For several weeks we’ve been on the road looking for our next RV Park Website client. It’s tougher than you think to find clients. Many of the smaller parks out there are quite dialed into how their guests are finding them. And those parks that are aware of technology’s impact on their business have already gotten with the times and updated their sites.
A park that “got it.”
Traveling back from Southeastern Arizona a few days ago we stopped in Gila Bend, just to break up our driving day. We pulled into Augie’s Quail Trail RV park after finding them on AllStays.com, and seeing that their site was actually mobile ready.
Registering at the park office we struck up a conversation with the park manager regarding their website. She said to us, “We actually updated the site just a few months ago. You wouldn’t believe how many customers pointed out to us that our website didn’t work on their phones or tablets.”
Amazing! The park manager and park owner sat down and looked at their website and realized it was extremely dated, and not representative of their park. Sorry to say we hadn’t contacted them yet regarding a re-design, so another company got their business. Our bad.
Gila Bend isn’t really a destination town. It’s between Tucson and Yuma on I-8. It’s north of Ajo and Organ Pipe National Monument. There isn’t a real grocery store in town. Many gas stations, a drive through liquor store, and little else. Yet the need for a mobile Internet presence was obvious to the park owners and managers. Nice!
A park that didn’t get it
Sadly, we missed out on a park that we really wanted to help while we were traveling the Chiricahua area. A Rodeo New Mexico park was on our radar screen due to their proximity to not only the Coronado National Forest, but also to Chiricahua National Monument.
The park is awesome! Close to the mountains, about a 10 minute drive into the National Forest. It has giant RV sites with huge patio areas for each site. There’s an above ground hot tub / pool, a great clubhouse, and a fantastic owner. A lot has been invested in the park to be sure. But the website is back in the 90’s, doesn’t work on mobile devices, and when you search for Chiricahua parks it doesn’t show up at all.
In my mind working with this park was a sure thing. Unfortunately the owner of the park is currently wrapped up in more improvements to the park. So more money is being spent on the park, but not on getting it found. While we were there a new log pole park sign (ranch style) was being erected at the entrance. Sadly, the road has very little traffic on it other than local traffic, so it’s a questionable investment. Very few people are going to randomly stumble across the park.
Interestingly enough, the owner repeated to us that she needed to get the park found. We explained that an improved website could help with getting found, but it didn’t really register. Physical improvements to the park are great for guests, but without telling us where you are and what you offer those improvements will only be enjoyed by a handful of people.
So it wasn’t a sure thing. And I certainly hope that the park “gets found,” as it’s a gem. The one final thought I have on this? The owner admitted to not really using the Internet, and that can account for a lot of hesitation. “If my current website doesn’t bring me traffic, why would a new one be any different?”