Meadville KOA Featured in RV Daily Report
"Family Tradition Becomes a Lifestyle for KOA Owners"
This is a reprint of the original article (with permission), which can be seen in its original form, photos, and print at:
http://rvdailyreport.com/campground/family-tradition-becomes-a-lifestyle-for-koa-owners/
By Greg Gerber
Editor, RV Daily Report
There are few people better suited to be campground managers than Robyn
and Tim Chilson, who own Meadville KOA, which is located an hour south
of Erie, Pa., and two hours east of Cleveland, Ohio.
Her vivacious,
chatty personality instantly makes people feel relaxed and welcome.
Tim’s attention to detail and ability to fix just about any problem at
the campground makes him the right guy to handle the operations side of
the business.
Meadville KOA sits on 63 acres of property and
offers 160 camping sites, 77 of which are designated for extended stay
and seasonal use. The Chilsons have four cabins, three of which they
added. Two of those are lake-front deluxe models that offer restrooms,
kitchens, two bedrooms, heat and air conditioning. They also added a
camping cabin that just has beds and a table – a perfect rustic upgrade
for tent campers who are tired of sleeping on the ground or fighting
inclement weather.
Originally known as the Brookdale Family
Campground, the property was a farm at one time, and then a fish
hatchery until it was converted to a campground in 1985.
Before
buying the campground, the Chilsons lived in eastern Pennsylvania where
Tim worked as a division accountant and office manager for a natural gas
company and Robyn as an engineering technician for a chemical company.
Desiring a career change, they thought getting into the campground
business would be more rewarding and enjoyable.
Upgrading amenities
Since
acquiring the campground in 1999, the Chilsons have completed a major
upgrade to the sewer system in 2008, at a cost of $350,000.
“Septic
is an unappreciated cost incurred by campground owners,” Tim explained.
“It’s something customers don’t readily see or think about. But the
state requires us to have a sewer plant license and testing costs are
$200 per test, which is conducted bi-monthly.”
Prior to that, in
2002 they added 11 pull-through, 50-amp sites to their already existing
sites that are 45 to 50 feet wide. In 2013, the Chilsons installed new
transformers and pedestals to bring 50-amp service to 10 seasonal
campsites at a cost of $1,000 per site. Last summer, they finished
installing satellite TV to 123 full-hookup sites, which was another
large investment.
“We laid about 10,500 feet of cable throughout
the campground to deliver a high-quality signal,” said Tim. “Every site
has its own drop so the signal doesn’t degrade.”
“The first day we
flipped the switch on the TV system, we saw a big spike in usage,” he
added. “It’s not your father’s camping experience any more. People want
more luxury in their RVs. Cable TV was one of the most requested
amenities when people called to book a site.”
Four years ago,
wireless Internet access was added to the campground, and an upgrade to a
better version of Checkbox was completed last year too. That’s a good
thing, because the campground is situated in an areas where it is
difficult to get strong cell phone signals on the property, especially
after Verizon rotated the tower equipment just a few degrees a few of
years ago, and they lost almost all Verizon service at their campground.
“We’ve seen demand for wireless increase year after year,” Tim
explained. “Children are bringing more toys that connect to the
Internet, and parents want to check e-mail or keep up with their
Facebook friends. So, last year, we upgraded to the highest level of
high-speed service offered by our cable company. The investment pays off
in customer satisfaction with guests connecting at download speeds of
15 mbs and higher.”
The Chilsons live in a home located in an
obscure part of the park, but close enough for them to promptly return
to the campground to handle any situations that may arise.
“We
don’t generally have a problem with our guests,” said Robyn. “We have
developed a reputation as a family campground. On occasion, we do get a
late arrival or camper off the road, and we come back to the campground
to meet them and escort them to their campsite.”
Plenty of fun
There
is plenty to keep kids busy throughout the park. There is a soccer
field and basketball court, as well as three separate playgrounds and a
place for volleyball games. Guests can also engage in catch-and-release
fishing in any of the six “ponds” on site.
The campground sponsors
a fishing tournament July 4 weekend. In addition, on other designated
weekends, several catfish are tagged with a special zip tie, and whoever
catches one wins a prize bag containing $10 worth of lures and fishing
supplies. Kids and adults who catch their first fish, or a large fish,
can have their photos posted on a bulletin board in the lodge and on the
campground website by e-mailing the photo to the campground through
their website.
For those folks who want to swim, Meadville KOA
offers a nice pool with solar heated water. The filtered water runs from
the pump house to the pool through a series of black plastic tubes
coiled along the pool’s fence that faces the sun. As the water
circulates through the tubes, the free solar energy warms the water,
which can get up to 80 degrees.
Sandbox diggers are a big hit with
smaller children because they can scoop up sand and create big piles —
just like construction workers. Their new wooden playground and retro
swings are popular with kids too.
A large multi-purpose room in the
recreation hall serves as a bingo facility and for meals. A large game
room allows people to earn tickets for prizes that can be redeemed for
toys and win items like ice cream and large stuffed animals.
Rental Amenities
Meadville
KOA offers paddle boats and pedal karts rentals for 30 minutes of use,
plus mini golf at the “Nuttin’ But Puttin” course.
Guests can
purchase wristbands to get all-day or all stay up to a week access to
the rental amenities which includes the paddle boats, pedal karts, mini
golf, and a large jumping pillow on weekends. The fee helps cover the
costs to maintain the equipment and pay for items like helmets and life
preservers.
“I love that kids can get fresh air and exercise when
they come here,” said Robyn. ”After the kids have played hard all day,
by evening we’ve worn them out and they’re content to sit around the
campfire, eat a s’more, and crash for the night.”
Attention To Customer Service
The
Meadville KOA has a wide selection of food products available in the
camp store, and gets weekly and in some cases bi-weekly deliveries to
resupply the shelves. The list of items carried has expanded over the
years as campers requested items they didn’t routinely carry.
“Shopping
in the store saves people a seven-mile trip into town and seven miles
back just to get milk, bread, or something for dinner,” she added. “We
serve as both a camp store for the campground and a local convenience
store for the local rural community.”
The Chilsons also added
consignment RV sales to their list of services offered. The units are
displayed along part of the campground’s highway frontage. The couple
advertises and shows the RVs for owners in exchange for a percentage of
the price. It’s a great way to entice tent campers into the RV
lifestyle, and provides an additional valuable service to campers, Robyn
explained.
Unauthorized vehicle access to the park is kept to a
minimum with an electric gate that requires a gate card to open. The
gate also helps slow down traffic by preventing vehicles from pulling
off the highway and speeding into the campground, and it provides a
level of security for the campers.
The Chilsons, or one of their staff members, escorts each camper to their campsite after arrival and check-in. “We want to ensure that our camper gets on the site that they desire,
and are happy with that site, whether that means they want more shade,
less shade, closer to a playground, etc,” Tim said. “It gives us an
opportunity to make that personal contact and make sure the camper is
satisfied with their site and move them to a site that better meets
their expectation, if for some reason the initial site doesn’t.”
People
who make frequent trips to the campground can pay $1 per day for
storage when their RVs are not in use. The staff will pull the rigs back
onto a campsite before the families arrive, and move it back to the
storage area after they check out.
“Pets are one of the biggest
blessings and biggest problems for Meadville KOA and most campgrounds,”
said Robyn, who noted that many families want to bring their pets with
them when they’re vacationing. But, barking dogs and owners not cleaning
up after their pets are the most frequent complaints they hear.
“When our staff visits a site after check out to clean the fire rings,
they are also looking for and removing any animal waste left behind,”
Tim explained.
The camp staff not only mows and trims the
overnight sites, they also mow and trim the seasonal sites to ensure a
more uniform appearance for the campground. Seasonal campers have very
neat, clean, and well maintained campsites personalized with
decorations, flowers, and other plantings.
“It’s an aesthetic
thing. We do the mowing during the week when we’re not so busy so that
people don’t have to listen to a neighbor mowing the grass on a Saturday
morning,” said Tim. “In addition, it’s a premium level of service we
supply that no other campground in Western Pennsylvania does. It’s a
level of customer service that sets us apart from other campgrounds. We
believe that our level of customer service, and getting to know our
campers personally, and them knowing us, is some of the reasons that our
repeat campers and friend referral numbers are so high.”
Why KOA?
When
looking for a campground, the Chilsons were active KOA campers
themselves. They had hoped to buy a KOA, but the one they were looking
at sold before they could sell their home. They were forced to pass on
that campground. However, the Brookdale Family Campground soon became
available and they acquired it instead.
For 10 years, they ran the
facility pretty much like the previous owners had until a KOA
representative approached them in late 2010.
“We already had a
good reputation, and we really didn’t want to give up our logo and the
brand we had worked so hard to develop, but I promised the rep we would
look at the information,” Robyn explained. “After reviewing it, we
couldn’t say no to national advertising at a level no other franchise
delivers, the KOA reservations system, guest reviews system and quality
programs, and the opportunity to get more travelers, especially
overnight guests.”
In 2014, the Chilsons achieved their first KOA
Founder’s Award, which is based on quality inspector’s marks and guest
reviews from their camping customers. It is KOA’s highest quality award,
and Meadville KOA has been a President’s Award winning park since
joining the KOA system in 2011.
The Many Hats Campground Owners Wear
One
of the things most campers don’t realize about owning a campground is
the amount of training and licenses required to operate a public camping
facility, which of course, varies by state. For example, in
Pennsylvania, campgrounds must study and take a pesticide application
test to become licensed to operate a public swimming pool. The license
holder must also maintain continuing education credit hours, which Tim
does when they attend conventions for their state each fall. In addition
to the pool license, they are required to have a sewer license, sport
fishing license, propane distribution license, food handler’s license,
and a license to sell dairy products in the store.
Tim served on
the Pennsylvania Campground Owner’s Board of Directors for five years.
The Chilsons have attended KOA University, the ARVC School of Campground
Management Graduate Class, and both achieved their initial certified
park owner credentials from the National Association of RV Parks and
Campground. All of these programs have been instrumental in them running
a successful campground, they noted.
Despite the extra work it entails, the Chilsons say they won’t trade the campground lifestyle for any other job.
“We’re fortunate and have been blessed to meet a ton of great
families,” said Robyn. “We get to have fun with their kids and introduce
them to wacky activities they aren’t likely to enjoy anywhere else,
like free crafts, candy bar BINGO, panning for gold, water barrel
battles with the local volunteer fire company, cardboard and duct tape
boat races.”
“We have kids who are in college now who have been
camping here since they were 3 or 4 years old,” she added. “And one of
our seasonal campers and a student employee who fished with his parents
and grandparents in our ponds has brought his kids here to enjoy the
same experience.”
The Chilsons not only serve RVers, they love to go
RVing in their Laredo travel trailer, which they often take to the KOA
and ARVC conventions. Robyn and Tim, who have been married for 34 years
this summer, have two sons who were 12 and 16 when they moved to the
campground.
“We had camped with our own kids for years before we
considered buying a campground,” Tim added. “Camping is a great
investment parents can make with their kids.”
Tim Chilson added,
“Owning a campground is a nice, fun way to make a living while providing
a valuable service. Our children learned a lot working here during
their high school and college years.”
Their oldest son, Michael,
now lives and works for an engineering company as a CAD designer in the
Pittsburgh area, and runs a DJ service. He is still a DJ at Meadville
KOA events on the holiday weekends, which he started doing as teenager
while in high school. Their youngest son, Anthony, lives and works in
eastern Pennsylvania as a social worker, and volunteers each summer at
the county’s summer youth camp for at-risk kids in the social services
system.
For more information, call 814.789.3251 or visit www.meadvillekoa.com.
