Exciting new partnership with Checkfront just announced. Learn more!
February 20, 2024
Haley Dalian
Wild Fox Cabins shares how they learned Campspot was ultimately the right choice for themselves and their guests.
Wild Fox Cabins’ remote location and natural surroundings attract guests aplenty who are ready to enjoy the nearby lakes and forestland. They’ve used Campspot to help manage their business, provide a smooth online booking experience for campers, and drive revenue. Recently, they’d switched to a new provider, but quickly returned to Campspot after just three months.
In the following conversation, we catch up with campground manager Bevin Worbetz to get her perspective on the switch and understand why Campspot was ultimately the right choice for Wild Fox Cabins, its operators, and its guests.
We got started in the campground industry by chance. We visited this area on a four-wheeling trip a couple of times. Not too long after, the owners decided to sell, and we figured it would be a fun adventure—so we just started it up.
We’re located in the northern woods of Maine, in a pretty remote area on Junior Lake. We’re situated along 3,500 acres of water and attached to 20,000 other acres of lakes. Being surrounded by so many beautiful lakes and preserve land, we’re really removed from people and everything about everyday life. Campers are attracted to this and come to Wild Fox to enjoy nature.
We have eight cabins lakeside and 10 tent sites that aren’t too far from there. With 155 acres of property, everything is close by. The cabins themselves are pristine. They have all the things campers want—hot water, cable, serenity. They don’t have internet access, but that’s because we barely have it here at the office!
We rent boats, canoes, and kayaks. We actually have the only boat launch on Junior Lake, which makes it more secluded. We can also arrange fishing and hunting guides for guests, providing the opportunity for year-round adventures.
We’re in the process of adding a shower to the campground. Guests have wanted this for a long time, aside from our two bathrooms. The new showers will be up and running just in time for when we open in June. We have five small motor boats, and this year we’re trying out a pontoon rental.
We’re also adding a tiny house and an RV for rent this year. Currently, we have a glamping tent on the adjacent Horseshoe Lake, which is completely off the grid but still within walking distance to the bathrooms. These other two lodging options will be nice for guests looking for something different.
When we bought the property in August 2017, it wasn’t really running. The older couple who owned it would rent out a cabin here or there. I pretty much had to do all of the research into reservation systems since they had nothing. I went through about four or five different software providers before I found and switched to Campspot.
We were with Campspot for three years before we left—but we were only gone with the new provider for three months before returning to Campspot.
When the reservation fee system changed to a monthly flat fee, the slower, off-season months were a challenge as we would only take a handful of reservations but still had to pay the flat rate for the system. However, once we hit the summer months and were bringing in much more revenue to offset the fee, we came to view it as a completely justified pricing structure that covers the cost of software and support. It was just a shock to us at first.
Overall, we were very happy with Campspot and put a lot of time into using it. It was the pricing change, coupled with the fact that some features we had been desiring weren’t being prioritized as fast as we would’ve liked, that had us wondering if the grass was greener on the other side.
Read Next: Two Rivers Campground: How Software User Experience Made, Broke, and Restored This Business
Well, the other software provider appeared to have a lot of extra bells and whistles, including built-in marketing triggers and the ability to text guests to prompt them to leave us a Google review. You could also easily click into your grid and change the rate for a period of time—to make a flash sale, for example.
When the other provider migrated our existing and upcoming reservations into their system, the dates were fine, the totals were fine—but they didn’t carry over any reservation details. Guests who had pre-ordered firewood, for example, were wondering where their firewood was, and we had no record on our end that they even requested this at checkout. We also had no idea who rented boats, and revenue from our boat rentals is a critical part of our business.
It was a very robust system with a lot to look at, but it wasn’t nearly as easy to understand what I was looking at or where to find what I needed compared to Campspot. This is partly why we didn’t realize the reservation details hadn’t and wouldn’t carry over during the initial onboarding. You had to click many times to get to where you wanted in the system, and the backend didn’t flow as nicely as it does in Campspot.
No, the training was awful. It seemed their staff were learning along with us. I pretty much had to go in and re-enter every reservation while simultaneously learning how to use the platform.
When I asked questions about why things were happening, their staff didn’t know how to answer me. I sat through four one-hour training sessions. During one of them, I asked specifically about one reservation and the person was poking around, jumping from screen to screen, and clearly wasn’t comfortable with the system either. This made learning impossible and I lost faith.
Aside from the attempted training, their knowledge base was awful. I searched for questions and came up short. Even the tutorials they did have would lead to problems when I tried the steps. When I call Campspot, no one says, “Go look at the video.” There’s a real person there ready to answer and actually help solve your issue.
The final straw was that they didn’t integrate well with Airbnb and VRBO, even though they claimed they did. Their boat rentals also did not have the ability to be rented daily, like they said they did. A boat rental would appear separate from someone’s reservation that they had rented a “boat facility,” which was very confusing.
Yes, exactly. If they had said in the first place that they couldn’t list our daily boat rentals, that would have stopped me from moving to the new provider in the first place. This function might not be perfect within Campspot, but at least it exists, period.
Thankfully, it was our slow time and only for three months, so there wasn’t too much damage. We did experience more phone calls right after people had made their reservations. It was clear they couldn’t understand from their side if they made the deposit correctly and if the reservation actually went through—which, if you think about it, defeats the whole purpose of an online reservation system. The user interface wasn’t up to par.
It was great. I dug up an old email thread and said, “We’re thinking of coming back.” Being able to easily reactivate our account was a huge relief and reason we felt confident about returning. Campspot hadn’t given up on us. Someone helped me right away with setting new rates for our RV and tiny home rentals. Everyone was very nice. There was no attitude or ego.
Read Next: Calculated Growth and Expansion: How This Campground’s 5-Year Plan Drives Results
The customer service has always been great at Campspot. I’ve never had any issues. There were some points where calls got backed up and we didn’t get a response right away, but that was a short-lived period.
The user interface is superior for sure.
We also use the lock site feature all the time. We like to use it as a bonus or marketing perk for our guests. We say, if you book now, we’ll take away the fee and lock in your site.
There’s one site closest to our boat launch that most people will pay a premium for. We also have two sites with a shared backyard, so families or friends traveling together are also quick to lock those sites in to ensure the extra space. Lock site is a nice revenue generator, especially since we only have 25 sites.
Read Next: Campspot Rapidly Releases Highly Requested Features
I’m really thankful the transition back was so smooth. Our reservationist, who works directly in Campspot much more than I do these days, is ecstatic we’re back with you all. She will frequently send me notes with smiley faces when she closes another reservation through Campspot!
If Campspot says something is coming, they make good on their word. There’s never been a time when they promised a feature that didn’t eventually come to be. I found the waiting frustrating, but I also paid the price when I left. Turns out, the grass wasn’t greener on the other side.
Choosing the right software provider can be tricky, and every campground owner and operator has a unique set of challenges and opportunities to address. If you’re preparing to make a similar decision, read “8 Smart Questions to Ask During a Campground Software Demo” and “Two Rivers Campground: How Software User Experience Made, Broke, and Restored This Business” next.
________
Haley Dalian is a lifelong Michigander who takes advantage of recreation throughout the state’s changing seasons, such as skiing up north in the winter and scuba diving the Great Lakes in the summer. A former Campspot marketing employee, Haley is pursuing a Master of Science degree at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability. She is passionate about solving the world’s sustainability challenges, enjoys performing improvisational comedy, and has never met a potato she didn’t like.
Image credit: Wild Fox Cabins
By entering your email you agree to our terms and conditions and privacy policy
November 7, 2024Author: Haley Dalian
Campspot customers Ely Rosario and Courtney Belmont share their firsthand experience with natural disasters and how your campground can prepare.
April 25, 2024Author: Haley Dalian
Learn the trade secrets of the 2024 Campspot Award Winners in this engaging panel of park management experts.
