Is your campground truly family-friendly?
By Silvana Clark
When my daughter was 12, we traveled around the country for a year in an RV, staying in a different campground every three or four days. I gave Sondra a very unusual homeschool assignment to tie in with our trip. We called it “Undercover Cop.” At each campground, she went with me to register our RV. Her job was to simply record how many staff members acknowledged her in some way, and then to create a graph showing those interactions. She was to document how friendly the staff members were to her, especially at campgrounds marketing themselves as family-friendly. The result of our highly scientific survey? One campground! Out of the 103 campgrounds we visited, only staff members at the Jellystone Yogi Bear Campground in Frankenmuth, Mich., commented on her cute headband and then asked what activities she enjoyed doing.
It’s a known fact—if children are made to feel special, parents have a positive impression about an RV park. The following are some ways to establish personal contact with young guests so they feel welcome:
- Display a large bulletin board or white board by the park entrance. Label it VIK, “Very Important Kids.” As children check in with parents, invite them to autograph the board. With a parent’s permission, take a Polaroid or digital picture of the young guests. Make sure to write their name on the back of the photo because this is a golden marketing opportunity. Several weeks after the family’s visit, mail the photo to the child with a note saying, “Thanks for staying with us at the Hidden Valley RV Park. Here’s a picture to remind you of the fun time you had. Hope to see you again!” If you feel really ambitious, mount the photo on a small calendar imprinted with the name of your campground. Parents will proudly display the calendar, creating a daily reminder of their visit.
- As children arrive, hand them an activity sheet with information about how to play “RV Park Scavenger Hunt.” Ask them to find answers to some of the following questions:
- How many sidewalk lights are there from the sidewalk to the front door?
- What does the inscription say on the wishing well by the pond?
- What is the name of our resident cat?