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Camping and the Internet are Turning a Corner
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The past decade has shown a slow but steady rise in the use of technology in the camping / RV lifestyle industry. Yet this increase in technology usage has been accompanied by an increasing concern among venue owners and operators that the technology is not providing the benefit they had hoped for, and promises made by some vendors of successful online systems have failed to materialize. Ongoing communication with campground and RV resort owners has highlighted some recurring themes with regard to the use of the internet in this industry. Problems: “I have my own website now but no one is using it to make a booking.”
Just having a website is not enough. You need to ensure that the people who are using the internet to plan their next trip are driven to your site. Simply put, the people who plan on coming to your resort anyway will call during business hours. The people who do not know about your resort are using directories (both paper and online) as well as internet search engines. To have an effective online presence requires tapping into systems of this nature, or better yet, teaming up with a provider that already has. In five year’s time, 2006 will be seen as the year that camping and the internet truly came of age. The recent announcement made at the ARVC by Trailer Life and Woodall’s that in the 2006 season, they will be entering into the online camping reservation market (developed by Digital Rez International) should be welcome news for the entire RV and camping industry. It represents the coming together of two key elements required for success in the internet market: inventory AND traffic. |
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Up until now, independent operators in the industry have been working hard at exploiting the internet with the majority of resort parks having their own websites and almost everyone has found that email is one of the best ways for regular travelers to get hold of operators of their favorite locations to stay. Government operated parks have had well established central systems helping them to serve the public for many years; call center services, online booking systems and integrated property management have been out of the reach of the independent operator simply because there was no way to drive the average traveler to a website located somewhere in a hosted directory or on page 23 of a Google search result. With millions of readers, members and subscribers soon to be marketed to through the abundant publications distributed by the parent company of Trailer Life and Woodall’s; Affinity Group Inc., it will be a much easier task to fill those half-occupied shoulder seasons as well as assuring your facility is fully occupied all summer.
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In a few years time, there will be a better educated camping public experienced at booking online and much more willing to commit some time to establishing an online travel itinerary that will be flexible and manageable for the RVer, even when they’re on the road. This will open the industry to some even more significant opportunities for independent operators to reach out and create new, online clientele. It’s difficult for people to find you on the web. Look for services that send people to you.
By: Ken Lahoda, CEO, Digital Rez International
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This is the defining problem for thousands of hospitality venues that have jumped into online reservations without understanding how commerce works in this medium.