RV CAMPGROUNDS ENJOYING RECORD GROWTH
It appears Americans are purchasing RVs and going camping for their vacations at a record pace. According to Thor Industries, parent company of RV manufacturers Jayco, Keystone, and Airstream, increased production of their RVs has been reported “in response to swelling demand” after operations have resumed in the U.S. Inventory at many of the RV dealers is down to dangerously low levels due to the record customer orders. According to John Jenkins, Finance Manager at Camping World, “We are seeing purchases from every segment of the population – retired couples, middle aged couples with families, and young people in their 20s and 30s.”
Many of the RV purchases are coming from people new to the industry. First time buyers are flooding into dealers buying RVs for vacations and relaxation and then going camping. As Ryan McFarland, General Manager, of the Buttonwood Campground in Mifflintown, PA said, “camping is the one activity that is precisely designed to meet the social distancing restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic.” McFarland continued, “With an RV site, families can be outside and 40 feet away from other people enjoying all the amenities the campgrounds have to offer.”
Buttonwood, PA is a family owned and operated campgrounds located right on the Juniata River in middle Pennsylvania and offers cabins, tent sites, and 240 RV sites to guests from all over the North Eastern part of the U.S. Guests can kayak, canoe, sit outdoors next to a fire ring, and enjoy all the amenities of a resort without ever having to be in close contact with other guests.
For close to a decade, Buttonwood has used Skyware’s RV Resort and Campground Property Management Software to successfully manage their operations. “We met Skyware at a state campground convention and found out that they have one of the most comprehensive packages available.” McFarland stated. “We use Skyware’s PMS, Activity Scheduler, and Point of Sale (POS) applications.” Ryan continued. Buttonwood has a general store on site, canoe and kayaks rentals, and many activities available to guests. “We love the remote operation capability of Skyware Campground Property Management System.” McFarland continued. “I can be at home or away from the property and still manage day-to-day operations. I can confirm reservations, make payment deposits, review operational reports, check in to see the reservations for any day in the future and correspond to any guest’s inquiry or changes.”
Unique Features of Skyware’s Campground Property Management Software
One of the unique features of the Skyware Campground Property Management Software is its ability to take a campground’s proprietary campground map and turn it into an interactive reservations input and display screen. Workers can simply bring up the interactive campground map and see at a glance which campsites are reserved, available, or pending based upon the color code displayed for the site. “Every campground has a site map showing each site in the campgrounds.” McFarland stated. “And, Skyware has made the campground map interactive, thereby making it easy for any employee to book a reservation or provide information on which campgrounds are available. Our training of employees has really been improved because of Skyware’s ease of use.” McFarland continued.
With the current trend of travelers continuing to purchase RVs, along with campgrounds reporting high levels of occupancies throughout the country, the future of RV camping looks very strong and here to stay for the long term. Contact us to learn more about our solution to the best Campground Property Management System for your RV Resort operations.