As another year draws to a close for the outdoor hospitality industry, key individuals from the sector will take a look back at recent events and discuss where the industry is headed on next week’s episode of MC Fireside Chats.
The November 2, 2022 episode is set to feature recurring guests: Intrepid Group CEO and Founder Randy Hendrickson, Horizon Outdoor Hospitality CEO Scott Foos, Campspot’s Vice President of Business Development Casey Cochran, Campground Views Founder and CEO Mark Koep, Camping Dreams Co-Founder Ivar Mensink, and RV industry advisor Sandy Ellingson.
Viewers can tune in next week to gain in-depth insight into the shifts in the industry as it tackles emerging challenges and adapts to new technologies and trends.
Next week’s episode of MC Fireside Chats will be sponsored by Fireside Accounting, an end-to-end accounting services provider that provides bookkeeping to campgrounds, RV parks, and RV resorts.
Fireside Accounting allows business owners to focus on developing their business and not on data entry. Through their detailed knowledge of outdoor hospitality operations and accounting best practices, the team at Fireside Accounting has developed a comprehensive set of services for all accounting needs.
October 26 Episode Recap
In this week’s episode of MC Fireside Chats, experts from the RV industry including recurring guest Eleanore Hamm, President of RVDA of Canada and special guest Larry Troutt III, Owner and General Manager of Topper’s RVs discussed the changes in the sector from a dealer’s perspective.
They were also joined by fellow special guest David Basler, Senior Vice President of Membership and Marketing of the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC) who was invited to discuss what people can expect from the upcoming Outdoor Hospitality Conference & Expo 2022 (OHCE2022) happening from November 7 to 10, 2022 in Orlando, Florida.
The discussion was kicked off by the importance of new demographics coming into the industry and how they help develop new ideas and foster new perspectives while allowing the industry to keep up with the times.
When it comes to RV dealerships, Trout said that dealers should approach sales with a helpful mindset, be fully involved in customer service, and assist consumers in purchasing what they need while keeping them interested in RVing and camping.
Trout noted that keeping up with shifting business paradigms has helped him with business, utilizing numbers to be more efficient with inventory as well as tapping into key trends to understand consumer interests and demand.
When it came to prevalent trends, Trout identified that demand for electric vehicles (EVs) is increasing, with the RV industry able to forecast the change even before it arrived.
According to Basler, the OHCE2022 will have two panel discussions on EVs. These panel discussions intend to take a look at how campgrounds should address the future of the RV industry with new technologies like EVs. They will also be launching an EV toolkit for campgrounds to help them prepare for the rise of EVs.
When asked about how the ARVC determines what topics the convention should touch up on, he said that it is a collective effort to determine discussion topics, speakers, and activities based on prevalent trends and industry insights they have gathered over the past year.
Hamm noted preparing a convention is a year-long process to keep it fresh, and that RVDA has a dedicated convention committee gathering feedback to determine topics that should be included in the next convention.
About MC Fireside Chats
MC Fireside Chats is a weekly show devoted to the outdoor hospitality industry. The show is hosted by Brian Searl, the founder and CEO of Insider Perks and Modern Campground, and Cara Csizmadia, member services coordinator at the Canadian Camping & RV Council (CCRVC).
Airing live every Wednesday at 2 p.m. (ET), MC Fireside Chats features guests from the camping and RV industry who share their take on the current state of the camping, glamping, and RVing sectors as well as upcoming innovations in RV parks, campgrounds, outdoor resorts, glamping, and the RV industry.
To listen to previous episodes of MC Fireside Chats, visit: https://moderncampground.com/mc-fireside-chats/.