Chum lee wrote:
wapiticountry wrote:
Chum lee wrote:
As a business owner, (non clock puncher/salary earner) for most of my adult life, sometimes the cost of creating the appearance of doing well in spite of not doing well is worth the price. (of course, you cannot do this all the time long term, . . search Ponzi schemes) I don't decide for anyone else.
For example, if you own an RV Park (which I don't) with a 50% vacancy rate, IMO, you have to do something to boost sales because you are losing money on ALL the vacant spaces which cost you a fixed amount per space per night. If you let someone with an RV&EV stay there and even though they use an excess amount (beyond your estimated amount) of electricity, it's still better than getting nothing at all from a vacant space. Tell them they have to stay three nights for the given rate. This is casino thinking. In retail, it's called a loss leader.
Of course, . . . if you have a 10% or less vacancy rate, ALL THE TIME, none of this applies and you SHOULD charge a premium, especially for SPECIAL people. No freebies.
Chum lee
That Casino is selling something other than the loss leader item. (Really? Ever heard of a jackpot or an all you can eat buffet?) The RV park is usually a one trick pony, that being site rental. When you start discounting to fill sites you often lose revenue since those people that would’ve paid full price are now only paying the discounted rate. Plus there is nothing that guarantees a single additional site rental if they did offer a lower rate or reduced electrical charges etc.
IMO, the casino, as a business model, is not that different from an RV park. They sell space (rooms), services (hookups) and entertainment (neighbors). As I previously said, if you have a minimal vacancy rate, you have no need to offer freebies (discounts). You seem to fail in grasping that concept. It's when you DON'T, . . that's the problem. VOLUME! Have you ever heard people in the entertainment industry say, "There's no bad publicity!" Why? Because it generates buzz. (volume) In our current social media controlled society, people talk to each other all the time. IMO, when you gracefully accommodate potential good customers, they say nice things about you to others. (which further generates buzz/business) When you don't, . . . . well, . . . just look at this website. I'm not selling anything here. Initially, I hated most of my instructors in the school of "hard knocks", but eventually, . . . . I graduated, and . . . I'm still learning.
We could go on and on comparing similarities/differences. Just do what works for you.
Chum lee
You are kidding, aren't you? Casinos and RV parks are similar?? Maybe you have never been to a casino, but they have one true profit center, you know, Gambling.
They are a great example of one thing, however, and that is providing discounted "loss leaders" to generate business isn't always good business. You are right, they used to offer discounted rooms, cheap buffets, $1.99 steak dinners etc. to attract people into their buildings hoping they would place bets. What they found out was there was a great deal of positive word of mouth about those rooms and meals and people flocked to them. What those people didn't do, however, was gamble. So now the rooms aren't discounted to $20.00 a night, you pay a hefty "resort fee" on top of the room rate, the buffets are $30.00+ and you don't get Secretariat on a plate for $1.99. Unless you prove to be a high rolling "whale" bargains in Las Vegas are few and far between.
As for word of mouth advertising in the RV Park business, if that word of mouth is "XYZ Park is cheap" all that is going to get you is people looking for cheap. That is not the customer I am looking for. I prefer one who knows they are going to pay a premium price for a premium park in a premium location. That is who pays the bills, not discount Debbie or cheapo Charlie.
