Over 52 million North American households are participating in outdoor hospitality, driving an estimated $66 billion economic footprint, according to KOA‘s North American Camping & Outdoor Hospitality Report.
However, as industry growth normalizes, campground owners face rising operational expenses, tight labor markets, and compressed profit margins. Operators can no longer rely solely on site night fees; maintaining profitability requires maximizing operational efficiency and capturing high-margin ancillary revenue.
At the same time, findings from OHI’s 2026 Industry Outlook Report indicate that modern campers increasingly prioritize unique, local experiences over standard site amenities. For campground owners, the central challenge is adopting automation and expanding guest offerings without adding labor overhead or sacrificing the authentic hospitality that drives repeat bookings.
Document Processes Before Implementing Automation Technology
To effectively streamline operations or automate administrative tasks, campground management must first translate institutional knowledge into written standard operating procedures. Many family-owned and independent outdoor hospitality properties rely on unwritten routines passed down verbally. This creates operational bottlenecks and makes it difficult for automated systems—or new hires—to execute tasks reliably.
“The biggest advice I give operators in our space specifically is even though there’s all this technology and AI, the biggest thing you need to do in order to leverage that technology is to write down your processes,” said Francois Gouelo, CEO and co-founder of Enso Connect. “A lot of times these businesses are family-run, so you kinda just know ’cause you’ve been doing it for so long… but you don’t really have it written out anywhere. And so it becomes really hard to adopt different AI systems.”
Gouelo emphasized that once internal procedures are documented, operators can leverage automated communication to handle routine guest inquiries and manage review collection without increasing staff workload. By using automated workflows to filter guest sentiment, operators can request public online reviews from satisfied guests while routing negative feedback to internal management — protecting their online reputation while saving labor hours.
Unlock High-Margin Revenue Through Curated Local Experiences
While transient guests often evaluate parks based on on-site amenities, seasonal and long-term campers continuously look for off-property activities. Rather than taking on the administrative burden of operating an in-house concierge desk, park owners can integrate third-party platforms that curate local tours, rentals, and outdoor excursions under a revenue-sharing model.
“People are picking their destinations based on experiences,” explained Sam Jankovich, CEO of GuideTime. “Instead of having some big massive marketplace with all these things, working with the local campsite or RV site on what’s unique and different in my area… creates those memories and a memory destination versus just going out and saying, ‘I’m gonna book a campsite.'”
Jankovich noted that embedding a curated selection of 25 to 30 local experiences directly into a park’s digital booking journey turns guest activity planning into a turnkey revenue driver.
Buy Back Operational Time to Focus on On-Site Guest Retention
For operators balancing front-desk duties, grounds maintenance, and retail operations, technology serves primarily as a tool to recover staff hours. Implementing automated check-in gates, digital agreement signatures, and automated messaging during the off-season reduces summer administrative bottlenecks, allowing staff to focus on high-impact guest touchpoints.
“Everything that we look at for AI… is solely to buy us more time, whether it’s time off or time to do other jobs or less staffing,” said Sarah Krause, CCO at C&D Hospitality Wisconsin and founder of Campground Manpower. “It is a world where it is very difficult to fully staff your campground, too. So that’s where we focus… to get whether more time off or more time to do the things we wanna do as far as business goes.”
Krause highlighted that strong guest engagement remains the primary driver of repeat occupancy. At her properties, over 70% of new bookings originate directly from social media channels rather than online travel agencies (OTAs). Streamlining routine administrative duties through self-service technology allows operators to reallocate time toward direct marketing and guest retention strategies that protect net yield.
The full episode of this MC Fireside Chats broadcast is available at https://moderncampground.com/fireside-chats/mc-fireside-chats-july-29th-2026/.
About MC Fireside Chats
MC Fireside Chats is a live podcast experience dedicated to the outdoor hospitality and outdoor recreation industries. Hosted by Brian Searl, founder and CEO of Insider Perks and Modern Campground, the show offers engaging discussions with industry leaders, innovators, and experts shaping the future of camping, RVing, glamping, and outdoor recreation.
Airing every Wednesday at 2 p.m. (ET), the show follows a structured weekly theme to deliver deep dives into the most relevant topics:
- Week 1: Industry Trends & Insights
- Week 2: Enhancing Guest Experience
- Week 3: Business Operations & Management
- Week 4: Marketing, AI, and Technology
Each episode features a panel of recurring guests, complemented by 1–2 rotating special guests, including industry analysts, campground owners, technology providers, sustainability advocates, and more. Whether exploring the latest market trends or innovative guest experience strategies, MC Fireside Chats delivers thought-provoking insights for professionals and enthusiasts across the outdoor recreation spectrum.
To explore previous episodes of MC Fireside Chats, visit: moderncampground.com/mc-fireside-chats.