Why put off until tomorrow what can be done today? Well, any campground operator will tell you there are many reasons why their to-do list can run on into the future—whether they like it or not. From optimizing the guest experience to staff management, to physical maintenance and unexpected interruptions, it’s very difficult to be 100% productive 100% of the time. With the right tools in your belt, though, you can start the year running. In this post, we review productivity tips and smart features designed to help you maximize your time and results.

1. Don’t Delay, Delegate! 

When in a leadership position, it is easy to get too comfortable shouldering too many responsibilities. You may think you are the only person who can effectively accomplish the tasks at hand. However, spending a little extra time up front to train others can save you dividends in the long run. 

Make a list of your daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly duties. Then, decide which can be easily delegated or can be taught and delegated over time. 

2. Tackle Your Big Rocks First

Popularized by Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, following the “Big Rocks” concept is tried and true advice for prioritizing your to-do list. 

Imagine a pile of large rocks, a pile of pebbles, a bowl of sand, and a mason jar in front of you. Your goal is to fill the mason jar with these objects while maximizing the jar’s fixed space. If you pour the sand in first—meant to symbolize your easy-to-accomplish but more trivial tasks—then you immediately occupy a large portion of the jar. The rocks then sit firmly on top of the sand and overflow from the jar.   

If instead you pour the big rocks in first—meant to symbolize your more energy-consuming, yet absolutely essential responsibilities—followed by the pebbles, the sand is then able to seamlessly fill all the crevices between the large and small rocks. Because the sand is flexible, the jar is now perfectly full and your job is done. 

While it’s often more tempting to start with the quicker highly-visible tasks, accomplishing these first leaves you with less mental capacity and time by the end of the week to accomplish the nagging larger jobs that you really needed to get done. This year, tackle your big rocks first and you can’t go wrong.

3. Eliminate Unnecessary Calls

There are many appropriate cases for communicating with an incoming guest or prospective customer on the phone. Without phone call access and the assurance it brings, certain guests wouldn’t feel comfortable enough to vacation at your property. Perhaps the caller has a unique circumstance or specific question that cannot be answered by your website’s FAQ page. Internal calls between team members are equally critical to your smooth operations. 

All that said, there are still many unnecessary phone calls taking place throughout the outdoor hospitality industry, and we want to spare you. Campspot allows guests to easily edit or cancel their booked reservations online, saving your staff the time consuming process of discussing every cancellation scenario over the phone. 

In fact, Campspot’s ability to take online cancellations saved campground staff a whopping 282 hours of phone time in 2024 alone. Campspot makes the rebooking process straightforward, flexible, and accessible online, you’re more likely to retain your customer while driving their satisfaction.

4. Stop Playing Tetris

Okay, we don’t actually mind if you like the game Tetris. However, we don’t want you to play Tetris with your campground’s reservation grid because there’s a much better option. Campspot was engineered with smart reservation grid optimization at its core. The software will automatically rearrange your reservation grid for you to maximize reservations and honor locked site requests. 

If you’re worried about missed reservation opportunities, don’t be. Campspot mimics the logic and experience of a trained reservationist to ensure only the best grid decisions are made for your guests and your bottom line. 

5. Digitize The Check-In Process 

In addition to being the year of avoiding unnecessary phone calls, 2025 is the year of streamlined guest check-ins. Avoid the front desk lineup and inconvenience of physically checking in every camper. Campspot makes online check-in for you and your guests a breeze. 

Campers can check-in upon arrival and e-sign your necessary documents, while their data is securely collected and stored. In 2024, 525,000 mobile check-ins and 1.9 million electronic signatures were successfully processed through Campspot. 

6. Advertise Add-Ons with Less Effort

Is 2025 the year you decide to maximize your ancillary income and rent hammocks? Do you partner with a nearby canoe livery, or have your own kayaks available for guests? There’s an even better way to sell these add-ons to guests. 

Within Campspot’s booking workflow, add-on purchases are conveniently and attractively displayed for guests to reserve ahead of time. This positioning leads to higher conversions of add-ons and advanced notice for your team. You can even sell add-ons with quantity in advance to free up your camp store staff’s time, prep ahead of time to have firewood bundles ready when guests arrive, and increase guest satisfaction. 

Campspot also offers an exciting new partnership with Checkfront. From equipment rentals to guided tours, Checkfront’s advanced add-on booking capabilities unlock new revenue streams for you. Learn more about all of our integration partners here.  

Bonus Tip: Create an Emergency Response Plan

Whether you work in a region that’s prone to natural disasters or not, there are many different types of emergencies that can afflict a campground. For this reason, every campground operator should have a response plan on hand for their properties.

Remember, it takes a village to effectively respond to disasters. Look to your community first for shared resources and similar vulnerabilities before drafting a plan. From local civil servants to neighboring campgrounds and associations, emergency response is a shared burden. Revisit your documentation at least bi-annually to update point of contact, the content, and relay the changes to your full team.  

Not sure where to begin? Read our deep dive on emergency preparedness for campgrounds, and hear from fellow operators who have successfully weathered natural disasters.

Bottom Line, Automate What Should be Automated

In addition to the professional best practices above, let Campspot automate your operational efficiency with ease. Your time and sanity are worth it. High-touch service can also be high-tech and efficient when Campspot is in your corner. 

Lastly, it’s hard to be professionally productive if you’re personally struggling. Take some time this new year to prioritize your physical and mental well-being so you can bring your best, focused self to work! 

Read Next: How to Care for Yourself and Your Team During Busy Season

Haley Dalian is a lifelong Michigander who takes advantage of recreation throughout the state’s changing seasons—from snow skiing to scuba diving in the Great Lakes. A former Campspot marketing manager, Haley holds a B.A. degree in public policy from Michigan State University and an M.S. degree in environmental science and sustainability from the University of Michigan. She is passionate about environmental stewardship, exploring nature, and has never met a potato she didn’t like.