Speaker:
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This is MC Fireside Chats, a weekly show
featuring conversations with thought
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leaders, entrepreneurs, and outdoor
hospitality experts who share their
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insights to help your business succeed.
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Hosted by Brian Searl, the
founder and CEO of Insider Perks.
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Empowered by insights from Modern
Campground, the most innovative
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news source in the industry.
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Brian Searl: Welcome
everybody to another episode.
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MC Fireside Chats!
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My name's Brian Searl, with Insider Perks.
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Super excited to be here in
front of my virtual background.
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Am I lagging again?
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I don't know what's happening here, but
maybe there's a problem with restream.
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I feel like I'm lagging on my side,
but hopefully you all can hear me.
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Super excited to be here for another
episode of Campground Owner's Focus
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Discussion, and we've got so many people.
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We had so many people last
week on The Glamping Show.
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So many people this week.
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It's super crowded.
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We're going to have to end up
doing, I don't know, twice as
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many shows or something like that.
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Joe, will you host the rest of them?
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Or, I don't have enough time.
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You've got time to grow a beard, so
you've got time to do other stuff, right?
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Joe Duemig: Yeah, I don't
know about the time right now.
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Maybe in a couple months after
everyone's season's started,
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then I'll have some time again.
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Brian Searl: Alright, Scott
looks like he's on vacation.
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Where are you at, Scott?
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Scott Knepp: I'm in my backyard.
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It is beautiful springtime
in Georgia, my friend.
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Brian Searl: Can't wait till
I'm successful like you and I
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can afford a backyard like that.
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That's nice.
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Do you find that tree in the back end?
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In the back there, that's memorable.
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Scott Knepp: Oh, I was in it earlier.
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If you want a special segment
of me in the tree later.
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Brian Searl: I would, nobody remembers.
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Like I actually did a live
show from a tree one time.
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We were talking with Access Parks
about security like two years ago.
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It's really interesting.
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Scott Knepp: Oh, I
thought that was a dream.
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Brian Searl: That was real.
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Yeah.
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Oh, wow.
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Everybody likes to pretend every time
they talk to me that it's a dream and
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it's not real, which I understand.
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But, all welcome everybody.
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Super excited to have some
of our recurring guests back.
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Candice McNamara from Staylist,
Joe Duemig, App My Community.
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Let's you guys introduce
yourselves in a second.
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Nate Thompson from KCN Campground,
Scott Knepp from IVEE Group, and
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Greg Embert, too, is a return guest.
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I almost forgot that you were.
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That's all right.
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I'm not that memorable.
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And no, you're memorable.
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I just forgot you were a
recurring guest on this show.
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I don't know.
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You're everywhere.
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And it's Tyler Watts from
Broad River Campground and Ed
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Bridgman from EOB Consulting.
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We're going to go around the room and
just introduce everybody real quick.
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And Moriah, sorry, I didn't
mean to miss you, Moriah.
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Actually, I have surprisingly
only one eye in right now.
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My contact is also bad.
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I'm just falling apart today
on all aspects of things.
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Let's start with Candice
and go from there.
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Candice McNamara: Sure.
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I'm Candice with Staylist.
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I'm the Chief Growth Officer at Staylist,
a reservation software company that
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helps with an all in one platform.
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Brian Searl: Alright, let's,
Moriah, you can go next since I
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accidentally almost forgot you.
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Moriah Abbott: Hi guys, My name is Moriah.
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I am the general manager out here
at Binghamton Jellystone Park.
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So we are in the Jellystone Park
franchise and we are one of the newest
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locations here in upstate New York.
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Brian Searl: Moriah, you can yell
at me if I mispronounce your name.
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Moriah Abbott: It's
okay, I get Moira a lot.
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Brian Searl: Now I know I
won't make that mistake again.
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Nate?
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Nate Thompson: I'm Nate Thompson,
partner at KCN Campgrounds.
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We're building and growing a
portfolio of campgrounds across the U.
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S.
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Joe?
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Joe?
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Joe Duemig: I'm Joe Duemig, I'm the
app, I'm the founder of AppMyCommunity.
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We make mobile apps for
campgrounds and resorts.
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Brian Searl: Scott Knepp.
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Scott Knepp: Hey everyone, I'm
Scott, I'm Director of Operations
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with the IVEE Management Group.
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We're a full service management group
with campgrounds across the country.
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Visit us at ivy.
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com, I V E E.
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I V E,
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Brian Searl: I'm like Greg Emmert.
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Greg Emmert: Yeah, hi everybody, Greg
Emmert from Camp Strategy, a professional
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advisory and consulting group to
the outdoor hospitality industry.
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Brian Searl: Are you in
the safari in Africa?
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Greg Emmert: I'm not.
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No, this is this is a picture from
another, from a previous trip to
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Colombia, but I'm loving all the bird
song I hear in Scott's background.
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So I'm going to keep a bird list.
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I'm going to let everybody know how many
species we've got by the end of the show.
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Brian Searl: He did that.
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Seriously, Scott, by the way and I
want to let Tyler and Ed finish their
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intros in a second, but seriously, I
was in Hawaii and I started texting
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him like random photos of birds.
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And then I threw him off by
throwing him like a chicken picture.
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And he couldn't guess where I was.
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Tyler Watts: That's really interesting.
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But I had Hawaii on the first species
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Greg Emmert: on the Crown Cardinal.
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I was like, you're in freaking Hawaii
or Puerto Rico or something, dude.
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Brian Searl: Oh, yeah.
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Or Puerto Rico.
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Yeah, you didn't get it.
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I found you.
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I was close.
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Tyler!
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Tyler Watts: Hey guys, I'm Tyler Watts.
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I'm with Broad River Campground
out of Mooresboro, North Carolina.
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I'm the developer and co owner of the
campground and we are excited to be here.
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We're in our second full year of operation
and we just brought on 40 more RV sites.
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We're excited for 2024.
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Brian Searl: Awesome, thanks
for being here, to Broad River.
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And Ed from EOB Consulting.
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Ed Bridgman: Hello everyone, this
is Ed Bridgman with EOB Consulting.
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We consult and design RV
destinations and prepare feasibility
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analysis all over the country.
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We did 38 in 2023.
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We also own Homestead RV Community,
the most technologically advanced
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RV destination in the world,
where we beta test other people's
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products in the RV industry.
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and also use it as our showroom.
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We're currently expanding with a
million dollar pool and next year
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we'll be adding 73 more sites.
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Brian Searl: Ed, where are you?
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You look like you're in a secret
evil lair where you mastermind
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Ed Bridgman: everything.
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I'm an electrical engineer with a
master's degree and I enjoy being in a
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cave and so this is actually my private
office and this is our security system
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in the background where we can monitor.
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who is entering and leaving
the Homestead RV community.
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And this is the hub of
where all the brain child
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Brian Searl: happens.
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I tell you if I was going to
hire somebody, I'd want somebody
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to have a layer like that.
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I'm just saying I'm jealous.
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All right.
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So let's sign in.
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I want to give our special
guest some time here.
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We got a little bit we
got a crowded field here.
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Sorry guys, for all this
wonderful people here.
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But I don't book the show anymore.
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It's all Sharah's fault.
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She obviously does way too good of a job
because we have way too many people here.
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Let's talk let's start
with our special guests.
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I want to give them some time.
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Let's go with Tyler first at Broad
River Campground since he's actually
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in a legit background with a van
going and super cool glamping dome.
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Tyler, tell us about Broad
River Campground a little bit.
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Tyler Watts: So Broad River Campground
came to us in about:
2020
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apartment complexes, which is our
background, started skyrocketing.
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And we've never built one.
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I grew up camping.
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My development groups, we all grew
up camping, but we've never built
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one, owned one, operated one.
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But that doesn't scare us away from
things, and so we we got the idea to, to
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look at possibly purchasing or building
one, and the market took us in the
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direction of building one, and we took
82 acres of raw hunting land, had one
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deer stand, and we brought power, water,
sewer, lamping, cabins, clubhouse, pool,
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nature trails, RV sites, and tent sites.
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I packed about three years worth
of information into, 15 seconds,
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but a lot of ups and downs,
but a very successful project.
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And we've been, we hit the ground running
and we we contribute a lot of our success
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to the industry leaders like you guys and
CARVIC and OHI and all the big leaders
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in the game that opened us with welcome
arms and helped us when we had questions.
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So we're super excited
about the campground.
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We just brought on phase two.
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So now we're sitting at a total
of 56 RV sites, 10 cabins, five
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glamping domes, five tent sites.
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We've only done a footprint of
about 30 acres on the 82 acre track
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property, but that's pretty much
what we're going to be at the moment.
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Hopefully, years to come, we'll look
at expanding farther, but yeah, we're
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stoked, we're excited, people are
showing up, people are discovering us,
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so we're extremely happy to be here
and just excited to continue to grow.
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Brian Searl: Awesome.
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Thank you for telling all my
guests they're industry leaders.
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I definitely am not, but
that's what they're here for.
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And I'm curious, I want to
pick out one thing from the
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beginning of what you said first.
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You said the market took you
in the direction of developing
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versus purchasing, right?
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And I think this is valuable insight,
maybe that we haven't even covered
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in depth on this show before.
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And I apologize if I'm lagging,
it looks really weird to me.
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But hopefully it'll be
fine on the podcast.
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And, I'm interested, there's a
lot of people obviously getting
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into this business over the last
few years, both big and small.
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How do you know which
direction the market is taking?
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Tyler Watts: We look at a lot of projects,
we look at a lot of opportunities
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out there in the real estate world.
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And we're unlimited general license
contractors, so we know how to build.
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We just have to find the right project.
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And we were, we had went from
purchasing apartment complexes to
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actually looking at building some.
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Construction materials and
acquisition calls were just.
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Did not make sense.
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So then it's crazy.
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You've got this bright idea.
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We were like, so wait a minute,
we can build an RV site.
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No windows, no plumbing.
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Other than obviously your sewer
connection, but I'm talking
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like toilets and sinks was
like, we've got none of that.
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And people will pay how much a month.
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And we're like, wait a minute,
this sounds too good to be true.
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Cause you know, we're apartment guys.
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We're used to, the the toilets backing
up and, Hey, I've got, I seen one roach.
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I need you to come here and
spend thousands of dollars
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killing this one roach I seen.
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And.
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I need I've got electrical issues.
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And so we looked at all that and said,
wow, our operations and maintenance costs
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will go way down on something like this.
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So it really grabbed our attention.
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And that's what really propelled
us to look into this industry.
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And then it just snowball
effect from there.
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And then we started, we were
like, okay, what about cabins?
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So then, at one point we were like, we're
getting out of the apartment industry,
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but then we, next thing you know,
we brought on 10 more cabins and now
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we've got what we call 15 hotel rooms.
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So not only did we feel like we got in
the RV industry, but We feel like we're
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in the hotel industry as well cause with
our cabins, we don't have to flip them and
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sanitize them and all that, so it's been
a very big learning curve for us, we did
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not, this was not the first vision, but
the vision we ultimately landed on was we
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looked at a lot of parks out there in the
country and we visited a lot of parks and
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we decided, we said, hey, we want to be
able to offer something that the common
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man that wants to spend $30 a night in
tent camp, we want to be able to offer him
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something all the way up to John and Jenny
who don't mind dropping a couple to three
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hundred dollars a night on a nice cabin
and a golf cart and a hot tub and all
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that thing so we developed our park around
that model and that's exactly what we
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did and we didn't want to limit ourselves
on one Sector of RVers, so to speak.
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We wanted to open up to everyone
that's in the camping world
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Brian Searl: guys I know my recurring
guests know this but if you have any
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questions Please point so that I can
talk less and people will be more
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interested in the show but I think you
know Where do you see yourself going?
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Because to me I don't want to say
you're small, but you're small
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compared to another larger, right?
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Corporate sites.
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So I'm sure you have visions
and plans for the future.
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Where would you like to
go in an ideal world?
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Tyler Watts: So we always start small.
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We did that when we were purchasing
apartment complexes and we're
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looking at some other properties and
projects now, we always start small.
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And even when we started small here,
we only brought phase one on with 16 RV
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size, 10 cabins, five domes, no office.
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No clubhouse, no pool, no nothing.
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But we do that strategically
to first off generate revenue
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as quickly as possible, right?
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Time is your enemy when you're
trying to get open, right?
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You're trying to get open
as quickly as possible.
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So we've been to a fully booked park.
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We were very small.
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We've expanded.
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We're still small.
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If it's up to me, if I'm king, I'm, I
want to build a thousand more, right?
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But we've got to make sure Broad
River Campground continues to thrive
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and do as well as we expect it to.
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And then, yeah, we want
to continue to scale.
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Now that we understand the model, we
understand our profit margins and where we
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expect things to mature at, we 100 percent
definitely want to level up and grow.
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And I don't know exactly where that land
is, but if we were to build another one,
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I would imagine it we would be considered
a medium sized park and then possibly
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jump into the large park category.
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It just depends on what the
opportunity is out there.
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If there's some acquisitions available
for some, for medium large parks
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that have significant value add,
we'll definitely look at that and
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we'll come in there and renovate and
rehab and restabilize the property.
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If we don't see those opportunities,
then we start looking for land
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acquisition and then we'll just
do it from ground up construction.
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Brian Searl: And so tell me I'm just
curious and please anybody else can
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ask a question to you instead of me
But when you look at the value add that
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your group brings Everybody seems to
have their own unique either value add
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or proposition I think they're going
to do or in some work and some of them
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don't but what is your difference maker?
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Tyler Watts: Would you say we
do a lot of stuff in house.
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I'm the forefront runner of it So there's
I literally am Talking with a bank one
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day about financing to literally crawling
on top of this particular dome I'm
291
:
00:12:50
sitting in and tightening down bolts.
292
:
00:12:52
That's how we cut a lot
of our overhead costs.
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:
00:12:54
It's just, I'm boots on the
ground every day, all day.
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:
00:12:57
And I'm, it's been about a three year full
time gig for me here at the campground.
295
:
00:13:01
We've got some other projects that have
taken a little bit of time, but this one's
296
:
00:13:04
been, this one's been the baby for us.
297
:
00:13:06
And it's just creating that.
298
:
00:13:08
Through, not necessarily having to hire
out to every single contractor in the
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:
00:13:11
world, taking care of your contractors,
using local contractors we've had, we've
300
:
00:13:15
developed a really good team for example
we used a local contractor here who just
301
:
00:13:19
didn't have the accessibility to rent
equipment from Caterpillar just didn't
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:
00:13:22
have, he's a smaller guy, and we went and
rented it for him, and we paid for it,
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:
00:13:26
and he billed us for his billable hours,
and We were able to make that work and
304
:
00:13:30
we saved a tremendous amount of money
versus hiring a large grading company.
305
:
00:13:34
And I was actually a dedicated dump
truck driver for about three weeks.
306
:
00:13:39
I learned how to drive
a pretty big dump truck.
307
:
00:13:40
And it sounds fun and it is fun
for about the first four hours.
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:
00:13:43
After about 300 hours, I'll tell you
what, I was ready to get out of that
309
:
00:13:47
truck, so I think we hauled about 1,
600 loads of dirt, but it's things
310
:
00:13:50
like that, that my group and myself
are willing to do and get dirty with.
311
:
00:13:54
We're not scared of work, we're willing
to jump in and work the 12 hour days,
312
:
00:13:58
but that's, at the end of the day,
that's what makes this project successful
313
:
00:14:01
because otherwise, you're another million
dollars, building an RV park, right?
314
:
00:14:06
And that changes your whole underwriting
model and your cash flow analysis.
315
:
00:14:11
Joe Duemig: So Brian's tired of asking
questions so is that similar to, did you
316
:
00:14:16
have that expectation coming into this?
317
:
00:14:18
Because I would imagine that your
apartments were not as boots on the
318
:
00:14:23
ground as the campground has been for you.
319
:
00:14:25
How does that differ?
320
:
00:14:26
And then were you already running
that in your head that you were going
321
:
00:14:29
to be driving a dump truck for 300
hours when you guys decided to do
322
:
00:14:33
the campground instead of apartments?
323
:
00:14:35
Tyler Watts: So the apartments
were very much similar to that.
324
:
00:14:38
I've laid floor and I've helped
install kitchen cabinets.
325
:
00:14:41
I've pulled RG6 cable wiring
when we're doing apartments.
326
:
00:14:44
Very much the same.
327
:
00:14:45
Use a very much the same contractors
that we use on our apartments
328
:
00:14:48
we use on the campground.
329
:
00:14:50
I even, we've got some up in Michigan
State and I flew seven guys up there.
330
:
00:14:53
We had 20 apartments to floor.
331
:
00:14:55
And and I'm one of those, I don't ask
people to do things I wouldn't do.
332
:
00:14:58
And we all jumped on a plane and
went up there and laid floor.
333
:
00:15:00
And so very much heavily involved.
334
:
00:15:02
The dump truck was not on schedule,
but that's one of those things
335
:
00:15:05
when you're developing and you're
building something and you're new
336
:
00:15:07
to it, like I was and my group, and
we're still trying to understand it.
337
:
00:15:10
You have to do things.
338
:
00:15:11
That are necessary to keep a
project moving forward, right?
339
:
00:15:15
And it's not always necessarily sticking
a guy in a dump truck for another, 30, 40,
340
:
00:15:18
50 an hour or whatever they may charge.
341
:
00:15:20
Sometimes I gotta be that guy.
342
:
00:15:21
Sometimes I gotta be the trash guy.
343
:
00:15:23
Sometimes I gotta be the guy that
runs the Walmart or Lowe's or Home
344
:
00:15:26
Depot 47, 000 times that week, right?
345
:
00:15:28
That is just what it takes for us to
get projects going and keep it moving.
346
:
00:15:32
It's hectic.
347
:
00:15:33
It's very much intense, but when we
were staging the cabins, it was crazy.
348
:
00:15:36
I got some old photos.
349
:
00:15:38
My entire garage, I think Amazon thought
I was literally like about the, they
350
:
00:15:43
were like, this guy's going crazy.
351
:
00:15:44
I had Amazon packages showing up so much.
352
:
00:15:46
I, my whole entire two bay garage
was full of just couches and love
353
:
00:15:50
seats and anything you could think of
that we needed to stage cabins with.
354
:
00:15:54
So it's very much do whatever
it takes to get a job done.
355
:
00:15:57
And that's, and I think that's
a it makes a good story for us.
356
:
00:16:00
And it also, it helps with the
success of the project because.
357
:
00:16:03
Everyone knows cost on everything
have just dramatically skyrocketed
358
:
00:16:06
and anything you can do to save a buck
here and there, that's what we do.
359
:
00:16:10
That is 100 percent what we
do and push forward with.
360
:
00:16:15
Brian Searl: Alright, so Ed,
how are you similar and how are
361
:
00:16:18
you different is my question.
362
:
00:16:19
Here's what, here's how I'm
imagining you're different.
363
:
00:16:21
Most technologically advanced
campground, you said, or RV
364
:
00:16:24
resorts in the world, right?
365
:
00:16:25
So I imagine you're sitting in your
bat cave there, controlling robotic
366
:
00:16:28
arms and doing all the things
that Tyler's doing, but with tech.
367
:
00:16:31
Yeah.
368
:
00:16:32
Ed Bridgman: Actually, I see a lot of
advantage to what Tyler was talking about.
369
:
00:16:37
I grew up on a ranch in Kansas and then
I owned a ranch in Texas for 30 years
370
:
00:16:44
and I noticed that the dirt in Kansas
was dark and healthy and you could grow
371
:
00:16:51
a lot and then we had to use a stick of
dynamite to dig a pothole in Texas and
372
:
00:16:58
so when I came to Alabama I actually went
to work for the gentleman who cleared my
373
:
00:17:05
property, and I drove a dump truck for
three years, got my CDL Class A license,
374
:
00:17:11
and I drove the dump truck so that I would
understand the land in lower Alabama,
375
:
00:17:19
which is completely different than Texas
or Ohio or Kansas, where I was from.
376
:
00:17:26
So I learned how to develop
here and learned how to
377
:
00:17:34
work with the property here.
378
:
00:17:36
That helped me be a better
consultant all over the country.
379
:
00:17:40
Now, I'm traveling to Georgia next week.
380
:
00:17:44
I've got two jobs in Texas.
381
:
00:17:45
Earlier earlier this month,
I just got back from Texas.
382
:
00:17:48
And I just got back from Fort
Myers, Florida the week before that.
383
:
00:17:52
So we're averaging about three a month.
384
:
00:17:55
But they're all over the country.
385
:
00:17:58
And so having that background and hands on
experience to understand the differences
386
:
00:18:07
in how you lay a foundation, whether it's
in, I just got back from Indiana and the
387
:
00:18:14
way they lay foundation in Indiana is
completely different than we do in Texas.
388
:
00:18:20
So understanding the different.
389
:
00:18:23
Soil content around the country
being hands on has proven to be
390
:
00:18:30
a very invaluable experience.
391
:
00:18:33
Brian Searl: So beyond that, what would
you say sets EOB Consulting apart?
392
:
00:18:39
Ed Bridgman: EOB Consulting is set
apart from a lot of other consulting
393
:
00:18:43
companies because we literally physically
travel to each unique site and identify
394
:
00:18:52
which one of the five RV destination
types best will fit that location.
395
:
00:19:01
And then we come back to lower Alabama
and have our CAD in-house CAD engineers.
396
:
00:19:08
We don't just hire some CAD
engineer that we have to retrain
397
:
00:19:12
each time we have on site.
398
:
00:19:16
full time CAD engineers that understand
that we don't design blind sites and
399
:
00:19:22
we have certain unique features that
we designed that we haven't seen in our
400
:
00:19:30
peers but our CAD engineers are aware of
that so that our designs will properly
401
:
00:19:39
function and every site is accessible
and every road is transversable.
402
:
00:19:46
We just had an RV in here last
night who was on his way to a race
403
:
00:19:52
track and he was 84 feet long.
404
:
00:19:56
One RV pulling a trailer, being
pulled by a semi, but we have,
405
:
00:20:02
we see that all the time now.
406
:
00:20:03
We see that very common that a
tractor trailer is pulling the fifth
407
:
00:20:08
wheel, the custom made fifth wheel,
And you've got a custom made fifth
408
:
00:20:12
wheel that's a minimum 52 feet long,
pulling a 30 some foot long trailer.
409
:
00:20:18
And , who are these people?
410
:
00:20:19
Brian Searl: I feel like I'm not
working hard enough to deserve these
411
:
00:20:22
things and these I don't understand.
412
:
00:20:24
What am I doing wrong?
413
:
00:20:25
Maybe I'd need to hire Ed.
414
:
00:20:28
Ed Bridgman: If you hire me, the site
will function correctly and it will be
415
:
00:20:34
a good fit if you build a resort where
you should have built a campground.
416
:
00:20:39
You may still make money, but you won't
maximize the value of your property.
417
:
00:20:45
Brian Searl: Okay, that's fair.
418
:
00:20:46
Anybody have any questions for Ed?
419
:
00:20:48
Tyler Watts: For Ed, he's on
the nail head right there.
420
:
00:20:50
He's very much correct.
421
:
00:20:51
We went into it blind and we
hired a local civil engineer.
422
:
00:20:55
And they did a great job, don't
get me wrong, but our campground
423
:
00:20:57
was a build then design style.
424
:
00:21:00
We literally hand drew it on napkins, we
pulled states, we pulled strings, and we,
425
:
00:21:05
I think we've been successful with it.
426
:
00:21:06
Did we make a few mistakes along the way?
427
:
00:21:08
Of course we did.
428
:
00:21:09
But, Ed very much hit it on the nail head.
429
:
00:21:11
Having a functional campground or resort
is a big deal nowadays, especially with
430
:
00:21:16
you're seasoned and you're building.
431
:
00:21:17
larger style RVs.
432
:
00:21:19
We learned from phase one to phase
two and a lot of it just had to do
433
:
00:21:22
with our septic footprint out here.
434
:
00:21:23
So we were limited, but a lot
of our sites on phase two are
435
:
00:21:26
now around 95 to 100 foot long.
436
:
00:21:29
And on phase one for us,
they're around 65, 70 foot.
437
:
00:21:32
Again, we didn't really have much
wiggle room there just because of
438
:
00:21:35
our septic footprint, but those
things make a huge difference.
439
:
00:21:38
And we're seeing the bookings.
440
:
00:21:39
Of course, right now, everything
on our site that books up
441
:
00:21:41
first is Phase 2, right?
442
:
00:21:43
Because they're bigger, larger, and
we did a little custom sewer hookup.
443
:
00:21:46
It's very much correct.
444
:
00:21:47
It's crucial to have
some knowledge like that.
445
:
00:21:49
Ed Bridgman: And we're still learning.
446
:
00:21:51
Last year, we did 38 designs
all around the country.
447
:
00:21:56
As part of that, we physically
travel to each location, and then
448
:
00:22:00
we spend three days in that location
developing an understanding of the
449
:
00:22:04
local market and making certain that
the local market has a demand for what
450
:
00:22:09
it is that you're trying to supply.
451
:
00:22:12
And each of those times, we
average between 15 and 20 RV
452
:
00:22:17
destinations around that site.
453
:
00:22:20
So if you take 15 times 38, we
conservatively walked on 570 RV
454
:
00:22:30
destinations all around the country.
455
:
00:22:33
Physically, spent time talking to
managers, people who live there,
456
:
00:22:38
guests, and found out the good,
the bad, and the ugly on nearly
457
:
00:22:42
600 different RV sites last year.
458
:
00:22:46
We see a lot of good.
459
:
00:22:48
We see a lot of things that
are like, why did they do that?
460
:
00:22:52
And we incorporate the
good into our next design.
461
:
00:22:55
We are constantly learning this.
462
:
00:22:58
This, it seems so straightforward.
463
:
00:23:01
It seems like something you could
just design and it makes sense.
464
:
00:23:05
And it, and there's a lot of designs
out there that have been designed,
465
:
00:23:09
replicated over and over and over.
466
:
00:23:11
And they're just not functioning with
today's, RV, today's RV is bigger, demands
467
:
00:23:19
more electricity, demands today's RV owner
demands easier access to their sites.
468
:
00:23:27
They didn't grow up on farms, they didn't
grow up backing and so they're having
469
:
00:23:31
more issues than they did 20 years ago.
470
:
00:23:35
The 77 percent of RV destinations
are older than 20 years of age.
471
:
00:23:41
And they were designed
for the RVs at that time.
472
:
00:23:44
The RVs today and the RV owner
today demands a different product.
473
:
00:23:51
Brian Searl: So let's take this and
run with it for a second, right?
474
:
00:23:53
Because I think this is a good
theme that many of our guests here
475
:
00:23:55
can touch on in different ways.
476
:
00:23:57
So I want to come maybe first to Scott
from Ivy because you've dealt with,
477
:
00:24:01
like we're talking about the points
of maybe I start with a design or I
478
:
00:24:05
start with a construction and then
work on the design and there's Maybe
479
:
00:24:08
I take over a park that needs revamped
and needs a different design or,
480
:
00:24:11
construction or all kinds of things.
481
:
00:24:13
I've dealt with both.
482
:
00:24:14
So I want to start with, yeah,
getting expected on that.
483
:
00:24:16
And then I want to go to Nate
who has maybe an announcement
484
:
00:24:18
he wants to share with us.
485
:
00:24:20
But, also just from your perspective,
too, Dane, because you've taken
486
:
00:24:23
over a lot of parks as well.
487
:
00:24:26
Scott Knepp: Yeah, I think this is a
fascinating vein to focus on, and I'm
488
:
00:24:29
this is where my mind was going, too.
489
:
00:24:32
As we listened to Tyler explain, the
situation that he found himself in,
490
:
00:24:36
and The joys and the challenges of
developing a property, I found that
491
:
00:24:40
really interesting because I think most
often we are working with owners that
492
:
00:24:45
are in an acquisition for a property
that's been developed and to Ed's
493
:
00:24:49
very well put point, parks are very
different now and depending on the age
494
:
00:24:53
of the park there may be a great deal
of work ahead in an acquisition and
495
:
00:24:58
there might be a great deal of unknowns.
496
:
00:25:01
There's one thing that I would really
caution new owners or anyone looking to
497
:
00:25:06
get into the space with is take advantage
of your due diligence period and really
498
:
00:25:11
spend a lot of time looking underground
and all the intangibles of the property
499
:
00:25:15
because it's really easy to think you're
going to acquire a property and you have
500
:
00:25:20
these funds for all the ways that you want
to improve it and then all those funds
501
:
00:25:24
go towards something that is intangible
to the guest experience and what a shame.
502
:
00:25:29
What a shame.
503
:
00:25:30
And it's interesting to hear the
people that have taken on developing.
504
:
00:25:34
I think that's really exciting.
505
:
00:25:36
It's really exciting to manage for anyone.
506
:
00:25:39
But when you manage for an owner that has
a really clear vision and has developed to
507
:
00:25:45
that vision, what an amazing opportunity.
508
:
00:25:48
Tyler, that is so cool that you
had the opportunity to sit around
509
:
00:25:51
and take your experience and design
something that was going to match that.
510
:
00:25:56
And it's so neat to me that you're in
that perspective now that you can watch
511
:
00:26:00
how the guest experience unfolds and you
can make modifications to your property.
512
:
00:26:05
Because you know it that and because
you set that foundation, right?
513
:
00:26:09
I don't want to interrupt you Scott,
514
:
00:26:10
Brian Searl: I just want to point out
that Tyler was never sitting around.
515
:
00:26:12
He was probably designing it on
top of the glamping tent or while
516
:
00:26:15
he was writing Home Depot or
517
:
00:26:17
Tyler Watts: We literally
designed as we went.
518
:
00:26:19
We made a million changes.
519
:
00:26:21
Like you come out here and you look
and you say, Oh look, that cabin looks
520
:
00:26:23
like they just poured it in there.
521
:
00:26:25
Man, we took every tree
into consideration.
522
:
00:26:27
We took in the septic footprint.
523
:
00:26:28
We took in the electrical grid.
524
:
00:26:30
Like it was very much so and
Nothing against the engineer,
525
:
00:26:33
he took an AutoCAD file and he
blasted, like 35 sites on phase one.
526
:
00:26:37
We chewed that down to 16.
527
:
00:26:39
Why?
528
:
00:26:39
Because we didn't want to be
a cookie cutter campground.
529
:
00:26:41
We didn't want to be on top of each other.
530
:
00:26:42
We wanted to give them
some breathing room.
531
:
00:26:44
So there's a they're very much
with a big learning curve for us.
532
:
00:26:47
And I think we made a
couple of right decisions.
533
:
00:26:48
Obviously, we probably
made some wrong decisions.
534
:
00:26:50
I'll figure out.
535
:
00:26:51
But we, it was an ever
changing model, day to day.
536
:
00:26:54
So just, It wasn't a scratch it on a
napkin and hey, this is what we're going
537
:
00:26:57
to do it was, oh wait, this didn't work,
so let's change this, let's change that,
538
:
00:27:02
and it was a constant moving target.
539
:
00:27:04
Scott Knepp: And it probably
will always evolve, right?
540
:
00:27:06
I think that's super neat.
541
:
00:27:07
And I think that also when you watch an
acquisition unfold, and you might've gone
542
:
00:27:11
through this Tyler too, just as you were
developed, as you were obtaining the land,
543
:
00:27:15
but so often in the acquisition process,
the challenges is on the owner, the
544
:
00:27:20
buyer, and the seller coming to the land.
545
:
00:27:22
To the common ground around the table
and so much of the attention goes
546
:
00:27:25
towards those negotiations that you
don't get to focus on the land as much.
547
:
00:27:30
So it's neat to hear Tyler
talk about like his experience,
548
:
00:27:32
getting to focus on the land.
549
:
00:27:34
I also think it's worthwhile
pointing out that Tyler did
550
:
00:27:37
the wifi right at his property.
551
:
00:27:39
The fact that he's doing a podcast
room call with this much data going
552
:
00:27:44
through inside one of his yurts.
553
:
00:27:46
Congratulations to you, man.
554
:
00:27:47
Tyler Watts: That was
almost the death of me.
555
:
00:27:49
Of the entire campground, that was the
hardest thing for us to accomplish.
556
:
00:27:52
I will not lie.
557
:
00:27:53
It took months and months.
558
:
00:27:55
And I might have cussed out
like four people AT& T, but
559
:
00:27:59
I love them to death, right?
560
:
00:28:00
I had to do what I had to do, but
we have fiber optic ramp through
561
:
00:28:04
the whole park and it is amazing.
562
:
00:28:06
And that was another thing we
wanted to do to be different.
563
:
00:28:09
But boy, I'll tell you what,
everyone says they want to unplug.
564
:
00:28:11
You let an antenna go down here at the
campground, the phone starts ringing, man.
565
:
00:28:16
Scott Knepp: It is hilarious.
566
:
00:28:18
I figured you either had a lot of
guts or you had a nearby access point.
567
:
00:28:26
Brian Searl: All right, Nate, you're up.
568
:
00:28:29
Nate Thompson: As we've grown
the portfolio, we've really
569
:
00:28:32
focused on acquiring properties
as opposed to ground up builds.
570
:
00:28:35
So hats off to Tyler for that's
a bold move to start in the
571
:
00:28:39
industry and do it, from scratch.
572
:
00:28:42
That's a huge deal.
573
:
00:28:44
We have a park in Kansas that was,
it's a great example of a park that
574
:
00:28:48
kind of doesn't fit today's current
RVs, and it was built in:
1962
575
:
00:28:54
So if you think about vehicles
then versus vehicles now, it's a
576
:
00:28:58
huge leap for a lot of the vehicles
to be able to use that park.
577
:
00:29:02
As we're doing our portfolio growth,
we're looking for opportunities to expand
578
:
00:29:07
both the amenities of the current park
and the current sites, but we're also
579
:
00:29:11
looking for opportunities where we can
grow the footprint of the park itself.
580
:
00:29:15
So in the Canada ca or in the in the
Kansas case, we did an expansion that
581
:
00:29:20
just is going live this year and we added
about 35 sites in the back of the park.
582
:
00:29:25
All of those are much larger.
583
:
00:29:26
We've got a couple
hundred foot plus sites.
584
:
00:29:29
So that's part of the, kind of the
strategy that we use as we go through
585
:
00:29:33
each of the different parks that.
586
:
00:29:35
Evaluating for purchase and whatnot
and having that kind of multi phase
587
:
00:29:39
approach where we can improve the
current park, but also look at how do
588
:
00:29:43
we expand the size of the park overall
with those more modern amenities and.
589
:
00:29:47
And site types and whatnot.
590
:
00:29:49
And the announcement, so Brian touched
on this, I appreciate that On Friday
591
:
00:29:53
we closed on our seventh park, seventh
acquisition which is a Gettysburg pa, KOA.
592
:
00:30:00
We're super excited about that.
593
:
00:30:02
And similar to what I was just saying,
it's got a lot of work we can do on
594
:
00:30:05
the footprint of the park itself.
595
:
00:30:07
We also acquired an additional 10 acres.
596
:
00:30:10
Adjacent to the park that will be
future growth for us as we look to
597
:
00:30:14
grow our footprint in that market.
598
:
00:30:15
So yeah, it's a very exciting
day for us on Friday.
599
:
00:30:18
Congratulations.
600
:
00:30:19
Brian Searl: Yeah, It's a great park.
601
:
00:30:21
I've been, I don't know if I
told you this, but I've been
602
:
00:30:22
there years ago because we worked
with L'Rell for a long time.
603
:
00:30:25
Yeah, she's great.
604
:
00:30:27
And I think I was telling your amazing
new marketing person, too, earlier
605
:
00:30:31
yesterday on the phone about how
we we had been there and it's not
606
:
00:30:34
it's not the flat that you expect
from the the battlefield, right?
607
:
00:30:37
It's a little bit further away from
the battlefield, but it's nestled so
608
:
00:30:40
perfectly in that hill area with all
the hiking trails and stuff like that.
609
:
00:30:44
It's just an absolutely stunning property.
610
:
00:30:45
Nate Thompson: Yeah, the topology of
that park is going to be interesting
611
:
00:30:48
as we start to grow the footprint.
612
:
00:30:50
Rather than something that's going to be
very kind of level and easy to develop.
613
:
00:30:54
It's going to be a little bit more
challenging, but that provides some
614
:
00:30:57
really interesting opportunities as
far as the different site types and
615
:
00:31:00
the views that we can capture and
whatnot as we start to build that out.
616
:
00:31:03
So that's a multi year project
as really all of these parks are.
617
:
00:31:07
So we're excited to get going on that now
that we've got it under the KCN umbrella.
618
:
00:31:13
Brian Searl: And maybe that takes us
further into our conversation, right?
619
:
00:31:15
So we've talked about how we design some
of these properties, like Ed, for example.
620
:
00:31:18
He's got a blueprint, right?
621
:
00:31:20
A lot of the consulting groups
do, but we're talking to Ed today.
622
:
00:31:22
So Ed's got this blueprint that sets him
apart and he goes boots on the ground
623
:
00:31:26
and figures out all those intangibles and
the things that that make him different.
624
:
00:31:29
So how do you tackle that from a
perspective of maybe I know what to do.
625
:
00:31:34
But I can't necessarily do it
exactly the way I want because of
626
:
00:31:37
the topography like Gettysburg.
627
:
00:31:39
Nate Thompson: In the case of
Gettysburg we've worked very closely
628
:
00:31:41
that's a KOA branded property, all
of our properties thus far are.
629
:
00:31:46
And KOA has a internal
campground design services team.
630
:
00:31:50
So we work very closely with them and
the experience we've got with the other
631
:
00:31:53
parks where we've done expansions to model
that, but we do that during the diligence
632
:
00:31:58
phase while we're evaluating the park.
633
:
00:32:01
So we've got a pretty good sense
of what it is, what the capacity
634
:
00:32:05
is for us to do that before we
close on that particular property.
635
:
00:32:08
There's a lot of legwork that goes
into that 60 to 90 day period before
636
:
00:32:12
you actually own the property.
637
:
00:32:14
That's a big part of it when
we're looking at a property
638
:
00:32:15
that's got expansion capacity.
639
:
00:32:17
Really try straw man out where you
can do it, how you can do it, walk
640
:
00:32:21
the property, be there consistently.
641
:
00:32:23
I think that's something
that Ed touched on as well.
642
:
00:32:25
You cannot replicate that
through as great as technology
643
:
00:32:29
is, you can't replicate that.
644
:
00:32:31
You got to be there, you got to walk the
property, you got to see how it feels,
645
:
00:32:33
you got to see the views yourself and
start to conceptualize where you think
646
:
00:32:37
you can make some of those things happen.
647
:
00:32:39
And.
648
:
00:32:40
Yeah, there's a little bit of a leap
of faith because ultimately it is, a
649
:
00:32:43
vision that you've got and it's not a
completed plan, but we're pretty excited
650
:
00:32:47
about where Gettysburg is going to go.
651
:
00:32:50
Brian Searl: Awesome.
652
:
00:32:50
I want to make sure we
get to, is it Moriah?
653
:
00:32:52
Did I pronounce it right that time?
654
:
00:32:54
So I want to go to Moriah and hear about
Binghamton Jellystone Park, and then I
655
:
00:32:58
want to touch on maybe just continuing
this conversation, but from a different
656
:
00:33:01
perspective, maybe from Candace and Joe's.
657
:
00:33:03
perspective of how the design and
everything that you lay the foundation
658
:
00:33:08
for in the beginning leads to success
both through mobile apps, community
659
:
00:33:11
engagement, and then through online
reservations and things like that.
660
:
00:33:14
Moriah, please tell us your story.
661
:
00:33:16
Moriah Abbott: Yeah so actually it's
been so interesting hearing everybody
662
:
00:33:19
talk today because I just keep pulling
like bits and pieces out of you guys
663
:
00:33:23
stories and just think oh my gosh, that
applies so much to what we've done here.
664
:
00:33:27
My owners purchased this campground in
December of:
2021
665
:
00:33:32
season going in and, we have been fly
by the seat of our pants they started
666
:
00:33:38
in the rental industry as well, so
very similar to Tyler, and, it's just
667
:
00:33:43
been a process the campground that
we purchased is was built in the 60s.
668
:
00:33:47
And so we've had a lot of those
growing pains of where, these rigs
669
:
00:33:51
come in and they are a lot bigger,
than the sites that have been designed.
670
:
00:33:55
And, so we've been working to
accommodate those and just figure out
671
:
00:33:59
what it is that our consumer needs.
672
:
00:34:01
And one of the coolest things or the
thing that I think we do really great
673
:
00:34:06
we try and be wow moment creators for
people and memory makers for families.
674
:
00:34:11
So That's our big myth.
675
:
00:34:13
And we've really built this
park around that specific model.
676
:
00:34:18
Even though we take it from a, design
aspect of, hey, this is the size rig we
677
:
00:34:23
have coming in for these families, we also
take it in, okay, if you have a group, a
678
:
00:34:28
family that has four kids and they want
to do all of the fun stuff now you have to
679
:
00:34:33
make sure those sites that they're going
to be on, those cabins that they're going
680
:
00:34:36
to be on, Is it relational in your park to
what the average family wants to be doing?
681
:
00:34:43
And so we've taken a lot of that into
consideration and really just built
682
:
00:34:47
everything centered around our desk
and kind of built it out from there.
683
:
00:34:52
So we have a lot of different
glamping experiences.
684
:
00:34:55
We have glamping tents, we have
different yurts, a couple different
685
:
00:35:00
types of cabins and we do RV rentals
as well for those who want more of
686
:
00:35:04
a traditional camping experience.
687
:
00:35:06
And then we also have, standard kind
of cut and dry RV sites and tent sites
688
:
00:35:11
we've been expanding as we go and,
similar to as what's been talked about,
689
:
00:35:16
you can have a plan but that plan for
us changes on a daily basis almost, I
690
:
00:35:21
check in with everybody on my crew and,
we update things as they come in and,
691
:
00:35:25
I know it's been talked about where
you really walk the park and get a
692
:
00:35:29
feel for it, and the same is true here.
693
:
00:35:31
We have a 6 acre lake in the center
of our property, but we are also in
694
:
00:35:36
upstate New York, so it is very hilly.
695
:
00:35:39
And so it's great to say, oh, we
have 66 acres but then when you
696
:
00:35:43
do look at how that ground is laid
out, then you have to start making
697
:
00:35:47
decisions are we actually going to be
able to get a level RV site in here?
698
:
00:35:51
Or is this where we start thinking
outside the box with glamping action?
699
:
00:35:56
Brian Searl: So as we look at, again, this
ties back into our whole theme, right?
700
:
00:35:58
As we look at how,
cause you're new, right?
701
:
00:36:01
You just said you were, okay.
702
:
00:36:04
So as part of that design process, right?
703
:
00:36:06
You're talking about the construction
and the overall design that people
704
:
00:36:09
think about landscaping and sites
and size and stuff like that.
705
:
00:36:11
But part of that, I think is the
decision, Nate is big on KOA.
706
:
00:36:15
You are obviously.
707
:
00:36:17
Jellystone.
708
:
00:36:18
So that's, to me, that's part of that
process is do I rely on a great team
709
:
00:36:23
from KOA or a great team from Jellystone?
710
:
00:36:25
Do I need an Ed and a Greg
and a Jellystone and a KOA?
711
:
00:36:30
Am I just going to do
everything myself like Tyler?
712
:
00:36:32
What, right?
713
:
00:36:33
There's all kinds of different
paths that you can take.
714
:
00:36:35
But how do you end up
going with a Jellystone?
715
:
00:36:37
Moriah Abbott: Yeah, absolutely.
716
:
00:36:39
We really locked in on Jellystone for
the whole aspect of their consumer.
717
:
00:36:43
So our guest is who we wanted
this campground to be about.
718
:
00:36:47
So Jellystone is all about those
young families that come in and
719
:
00:36:51
they just want to have a great
time together, really that.
720
:
00:36:53
big family bonding experience.
721
:
00:36:55
So we really locked in on that model
and have taken their advice and
722
:
00:36:59
their help and just ran with it.
723
:
00:37:01
It's crazy because we do have
all of that input from them.
724
:
00:37:04
Jellystone is a phenomenal team.
725
:
00:37:06
I don't know if you worked with them
before, but they are fantastic and all
726
:
00:37:10
of their advice and just anything, any
type of support they give is wonderful.
727
:
00:37:15
But then we also.
728
:
00:37:16
Like Tyler, we have that kind of
background of construction ourselves.
729
:
00:37:20
So we really do put a lot
of our own, process into it.
730
:
00:37:25
So we look for advice, but then we also
end up doing a majority of the design work
731
:
00:37:29
and stuff on our own with a little bit
of the consulting aspect from Jellystone.
732
:
00:37:34
Brian Searl: And is that a market
driven approach, or is that a, I want
733
:
00:37:37
to be a park that caters more toward
younger families approach, or a blend?
734
:
00:37:41
Moriah Abbott: Ah, I
definitely think it's a blend.
735
:
00:37:43
We looked at the market that
we have here around Binghamton.
736
:
00:37:47
Now the campground that we had from
the 60s it definitely didn't have,
737
:
00:37:52
exactly the market we were going for.
738
:
00:37:54
But what we found was the market
in Binghamton surrounding was
739
:
00:37:59
that, central young family.
740
:
00:38:01
that is now driving to our park.
741
:
00:38:04
So we have, everyone from the Syracuse
area as well as down through Pennsylvania.
742
:
00:38:09
They've started to find us and, we've
really become this like central,
743
:
00:38:13
fun, family oriented campground.
744
:
00:38:17
Brian Searl: Where does
anything go from here?
745
:
00:38:19
Moriah Abbott: Oh man, yeah, we are
definitely starting strong and I
746
:
00:38:24
think we're just getting stronger.
747
:
00:38:25
So currently we are, I don't know if
I can even call them phases, we just
748
:
00:38:30
do, every single year I would say would
be a new phase, currently, I actually
749
:
00:38:34
just put online, we have 8 new VIP
sites that we're putting in, so those
750
:
00:38:39
are gonna be some pretty long concrete
sites with private concrete patios.
751
:
00:38:44
Those are gonna be close to our
attractions and activities, like our
752
:
00:38:47
jumping pillows and mini golf course.
753
:
00:38:50
I know we have a pool slated out for
the future that was One thing that our
754
:
00:38:54
campground was lacking from the 60s,
so we are working on putting that in.
755
:
00:38:58
We have tons of fun lake activities
and things like that, but the pool is
756
:
00:39:02
definitely one of the top things on our
list, so we are excited in that regard.
757
:
00:39:06
And then we already have a whole new
section planned out where we should in
758
:
00:39:11
the next coming years be able to put in,
oh man, a whole nother block of cabins.
759
:
00:39:17
Over the next few years we
have, I'm trying to think of
760
:
00:39:21
how many acres that slot is.
761
:
00:39:24
It's probably anywhere upwards
of 10, or 20, 10 to 20 new
762
:
00:39:30
cabins in our newest section.
763
:
00:39:32
Lots of expansion going on and both in
the site development world as well as
764
:
00:39:38
the attractions and activities world.
765
:
00:39:40
And we are just really excited for
the future and bringing these families
766
:
00:39:44
in and helping create, lasting
fun vacation memories for them.
767
:
00:39:48
Brian Searl: Something you said really
piqued my interest a little bit, and
768
:
00:39:51
I'd love to see if the group wants to
weigh in on it, and then I promise I'll
769
:
00:39:54
get to you, Candace, Joe, and Greg, too.
770
:
00:39:55
You can feel free to just pipe in, and
I know you've got a wealth of knowledge
771
:
00:39:59
there, so we'll get to you, I promise.
772
:
00:40:01
When we're talking about the VIP sites
that you were adding specifically, and
773
:
00:40:04
Ed had mentioned all the people who
are pulling trailers, behind pulling
774
:
00:40:07
their fifth wheels with trailers,
when you're designing and developing
775
:
00:40:10
a park, Either from the ground up
or redoing it or whatever, all the
776
:
00:40:13
things that we've talked about here.
777
:
00:40:15
How do you determine the market for that?
778
:
00:40:16
Is it similar to hotels decide
I need 10 suites and 90 rooms or
779
:
00:40:22
like how do you determine that?
780
:
00:40:24
Moriah Abbott: Yeah, so I know
for our park in particular,
781
:
00:40:27
we've really taken into account
the people who come currently.
782
:
00:40:31
And the things that they tell us, the
needs that they have you know, so when
783
:
00:40:35
I have people who come in and, they're
parked on one of our sites and it's one of
784
:
00:40:39
the older sites, so it's a little smaller,
and they're telling me, hey, it would
785
:
00:40:42
be really great if this site was angled.
786
:
00:40:45
Again our sites were built in the
60s and they're parallel to the road.
787
:
00:40:49
We really had to go in and
adjust things as we go.
788
:
00:40:51
So we've created, 45 degree
envelopes onto all of our sites
789
:
00:40:55
and things like that, to help.
790
:
00:40:57
help what we have now, but then as
we talk to them, we realize, hey,
791
:
00:41:02
campers and trailers, fifth wheels,
they're all just getting bigger.
792
:
00:41:06
Nothing is getting smaller.
793
:
00:41:08
It was already hit on the electrical draw.
794
:
00:41:10
Even the sewer draw, everybody
wants to take a shower every day.
795
:
00:41:14
Everybody wants to, live that kind of
household lifestyle, but on the go.
796
:
00:41:20
And so you really take
in that consumer need.
797
:
00:41:24
And just work that into what you can.
798
:
00:41:26
At our park, we take all of those
things into consideration and then
799
:
00:41:30
we lay it out the best way we can.
800
:
00:41:32
The section that we have now,
they're about 85 feet long so not
801
:
00:41:35
as long as some of the ones, that
I've heard talked about today.
802
:
00:41:38
But, definitely long enough to
get some of those Class A's, even,
803
:
00:41:42
some of those bigger ones in there.
804
:
00:41:44
And just really working with
what we have, but also listening
805
:
00:41:47
to those needs of our guests.
806
:
00:41:49
Brian Searl: I think I'm specifically,
just opening up to everybody briefly,
807
:
00:41:51
I think I'm specifically interested
in the VIP versus non VIP, right?
808
:
00:41:55
How do you determine the market can
sustain a 125 a night, beautiful patio,
809
:
00:42:01
swing set, maybe a hot tub, fence for
your dog versus the, I don't know, I
810
:
00:42:07
want to call them standard sites, right?
811
:
00:42:09
But you understand what I mean.
812
:
00:42:10
So is there a way that the
market can determine that if
813
:
00:42:12
you don't know that going in?
814
:
00:42:14
To anybody who wants the answer.
815
:
00:42:17
Ed Bridgman: Like I said, we spent
three days in the area, and we not only
816
:
00:42:21
talked to current guests of other RV
destinations, but we also talked to the
817
:
00:42:27
civil, the civic leaders in the area.
818
:
00:42:30
Are they bringing in a
Walmart distribution center?
819
:
00:42:35
Are they bringing in an
Amazon distribution center?
820
:
00:42:38
What is happening in the area?
821
:
00:42:41
I just recently finished
a 512 acre project.
822
:
00:42:44
destination for Polk County,
Georgia, and they had this
823
:
00:42:50
acreage setting over to the side.
824
:
00:42:52
They wanted to have an alternative low
income housing place, so we designed
825
:
00:43:00
it in sections like communities.
826
:
00:43:03
So that people could feel people
could feel like they were in
827
:
00:43:08
a community in this own block.
828
:
00:43:11
And what the Polk County is doing is if
you have an RV that qualifies, first of
829
:
00:43:19
all, and you make less than a certain
amount of money, they're going to allow
830
:
00:43:24
them to live in this RV destination.
831
:
00:43:28
It serves two purposes for them.
832
:
00:43:29
It gets all of the Lower income
people in one area instead of
833
:
00:43:37
scattered around the city, and
and they found that advantageous.
834
:
00:43:43
But like I mentioned, I
think I got off track.
835
:
00:43:45
We spend three days in the area, but
we do a lot more than just simply
836
:
00:43:50
talking to the RV destinations so
that we understand the local market.
837
:
00:43:57
And know that the local market
has a demand for what it is
838
:
00:44:00
that we're trying to supply.
839
:
00:44:03
Makes sense.
840
:
00:44:04
Anybody have anything to add?
841
:
00:44:05
Yeah, I think
842
:
00:44:06
Nate Thompson: one of the things
I love about being part of the KOA
843
:
00:44:09
franchise system is the importance,
the focus they put on data.
844
:
00:44:13
As we're designing and looking at
ways we can expand the current park
845
:
00:44:17
or expand the park with new sites.
846
:
00:44:19
We can dig into the data, not just for
that part to see occupancy levels and
847
:
00:44:24
average rates per night and whatnot
which is obviously important if you're
848
:
00:44:27
designing like for but as we start
to broaden out into new site types
849
:
00:44:31
or new accommodations or whatnot.
850
:
00:44:33
We've got the ability to look
regionally or nationally at all of
851
:
00:44:36
these different site types, occupancy
levels by time, occupancy levels across
852
:
00:44:41
different pricing levels and whatnot.
853
:
00:44:43
So that, that's been a huge goal and
a win for us is having access to that
854
:
00:44:47
type of market data to, to inform what
we're proceeding with and how we're
855
:
00:44:50
designing some of these expansions.
856
:
00:44:51
And
857
:
00:44:53
Greg Emmert: I think every if I could
chime in for a second, I think every
858
:
00:44:55
owner has that At their disposal.
859
:
00:44:57
If you're really new, maybe not as much,
but if you've got a park and you've
860
:
00:45:01
been operating it, Boy, the best way
to figure out a feasibility study on
861
:
00:45:04
if you need some VIP, or red carpet,
or patio sites, whatever you want to
862
:
00:45:07
call them start asking your people.
863
:
00:45:08
Start surveying your customers.
864
:
00:45:10
Start watching what's coming
in, what's going out, what the
865
:
00:45:13
attitude is of the customer.
866
:
00:45:14
Hey, would you pay 125 a night?
867
:
00:45:17
Heck no, I wouldn't,
or heck yeah, I would.
868
:
00:45:18
It's, you have that data, you have
that person right in front of you, you
869
:
00:45:22
can't miss that opportunity which is
something sadly that I think especially
870
:
00:45:26
when you're mired down in it, right?
871
:
00:45:28
If you're an everyday, like Tyler, you
were describing a little bit, and I
872
:
00:45:32
know I was when we still owned our park.
873
:
00:45:34
Sometimes you get mired down in the day
to day, and you forget to just go out and
874
:
00:45:38
have conversations, and it's so important.
875
:
00:45:41
If you have someone right in front
of you, an email survey can do it,
876
:
00:45:44
but if you've got somebody right
in front of you and you can spend
877
:
00:45:46
five minutes, create a touchpoint.
878
:
00:45:48
First of all, you're giving
them the warm and fuzzies.
879
:
00:45:50
They're going to want to come
back and see you again because
880
:
00:45:52
now their opinion matters.
881
:
00:45:54
And secondly, you've got, it's the
best data you can possibly get.
882
:
00:45:57
They're right there on your property.
883
:
00:45:58
You might as well, take a few
minutes and just check in with them.
884
:
00:46:02
Tyler Watts: And look at the
reviews, look at the reviews of
885
:
00:46:04
other campgrounds and even your own.
886
:
00:46:06
People will leave honest reviews and
you can say, Hey, this site's here, this
887
:
00:46:09
campground, these sites are unleveled.
888
:
00:46:11
Okay, then that's a concern.
889
:
00:46:12
You need to make sure your sites are
level, shortness, stuff like that.
890
:
00:46:15
And honestly, we went around
and just toured a lot of parks.
891
:
00:46:18
And said, Hey, we're thinking
about building a campground.
892
:
00:46:21
I know we're crazy.
893
:
00:46:22
Can you tell me what to do right?
894
:
00:46:23
And more importantly,
what did you do wrong?
895
:
00:46:25
What did you do wrong?
896
:
00:46:26
And then we have a lot of people,
obviously, since we won park of the
897
:
00:46:28
year, we put us on the map a little bit.
898
:
00:46:30
We have a lot of people ask us
now and they're coming to us.
899
:
00:46:32
I'm like, dude, I'm not an expert,
but I'll tell you what we did.
900
:
00:46:35
And and so it's people
won't be in this industry.
901
:
00:46:37
It's great.
902
:
00:46:38
Cause it's not like the apartment
industry where it's more cutthroat.
903
:
00:46:40
You don't tell all your
underwriting secrets.
904
:
00:46:42
This one here people open up with
him like, Hey, this is what I did.
905
:
00:46:45
And it seems to work for
906
:
00:46:46
Scott Knepp: it.
907
:
00:46:47
And that's one of the things I love
so much about this industry is like
908
:
00:46:51
the, this is such a vocal community
that we're with, nobody walks into a
909
:
00:46:55
restaurant and says, chef, you should
maybe think about adding a few entrees.
910
:
00:46:59
Cause there's some things I really, but
in a campground that'll happen, right?
911
:
00:47:02
The people will tell you it's,
It is a participatory experience.
912
:
00:47:06
One of the things I love
that Greg said, just ask.
913
:
00:47:08
Just ask your employees hey, do you
think that people take advantage of this?
914
:
00:47:12
You can ask your employees,
ask your guests, but there's
915
:
00:47:14
also data does speak, right?
916
:
00:47:17
And it's one thing to come back to
an owner and be like, Yeah, we're
917
:
00:47:20
being told that we can do it, like
people say they want that, but you
918
:
00:47:24
can also quantify it with a tool
that Joe has with at my community.
919
:
00:47:27
You can do surveys and you can push
out communication to your guests
920
:
00:47:31
and have them answer a survey.
921
:
00:47:33
It, in, when they're, when your
employees are asking your guests,
922
:
00:47:36
would you be interested in something
at this price point or something
923
:
00:47:39
that offers these amenities, just yes
70 percent of the people said, Yes.
924
:
00:47:46
And you put a number to
it and that changes any
925
:
00:47:48
conversation that you're having.
926
:
00:47:50
So there's some cool stuff and then also
with the comp set, I think I love that
927
:
00:47:54
with reaching out to your competitors,
having those conversations and like
928
:
00:47:58
Airbnb, even just logging on and seeing
what are my Airbnb competitions doing?
929
:
00:48:03
Like where are they, how,
what's their price point?
930
:
00:48:06
How high end are they?
931
:
00:48:07
So there's a lot of data out there.
932
:
00:48:10
Brian Searl: That's a good
segue to Joe, I think.
933
:
00:48:12
So Joe,
934
:
00:48:16
Joe Duemig: You have a question, Brian?
935
:
00:48:18
Brian Searl: I set you up 25 minutes ago.
936
:
00:48:22
I wrote down my entertainment.
937
:
00:48:23
How does this lead to the point where,
at my community, and then Candace
938
:
00:48:26
from Staylist, how does that lead
to the point where, or does all that
939
:
00:48:31
impact how successful your engagement
apps are and things like that, the
940
:
00:48:36
reservation system, the bookings, the
things that come after the design?
941
:
00:48:40
Joe Duemig: So for us, it
definitely impacts it, right?
942
:
00:48:42
The better the design, the more you're
offering your camper, the better our
943
:
00:48:47
product is actually going to work for you.
944
:
00:48:49
The more engagement, the more stuff that
you want to get back and forth from your
945
:
00:48:52
camper, that, that's that's what we do.
946
:
00:48:54
I think.
947
:
00:48:55
Most of this podcast has
been about development.
948
:
00:48:57
So I had other thoughts.
949
:
00:48:59
I was thinking about other things
around development rather than apps.
950
:
00:49:01
We have been used actually at Ed's
property during his construction
951
:
00:49:06
process was using the app to actually
aim more excitement and excitement.
952
:
00:49:10
I wrapped around the property, sending out
information about what they're doing now.
953
:
00:49:15
Sending out a push notification to show
them the video of all the trucks coming in
954
:
00:49:19
and excavating or pouring dirt, depending
on where we're talking about, right?
955
:
00:49:23
And wrapped around
development, that's there.
956
:
00:49:26
My biggest thought that I was
thinking about this whole time,
957
:
00:49:28
though, had nothing to do with apps.
958
:
00:49:29
It was more wrapped around, what
mistake do I see people making?
959
:
00:49:34
And that is, they buy a piece of
property, maybe that is an existing
960
:
00:49:37
campground that's all seasonal or all
transient, and think, you know what, I'm
961
:
00:49:41
going to grow this into a destination.
962
:
00:49:44
And they've done that without thinking
about, does this area support that?
963
:
00:49:50
Are there things in the area that can
make that this transient stopover right
964
:
00:49:56
on the highway, into a long term or more
of a different type of property, right?
965
:
00:50:03
I think we've seen a lot of campgrounds
go and purchase that property or think
966
:
00:50:07
they're building that property without
studying that side of it as well, is
967
:
00:50:11
what can this area actually support?
968
:
00:50:13
Because they think, oh man, I live
in Missouri, rural Missouri, and I
969
:
00:50:17
think, man, I'm surprised there's
no large campgrounds near us.
970
:
00:50:21
There's probably a reason for it.
971
:
00:50:22
Maybe there should be, maybe
I'm missing I agree with them.
972
:
00:50:25
If I go and build it, it might work,
or I may not have done the studying
973
:
00:50:29
that I need to do to build that type of
property that I think should be there.
974
:
00:50:34
All right that was way better than my
question, yeah, I was gonna say, you're
975
:
00:50:37
trying to team me up, but I had, I was.
976
:
00:50:38
Brian Searl: Feel free to hold on
to something here, Candice, and
977
:
00:50:41
just say whatever you want to say.
978
:
00:50:42
Candice McNamara: I was about to say,
because I was in the same boat as
979
:
00:50:44
you, Joe, I was sitting there, I was
like, I have so many other questions.
980
:
00:50:49
I can tell you from a reservation
software, finding the right platform.
981
:
00:50:53
The thing that really stood out to
me that I've been hearing across the
982
:
00:50:55
board is that it is a multifaceted
kind of industry, whether you're
983
:
00:50:59
building, whether you're buying.
984
:
00:51:00
Whether you're with Jellystone, whether
you're with KOA and ways to innovate
985
:
00:51:04
around that and ways to really bring
people to, to see what you built, right?
986
:
00:51:08
And what you created.
987
:
00:51:09
We do wait listing.
988
:
00:51:10
So same thing as Joe was saying is
you're pushing those notifications,
989
:
00:51:13
you're showing the dump trucks, but
then you have a website up with Brian.
990
:
00:51:16
And then you can also have a wait
list on there where people are
991
:
00:51:18
already preemptively planning and
they're excited about that build out.
992
:
00:51:23
But no, I was on the
same boat as you, Joe.
993
:
00:51:25
The biggest thing that really stood out
to me that I want to know, because I
994
:
00:51:27
think in this specific podcast, people are
going to seek this, that are investing,
995
:
00:51:32
that are buying, that are building.
996
:
00:51:33
And I want to know from all
the different groups, like
997
:
00:51:36
what was your biggest learning?
998
:
00:51:38
If you were to have a good takeaway
to say, this is the number one
999
:
00:51:40
thing that I learned, what would you
leave this audience with to know?
:
1000
00:51:49,074 --> 00:51:49,384
Anybody?
:
1001
00:51:51,104 --> 00:51:53,424
Ed Bridgman: Five different
RV destination types.
:
1002
00:51:53,474 --> 00:51:57,164
And there's a lot of people that
haven't even wrapped their head around
:
1003
00:51:57,164 --> 00:52:01,984
the fact That there are parks, and
parks are the only RV destination
:
1004
00:52:02,014 --> 00:52:03,794
type that are currently losing money.
:
1005
00:52:04,114 --> 00:52:09,424
You do not want to be investing in
RV parks, but there are campgrounds,
:
1006
00:52:09,764 --> 00:52:14,774
and there are resorts, and there
are communities, and there are
:
1007
00:52:14,774 --> 00:52:20,044
hybrids, and so you want to be
investing in one of the other four.
:
1008
00:52:20,524 --> 00:52:25,494
And like I mentioned before, if you
build a resort where you should have
:
1009
00:52:25,504 --> 00:52:30,154
built a campground, you're, I'm not
saying you won't make money, I'm
:
1010
00:52:30,154 --> 00:52:32,344
saying you won't make as much money.
:
1011
00:52:32,344 --> 00:52:34,914
You won't maximize the
value of that property.
:
1012
00:52:35,314 --> 00:52:40,764
So the first thing to do is understand
the local market and make certain
:
1013
00:52:40,774 --> 00:52:46,124
that you build the right fit for the
right For your particular property.
:
1014
00:52:48,664 --> 00:52:49,774
Nate Thompson: Yeah, I think that's right.
:
1015
00:52:49,804 --> 00:52:53,514
Don't try to turn an existing
property into something it's not.
:
1016
00:52:53,564 --> 00:52:57,164
And then secondarily Scott touched on
this earlier, I think do your homework.
:
1017
00:52:57,444 --> 00:53:00,364
Look at all of the, all the
bits and pieces because there's
:
1018
00:53:00,364 --> 00:53:01,554
lots of gotchas out there.
:
1019
00:53:01,984 --> 00:53:05,284
And don't be afraid to walk away
from a project if you see red flags.
:
1020
00:53:07,664 --> 00:53:10,194
Tyler Watts: Our biggest learning curve,
obviously we're on septic out here,
:
1021
00:53:10,194 --> 00:53:12,174
which presented a lot of challenges.
:
1022
00:53:12,174 --> 00:53:15,374
You literally design your site
around your septic footprint.
:
1023
00:53:16,044 --> 00:53:20,474
We learned on phase one that
the code says 120 gallons a day.
:
1024
00:53:20,904 --> 00:53:23,914
Unbeknownst to us, we
followed the code, right?
:
1025
00:53:23,934 --> 00:53:25,904
So our septic footprint is massive.
:
1026
00:53:26,584 --> 00:53:30,294
Networked with a local campground
at a, at the Carvick, Carolina's the
:
1027
00:53:30,294 --> 00:53:32,264
Carolina's Arvick Car Conference.
:
1028
00:53:32,714 --> 00:53:37,444
Come to find out, 60 gallons per day.
:
1029
00:53:37,704 --> 00:53:40,994
We literally saved over
100, 000 on phase two.
:
1030
00:53:41,379 --> 00:53:44,869
My footprint is smaller and
I've got 40 sites versus 16.
:
1031
00:53:45,349 --> 00:53:46,549
Just little things like that.
:
1032
00:53:46,549 --> 00:53:47,569
So I called my engineer up.
:
1033
00:53:47,569 --> 00:53:50,579
I'm like, dude, we made a mistake.
:
1034
00:53:50,879 --> 00:53:51,799
He's Oh yeah, I knew about it.
:
1035
00:53:51,849 --> 00:53:55,969
I'm like, dude, you got to
tell me this kind of stuff.
:
1036
00:53:56,229 --> 00:53:57,389
You're not spending your money.
:
1037
00:53:57,439 --> 00:53:57,959
I am.
:
1038
00:53:58,299 --> 00:53:59,879
You have to have a heart to
heart with people like that.
:
1039
00:53:59,879 --> 00:54:00,709
Lesson learned, right?
:
1040
00:54:00,709 --> 00:54:02,209
So now, I feel obligated.
:
1041
00:54:02,409 --> 00:54:05,979
Let me preach that out to the new
investor, the new developer, like this,
:
1042
00:54:06,449 --> 00:54:09,369
things like this, it would have been very
nice to know that from day one, right?
:
1043
00:54:09,619 --> 00:54:12,109
We were able to muscle through it and
make it work, still be successful.
:
1044
00:54:12,509 --> 00:54:15,009
But, it was a very valuable
financial lesson to learn.
:
1045
00:54:16,149 --> 00:54:18,019
Ed Bridgman: Local civil engineers.
:
1046
00:54:18,609 --> 00:54:25,889
will build to code and if they say,
yes, I've designed an RV destination.
:
1047
00:54:26,099 --> 00:54:30,659
I've been in business for 20 years
and I designed one 10 years ago.
:
1048
00:54:31,609 --> 00:54:34,799
I'm not saying that you shouldn't
use your local civil engineers.
:
1049
00:54:34,809 --> 00:54:37,499
As a matter of fact, there is a
time and place to where you're going
:
1050
00:54:37,519 --> 00:54:41,169
to want to use your local civil
engineer to get your permits through.
:
1051
00:54:41,619 --> 00:54:48,494
But that is As opposed to someone
who has built 38 in a year, the
:
1052
00:54:48,504 --> 00:54:49,884
learning curve is completely
:
1053
00:54:49,884 --> 00:54:50,284
Tyler Watts: different.
:
1054
00:54:50,424 --> 00:54:50,864
I'd agree.
:
1055
00:54:50,904 --> 00:54:51,484
100%.
:
1056
00:54:51,494 --> 00:54:54,804
We finally wound up, I was like,
alright, Scott, I'm going to draw it
:
1057
00:54:54,804 --> 00:54:57,014
on a napkin, you put it in AutoCAD.
:
1058
00:54:57,134 --> 00:54:58,754
And then, so that's where we got at.
:
1059
00:54:58,754 --> 00:55:00,224
And so yeah, very much
of a learning curve.
:
1060
00:55:00,224 --> 00:55:02,669
So yeah, I would highly recommend
if there's Ed's got a world of
:
1061
00:55:02,669 --> 00:55:06,070
knowledge, obviously, and utilizing
that is well worth it, and it's the
:
1062
00:55:06,070 --> 00:55:09,510
same goes for if you're doing septic
for your soil scientist you need to
:
1063
00:55:09,520 --> 00:55:13,090
get your property tested, and not
just by the local county officials.
:
1064
00:55:13,330 --> 00:55:15,780
Hire a soil scientist to
determine where you're going.
:
1065
00:55:16,020 --> 00:55:20,120
It is not cheap up front, but it will save
you hundreds of thousands of dollars, and
:
1066
00:55:20,120 --> 00:55:24,960
they can maneuver around the rules in a
legal way to help you maximize your park.
:
1067
00:55:24,960 --> 00:55:27,770
We're a county official, it's
black and white and that's it.
:
1068
00:55:29,760 --> 00:55:33,720
Moriah Abbott: I think my takeaway
is find what is your thing
:
1069
00:55:33,760 --> 00:55:36,520
and do it as well as you can.
:
1070
00:55:36,520 --> 00:55:38,110
Do it better than anyone else.
:
1071
00:55:38,160 --> 00:55:40,790
So that's really what we
honed in on at our park.
:
1072
00:55:40,850 --> 00:55:45,380
We know we're wow moment creators, memory
makers and that's what we strive for.
:
1073
00:55:45,380 --> 00:55:47,550
So even when it comes
to building the park.
:
1074
00:55:47,905 --> 00:55:49,305
That's what we build around.
:
1075
00:55:49,665 --> 00:55:53,875
There's obviously logistics that go
into everything, but find the thing that
:
1076
00:55:53,875 --> 00:55:56,245
you do and do it better than anyone.
:
1077
00:55:58,525 --> 00:55:59,145
Greg Emmert: Spot on.
:
1078
00:55:59,295 --> 00:56:03,505
Moriah, that's, so you, this is awesome
that it comes back around to, because
:
1079
00:56:03,505 --> 00:56:05,315
I've been thinking this the entire time.
:
1080
00:56:05,585 --> 00:56:08,505
Everyone is talking about all
these really important parts,
:
1081
00:56:08,515 --> 00:56:10,185
the layout, the due diligence.
:
1082
00:56:10,565 --> 00:56:13,715
Just trying to find where all the
bodies are, building your vision.
:
1083
00:56:13,775 --> 00:56:17,165
And we've got a juggernaut like
in acquisitions like Nate with
:
1084
00:56:17,185 --> 00:56:20,545
KCN and somebody like Tyler
who is built from scratch.
:
1085
00:56:21,135 --> 00:56:24,287
And all of this all comes
together with your vision, right?
:
1086
00:56:24,287 --> 00:56:24,459
Yeah.
:
1087
00:56:24,770 --> 00:56:26,160
But what do you need your vision to do?
:
1088
00:56:26,190 --> 00:56:29,450
You need your vision to tell your story.
:
1089
00:56:29,460 --> 00:56:31,900
Your story is the most important part.
:
1090
00:56:32,170 --> 00:56:32,870
Who am I?
:
1091
00:56:33,110 --> 00:56:34,000
What do I do?
:
1092
00:56:34,090 --> 00:56:35,280
What is my why?
:
1093
00:56:35,530 --> 00:56:39,530
How can somebody like Brian make that come
out on my website and in my marketing?
:
1094
00:56:39,740 --> 00:56:45,020
But also, how does the physical asset
and how we operate it convey that?
:
1095
00:56:45,630 --> 00:56:50,110
That's so important and people
want to just, Tyler, you said
:
1096
00:56:50,110 --> 00:56:51,250
it, we didn't want cookie cutter.
:
1097
00:56:51,910 --> 00:56:56,520
People will cookie cutter because I mean
if I can get another RV in there, why not?
:
1098
00:56:56,520 --> 00:56:57,460
That's another site rental.
:
1099
00:56:57,760 --> 00:57:00,950
But does that fit your vision
and does it tell your story?
:
1100
00:57:00,950 --> 00:57:04,090
And if it doesn't, then you need to
steer away from that because you're
:
1101
00:57:04,110 --> 00:57:07,520
going to make more money maybe
with a higher ADR on a bigger site.
:
1102
00:57:07,760 --> 00:57:11,870
But you can't try to just cram stuff in
and make it fit and make it cookie cutter.
:
1103
00:57:12,140 --> 00:57:15,940
It's got to be, and that's, you
probably can tell, and if anybody's
:
1104
00:57:15,940 --> 00:57:18,940
seen me on here before, I love
digging into the philosophical side
:
1105
00:57:19,030 --> 00:57:20,730
because if you don't figure that out.
:
1106
00:57:21,310 --> 00:57:23,010
There's a tough to tip
mouse column behind Scott.
:
1107
00:57:23,260 --> 00:57:28,880
If you don't figure that out, you will
never ever, you won't have a cohesive,
:
1108
00:57:29,470 --> 00:57:32,870
your park is not going to, something's
going to seem out of place to your guests.
:
1109
00:57:33,030 --> 00:57:34,170
They're going to notice that.
:
1110
00:57:34,480 --> 00:57:38,000
If your property doesn't convey
your vision and tell your story,
:
1111
00:57:38,490 --> 00:57:40,890
then it's going to become,
it's not going to be cohesive.
:
1112
00:57:41,840 --> 00:57:44,590
So that's, I'm glad you said that
right there at the end, right?
:
1113
00:57:44,590 --> 00:57:45,940
Because I've been thinking
that the whole time.
:
1114
00:57:45,940 --> 00:57:47,590
It's just, it's such an important part.
:
1115
00:57:47,600 --> 00:57:47,660
Scott Knepp: Thank you.
:
1116
00:57:48,425 --> 00:57:50,535
I want to hang out with this group so bad.
:
1117
00:57:50,545 --> 00:57:53,465
Brian, what a cool person you
are to get so many cool friends.
:
1118
00:57:53,505 --> 00:57:57,695
But Greg, I think you said it so good,
man, which is know your vision and
:
1119
00:57:57,755 --> 00:57:59,415
Mariah said it with know who you are.
:
1120
00:57:59,695 --> 00:58:03,575
But, and the other thing is that
I'm, is that doesn't just translate
:
1121
00:58:03,645 --> 00:58:05,735
to design development decisions.
:
1122
00:58:05,735 --> 00:58:09,085
If you can be really clear with
that makes it all the way down to
:
1123
00:58:09,085 --> 00:58:12,305
the way you train your front desk
and the verbiage that you're using.
:
1124
00:58:12,305 --> 00:58:12,505
All the way through.
:
1125
00:58:13,490 --> 00:58:16,840
Totally, because so often you get
stuck, even just something as simple
:
1126
00:58:16,840 --> 00:58:20,600
as a phone greeting, that should be
consistent and standard and it should
:
1127
00:58:20,600 --> 00:58:24,830
come from your story and it should
match the look and feel of the whole
:
1128
00:58:24,840 --> 00:58:26,790
vibe of the rest of the resort, right?
:
1129
00:58:26,840 --> 00:58:29,680
If you can find that alignment, not
just in the development and let it
:
1130
00:58:29,680 --> 00:58:33,570
trickle all the way down to the verbiage
on your documents and the language
:
1131
00:58:33,570 --> 00:58:38,750
that your team is using, it's very
impactful for the guest experience.
:
1132
00:58:38,870 --> 00:58:39,160
Brian Searl: Absolutely.
:
1133
00:58:39,160 --> 00:58:39,774
Absolutely.
:
1134
00:58:40,315 --> 00:58:42,535
All right, we're running a couple
minutes over, so unfortunately I got
:
1135
00:58:42,535 --> 00:58:44,445
to cut us off of a great discussion.
:
1136
00:58:44,455 --> 00:58:45,515
I appreciate everybody being here.
:
1137
00:58:45,565 --> 00:58:47,315
Candice, we didn't get to talk much.
:
1138
00:58:47,575 --> 00:58:48,825
Joe, you talked a little bit more.
:
1139
00:58:49,125 --> 00:58:51,425
Hopefully we'll get you guys more
involved when you come back next week.
:
1140
00:58:51,425 --> 00:58:52,465
Mariah, thanks for being here.
:
1141
00:58:53,045 --> 00:58:54,585
Ed, thanks for being a special guest.
:
1142
00:58:54,585 --> 00:58:55,755
Tyler, thanks for being a special guest.
:
1143
00:58:55,755 --> 00:58:57,195
Super great insights.
:
1144
00:58:57,235 --> 00:59:00,565
Greg, Nate, Scott, as always, and
we will see you all next week for
:
1145
00:59:00,565 --> 00:59:03,335
another RV Industry Focus Show,
this time for the fourth week.
:
1146
00:59:03,605 --> 00:59:04,495
Other than that, take care, guys.
:
1147
00:59:04,495 --> 00:59:05,175
We'll see you in about a month.
:
1148
00:59:05,875 --> 00:59:06,305
Thanks, everybody.
:
1149
00:59:06,585 --> 00:59:07,045
Tyler Watts: Thanks, Brian.
:
1150
00:59:07,255 --> 00:59:07,745
Great talk.
:
1151
00:59:08,745 --> 00:59:13,935
Joining us for this episode of MC Fireside
Chats with your host, Brian Searl.
:
1152
00:59:14,285 --> 00:59:16,065
Have a suggestion for a show idea?
:
1153
00:59:16,315 --> 00:59:18,845
Want your campground or
company in a future episode?
:
1154
00:59:18,965 --> 00:59:20,895
Email us at hello at moderncampground.
:
1155
00:59:21,455 --> 00:59:21,875
com.
:
1156
00:59:21,965 --> 00:59:24,655
Get your daily dose of
news from moderncampground.
:
1157
00:59:24,655 --> 00:59:28,925
com and be sure to join us next week
for more insights into the fascinating
:
1158
00:59:28,925 --> 00:59:30,565
world of outdoor hospitality.