I am on my way home from Savannah, GA where the National Association of Campground Owners and RV Parks (ARVC) held their annual Outdoor Hospitality Expo. It was an interesting experience. This is the second conference on the National level that I have attended, the previous one was in Orlando, FL in 2006. So it has been a while since I have attended - wonder why? The 2006 Conference cost Sandy and I about $3000 - which to put in bluntly is a heck of a lot of money for us to spend on a conference. This recent conference will be covered, in large part, by our Owner's Association as I am now the Chairman of the Board and this is one of my responsibilities to represent our state at these functions. Sandy and the boys did not attend, but spent the week seeing the sights and historical items in the area - good for school and more fun for Sandy than attending the conference.
The conference this year had some controversy and was full of hoopla and "new news". The controversy was kept to a minimum which was a benefit to ARVC and was not discussed much in public view. Of course, New York was one of the topics and we are now the "bad boys" of ARVC as we have recently voted as a Board to Disaffiliate from the National Association. Many wonder why we did this and I will tell you that it was a hard, arduous decision that left many on the Board feeling sad or angry. Why did NY disaffiliate? Many think it was the inclusion and active pursuit of Public Parks, or the discounts that National wants to give multi park owners and the Franchisees of large corporations (IE. KOA and Yogi). While these issues were the "straw that broke the camel's back" they were not the ONLY reasons. For years we have been watching ARVC become less and less concerned with state associations and their members and become more interested in .......well I am not sure what. ARVC has seemed to wander and exist, but really not do too much. The educational programs are very good and have continued to be good, but have not been expanded or re-energized. We are a large National Association and yet the primary education program is a one week very intense school in Ogle Bay, WV in February. What about webinars? What about other types of ARVC sponsored educations activities at different times of the year?
The ARVC office moved from Virginia to Colorado 2-3 years ago and the original intent, I believe, was to set up an educational center in conjunction with the office so that classes and education could continue on a more year round basis, but very little preparation was done and much time was lost pursuing bad locations and even worse buildings....so it became much ado about nothing.
Well, here we are in Savannah and the big announcements are flying...ARVC is going to save campground owners lots of money with new Membership Programs. I hate to be the Paranoid member, but the new Licensing Agreement gives me concern. It is a one year program that will significantly discount the licensing that is required of anyone that plays music at their business. Many campground owners choose not to purchase the licensing because of the cost for what amounts to three activities....the cost is about $400 per event added to the cost of the DJ/Band which for smaller parks can be a cost prohibitive expense. The new program that ARVC is rolling out will only cost approximately $495 for the whole year for the mid size park, and I am sure that everyone will want to jump on the bandwagon, but the deal is only a one year deal. What happens in year two if the licensing agencies decide they do not want to renew this "good deal"? Now they will have a large database of campgrounds that have admitted they provide musical entertainment and if they do not purchase the licenses and the non discounted rate they will be subject to the full force of the law. From the licensing agency this really is a great deal....discount for one year to get the list, then come back the second year with a full whammy on the parks. I certainly hope that ARVC is working to prevent this from happening....if not, it will destroy the Association because they will become the scapegoat if this all falls apart.
The conference was well attended and while there were a number of other glitches, classes cut short by scheduling snafu's, instructors having to go to the hospital, a bit of disorganization at the registration desk, and some instructors not really prepared for their classes...it was still a good event and one I would recommend to any campground owner that can afford it.
More to come.......
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