I bought my first campground 3 years ago yesterday.

Time flies!

Matt Whitermore

Aug 03, 2024

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Estimated time to read: 5 minutes

TL;DR:

It’s been three years since I purchased Covered Bridge Campsite in the Catskills of New York and entered the campground business. The property is naturally spectacular but needed tremendous help (and there is still a long way to go).
I’ve learned a ton along the way, and it feels like our team is finally turning the corner on executing the business plan and adding significant revenue to the business. I hope you’ll keep reading more of the story below!

Yesterday made 3 years since I bought my first campground.

Covered Bridge Campsite is in the southwestern Catskills of NY and is as rustic as rustic gets. We don’t offer any amenities other than a renovated bathhouse, firewood and ice for sale, and good, old-fashioned hospitality.

It FINALLY feels like we're turning the corner on executing our business plan and making all the work worthwhile.

The campground had about $160k in revenue at acquisition and was a TOTAL DUMP. The purchase price was $850k. Most investors will tell you that this is the kind of deal that is too small and comes with too much brain damage.

“The juice isn’t worth the squeeze.”

I didn’t know what I was getting into with this first deal, but I was excited to get my hands dirty and was obsessed with learning the business and making the most of this property.

The campground always had beautiful, rustic, secluded, one-of-a-kind campsites nestled in an enchanted mountain forest outside an exciting little town just 2 hours northwest of Manhattan, but customers had to essentially drive through a full-blown junkyard to get to their campsites.

We spent $100k+ on demolition, dumpster fees and junk removal and another $150k on site work, tree work, infrastructure, bathhouse renovations, and more. The property had a mountain of deferred maintenance, but I knew in my heart that it had the potential to be something special.

I lived in a campsite for close to 6 months with my wife while figuring out the operations. More than a few customers approached me while I was running the on-site day-to-day and told me how glad they were that someone was breathing life back into the property and that their family had been camping there for generations.

This fueled me more than anything.

It took me 2+ years to feel like I had a solid roster of reliable contractors. Finding help in rural markets is tough, but we're in a good spot now.

We're adding 9 lodging units that should generate $300k+ in gross revenue (maybe significantly more). We've entered into a long-term revenue share agreement with the owner of these prefab lodging units, so we're adding units with very little capital expenditure required.

We've been blown away by demand for the first unit we launched. August is rented for 30/31 nights. The unit is on track to earn ~$50k in gross revenue annually. The 9 units should add $100k+ to the bottom line.

There is a clear path to $200k+ in NOI at the property in the next 2 years. Much more in the next 5-7 years. The property should be worth $2MM+ in 2 years with a total cost basis of about $1.1MM.

This will put the UYOC at 18%+.

Is it a slam dunk/done deal? No. There is still a long way to go and we can't take our eye off the ball. But, I am excited about the future and feel the hardest days at this property are behind us.

Was it worth all the brain damage?

Probably not directly, but I've learned a lot about myself over the last 3 years.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel close to giving up at least a couple of times in the first year or so.

I've learned that I LOVE the campground business and that it is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I've been obsessing over learning the business since a year before closing this deal, and I have now developed some expertise.

I'm looking forward to the next three years in this challenging but fun business!

That’s all for this week. Thank you so much for reading!

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