Coach, Cavco Industries Inc. and Thor’s Breckenridge division.

RVB: What, in your opinion, is behind this evolution to more sedentary – or “destination” — styles of lodging?

Rogers: A lot of things are. Initially, it was this trend toward staying closer to home. People didn’t want to spend the gas or didn’t have the RV and they wondered what to do. In the process, people began to realize that these accommodations were there.

If you talk to our franchisees, they’re going to tell you they had 20 requests (for park model “lodges”) that exceeded what they could fulfill.

At the same time, the lodge customer gives us the highest satisfaction rating by 10 points. If you ask our lodge customer what they think of the experience, they are way above the average. They have the highest intent to return and they tell us they get the best price value. And they are paying the most for the experience. It’s all there. What a future!

RVB: What’s the demographic profile of a “cabin” or “lodge” customer?

Rogers: They skew more to families and first-timers and people who drive up in a car. It’s basically a customer who is right now using a motel or hotel. That’s where we’re going. We are learning from our Australian friends (Big 4 Holiday Parks, with whom KOA has a marketing partnership), who have 32% of their inventory in cabins and lodges.

You are going to see KOA on Travelocity, Orbitz, hotels.com. You talk about a new market and what we’ve got to offer; we’ve got to get the inventory out there.

Plus, KOA is going to produce a million directories in 2010. We intend to mail 400,000 to our Value Kard holders, and in the middle of the directory is a five-page, full color lodge brochure. You are going to begin to realize there is indeed a different offering in that experience. The fact is, with a motel, you get a room. What we are going to tell people is that this is a social activity.

RVB: To what extent do you anticipate expanding your lodge business?

Rogers: We’ve got 4,000-plus cabins (smaller units without water), but we only have about 1,000 lodges (generally park models with full facilities) among our 56,000 sites. That’s about 10% that are currently this type of accommodation. We’ve got to increase that inventory to go out to the market and grow this segment of our business – tremendously.

In the next three to five years, we hope that gets closer to 15-20% of our total inventory. It won’t happen that fast. That’s an aggressive goal. We are going to lead the charge at our 25 company-owned properties.

RVB: Needless to say, this would be a huge shift in the basic character of a so-called RV park or campground if it actually occurred to the extent that you’re describing it.

Rogers: There’s no question that the mix is dramatic. We have RV inventory with full hookups that is going unused that is getting $40 to $45 a night, and we put in a unit and we get $150 a night using the same real estate using the same hookups and the demand is right there behind it.

RVB: Do all of your lodges exude that “rustic” look that we’ve seen so much of lately?

Rogers: KOA has a team that has gone to the manufacturers, CAVCO and Breckenridge and General in Canada, and designed eight different models that run from a studio model that is probably 199 square feet to the big baby, which is 400 square feet. They all have bathrooms and kitchens and they all have concrete siding that looks like wood. They look like something from New England. Most of the inventory will be a log-side perceived look. That reinforces the cabin look that we’ve created. This is where we have an incredible growth opportunity.

By no means are we going to say adios to the RV industry. But we see the ability to be more diverse to whom we appeal to and we’ve got to reorient how we meet the demand for the supply that is out there.

RVB: So, do you also see growth in the entry-level type campers who, in some cases, prefer tents?

Rogers: We’ve definitely seen an increase in our tenter business. But the problem we’ve had is that over the last few years, we’ve reduced the inventory of tent sites. It’s a matter of figuring out what we have, and, ultimately, we see the tenter converting to a lodge or cabin.

RVB: With regard to private parks, many states are under extreme economic financial pressure. Your thoughts on all that?

Rogers: We all have to realize that public parks are as diverse as commercial parks. And we need to make sure that national parks still draw people for vacations and do a good job of taking care of them.

The more localized experience, the state parks that are indeed in dire shape, I think they will continue to be in difficult shape, and, hopefully, American campers will consider the commercial option more so than they have in the past.

The states need to find a new economic engine.

The other thing is that campers are coming to expect a certain level of services and the states aren’t going to be able to provide that.

So, some people who are partial to public parks have now begun to try the commercial side, and they’re pretty happy. They are more entertained and they are staying closer to home. They are staying longer and they expect a little more. Fishing for four days isn’t going to keep them entertained. They need something else going on. So, while I want public parks to continue to operate, I know that some of the business is going to swing over to us.

Cavco to Build KOA ‘Kamping Lodges’ in Virginia

For the past nine years, Cavco Industries Inc. has been supplying Kampgrounds of America Inc. (KOA) franchisees with park model “Kamping Lodges” manufactured at its factories in Arizona and Texas.

But as a result of Cavco’s recent acquisition of Fleetwood Homes, the company now has the ability to efficiently service hundreds of KOA franchisees in the Eastern part of the country through an 80,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Rocky Mount, Va., according to a news release.

“By Feb. 1, we will have the first Kamping Lodges available at our Virginia facility,” said Tim Gage, vice president of Cavco’s specialty division, adding that the Rocky Mount facility will save East Coast KOA franchisees significant sums of money on shipping costs.

Mike Atkinson, KOA’s director of lodging, said Cavco’s Virginia plant will help KOA franchisees keep their costs down as they continue to move into the accommodations business. KOA franchisees purchased more than 200 Kamping Lodges from Cavco in 2009, and more purchases are expected next year.

“Over 50% of our franchisees will have a lodge with a bathroom by the end of this year, and we expect to see continued purchases of these products,” Atkinson said.

While the location of Cavco’s Rocky Mount facility helps KOA franchisees from a pricing standpoint, equally important is Cavco’s continuing ability to tailor products to KOA’s needs. “If we need to modify a spec or really do something outside the box, they are our ‘go to’ guys,” Atkinson said. “They understand us. They really understand our business.”

Atkinson said that the key for KOA franchisees is to purchase only lodges of impeccable quality because lesser quality lodges don’t have the durability for rental use. “That’s the key,” Atkinson said. “To put high-quality, long-lasting Kamping Lodges in your campground.”

For more information on Cavco’s Kamping Lodges, park models, and other specialized living units, contact Gage at (602) 763-5488 or visit www.cavcoparkhomes.com. For more information on KOA’s use of park model cabins as Kamping Lodges, contact Atkinson at (406) 248-7444 or e-mail him at matkinson@koa.net.

KOA Convention Features 9 Campground Lodges

 

The annual Kampgrounds of America Inc. (KOA) International Convention in Houston, Texas, continued its tradition as one of the most productive and lucrative camping expos in North America Thursday (Nov. 19), according to a news release.

More than 500 KOA owners and managers met with leading vendors to purchase the supplies they’ll need to keep their guests supplied and happy in 2010. Nine unique lodges, including a duplex build by Cavco Industries Inc., shown at left, were featured by park model and lodge builders from across the U.S.

See a special YouTube video summarizing the day in today’s featured video.

Today, KOA names its annual KOA President’s and Founder’s award recipients.

Herkimer Diamond KOA Named Top KOA Campground

 

The Herkimer Diamond, N.Y., KOA Kampground was named Kampgrounds of America Inc.’s (KOA) Kamground of the Year during a ceremony Wednesday (Nov. 18) at KOA’s annual convention in Houston, Texas.

“Being named Kampground of the Year is the highest award in the KOA system,” said KOA President Pat Hittmeier. It is only given to those campground franchisees who truly are the very best of the best in every aspect of what they do, he added

Purchased in 1981 by Rudy and Rena Scialdo, and now run by their daughter, Dr. Renee Scialdo Shevat, and her husband Sam Shevat, the Herkimer Diamond, N.Y., KOA has gained local and national acclaim for its excellent accommodations and outstanding customer service, according to a news release. Its beginnings were a bit more humble, however.

It is said that the farmer who owned the property would see the cattle in his pastures trip, as their hooves broke through the ground. In the hole left behind, he would find a large pocket full of naturally occurring, 18-faceted quartz crystals, now known as Herkimer Diamonds.

The Herkimer Diamond Mines first opened to the public in 1955, with prospectors leaving a dollar in a mailbox as their fee. Eventually, the mines were sold to a group of investors, who built a rock shop and a public campground to serve the needs of the prospectors. That campground eventually became the KOA gem that it is today.

At the Herkimer Diamond KOA, guests find 135 sites, including tent and RV sites. There are also 16 Kabins, five Kottages and two Lodges. Each of the heated and air-conditioned Kottages, which come with a private bath, kitchenette and dining area, have a different theme and are decorated accordingly. Those themes include “World Wide Gems,” “Fish Tales,” “Captains Quarters” and more. Each of the kabins is named after a gemstone, like “Shady Sapphires,” “Amber Annex” or “Peridot Place.”

On site, campers will enjoy spending time on the West Canada Creek, jumping in the pool or playing disc golf, and there is always something fun happening during the season (April 15-Nov. 1). And of course, everyone likes to try their hand at finding fortune at the Herkimer Diamond Mines.

For a minimal fee (kids age 4 and under are free), campers receive a prospecting admission ticket/wristband, a hammer and a collector’s bag for their finds. They watch an instructional video and head off to the mining area, where they can spend the day finding — and breaking — rocks and digging in pockets. They can then take their treasures to the rock shop to have custom jewelry made for them.

Also available are sluice bags full of rough material, perfect for young campers.

“Of course, the mines are a huge draw for the Herkimer KOA,” Hittmeier said. “But what we hear from KOA guests time and time again is how well they’re taken care of when they stay there.”

That includes, he said, the friendliness of the staff and their willingness to go out of their way to meet the needs of campers.

“At KOA, we frequently survey our campers,” Hittmier noted, “and time and time again, this campground gets some of the highest scores anywhere in North America. That’s why they won the President’s and Founders Awards this year as well.

“It’s an outstanding accomplishment that accurately reflects the outstanding efforts of the Scialdos and the Shevats.”

Watch a video from Wednesday’s convention highlights in the featured video elsewhere on this page.

500 KOA Park Operators Convening in Houston

Nearly 500 representatives from 250 Kampgrounds of America Inc. (KOA) from throughout the U.S. and Canada will be represented at the 47th Annual KOA International Convention starting Tuesday in Houston, Texas.

The convention with the theme “Explore The Opportunities . . . Together!” begins with a special session of KOA’s WorKamper University. This one-of-a-kind training session for KOA Workampers will provide this elite group of camping professionals with additional training on KOA’s proprietary KampSight campground operating system, as well as training to enhance workampers’ recreation program management skills, according to a news release. KOA owners will also take part in the training day, which includes a job fair to match KOA owners and workampers for the upcoming camping season.

The convention’s official opening session will be Wednesday, and the KOA Expo, with more than 110 industry vendors, will be held Thursday.

Special KOA awards – included the coveted KOA Franchisee of the Year Award – will be also be announced Wednesday.

The convention concludes Friday, with a special KOA Owners Association auction to benefit KOA Care Camps for children with cancer, a network of 44 specialized summer camps throughout North America.

ARVC Speakers Urge Parks to Step Up Marketing

While there was plenty of good news to share this week at the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC) InSites Convention and Outdoor Hospitality Expo in Orlando, Fla., several InSites speakers told park operators they will need to step up their marketing and customer survey efforts if they want to remain competitive and continue to build their businesses in the months and years ahead. They also need to find ways to maximize and improve guest satisfaction.

“I think the industry outlook really looks strong and robust, but challenging,” said Ron Beard, a Texas-based campground consultant. “I think what’s going to happen over the next five to 10 years is, possible, only the strongest, most focused operators are going to survive, at least in the upper tiers of the business. … And those that don’t quite get it … and (haven’t) locked in on how the business works and the expectations of their customers are going to settle down to the bottom of the business, possibly not making it or going out of business.”

The challenge, Beard said, is rising consumer expectations of what a private park should provide. “What used to be OK really isn’t that OK any more,” he said.

Park operators, of course, have a choice in whether they want to provide the amenities and service that growing numbers of campers now seek. “You can capture and promote and exceed those expectations. You can just barely meet them or you can turn your back on them,” he said.

Beard said it behooves park operators and the private park industry in general to figure out where consumer expectations are going and figure out how to meet and exceed those expectations on an ongoing basis.

Jeff Martin, an executive with Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground, said park operators should not underestimate the importance of providing their guests with a positive experience. “At Disney,” he said, “it’s all about service. It’s all about how we make our guests feel. I have guests in my lobby every single day that say, ‘I don’t care that I’m paying $116 a night for an RV site as long as I get the service,’ and that’s what they want. They want the magical memories that we provide them.”

Martin added that for Disney, the priority is “being able to deliver every single day for every single guest that world class experience they’re looking for.”

Of course, one of the best ways for park operators to hone their expertise in guest-experience arena to participate in the GuestReviews online survey program offered by ARVC. This “state-of-the-art” on-line survey service, developed and provided by Murrieta, Calif.-based MacKinnon Campground Consulting, measures 34 different guest satisfaction elements such as site conditions, service, restroom cleanliness, facility appearance as well as their overall camping experience. Survey participants assign letter grades for each survey category, and they will have the ability to type in detailed explanations of problems or concerns.

In addition to participating in the GuestReviews program, Linda Profaizer, ARVC president and CEO, said it’s also important for park operators to update their listings on the GoCampingAmerica website. Several park owners, in fact, acknowledged with a show of hands during an InSites meeting that they had not updated their GoCampingAmerica website listings during the past year.

Profaizer also encouraged park operators to respond to questions they receive through ARVC e-mails from Jeff Crider, ARVC’s publicist, because the information they provide they provide him can help raise awareness about their own parks, while helping raise awareness about camping for the industry as a whole.

Pat Hittmeier, chief operating officer at Kampgrounds of America Inc.,  said private parks also need to step up their marketing to consumers who live within a day’s drive of their parks. In fact, the latest KOA survey found that 57% of campers spend the previous night home, a statistic that not only underscores the fact that more people are camping closer to home, but the relative scarcity of vacation time that Americans have. “They just aren’t traveling as far as they used to,” Hittmeier said.

Thor Shows RV Park Rental Units at ARVC Show

Thor Industries Inc. showcased its new strategic partnership with the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC) — providing discounts to ARVC member parks on selected destination-style units — during ARVC’s InSites 2009 Convention and Outdoor Hospitality Expo that ends today (Nov. 12) in Orlando, Fla.

Three Thor divisions — Airstream Inc., Breckenridge Division and Keystone RV Co. — displayed units at the convention/expo that are designed specifically for campground rental.

”Essentially, as a preferred vendor of ARVC, we are offering incredible pricing,” said Shane Ott, Thor’s new director of campground relations and former president and COO of Kampgrounds of America Inc. ”(Units) are specifically built for ARVC members (at) a substantial savings (compared to retail).”

Specially designed Airstream Flying Cloud, Keystone Springdale Fireside travel trailers and Breckenridge recreational park trailers are being made available to ARVC members through a special arrangement that was announced in mid-October.

This is the first time that ARVC, the nation’s largest RV park and campground organization with 3,000-plus members, has entered a marketing program with an RV manufacturer.

Units designed for ARVC campgrounds will not be available on the retail market. ”All of these units were ruggedized to extend their life as rental accommodation units,” Ott said. ”They probably would not be viewed as attractive to a retail customer because they don’t have some of the creature comforts.”

Airstream Flying Cloud and Breckenridge park models will be available directly from the manufacturer, while Springdale Fireside travel trailers will be marketed through Keystone’s 270-plus dealers nationwide.

”One thing that is critical in our minds to the success of this is for both the dealers and campgrounds to benefit from it,” said Nick Eppert, production manager for Keystone’s Springdale division. ”We see an upswing in campgrounds wanting to provide extended-stay units.”

To whom are these new rental units targeted in a market that is seeing growing demand for all sorts of ”cabins” and later-term accommodations?

Ott said there are several markets that campground rental units appeal to. ”There are campgrounds that want rental accommodation units to market to a leisure camper who may be coming in with their family for a long weekend or a few days,” said Ott, who joined Thor during the summer. ”Others are marketing to folks on a more seasonal or annual rental basis.”

Ott said units were designed with ARVC members in mind.

”What’s unique here is we used ARVC members in the design of these units,” Ott said. ” We went through a series of phone calls and meetings all summer asking for feedback based on (campgrounds) rental experiences — what were the things we needed to do to build these units?”

Ott suggested that the campground sector is on the verge of reaching ”a critical mass” of rental units that can augment campgrounds’ traditional customers.

”Today we can effectively go out and tell the rest of the world that going to a campground is something that you can do without owning an RV,” he said. ” Ten years ago, the distribution of rental units wasn’t strong enough to make that announcement. But today, we’ve probably reached the point that the vast majority of commercial campgrounds in the country have some kind of accommodation unit.”

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