How efficient can RV parks become?

One of my most faithful readers, Ed O. Bridgman, had quite a bit to say in response to my last post, in which I lamented the post-pandemic recovery of the RV park and campground industry. Drawing on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys, I had concluded that while the number of campground sites had increased, the number of employees servicing them has declined; and that payrolls had increased more slowly than overall revenues. In short, campers today are paying more for less, with a growing share of that revenue going to profit margins rather than to paying workers.

Ed’s response, which can be read in its entirety at the end of that post, took me to task for failing to recognize how much more efficient the overall industry has become, efficiency defined as needing fewer employees to do the same amount of work. In relevant part, he wrote: “As the RV industry matures it evolves to a more efficient model. A few years ago most of the ‘owned by sole proprietors – private owners’ campgrounds made reservations on a pad of paper. Today nearly all campgrounds employ reservation software and many use sophisticated pedestals that meter electricity and water. Security cameras have taken the place of security people. Many campgrounds are not operated the way you did yours 10 years ago and they don’t require the workforce.”

But only some of that is true. Computerization indeed has tempted many campgrounds to severely cut back on desk staff, allowing—or forcing, depending on your point of view—campers to make reservations on-line rather than on a phone. More limited desk staff, in a large and growing number of instances, also has led to shorter office hours, more telephone calls going to voice mail and campers encouraged to find their own sites and to check themselves out. That all can be defined as an increase in “efficiency,” but it’s worth asking whether greater efficiency is compatible with “hospitality,” which requires at least some modicum of personal interaction.

Meanwhile, although security cameras enable a smaller staff to keep eyes on an RV park, and indeed may provide some deterrence against unwanted behavior, they can’t entirely replace security people. Not unless observed misbehavior is to go unchallenged, which requires a human response.

But the real flaw in Ed’s response lies in his statement that “many campgrounds are not operated the way” mine was, “10 years ago” and, presumably, three years ago when we sold the place. Three years also happens to be how long it’s been since Ed opened his own RV park, Homestead RV Community in Mobile, Alabama—which, just to be clear, by all accounts truly is a gem. Boasting a knock-your-socks-off Google rating of 4.9 stars (out of five) based on 325 reviews, Homestead appears to be a meticulously built property that boasts large and perfectly level concrete RV pads, high-speed fiber optic connections to every site, impeccably clean bathrooms and other facilities, and a growing roster of amenities that include a stocked fishing pond, playground, large shaded dog park, pavilion with 82-inch LED stadium TV, and a community fire pit. A swimming pool and fitness center are under construction and slated for completion this August. And for a $100 set-up fee and modest daily charge, guests can have a portable Jacuzzi delivered to their site and filled with cool or hot water, as they prefer.

All of which is to say that Ed sits on an enviably rarefied perch that is no more representative of most campgrounds than a showroom model at the local dealership is of most cars on the road. Most obviously, Homestead is brand-spanking new—unlike the great majority of RV parks, especially in the East and Midwest, which are many decades old and therefore have decades-old infrastructures. An old Victorian on an overgrown lot is going to have many more plumbing, electrical, structural and landscaping problems and challenges than a new suburban ranch on a freshly sodded patch of dirt, and that means more staff is going to be needed to keep it all trimmed and properly functioning.

Homestead also, at this time, is still on the small side, with only 75 sites and no cabins or other lodging to maintain or keep clean. The terrain is flat, the RV sites concentrated in a featureless area–no trees, shrubbery, fences or other impediments to mowers— and the roads are all asphalt: no need to worry about scraping gravel roads or filling potholes! And unlike the vast majority of RV parks, Homestead is now transitioning to a camper-owned facility, with as many as 59 of its sites for sale. The more sites sold, the fewer available for transients and the less turnover—further cutting back on demand for labor.

None of this is a criticism of Ed, who clearly has a well-thought out, well-executed business plan and who takes enormously justifiable pride in what he’s accomplishing. But his opinion about how many employees it can take to run an RV park is shaped by his unique circumstances, whereas mine was forged by a 60-year-old campground with twice as many sites, plus 13 cabins and gravel roads widely dispersed across a hilly 43 acres, not to mention a constantly changing camping population. Computerization can take you only so far in a business that rises or falls on personal interaction, and automation won’t pick up trash, scrub toilets or clean fire pits—which Homestead, aside from the communal firepit, notably does not have.

Where we differ, then, is in how representative we each think our own experiences are of the industry overall. But whereas Ed thinks “many” campgrounds are being operated more efficiently than they were a decade ago, the only increased efficiency most of those campgrounds can claim is in how they take reservations: the rest of their labor requirements are a function of age, size, topography and design, most of which is immutable.

Which leads me back to my original observation: campgrounds are charging you significantly more to spend the night, even though their depleted workforces are less able to keep up with routine maintenance and cleaning. But don’t take it from me: you can determine that for yourself, as you travel from one campground to another, and as you compare today’s experience with that of a decade ago.