FYI _ Good Points!
http://rv-pro.com/news/when-size-matters-are-rvs-outgrowing-infrastructure
Forum Discussion
I think many are still missing the real point of the article and are hung up with the RV park and it's owner who wrote it rather than what he is saying.
As a former CEO, Business owner and founder and head of a national Association, Economics of certain industries are very interesting to me. The economics of the entire RV industry has become a bit of a hobby with me now.
Every chance I get I interview park owners about what they see and how their businesses are doing. I talk a lot to owners of Class A's and others.
I have grilled managers at CW about the business from their standpoint.
Admittedly so far this is fairly anecdotal but it shows me a couple of things that are obvious right off the bat.
As Rv'rs we are being compartmentalized economically. The industry, including many parks now are specializing in one form or another. The other day on the Good Sam Facebook page one of their endless commercials for an RV park was featured and it was a Class A ONLY park. Right on the ocean front. Sorry no lowly trailers allowed here!
This is a trend that is driven, I believe by the economics and the poor ROI of most RV Parks.
To make enough money to justify the investment, pay back the investors and service the debt you need to have hundreds of spaces with about a 60% average occupancy rate.
As the "Mom and Pop" parks age and will be put up for sale that land has now become too valuable to keep as a low-returning (as in income) business The new owners will certainty develop it.
While the trend for RV's is definitely UP with the bulge of the Baby Boom Generation coming up to retirement manufacturers are gearing up with new factories, new models and looking forward to a big profits.
But is the rest of the industry ready? Can they handle the new models and the influx of new RV'rs? Many parks were built when the longest trailer was 29 feet and had no slideouts.
There is without a doubt a big disconnect between the manufacturers and the rest of the industry and in fact, in my view, also the customer. RV parks have been way too slow too keep up with WiFi demands and the growth of personal technology. Many people now work on the road. Many "RV'ers are in the 30's and 40's and are demanding different "amenities" and it's not a new Pickleball court.
This to my mind is what this article is really about.
As a former CEO, Business owner and founder and head of a national Association, Economics of certain industries are very interesting to me. The economics of the entire RV industry has become a bit of a hobby with me now.
Every chance I get I interview park owners about what they see and how their businesses are doing. I talk a lot to owners of Class A's and others.
I have grilled managers at CW about the business from their standpoint.
Admittedly so far this is fairly anecdotal but it shows me a couple of things that are obvious right off the bat.
As Rv'rs we are being compartmentalized economically. The industry, including many parks now are specializing in one form or another. The other day on the Good Sam Facebook page one of their endless commercials for an RV park was featured and it was a Class A ONLY park. Right on the ocean front. Sorry no lowly trailers allowed here!
This is a trend that is driven, I believe by the economics and the poor ROI of most RV Parks.
To make enough money to justify the investment, pay back the investors and service the debt you need to have hundreds of spaces with about a 60% average occupancy rate.
As the "Mom and Pop" parks age and will be put up for sale that land has now become too valuable to keep as a low-returning (as in income) business The new owners will certainty develop it.
While the trend for RV's is definitely UP with the bulge of the Baby Boom Generation coming up to retirement manufacturers are gearing up with new factories, new models and looking forward to a big profits.
But is the rest of the industry ready? Can they handle the new models and the influx of new RV'rs? Many parks were built when the longest trailer was 29 feet and had no slideouts.
There is without a doubt a big disconnect between the manufacturers and the rest of the industry and in fact, in my view, also the customer. RV parks have been way too slow too keep up with WiFi demands and the growth of personal technology. Many people now work on the road. Many "RV'ers are in the 30's and 40's and are demanding different "amenities" and it's not a new Pickleball court.
This to my mind is what this article is really about.
