Announcing Investor Campfire - A New Community For Outdoor Hospitality Investors
Much of the industry isn't prepared to meet the needs of the modern customer. This is your opportunity to join a community of investors who are leading the way and sharing their learnings.
Estimated time to read: 5 minutes
TL;DR:
Introducing Investor Campfire: The Community for Outdoor Hospitality Investors
Campground 101: Your Top 3 Priorities For Smooth Operations
Find a long-term fit for manager
Find part-time support for your manager
Define your own role
For the past 4 years, I've devoured every piece of information I can find on campgrounds, RV parks, and outdoor hospitality.
Some (my wife) may even say it's an unhealthy obsession.
The problem is:
There aren't many high-quality resources available for someone who wants to learn about the industry. The industry is also changing incredibly fast, and new entrants are trying to figure out where it is going without modern resources.
In my humble opinion, a modern, collaborative community is needed.
Industry associations and Facebook groups are great but represent the OLD WAY of doing things.
So, here is what I am doing about it:
1. Introducing Investor Campfire
Investor Campfire is a collaborative community offering educational resources tailored to those interested in or currently investing in the outdoor hospitality market.
We're starting with a focus on the camping and glamping industries. Our mission is to share resources, learnings, and best practices that we gain firsthand at our properties. Members will have access to recurring meetings, text-and-video-based educational resources, and the ability to communicate and collaborate freely with other members.
Why You Should Join
You invest in the outdoor hospitality market (campgrounds, glamping, etc.) and are interested in learning from and collaborating with other professionals in the industry
You're seriously interested in investing in outdoor hospitality, looking for educational resources, and want to collaborate meaningfully with industry peers
You believe that the industry is changing rapidly and that, while knowledge has traditionally been siloed among small, analog peer groups, it is not the way of the future
You believe that community is a core value of our industry's customer base and should be for outdoor hospitality industry professionals and investors, as well
What Happens Next?
We will launch in June and keep membership free for a limited time. However, we plan to charge a reasonable monthly fee in the near future because we will be offering tremendous value to our members.
If interested in learning more, fill out the form at www.investorcampfire.com.
2. Campground 101: Your Top 3 Priorities For Smooth Operations
People make operations way too complicated.
Here's what you need to prioritize first when buying an RV park or campground:
Top 3 Priorities For Smooth RV Park Operations
Here's how I would get started:
Priority 1: Find your manager
In a perfect world, you'd buy a campground/RV park with a rockstar manager already in place.
If that is not the case, your customer base is the first place you may want to look. Next, post job ads on all top job boards and network with the local business community. Ask everyone you come across if they know someone who may be a good fit.
Find someone you can trust who can be a long-term fit.
Continuity of management and operations is a big part of having happy customers.
Priority 2: Find part-time support for your manager
Even at a small park, transient/overnight RV sites/campsites create lots of work.
Check-ins, check-outs, cleaning sites and bathrooms, cutting grass, repairs, administrative work, etc. You may feel that one manager is sufficient to cover everything, but the last thing you want is to burn your manager out and have them quit.
A great place to look for wonderful part-time help (other than your customer base) is workamper.com.
Priority 3: Define your role
Your goal may be to be a hands-off investor who checks in occasionally and manages the finances.
While this is possible, it will take time to fine-tune your operations and build trust with your team. Furthermore, you have to be prepared for turnover. This means you must be familiar with the property and have a pipeline of potential new staff should your staff decide to leave.
Create a process for yourself to support your staff and ensure quality control at the property. Problems and gaps in your team, processes, and systems will arise.
But if you prioritize finding a good long-term manager, supporting them with part-time help, and figuring out how you best fit into the equation as the owner, you'll be well on your way to smooth operations.
Thank you so much for reading!
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