As a leading authority on campground marketing and helping campgrounds build long-standing marketing practices, Martrek Digital knows how important it is to ensure that opening weekend is a positive experience for campers. The opening weekend sets the tone for the rest of the season, and a successful opening weekend can help build momentum for booked campsites, increase camper retention, and create lasting memories for families for years to come. Here are 5 tips for opening weekend for campgrounds & RV Parks to help create meaningful experiences for your guests.
- Prepare the Grounds
This one is relatively obvious. Before opening weekend, it’s essential to prepare the grounds and facilities to make sure everything is in tip-top shape. Make sure the bathrooms and showers are clean, the campsites are level and clear of debris, and the fire pits are ready for use. This can be accomplished by hiring a professional cleaning service to get the job done quickly and efficiently. If you have other amenities on site, like pools, playgrounds, and similar features, make sure they are safety checked and up to code, as well as cleaned and maintained for your customers to begin using. If you open before some of your amenities are available, make sure this is clearly posted both onsite and on your website.
- Use Technology
One of the best ways to ensure a positive opening weekend experience is to use technology to streamline the check-in process. This does not just include making sure the basics on your website are functioning so campers can find you, book smoothly, and pay. But, if you need help with this, reach out to us! We specialize in campground SEO and can help you make sure you are ready.
This also includes technology once the campers reach your park. Wifi is obvious – its 2023 and people expect this, unless they are specifically coming to your wilderness haven to tune out and unplug. Which, you can work to your benefit as well with a great marketing and SEO plan. If you are NOT the wilderness oasis market, consider using mobile apps that allow campers to check-in, select their campsite, and pay for their stay all from their phone. This can help reduce wait times and improve the overall experience for campers. If you have a lot of fun activities planned for the weekend, having an app that can house all of this information with calendar and notifications is a huge plus. Mobile apps like Campers App are leading the marketplace for camper experience – they have features that allow you to not only find campgrounds, but once you are there check the weather, get notifications about event times and locations, make purchases and order food from the campground store, host a campground map, show nearby attractions, and more. We recently stayed at a very popular family run resort chain campground and I tell you what – with 3 kids under 6 this was an amazing feature that helped us make sure to keep the kids busy and to not miss out on all of the fun things they had planned. Especially since it was end of season and the more obvious amenities were not longer open (water park, pool, etc). It was a huge hit for us and created life-long experiences for my family. The kids still talk about this campground and ask when we are going back. I don’t know if they would have said that if we had not had the app and known what to participate in all-weekend.
- Be Available
Campers may have questions or concerns during their stay, so it’s important to have staff available to answer questions and address any issues that arise. Consider having a dedicated phone line or email address that campers can use to reach out with questions or concerns. You may also consider extending hours of operation or support during opening weekend where you are most likely to hit snags, have late check ins, have campers with more questions and needs. Consider having your store or your check-in area be open an hour or two longer than your normal business hours to account for those hiccups.
- Gather Reviews and Feedback
After opening weekend, it’s important to gather reviews and feedback from campers to ensure that their experience was positive and identify areas for improvement. Consider using online review platforms like Yelp or Google to gather reviews, and send out surveys to gather feedback from campers directly. Use this feedback to make improvements and ensure a better experience for future campers. We talk a lot about how to monitor your reviews and keep this up to date on our blog post HERE.
- Follow-Up with Campers
Finally, it’s important to follow-up with campers after their stay to thank them for their business and encourage them to return in the future. Consider sending out a personalized email or letter thanking them for their stay and offering a discount on their next visit. This can help build goodwill and encourage campers to return year after year. If you have a newsletter or social media page like Facebook or Instagram, encourage them to sign up and follow you so that they can get regular updates from your team and they continue to keep you top of mind when planning their next camping trip. You can learn more about camper retention in our post HERE.
By following these recommendations, a campground or RV park can ensure that their opening weekend is a positive experience for campers, build momentum for the rest of the season, and create lasting memories for families for years to come. At Martrek Digital, we specialize in helping campgrounds build long-standing marketing practices that bring campers back year-over-year. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help your campground succeed.
