Interesting read on rv travel

[sheridany]

RV parks face price hikes as new database enables real-time competitive pricing by campground owners

Campground rates keep going up, driven by increased demand and industry gentrification, the predictable result of RV parks getting acquired by investors whose o

www.rvtravel.com

 

[Kevin D Pem]

RV parks face price hikes as new database enables real-time competitive pricing by campground owners

Campground rates keep going up, driven by increased demand and industry gentrification, the predictable result of RV parks getting acquired by investors whose o

www.rvtravel.com

Thanks for that insight! It truly is about the bottom line, literally! The last line in the article!

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

Interesting ... data can help drive better revenue. It remains to be seen if Campspot is able to leverage their database to help campgrounds also manage their customer satisfaction scores. In the long term, chasing revenue without also keeping an eye on customer sat will result in a minimum of a culture change, M&A turnover, or worst case will result in business downturn/losses.

 

[sheridany]

I am curious to hear what @Jim thinks.

 

[Trav_lr]

Yield management software has been used by airlines, hotels and car rental for years. Since eliminating travel agents and going online direct to consumer, many savvy travelers have learned how to game those systems to get lower prices. I don't see this as being much different. The short term will see more pressure on lower cost county, state and federal parks as some private parks jump onboard and prices increase, but I think in the longer term, as demand for sites decrease (look what's happening with new RV manufacturing - down almost 50% YTD), private parks will manipulate prices downwards or offer promotions like buy 2 get 1 free night (some KOA franchisees have already) to entice campers into their park. Economics 101.

 

[AbdRahim]

I think putting $ ahead of outstanding customer care is always a losing proposition, in the long run. Some don't care about long term customer relationships. They have a large enough flow of unsuspecting new customers to survive. Look at a certain dealership (CW).

If you treat me well, you will gain a customer for life - fairly passive income. Much easier to maintain a long time customer than to always find new ones - at least in many businesses.

Several parks that I used to love to go to were purchased by large entities and simply priced me out of staying there. I would have been a regular ther. Now I will never return. On the other hand there are more reasonable places that I will always go back to, almost automatically. Reasonable prices and great customer service. Can't beat it.

 

[Jim]

I am curious to hear what @Jim thinks.

Well OK, I'll bite!

Large RV parks usually have investors who want a maximum return on their investment, and dynamic pricing is one of those ways. A good majority of these RV parks are built in an area where the park isn’t the actual attraction, it’s just close to the attraction. So, they’re going to be full regardless, and hitting a few hundred customers for a few extra dollars each day is pretty lucrative.

But if your park is the destination, that kind of nonsense isn’t going to work very well. Especially if there is some competition that isn’t practicing the policy. Obviously, everyone needs to make a profit, but at the same time, we all hate to be nickeled and dimed.

My philosophy, whether you agree with it or not, is built around providing the customer with more than they expected, and in turn, we hope to have earned a satisfied customer who will return again and again. I’ve always felt that building a relationship with the client is more lucrative than fleecing him for all I can get the first time out.

We used this approach when I was providing software to move money through the ACH network, and I believe it worked. The product was different, but our approach was the same. When we sold, the new owner threw away the personal touch and went with a “upcharge everything” approach.

He’s not doing all that well these days.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Well OK, I'll bite!

Large RV parks usually have investors who want a maximum return on their investment, and dynamic pricing is one of those ways. A good majority of these RV parks are built in an area where the park isn’t the actual attraction, it’s just close to the attraction. So, they’re going to be full regardless, and hitting a few hundred customers for a few extra dollars each day is pretty lucrative.

But if your park is the destination, that kind of nonsense isn’t going to work very well. Especially if there is some competition that isn’t practicing the policy. Obviously, everyone needs to make a profit, but at the same time, we all hate to be nickeled and dimed.

My philosophy, whether you agree with it or not, is built around providing the customer with more than they expected, and in turn, we hope to have earned a satisfied customer who will return again and again. I’ve always felt that building a relationship with the client is more lucrative than fleecing him for all I can get the first time out.

We used this approach when I was providing software to move money through the ACH network, and I believe it worked. The product was different, but our approach was the same. When we sold, the new owner threw away the personal touch and went with a “upcharge everything” approach.

He’s not doing all that well these days.

Your choice of the word fleece sums it up!!!

 

[LMHS]

"The mindset of the latest generation of campers can be problematic for sure!"

I've known plenty of "older" tourists who were horrible jerks. Growing up in two tourist destinations (FL & Franklin), I've run into some doozies. One of the most inconsiderate was the "older" woman who rented my parent's cabin and pressure canned several times a week for a month. She used up a whole 100# LP cylinder in less than a month. And then she complained when she was out of gas for the little apartment size range. She complained about something to my Mom almost daily. Since she lived in the same town as my parents did in FL (Ft Pierce), my Dad heard about it over the winter (it was like he knew almost everyone in Ft Pierce, ditto for Franklin). The next summer the idiot wanted to rent the cabin again. My Mom refused. Told her it was rented already. It wasn't at the time, but it was later rented for the entire summer. She actually showed up at our door to see if the cabin was rented out. The really bad thing was that it was a referral from one of the motels in town (Franklin USED to do things like that in the late '60s). They didn't have a room but my Dad had just fixed the tile in one of their rooms so they thought about his little cabin. They apologized to him several times about sending her and her husband. We later heard that she did the same thing at the place she ended up renting. They said they wouldn't rent to her again either. That old lady was something else. And just one of many.