Buying a Campground

Hi!  I'm not sure where to put this but has anyone ever thought of buying a campground?  We have become very interested in this!  We love meeting new people and would love to "have fun" at a campground.  We imagine having a petting zoo and wine tastings-just to name a few.  I had a friend's parents buy a campground in Georgia.  They had a KOA.  By the time they were ready to sell, they hated all campers.  They were extremely bitter.  They made a fortune when they sold.  We honestly do not care about the money just the experience.  Thoughts?  Why were my friend's parents so bitter?  I don't talk to my friend anymore, so unfortunately, I can't pick their brain.

We have become friendly with the owners of two campgrounds, neither really have time to "have fun" with their guests. It takes a lot of work and some pretty long hours to run a campground. After hearing some of their stories, I can understand how one could become bitter!

We tend to think of all campers to be like us - reasonable, courteous people. Apparently, there are some obnoxious folks out there that consider themselves to be exempt from all rules and couldn't even pretend to be nice.

Turning something you love into a full time, must do proposition, usually doesn't end well. 

This reminds me of one of my colleagues when I was a librarian.  Karen hated being a librarian and one day I asked her why she became a librarian in the first place.  Her reply "I loved reading and I thought I'd be able to read lots of books."  No, we were too darned busy to read books!  And when I got home at night my eyes were tired so I really didn't want to read at night.  It wasn't until I retired that I finally had time to actually enjoy reading some books.

My suggestion is to do some workamping at a campground before you put down any of your hard-earned money to buy one.  You might well find that what seems like fun really isn't.  Or, you might find that the responsibilities really aren't your cup of tea.  If you work at a campground for a year and really do love it, then you can get serious about actually purchasing one.  Some are money pits because of a very short camping season while others are profitable because they're in a year-round location.  Any business that deals with the public ties you down which is another factor.

ArdraF

We've worked summers in several campgrounds and had an enjoyable time, but owning one is a different story altogether.  We have also managed two different campgrounds for short periods so the owner could take a vacation.  That really gives you a different perspective!  You are "married" to it 24/7, with just maybe a little time to enjoy meeting people you like. You also get the other kind of people - you don't get to pick & choose.

We also found that campground activities are not all that attractive to traveling campers. They have other needs & plans during their brief stay at your park, so may not come out for an activity, even if its one they like and free. Kids, pets, laundry, getting dinner, whatever, gets in the way. We were shocked when at times almost nobody showed up for free ice cream or a community campfire.

If you get into a park where there are more long term campers, things can be different cause a community forms.

My advice would be to try workcamping for awhile. You can have fun and the owners will probably love you if you put your heart into it instead of just marking time. Offer to organize - and work - some events, for example.

Owning or managing a campground can't be that different from owning/managing a marina. Over several decades of boating and RVing, we've observed folks who thought that owning or managing a marina would be fun. In virtually all cases, the fun went out of it, and their attempts at making new friends fell flat. We've observed some of these folks attempt to generate a sense of community among their berthers by putting on events such as BBQs, but they found they really weren't part of whatever community they were able to muster.

As has been alluded to in other comments, the respective situations were compounded by the mix of full time live-aboards (usually a small percentage of berthers), semi-permanent berthers (not live-aboards), and transit berthers (in for the weekend or a week).

These observations came both from marinas where we were berthers and ones that we visited. A number of the marinas had adjacent campgrounds (same owners), and and some offered a "resort" experience. We saw a couple of joint marinas/campgrounds transition to ownership by KOA or their franchisee; I'm not sure if the resulting experience was better or worse for the berthers/campers or the owners/managers.

Just like all the others mentioned, owning and running a campground is very different. I owned one from 1992-1998 in Quebec, Canada, it was a 6 month/year really busy business, 24/7 and it ain't worth it.
Just go and try "workcamping" or manage one for a short period as mentionned by Gary.
p.s. the best would be to have a campground with 100% seasonnal campers, no travellers at all.

Agree with Normand. My folks had a small truck stop that they ran 365/24/7 for about 15 years. Mom ran it 6am - 6pm and dad ran it 6pm - 6am. They had no life and if one of the kids walked in they also had no life.

At 15 years dad died and mom opened back up 6am - 3pm weekdays only. She sold at 65 with money enough to carry her through another 20 years, but as a depression raised kid (1911 birthdate) she saved money monthly while on SS.

My career was railroad. Any 24/7 career is difficult on the family and on the individual. Rewarding at the end, but difficult during all those rewarding years.

On a different note, last summer we stayed at a campground in Utah (I think it was).  It was owned and operated by a husband and wife team.  It was a nice enough park, but their best feature was a RV restaurant.  The husband brought the menu to your site and took your order.  The wife did the cooking.  Then the husband delivered the order to your site - with for real plates and silverware, to boot.  He came back around and picked up the mess when you finished.  For the camper - a great meal with no cooking or clean-up.  For the husband and wife team - a LOT of work, but happy customers.  I guess it all depends on just how hard you want to work to make others happy.

The questions that linger:

What was the meal?

What did it cost?

The whole problem for me would be dealing with the public on a daily basis. The vast majority of people are really nice and wonderful but one jerk can really ruin your day. Last time I had a job dealing with the public the number of jerks was more than one per day. I would not take any job dealing with the public again much less spend my money to be married to one

Peteyboy said:

Turning something you love into a full time, must do proposition, usually doesn't end well.

Click to expand...

Just the opposite, in my experience, turning what you love into money... what's not to like?

I've had 3 successful careers in areas I just loved and making the money on top of it, icing on the cake!

I have worked in the hospitality industry for several decades in my former career life. It's not easy! You have to love people and the public, be willing to be a "can do" and a "can do with a smile!" You have to deal with some unhappy people and make it a goal to somehow some way make them happy after all. Some cases are hopeless, but in most cases, you can cater to the tyrants and get them back to a happy place. Not always, but most times.

When one becomes bitter... then it's time to get out of the hospitality industry.

I find that owners, operators, managers and staff can readily set the theme for a place by starting off smiling and in a positive mood to make the transaction a mutually satisfying event.

I am currently in a very happy RV park. Sure I've met a token few unhappy campers who were on their way out. But everyone else seems plenty happy and relaxed. When I arrived, the owners treated me like a long lost treasured friend, honored to have me turn up. They seemed to go out of their way to make sure I was happy and comfy. With that kind of attitude, it does seem 99% of the campers are quite happy to be here.

As a camper, I try to arrive with a big smile on my face and remain very patient and enthusiastic while we finalize the transaction. It seems I always end up with fabulous sites, and meet some very nice folks who seem eager to accommodate me.

On the other hand... I've been to some places where I felt the staff was a bit cantankerous and it seemed to reflect in the general mood of the campers. I've crossed them off my repeat visit list.

Besides LOVING hospitality, when you own the business, you need to have a pretty good skill set at managing even if you have to go back to college to learn management and accounting skills to achieve your final goal.

Owning a business is very hard work and the hours can be long, the pay low until you get a good rhythm and reputation going.

In my opinion, the happiest parks have the shortest rule list. Those with the lengthy list of rules and regulations seem to be unhappy affairs. Not sure how or why that is, but if the rules are posted on the website, I like to read them over first to get a feel for the attitude of the management.

Quillback 424 said:

The questions that linger:

What was the meal?

What did it cost?

Click to expand...

As I recall, I had chicken fried steak with typical sides and my wife had a big juicy hamburger.  I think it was about $15 (plus tip).

Let me put it this way.. I know a man who wishes to SELL a campground.. And most of his campers are well behaved.

I've thought this through with DW a few times.... not seriously, just discussion while on vacation...

I think about the only way for it to work out nicely is
location - needs to be at or near something to draw people to get enough business
amenities - it needs to be a nice place to attract nice people.  Disney's Fort Wilderness comes to mind.... not saying it needs to be over the top like that, but that place is nice, clean, and has a good "vibe".  It just feels "safe" and "family" & I imagine that could go a long way to keeping customers.... well calm for the lack of a better word.
help - you would need a population to hire from, so that you can get a good manager or two and other help if needed.  Otherwise I think the 24/7 would get old fast.

Greetings,

Like most business that you buy and run, you can be gone for a little while but too often the help will run a business into the ground if your not around to make sure things are being done that you have prescribed. So even with help, your going to be there a lot. I realize you might get good help, or family members that you trust could keep things going for you but you still need to be there a lot.

Owning, running, and managing  a campground is not a retirement hobby.

It's a fulltime career in the hospitality industry.  ;D

Age doesn't matter as long as you can provide hospitable energetic work and skills.

Excellent statements, ideas and suggestions! 

In my opinion, the only thing worse than owning a campground would be owning a dairy farm.

Try getting away for a day or two!

Bill

DearMissMermaid said:

In my opinion, the happiest parks have the shortest rule list. Those with the lengthy list of rules and regulations seem to be unhappy affairs. Not sure how or why that is, but if the rules are posted on the website, I like to read them over first to get a feel for the attitude of the management.

Click to expand...

The rule list observation is interesting.  I always say a rule or policy (especially at work) is written because somebody messed up or something became a disaster along the way, most likely causing a lawsuit.  It would make sense that if they have a short rule list then they haven't had too many bad experiences!  The long list campsites must have been through too much crap and have reached the end of the rope.  Maybe?