MC Fireside Chats – November 8th, 2023

[00:00:00] 

Brain Searl: Welcome everybody to a [00:01:00] special episode of MC Fireside Chats. My name is Brian Searl with Insider Perks. We’re broadcasting live here at 6 30 p. m central at night eastern 5 30 mountain. Pacifics, wherever you’re watching in the world, but super excited to be here live from the OHAI, O H a I, 2020 

Expo. You can see the sign behind me here.

It formerly was known and evolved as RV Expo see a full collection here of people who are going to talk… Different businesses, the experiences at Ohai the conference, and we really start, we’re gonna go around. Let’s go around and introduce everybody first. We’re live here. Lisa’s running the camera behind us.

Do you want to just briefly introduce everybody and then we’ll come back and we definitely want to talk to Paul first about Ojai and all the exciting things they have going on. But Paul, do you want to just introduce yourself? We’ll turn around and then… Sure. 

Paul Bambei: Yeah, I’m Paul Bambi, President CEO. Ohio. 

Sandy Ellingson: And I’m Sandy Ellingson and I’m a Campground Advocate.

Ryan Houchens: I’m [00:02:00] Ryan Houchens with Camp Life. 

Steven Woodburn: Steven Woodburn with tentmasters. 

Mike Harrison: Live from Ohio! Mike Harrison with CRR. 

Tyler Duffy: Tyler Duffy with Camp life. 

Alex Goldman: I’m Alex Goldman with EO1, and 

Candice McNamara: I’m Candace McNamara with Staelist Reservation Software. 

Brain Searl: Oh, now you gotta get, you want me to run a ball? Okay, I’m gonna get too much exercise here.

Paul Bambei: That’s dangerous. I used to play baseball, so we could throw this thing around. 

Brain Searl: Maybe. Oh, see, I’m not even on camera. I was doing the baseball thing and I wasn’t even on camera. Okay, so Paul. Paul, obviously, long time CEO of Arvick and now Ojai. Tell us a little bit about the thought process that went into the rebranding.

Paul Bambei: Okay 14 years… It was previously RVIC, but we just reached that point where we hadn’t done a rebrand for many years, 1992. And the industry is changing a [00:03:00] lot and we just felt we needed to change with it. It was time to do that. The creative behind it, we joined forces with a Agency based in D. C. called Mechanic they deal with association uh, rebrands primarily. We had worked it through many candidates, got it down to Mechanic and then the work began. It was about a year in the process. 

Brain Searl: So when you were going through the process of, talking to the board of directors, talking to advisors, thinking about what can we name this?

Obviously you want it to be inclusive. and where the industry is going with GLAMP O HI instead of an acronym or anything else that probably came across your mind? 

Paul Bambei: That’s a great question. I think what we were… What we were most interested in was opening up the tent, which had previously been targeted to private campgrounds only.

That was the [00:04:00] history of Old Arvik. And that’s the way the industry has changed. There’s so many other organizations and groups are related to the outdoor economy. And we just felt if we’re going to lead this organization and this industry, we needed to be more inclusive. And that’s our goal. Growth.

Brain Searl: It’s definitely an admirable goal to be sure, right? So we know you’ve inclusivity nature of glamping and all that. Tell us, you’ve been here at OHG for a couple days, right? Had some really good sessions, some good, some education. What are you most excited about? I see you’re planting your You knew it was going to happen.

What most, were you most excited about that was better than you expected the first few days? 

Paul Bambei: Oh, wow. Unexpected. I think the whole program has been stepped up measurably and I, it’s not just my impression, I’ve been feeling and talking to a lot of people about their [00:05:00] experience. And whether it’s the educational sessions that we’ve put out there, the panels that we’ve done, and the trade show, which, I think, from all indications is much improved over anything we’ve ever done before.

We have 21 park models on the floor. The most we’d ever had was seven. And you look at the booths and the, and… We have hired professional people to help us decorate and set this whole trade show up, as well as the whole show, gosh you walk into General Sessions and the screens are Thank you The size they ought to be for the number of people that we are entertaining.

So it’s just a higher quality all the way around, I think. And people are telling me that they need it. 

Brain Searl: All right. I want to be cognizant of your time. So one last question, and obviously you’re feel free to stay around if you want to contribute, but. What is the thing that you’re most excited about for the future of Ohai?

Paul Bambei: The thing I’m most excited about is like I said, really, the growth [00:06:00] opportunity. We’re lighting up our website next Monday, so this is an all encompassing effort. It’s, here you see signage and all the things that are Ojai, but to do it right, I think you have to have all the elements working together, and the website’s going to be really important for members.

And it’s a growth opportunity. I look forward to, and actually have talked to people over at the Glamping Association. I think, as we have seen some of our states leave us in the past, I think they have every reason to consider coming back now. It’s just a different organization. That’s, it’s growth, that’s what I look forward to. 

Brain Searl: Awesome. I appreciate you so much, Paul. And I did lie, there’s one last question. What time on Monday morning, because everybody watching is going to be hitting refresh, because we want to see the new brand. 

Paul Bambei: Brian, I wish I had all the answers, but I can’t tell you for sure.

Brain Searl: We’ve stumped Paul [00:07:00] Bambi. That is literally impossible. The first time it’s ever been done. 

Paul Bambei: Yeah, I think, I know they’re going through the final tweaking process if I were to give you a time, Uh, it’d probably be wrong, because, they’ll beta and re beta that day, but I I know Monday is the target day, so check back with us.

Brain Searl: Alright, we’re really excited for Monday. Thank you so much again, Paul. Let’s just does anybody else have anything they want to start with that they feel has been really impactful from their time at OHIO?

Sandy Ellingson: Mike, you always have something great to say. What’s been the most impactful for you here?

Mike Harrison: What’s been the most impactful? I think two parts to this. One is the Innovation Summit on Monday. Which was, I wish it had been open to a larger audience. That was probably the best content of the entire conference. A lot of forward thinking, technology, [00:08:00] industry evolution was excellent. The New Book team did a great job, putting it on, presenting and collaborating and it was really cohesive.

And I really like the OHI brand relaunch. I presented a session today, marketing, branding, and identity, and so it tied in perfectly of, how you relaunch and create a brand, and I think the industry evolution of growing to the outdoor hospitality is what CRR looks at. Experiential hospitality, and so I think…

It resonates with us for sure with the Outdoor Hospitality, so that’s what’s been most impactful to me. Sandy, would you like to answer in return? 

Brain Searl: Oh, I went right at the camera there. 

Alright, so we’re to hear from Steve. What do you feel about the rebrand? How do you feel about the brand, Steven, after this, after Sandy talks, from an OHI perspective, accommodation, I feel like this is more inclusive, better [00:09:00] for you guys, right?

Sandy Ellingson: So I continue to be excited about the energy at the conference every year. You can listen to some of the people talk about how the RV sales side of the industry is down. And Because I work with both, I brought an industry representative to me so he could sense and feel the industry, the energy that’s here, because just because the sales side may be slowing, we can’t expect those massive sales to be the same like they were during COVID.

Solved a lot of the problems that we thought were going to happen inside of that, and at the campground level where the boots are on the ground, we are still seeing record sales. People helping, finding new ways to camp, and the energy has not changed for me. I come here and I think everybody is still just as excited, 

Brain Searl: awesome. Steven, I teed you up for that. Hopefully you had enough time to come up with a really eloquent answer. 

Steven Woodburn: So the rebrand to me is really special because when people ask me on the street what it is I do, I tell them outdoor [00:10:00] hospitality. I’m a vendor. I’m the sales director for Tentmasters.

We sell luxury glamping tents all over the continent. Now, RV and campgrounds are probably our primary clientele, but they’re far from our only clientele. I sell to wedding venues, to ranches with horses sell to everyday mom and pop places to where they’ll have some land, they’ll put units up, they rent them out.

Outdoor hospitality is a much more broader term, in my opinion, than the RV and campground association, and I really appreciate that. From a vendor standpoint because outdoor hospitality is my industry and it’s an industry that I’m very glad to be a part of that’s really blowing up considerably year after year.

We continue to have record years every year and I’m hoping to have another record year in sales this year, so fingers crossed on that front. Alright, so I think 

Brain Searl: same question to Ryan maybe from reminding how does, hopefully in your mind because obviously we don’t know yet, we have all kinds of great expectations for Where it’s going to go, where it’s going to change, how it’s going to improve.

In your mind, [00:11:00] where is the best place that can go for Cold River Mining? And please, talk about what Cold River Mining is too. 

Ryan Houchens: So Cold River Mining does hands on gemstone mining activities where we set up an old style water feature, like a water tower would be in an old mining town. Runs down and they’re able to buy bags that are seeded with rocks and sand so that they can find the gems from all over the world.

That way each kid gets to have that, oh wow, discovery moment, gets kids excited about something that’s not just on a screen. That’s part of the reason that we’re in the camping industry, right? It’s we want our kids to take a break from being on devices all the time. And one of the things I really like about the OHI branding is that it really should pull in more of the small glamping locations, places that didn’t fit with RVs, right?

That’s not everybody, that’s not who everybody wants to be, nor should they be. So I think it’s gonna really grow the market, and for a business like myself, [00:12:00] I don’t have to commit to going to a glamping specific show, for example. I can keep coming to the Ojai show. And grow my brand.

Brain Searl: Awesome. You have never been on the show before, right? No. So the audience really unless you come to the show, doesn’t know all the wonders of Cold River Mining. 

Ryan Houchens: I’ve been with Cold River Mining six years now. We’re family owned and operated. Business has been around for 30 years. We’re located just outside Louisville, Kentucky.

And, we actually are launching here at the show three brand new products that nobody’s ever seen before. Cold River. So we have sluices that are completely made of plastic so that there’s never any staining, sanding, maintenance on an annual basis to take care of things to make it look great.

 I’d love for anybody here to stop by or talk to me after the show. 

Brain Searl: Sounds awesome. Thank you. Feel free to pop in and I’ll ask you maybe some more questions and things like that as we go forward. But I think maybe same question to the gentleman over here, the Tyler from Camp [00:13:00] Life. I know Tyler, it’s been…

It’s my fault since we’ve had a chance to catch up and I’ve seen all the great things that are in your software recently that you’ve innovated over the last few years. Probably my fault because I moved to Canada and that’s a little bit farther away, but tell us first a little bit about Camp Life and how you see, same question how does Ojai help a reservation PMS software system? Reach more people. 

Tyler Duffy: we, this is Camp Life. We’ve been in business. This is our 17th, uh, OHCE. I guess you could call it that for, from it used to be named something else, but it’s going to take a lot of muscle memory not calling it RVics for me, the rebrand OHI is, I think it’s good, but it’ll take a little bit of time to get used to.

We’ve been coming here for a long time. We provide reservation and property management software to the, to this industry and we have clients all over North America and uh, very full functional for events and activities, point of sale. Sign Electronic Document Storage, all kinds [00:14:00] of things that we do for our customers. And uh, so I think the biggest, advantage to.

Brain Searl: Fireside demos are beginning behind us. 

Tyler Duffy: Hang on one second, we’ve got a public service announcement. 

Brain Searl: All of you who are watching at home right now, this is exactly what you’re missing. She’s announcing it right now. They’re probably giving away a million dollar prizes, so next year you better 

Tyler Duffy: Sorry sorry for the public service announcement. We’re I think the biggest thing about OHI and this convention and the advantage that it provides is just interaction with our customers.

We have so many customers here and the chance to… Meet with them, talk to them, hear about how they’re using our software, how much they like it, what suggestions they have, see what the industry’s doing, what new trends are out there, where we need to make course adjustments. Just there’s no better place to get this.

 Many [00:15:00] of our customers all in one place and be able to interact and just get that needed feedback. 

 It’s really a great opportunity to meet with customers. 

Brain Searl: Awesome. I want to go to just Alex next. I don’t want to say please feel free to stay and pop into anything you want, but I, there is an expo going on.

Tyler Duffy: If there’s no offense, but I’m going to run over to the booth and say hi to more customers.

Brain Searl: No problem, really appreciate it. Thank you so much, Tyler. Appreciate you being here. Go ahead. So Alex is the new kid on the block. Only because. Unfairly probably. Don’t dunno who you’re, that’s okay. So please introduce yourself. Tell us about the amazing things that you do. He’s probably the secret star of the show, guys.

Alex Goldman: There we go. I didn’t wanna ruin anything, but you give it away. No I’m Alex Goldman, so I’m with Bill one. So this is my third year coming, so I’m definitely not being here. Makes you feel even worse, man. I know. I’ve been crying for the first two years. No recognition. No. But it’s been good to, to meet everybody and we’ve, we already have a lot of friends in this industry.

So we actually, our company comes from. We’re about 40 years old and we started in arcades and [00:16:00] bowling and water parks and we’ve seen how those people have evolved over the years. I’m still learning about the original brands and RVIC and how it’s evolved all the way into Ojai. I do think that’s a great thing.

It shows that there’s a lot of intention. Behind, how do we continue to I guess evolve to meet what, what needs to be out there and to be more inclusive of a lot of these industries. And that’s something we’ve seen even in, in our long time, even starting with arcades, those people needed to be able to be able to say, hey, we need an arcade to do interesting things like, Redemption or Go Karts or Laser Tag.

We see a lot of that in this industry as well. People saying, hey, how can we maybe make something a little different? Or even if they don’t do that, how can we improve on what we’re doing? So it seems the conference has a lot of that in mind. So I really appreciate that. Again, I’ve only seen three years of it, but I see it getting better and better every year, 

Brain Searl: so as you exhibit here and as you is it fair to say, pivot in some ways [00:17:00] into outdoor hospitality? What do you see as your three main products that you think would most benefit ground owners and operators? 

Alex Goldman: Sure, so where we see a lot of our places where we’re coming in and where we’re really good fit are people that have water parks, or food, or a lot of activities.

A lot of people are really putting a lot of focus into cashless. Being able to put value on cards or even store credit card on a wristband, maybe automating, introducing some new technology with with being able to order from your phone. And we’ve even put a little bit more into automation even further and really making it easy to spend money.

Because that’s what it’s all about is, these people are not here to do work, they’re on vacation. So how do we make it easy for them to do things? So maybe being able to firewood delivery to their camper or s’more packages or. Making it easy once you’re in the restaurant to maybe utilize less staff through self service from your phone or just leaving your wallet in the be, how to put [00:18:00] this on a wristband and make it easy.

So that’s where we start stepping in and basically introducing a little bit more technology to make it easier. 

Brain Searl: Awesome. Thank you so much, sir. Again, feel free to stay, but let’s go to Candice next. Candice, you’ve been here forever and then you weren’t here and then you are here. 

Candice McNamara: And that’s the shade.

Brain Searl: Yes. But Staeless is back. 

Candice McNamara: Staeless is back. 

Brain Searl: They didn’t really go anywhere. 

Candice McNamara: We’ve been here the whole time. 

Brain Searl: Tell us a little bit about, same thing, but obviously introduce Staeless first. 

Candice McNamara: Yeah, absolutely. So Staeless is an all in one platform for reservation software. We also do point of sale. We have online ordering.

Use gosh, the sky’s the limit. Two way texting. Some of the really cool things that we’re debuting at the show today. So stop by our, um, is going to be return on investment call tracking. That actually has add ons. So we can actually see a loss as well as park queues. So that way, as people are calling in and those phones are ringing and ringing, you can actually do this remotely.

So those are some of the really cool features that we have. We’ll also be debuting a yield management tool for Orphan Nights. If you’re looking for that type of [00:19:00] software, we mostly work with very high or even just larger parks, or very transient parks, because we’re from the Smoky Mountains originally, out of Knoxville, Tennessee.

Stop by our booths, 208 and 309. 

Brain Searl: Alright, so same question to you. 

Candice McNamara: Yes. 

Brain Searl: How does it impact StayList? 

Candice McNamara: Yeah, so I would say the biggest impact for me, especially as being a person who started about five years ago and then stepping back into it, going to big tech, this is definitely changing environment, I would say.

Exactly what Paul was talking about, exactly what I was talking about, technology at the forefront. For the campground industry where it’s a little bit more dormant before the pandemic. So for me, the most Influential thing is being a young professional in this environment. I no longer like a professional Because everyone is in the same aspect so Having gone to, through the national schools, really understanding who RVIC formerly was and now OHI I can really resonate with the brand like the colors, I’m [00:20:00] a former, marketing and design expert, so when I really look at this, I see them as stepping into the future of really where camping is going.

And being part of that network, knowing that there’s innovators here, and knowing that there’s people that are thinking the same way that’s the most important to me is that we’re growing as an industry, not just necessarily as a vendor, or as just a property management software. 

Brain Searl: Alright, so I know some of you have been here, I know Mike’s been here attending the sessions, I think Sandy’s attended a couple as well, I’ve attended a few, maybe some of the vendors you haven’t. 

I’ve attended as many education sessions, being involved in settings like that, so I don’t want to ask about sessions in education, I just want to ask, what do you feel is the most impactful thing that has happened to you so far in Kansas? 

Take it anywhere you want. Open question.

Who wants to start? 

Candice McNamara: The yardhouse. I’ll start. Yardhouse. The restaurant. No, I’m just kidding. So as far as the biggest impact on [00:21:00] me, current state. Since being here. I think, yeah, personally, right? Personally, yeah. Something you from a education perspective, a conversation perspective, something you learned, just…

You know what I really love? And I’m totally transparent and genuine is, I love that coming from what could be a very competitive environment a lot of the property management softwares that are here, genuinely we care about each other and we’re finding the right fits. And I would say it’s probably the biggest impact to me is that we’re not necessarily just coming in and saying we want to gobble up the market.

It’s, hey, Candice here’s this company that really could use you better. And me, vice versa, is this person is very seasonal. I want to hand you off to Camp Life with Tyler. And I would say that is probably the most impactful and tried to true reasoning why I came back to the camping industry because it is almost like being at a park.

It’s a community. And that’s the most important thing. So I’d say that is the biggest impact and why I’m passionate and why I am a partner at this company. So it’s going to be hard for you vendors. 

Brain Searl: So we’re going to give you a little [00:22:00] bit more time to think about it. It could be a conversation with a customer.

It could be anything that happened on the way here. I’m going to go to Sandy first. Cause I know it’s harder and I like putting her on the spot. Sandy’s probably had 7, 500 conversations since she’s been here. Cause she just zips zips, zips everywhere she wants to go. Most impactful thing of all of that, narrow it down to one.

Sandy Ellingson: Oh, wow. The most impactful thing of the whole time has been reconnecting with some people that had gone off in different directions and then we were able to come back together and. Reconnect and talk about what we were now doing and finding that we were actually going in the same direction. it’s interesting to see how people in this industry would separate, but when you really have a heart for this industry and you’re passionate about going out, even if you’re not together, you’re still moving in the direction.

It’s like fish swimming in a string together. And so it’s been super, [00:23:00] super cool for me. I love seeing what, My background is technology. That’s what I love. Every year it’s like coming back to my family and finding out what everybody else is doing in the areas of technology and how we can help parks.

Just that reconnection and seeing how we’re all literally working towards the same goal without working together even. 

Brain Searl: That’s a pretty good answer. Anybody have one ready or teed up? Oh! 

Mike Harrison: One of the things that I’ve really enjoyed because I go to a lot of the different state RVIC shows is seeing, the micro level at a state, even though Missouri’s really large, right?

But putting it on a national scale and seeing… Crow trends is really cool. But in hosted buyer meetings yesterday I was able to actually take a park from Indiana and plug them in with Jim Button up at Evergreen in Wisconsin and say, you’re facing the same challenges that he’s already been dealing with for 20 years This resource that doesn’t cost either of them anything but will [00:24:00] probably make big an impact as any purchase they’re going to make here at the show and being able to tie those people together because I’ve been in the industry for seven years and seeing those people being able to grow and helping them to do that and it, kindness if that’s what you want to call it, but just having that general knowledge because of the individual people I’ve met on a micro level.

But being able to plug them in cross country was, has been really cool. 

Brain Searl: Awesome. Steven, you have anything? 

And if you had to set up the tent faster, that is a valid answer. Just.

Steven Woodburn: Oh gosh, we got about a three, four hours. I think we had that tent set up, which unfortunately I didn’t get to attend a lot of the vendor sessions or the the actual sessions themselves due to setting up a tent. But one thing I will echo is. There’s 21 park models here. We got Planescraft wagons, we got Conestoga wagons we got several different tent manufacturers, including ourselves. Community over competition is something that always seems to be [00:25:00] the foundation here. I’ve worked with a lot of resorts, a lot of campgrounds, a lot of everyday people that have land that’ll utilize multiple different types of units.

And we share a lot of the same customers. We’ve put a lot of tents up at resorts where you’re going to see planes craft wagons, or Conestoga wagons, or even teepees. What’s nice about the outdoor hospitality industry though is, millennials, which I’m a millennial and certainly guilty of, is, we like to experience things.

We like to experience different things. If you have a resort that has a Tent Master Safari Tent, which I highly recommend you buying one. Stop by our booth and check it out. A customer is going to come in, they’re going to stay, they’re going to open up their phone, Instagram, TikTok. They’re friends are going to come stay in it and then they want an excuse to come back.

If you have a yurt, or if you have a teepee, or you have a wagon, that gives you another excuse to come back and experience something new at the same resort, the same location, but just a completely different, unique experience every time. And from my perspective in the RV and campground industry, They’ve really picked up glamping in the past several years, especially since COVID, because it’s just such a [00:26:00] unique footprint.

It’s such a unique accommodation that really just drives that experience, and that’s what it’s all about from my perspective. Now, the show just started here a little over an hour ago, so I don’t have any really impactful moment yet. 

It’s coming, man. Hopefully it is coming, but other than that yeah, it’s just glad to be here.

Glad to be a part of another. Excellent OHCE show and really looking forward to it. 

Brain Searl: Mike, I’m interested to hear your take. Obviously, you’ve been here for the whole thing, right? 

Mike Harrison: First off, I think I want to learn to speak like him. I don’t know if it’s a Texas accent or… That’s what I said, Tennessee accent.

It’s very charming. My apologies, I didn’t introduce myself earlier. My name is Mike Harrison. I work with CRHospitality and we’re owners and operators of RV resorts and glamping and storage and car washes and hospitality assets and we do third party management services for others. And what’s the most impactful, our vision statement for our company is to evolve the [00:27:00] industry to the modern world.

That’s something that we’ve been passionate about, bringing innovation to the industry, moving it forward. We partnered with Insider Perks on, the first AI chatbot in the industry as an example of that. And why I say that, as I tie that into here, is, my first job was several years ago.

And, I’m excited because what it’s evolved to in just a few short years and how quickly You know, the industry continues to evolve, represented by the rebranding of Ojai is really amazing. And then at the same time, why does it have so far to go? I think that’s what’s really cool, is just the dichotomy of how far it still has to go.

And, as, Candice had mentioned, the networking. of the competitors, we all have a similar approach of rising tide raises all ships, whether it’s education or sharing, and yes, while we’re all competing for business, everybody’s passionate about the outdoor hospitality industry.

Helping each other, growing the industry [00:28:00] and so that’s what I think really stuck out to me is how far, it’s come in a few short years. 

Brain Searl: Yeah, and I think that’s one of, and Alex, I’ll give you a chance to answer the question in one second, but I think that’s one of the most impactful things for me, right?

Being here, flying in on Sunday night, having so many conversations with people who… There was a special new book event and takeaway tours on Monday with different kinds of educational experiences depending on what you want to learn. There was, obviously the opening party on Monday night.

Was it Monday night? Am I right? I’m so old, I forget. I feel like it was Monday night. Okay, Monday night. It was fantastic. We worked out, shot some basketball, did some really cool kinds of things at a college basketball experience, but just that and the education and the networking and a little bit of the drinking that maybe is too much of the drinking.

But all of those things, I think, add up together to create something that’s meaningful for every. Person who comes here and for that will be education and for some that will be playing basketball with somebody that they create a friendship with or a business partnership with for [00:29:00] some people that will be sitting over dinner or whatever it is, right?

And so I think that’s the most interesting and impactful thing for me is just seeing that every single person who comes here is different and takes something different away from it. But in almost every case, they get at least one meaningful thing out of it. 

Mike Harrison: It’s interesting, Brian and I’m so sorry.

I was speaking with OHI board member earlier, and I think that’s both a challenge and a win at the same time. There’s many different audiences. That this show now has to appeal to. There’s vendors, owners, operators vendors, PS tents and they all need to be inclusive, right? So how do you design content and sessions for everybody?

And I think everybody’s gonna pick something else out, right? Whether it’s the networking in the day, that bar, that’s like the best networking location we’ve ever had, right? Yeah, for sure. And so I think that’s what, Really, to your point, is what really stuck out to me is how many segments the audience has to, the content and the sessions and whatever it [00:30:00] may be has to appeal to.

Brain Searl: And now it’s your turn. Now the man, the myth, the legend, Alex. 

Alex Goldman: I don’t want to repeat what you’re saying too much, but that’s what I see as well. The friendships that you get here and, even, When it’s just company to company that you’re talking, you get an excuse to check in every now and then and say hello.

But, the opportunities to really get with a lot of these people that you haven’t seen all year and really catch up personally and professionally, it really means a lot. And then we did get to go to one session the other day. Snuck away for that one, which I will say it was a packed out session.

They had to open the doors just to get people to be able to see. It was very encouraging to see that growth there. But I can see a lot of people that are very hungry to learn and interested in. I’d be interested to be more a part of even more roundtables like that where it’s just, hey, what’s working for these people?

How have you grown? What’s been different? So I’m excited to maybe dive into that more if we have some opportunities here.

Brain Searl: I want to do a quick check. Lisa’s the brilliant cameraman [00:31:00] that’s running this fantastic show and making it all work behind here. Lisa, how many minutes have we been talking to each other?

33 minutes. Okay, we’re probably going to cut this a little bit short because I know everybody’s got to get back to booths and things like that, but I don’t want to, I want to finish up, I think, with one question. I go around the room. Is that it there? Maybe? It looks like a living room without walls and ceilings.

 Alex, if it hasn’t happened already, and if it has, What is the one thing that you feel like you need to accomplish for it to be a successful show? Anything that you wanna… 

Alex Goldman: For me, it’s all about meeting new people. And I think that’s… Everybody’s goal in some capacity or another, but I think meeting the people and having meaningful conversations and having a space to do that, again, to learn where the industry is going in the minds of the operators, because I think, especially on the software side, we can sit in a room and speculate as much as possible, but to hear the people that are the boots on the ground, they’re really In it every day [00:32:00] to be able to say these are the struggles that I’m running into and this is the thing that I need Fixed and I need help with that’s the conversations I love to have and really dive into the details to understand that because you’re not going to get a better understanding of the industry from anybody else But the operators that are in it my opinion.

Brain Searl: All right, and can we just show his boots? They’re really amazing There you go.

Alex Goldman: It’s some more tennessee for you.

Brain Searl: If you need and you don’t obviously But if you needed a reason to stop by or Mike now you have even one more there you go. There you go. 

Alex Goldman: I don’t want to hide them though. 

Brain Searl: Yeah, they would hide us.

Mike, same question to you, sir. 

Mike Harrison: Thank you. And I look at this. Sorry, I got distracted cause Aaron just walked by with a piece of tiramisu for me. So she saved it and she showed it and I, I lost complete focus. So clearly that was important. I look at it in two different lenses. I attend this show both as an attendee and as a vendor.

From, [00:33:00] and it’s an interesting perspective. From an owner operator perspective, what I’m looking to get out of the show, what’s my win, is personal fulfillment. I want to learn as much as I can. I want to make as many connections as I can. I want to leave here feeling fulfilled.

That’s why I’m in the industry. It’s what I love to do. That’s my path. And as an attendee, that is, my primary goal. As a vendor, we’re here peddling our… Third party management services. So I’d like to continue to introduce CRR Hospitality to the RV world glamping world the combo hosting glamping RV world.

We cover all those different venues. A win for us certainly would be to secure a contract. But mainly, we want to continue to, gain renown as a top operator. And um, so I think that would be for us. 

Brain Searl: Awesome. I’m going to let sandy go first and then I’ll close out the show at the end and you’ll have to deal with me. It’s definitely not the best for last. 

Sandy Ellingson: I have the same goal as I do every year. I always come and I want to make. I want to meet and make [00:34:00] 20 new friends at parks. How many are you at right now? Where I’m already past, way past. But I just want to make connections where I can make a difference in their life and their parks and give back to them.

Because I was a camper a long time before I started working in this industry. And this is my giving back season. And yeah, I came with 200 business cards and I have none. It’s been an hour ago. 

Brain Searl: It’s a good strategy, I like it. 

Sandy Ellingson: Yeah, it’s crazy. Yeah, okay, I’ll start handing out yours. 

Brain Searl: That’s this, right?

20 has been your mark. How many years have you been coming to RVIC slash OHI slash? 

Sandy Ellingson: Nine years. 

Brain Searl: Has it always been 20? 

Sandy Ellingson: I wasn’t really working. 

Brain Searl: I’m trying to figure out your goals and aspirations here, Sandy. 

Sandy Ellingson: I wasn’t. 

Brain Searl: That ceiling. 

Sandy Ellingson: I wasn’t working technically in the industry the first two years. And then the last seven, my role has changed many times. But, it is always to find people where that I can connect with and pour back into their life as well as [00:35:00] into mine. The number changes from year to year. With my workload right now, 20 is about all I can take on. But you handed out 200 business cards.

I know, but I can hand them off to other great people because a lot of them, they just need a good recommendation. They’re looking for a property management software. They’re looking for somebody to manage their park. They’re looking for a connection to a builder. And that’s what I’ve spent my life building is that list of people that will take care of my parts.

Brain Searl: So that’s fair if you come away with 20 new people help.

Sandy Ellingson: Right? 

Brain Searl: But it’s I thought you said 20 people you’re just going to meet so that’s maybe 

20 people that I can help change their life and they can change mine in exchange. 

That’s so easy though. 

Sandy Ellingson: Yeah For me, yes, it is. I know 

Brain Searl: i’m easy like I know my answer feels so 

Sandy Ellingson: I need to challenge myself more maybe.

Brain Searl: For anybody who knows Sandy, she figured out somehow how to take an Uber X from the airport with Portland and meet 20 before she got to the convention. I don’t know how it happens. So anyway. That’ll be on our performance evaluation. [00:36:00] For sure. Absolutely. So I think we’re going to wrap up the show a little bit early just because we’re doing this live show and we have the blessing of having the, two vendors here.

We’ve had some people who gave us a few minutes of their time. They’re headed back. To talk to people, and it’s just a special live episode but I think, for me, if you ask me the same question, I rarely, put myself on the spot, but I approach it the same way Mike does, from different angles so I’m here primarily to cover this as a journalist for Modern Campground, and so I am recording all the sessions, I’m sending it back to my team, and they’re writing articles about it, we’re doing, obviously, this fireside chat, and From that perspective, it’s already been a win.

We’ve already created articles. We’ve already created content. We’ve shared that with people who maybe couldn’t make it this year and will make it next year. We’ve, again, disseminated as much knowledge as possible from the expert people at the new book session and from the sessions today and all the award winners and all those kind of things, right?

And so that’s a win by default just by showing up. I think, I’m not a vendor this year, so I don’t really qualify for that. But I think that, the other hat is just the same thing that everybody else does. And I [00:37:00] feel like the reason we have you on the show, the reason we have Sandy on the show, the reason we have Alex on the show, the reason we have the guests that we do on the show is because we’ve been lucky enough to be able to identify the people here who share a similar philosophy.

And that is, we want to connect people, we want to help. We want to give back. 

Can I… I’m kidding. I appreciate that. But, 

so I think that, from that perspective… Now you made me lose my train of thought. I think I just saw Erin with a tiramisu. There’s Erin, she’s right there, she’s eating it.

No, she’s not eating it, I’m just messing with you. She’s not eating it. Serving 

others, giving back. I think that’s, ultimately what is the most impactful thing for me when I come here and I don’t know. I had something probably good I was gonna say, but I’m really good off the cuff. No, it’s fine.

I’m making it all up as I go along anyway. 

No, and so whatever that is for everybody [00:38:00] else so Maybe I succeed, maybe I don’t, but ultimately that’s how I feel fulfilled, is kindness and giving back, and, oh, we were talking about the different people that we have on the show, right? Yeah. And so those are the people that all kind of share that same philosophy, that give back to the industry, and, a rising tide lifts all ships, right?

And we, and I understand, and these people here understand, and our guests that are regularly on the show understand, that by simply giving of your time, even if you don’t end up making a transaction off of That one day you will win as a result of that, either in life… Or in business. And either way it works out, it’s a win.

That’s all I got. Any final thoughts before we go? Hear. Hear. Alright, thank you everybody for joining us for another episode of MC Fireside Chats live from the 

OHI really gonna have to get used to saying that. Live OHI! The Outdoor Hospitality Conference Expo 2023. We’re all going to the Expo now to do some shopping except for me. Maybe, can I have your credit card? Thank you. I’m going shopping! We’ll see you guys later next week in another episode of… [00:39:00] Lisa’s gonna end the show now. 

See you guys later. Outro. You gotta hit the outro. There we go. Okay.