Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Happy New Year! It's RV Show Season!

RV Shows are a great place to begin your search for local reputable RV dealers.  They are generally scheduled for January and February in the Northeastern US when dealerships are slowest.

RV Shows provide you the opportunity to see newest models and talk to dealerships that you may not have heard of, and reduce your expenses and time by not having to drive to many different dealerships.  As a customer you can see and compare prices, brands, layouts, and more with one stop shopping.  There is always a huge range of quality & prices.  So when comparing units, make sure you’re comparing the prices of like models of differing brands.  One RV may look like another one, but you need to compare the options, construction, equipment, and features they both have to offer. See who offers the best deal but remember if the dealer isn’t reputable or isn’t equipped to work on the RV, or is located too far away to conveniently return the RV for service, your purchase may not turn out to be the best deal.  Don’t be afraid to talk with other RVers at the show. Many of these people have years of RV experience and knowledge of different products and dealerships.  Most will be honest and tell you when and where they’ve gotten the best deals & service.

We talk to dozens of RV owners each year.  One of the biggest complaints we hear is that campers bought their RV from one of those big “discount dealers” that is 4-5 hours drive away, have trouble with it, and it’s a pain to take it back to the big discount dealership, and the local dealerships don’t want to work on it.  If you think about it, you can kind of understand their position.  after all, you didn’t buy it from them, and them doing the work and getting the refund from the factory is very time consuming to their business.  Time is money.  That time also means time that they are taking away from serving the customers who did buy from them.  Who can blame them?  If you were their buying customer, you wouldn’t want to stand in line behind a repair for a non-customer, would you?  There you have it.  So, keep that in mind, these small business owners can’t compete with these “Wal-Marts” of the RV industry on price because they can’t buy the volume of RVs those mega discount RV dealers can.  But, those big discount RV Dealerships can’t and don’t offer you that home town connection, service, and responsiveness that your local RV Dealer can.  And remember, you're not just buying an RV.  When you buy from a local dealer, you're supporting a neighbor and all of his employee's families!  

Buying an RV from a local reputable dealer insures you the best possible service, convenience, and shortest distance to travel for maintenance, repairs, & warranty work.  It is always a good idea to visit the dealership’s physical location before you buy, check out their service department, service hours, etc.  In addition, many RV dealers offer show discounts and sometimes manufacturer rebates are available.  So not only do you save money with the one stop shopping, but there are huge savings in the purchase prices!  Show specials also sometimes include discounts or coupons from campgrounds.  So, your new RV sometimes comes with savings to use it, too!

For more information about local RV Dealers who have partnered with campgrounds in Western PA who offer $800.00 in free Camping with the purchase of a new RV from those dealerships in a Very Special Camper (VSC) Discount Offer, visit our website at:  http://meadvillekoa.com/discounts/

RV shows aren’t just for RV dealers to showcase new and used RVs.  RV shows offer a wealth of information on the whole RVing industry.  Most campgrounds & RV resorts are slow or closed for the winter.  RV shows allow campgrounds to showcase new activities, special events, new amenities & extended stay (aka seasonal camping) availability to potential campers.  Make sure you stop by their booths and find new places to explore and exciting things to do with your family this summer!

You can also find information for aftermarket RV products, RV accessories, RVing insurance, Camping or RVing Clubs, Discount Clubs, pick up brochures, camping directories for your state and other states, or the free KOA directory for the whole USA and Canada, and more!

You don’t even have to own an RV to enjoy camping or go to the RV Shows!  Even if you don’t intend to buy an RV, you can learn about cabin camping or pick up information about campgrounds for tent camping!

Many people think of camping as ‘roughing it” with a tent, the ground, the rain, and a less than pleasurable “vacation”.  This is no longer the case.  For about the price of a hotel room, most campgrounds are now supplying cabins.  Prices vary by campground and the amenities offered.  Camping cabins are generally the least expensive.  They are generally one room with beds and a table.  Cottage Cabins may offer kitchenettes, or a few more amenities, and deluxe cabins are lodges with deluxe facilities like suits with multiple bedrooms, full kitchens, and bathrooms.  So, there is no requirement to own an RV to have a family fun camping vacation!  You can enjoy the luxury of RVing with a camping vacation in a cabin and not miss any of the campground recreation programs and planned activities!

Why not pack up the family for a fun winter-day activity and attend one of the local RV shows in your area.  Invite a friend to come along, and enjoy a day of looking forward to a summer camping season filled with friends & fun at these RV Shows:

Cleveland, Ohio RV Super Show, January 6 – 10, at the I-X Center, Cleveland, OH.  Show Hours: Wed. – Fri. Noon to 9 pm, Sat. 10 am to 10 pm, and Sunday 10 am to 6 pm.  Ticket Pricing: Admission is $12.50/person.  Two Day pass $20.00.  Children 12 & under are free.  Parking is $10.00.  Discount coupons for admission available on their website at: http://www.ohiorvshow.com/!

Pittsburgh RV Show January 09 - 17  At David Lawrence Convention
Center, Pittsburgh, PA!  Show Hours: Saturdays: 10 am - 9 pm, Sundays: 10 am - 5 pm, Monday through Friday: 4 pm - 9 pm.  Ticket Pricing: $10.00 for Adults, $9.00 Senior (55+), $5.00 Children 6-16.  Monday and Tuesday are BOGO nights!  Buy one adult ticket and get one free! No other discounts accepted with that discount!  One dollar off Discount Coupons available online at: http://www.pittrvshow.com/!

Erie RV Show Feb 11 - 14 At the Bayfront Convention Center, Erie, PA!  Show Hours: Thursday 2 pm to 8 pm, Friday Noon to 8 pm, Saturday 10 am to 7pm, and Sunday 11 am to 5 pm. General Admission: Adults $6.00, Children 10 & Under Free, and FREE PARKING!  More info online at: http://www.eriepromotions.com/RV/eri/default.aspx

We invite you to attend any and all of these RV Shows!  Stop by the KOA Kampgrounds booth and pick up some brochures, a KOA directory and a KOA bag!  Tell folks in the booth that you received your invitation to the RV Show from Meadville KOA Campground!  We hope to see you there!

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

2015 Awards & Planning Your Camping Summer

We were honored to have Meadville KOA awarded “Best Website in Pennsylvania” by the Pennsylvania Campground Owner’s Association (PCOA) at their 2015 annual convention in State College.  We launched this new website in the spring of 2014.  Our new website has paid off big for us, by focusing on better serving you, our campers.  From its security of your personal information, to providing more photos of our campground facilities and fun, virtual tours of our cabin facilities, and online reservations capabilities, it provides our campers with a “what you see, is what you get” view of Meadville KOA and real-time reservations capabilities.  We thank all of our campers for your positive feedback about our website, and encourage you to continue to let us know what changes we need to make so that camping with us continues to improve for you!  Please be sure you check it out by visiting it at: https://meadvillekoa.com/.  And while you’re there, please sign up to receive our monthly email newsletter for information about upcoming weekends, special offers, and more! 

We invite you to join us on social media!  Meadville KOA is on Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, You Tube, Pinterest, and Instagram as MeadvilleKOA.  Please join the conversations about camping, cooking, recipes, RV Maintenance, and camping tips!  All of those links are on the top right hand corner of our website’s home page! Please join us!  We look forward to talking to you!  

We hope that you have already heard the news that we were also awarded the 2016 KOA Founder's & President’s Awards by Kampgrounds of America Inc., which is given only to those KOA Campgrounds that attained the very top scores in both customer service and the KOA quality review.  We want to take this opportunity to thank you for your patronage and continued top ratings for our staff and camping facilities.  We were very blessed to have such an excellent staff this summer and to serve so many wonderful camping families.  We sincerely thank you.

We’d also like to remind our campers that while you’re with your families this holiday season, that it’s the perfect time to not only share memories from this camping season but to also begin planning your summer camping adventures for summer 2016! 

You can see our all new 2016 themed event weekend schedule at:  https://meadvillekoa.com/themed-weekends/.  We hope you’ll check out our 2015 memories slide show, and some of our new family-friendly events being offered, like our annual car show with a “new” Vintage RV Rally added, “S’more Fun Weekend”, “Arts and Doodles Weekend”, or “Duck Dynasty Weekend”, it’s sure to be fun filled family camping at its finest!  And of course, we kept our old favorites like “Death by Chocolate Weekend,” “Jungle Terry,” “Wet & Wacky Weekend,” and more!  We sincerely hope that your camping plans will include Meadville KOA and at least one of these fun-filled family event weekends! 

We will begin accepting reservations for the 2016 camping season January 4, 2016.  As always, our offices will be closed while we attend RV Shows in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Erie, and Butler.  If you call us to reserve a site or cabin, and we don’t call you right back, please be patient, as we’ll call you back as soon as possible.  Please leave us your name and phone number, and the best time to reach you, and we’ll call you back in the order we received your call.  Or, you can make a reservation online, and place your requested site number in the comments section of the online reservation.  We’ll assign you that site if it is available.  If it is not, we’ll contact you for your next available choice.       

Until we see you at the RV Shows in January and February, we wish you and your families a very happy and healthy holiday season!