Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Clint Bell . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Clint , thanks for joining us today. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?

The outdoor hospitality industry is constantly evolving and we continue to see growth and change in the market. Sales of RV units have skyrocketed in the past couple of years, partly due to pandemic possible travel options, and partly from a renewed sense of exploration among the next generation of campers.

VAN LIFE: A trend that has been growing for some years but has blossomed into a massive trend is the use of sprinter vans that are converted and customized to fit the adventures and hobbies of camping guests. These guests are not only seeking out unique places to stay, but they’re also using an RV to indulge in their outdoor hobbies. Whether it’s a weekend mountain biking trip to the hills of Temecula, or spending a week exploring National and State Parks to hike all the best trails, these units provide the comforts of a basecamp, while allowing for more flexible exploration. In addition, due to the high demand of camping and challenges of finding a spot in many areas, these van style RVs are a great fit at smaller sites that may have better reservation availability.

MULTI-FAMILY GROUPS: One of the best things about camping is doing so with friends and family. Having the opportunity to sit around the campfire with your loved ones and share stories, s’mores and good food has been woven into the fabric of the human story for thousands of years. We’re seeing that trend re-emerge as more friends gather to travel and explore together. To meet that trend, we continue to explore ways to create sites, accommodations and reservation practices that meet their needs. For example, most groups will need three or more sites to accommodate multiple guests. Adding to this are youth sports teams that travel together for tournaments or games. Having the ability to accommodate a wide variety of guests in Glamping tents, Deluxe Cabin accommodations and RVs has helped to make the lifestyle and experience of camping together attainable for so many more people.

Clint , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

We’re Kampgrounds Enterprises Inc (KEI), and we’re a 3rd generation San Diego family-owned business based in Chula Vista, CA. KEI is an outdoor hospitality brand that owns, operates, and manages KOA Campground locations in California, Arizona and Missouri. What began in 1968 as an opportunity for our grandfather to encourage other families to share time around a campfire and enjoy the camping lifestyle, has endured for more than 50 years and has grown to welcome millions of families to share in that same core experience.

With our Franchise Partner at KOA, we help to define the level of quality and services you can expect from a camping experience whether that’s in an RV, Tent, or one of our unique accommodations. We provide a level of service and hospitality that welcomes any camper, regardless of experience to explore the magic of outdoor hospitality. Together at KEI, we’ve helped to define an industry and lead in innovations each day that are constantly adapting to new camping guests and the experiences they seek.

Let’s move on to buying businesses – can you talk to us about your experience with business acquisitions?

We’ve had the good fortune to expand our operations by acquiring campgrounds in Arizona, California, and Missouri over the past 15 years. As we’ve added new locations, our major guiding principle is to ensure that an exceptional guest experience remains the central focus point of our operations and development.

As we prepared to buy more KOA campgrounds, we recognized that each location will be unique—after all, that’s what makes staying at a KOA campground so fun! But from an operational perspective, that means climate and terrain differences in creating and maintaining RV sites and facilities, regulatory differences, staffing differences, etc.

We took our core competencies as an established industry leader and built those up in preparation for expansion. We build up our knowledge base by hiring experts in areas where we were not. Perhaps most importantly, we invested in developing our people—we’ve been incredibly lucky to have outstanding employees over the years who’ve been with us for 10, 20 and even 40-years! In hospitality, people are the face of the service we are selling in the great outdoors. So, developing problem solvers and growing our own in-house experts and guest service all-stars has been critical. Finally, we take those elements and scale up our operations to take what works at one location and be successful at many.

Scaling-up in operations has required flexibility, patience, and quick pivoting to ensure that our guests at every location we manage have a great outdoor experience. The hard work required is all worth it when we see families enjoying time together in fresh air and sunshine – it’s a re-charging of the soul that everyone deserves.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

We’re honored to have more than 70% of our guests be return visitors to some of our properties. This is really unique when you consider that the camping lifestyle and RV mantra is driven by a bit of wanderlust. The reputation that we hold with our guests is one that we’ve cultivated over years by continuing to deliver world class experiences each time they visit. We’ve also worked to deliver consistent quality of those experiences and be a trusted source of fun for the whole family. We always make sure that we’re available to our guests to address issues they may face, or to be a trusted voice of advice for new campers has built a reputation of dependability.

Within our industry, we’re constantly striving to be a leader and innovator in site design, operational practices and product offerings. With each new innovation, we try to evaluate how it’s working and then look to make changes to make it better. Our team is willing to take on and try new challenges, we are constantly learning and then sharing that learning with fellow franchisees and operators.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.koa.com/campgrounds/san-diego/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kampgroundsofamerica/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KOAKampgrounds/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/KOAKampgrounds

Image Credits
Kampgrounds of America, Inc.