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CAMPSPOT CUSTOMER STORY
Outdoor hospitality company Campfire Ranch is making the outdoors easier and more accessible for every type of camper, from newbies to seasoned adventurists.
Check out our conversation with the general manager of Colorado for Campfire Ranch, Keenan Scribner, to see how they’re providing stellar basecamps for outdoor enthusiasts.
“We started back in 2020—Campfire Ranch on the Taylor was our first location. We’ve since expanded. We now have a backcountry hut, Campfire Ranch Red Mountain Pass, between Silverton and Ouray, Colorado and a bike adventure lodge, Campfire Ranch Little Sugar, in Bella Vista, Colorado–both listed on Campspot.
“As the general manager of Colorado for Campfire, I manage all of our properties in the estate, our front-of-house operations team, customer experience, property maintenance on-site, events, brand partnerships, and so on.
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Campfire Campground Locations
Categories of Accommodations
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Stars on Google Reviews
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Stars on Campspot Marketplace
“Our mission is to be the physical hub for the next generation. We strive to create authentic experiences in the great outdoors, and to promote stewardship of the shared playgrounds at our properties. When guests go hiking in the wildflowers, for instance, we can pass along a lot of stewardship for the area, so they’re recreating responsibly while having a really good time.
“We’re trying to make staying outdoors easier and more accessible. We focus on providing the best basecamp, so you can spend more time getting out there and recreating.
“That’s why at all of our locations, whether at the campsites or backcountry huts, we feature inviting accommodations with frustration-free amenities, and our team is passionate about helping people get outside.
““Looking at our properties and expansions, we have three categories: backcountry huts, side-country adventure lodges, and campgrounds.
“We just expanded our campground on the Taylor, adding five sites. Now, we have sixteen walk-in tent sites and one micro-cabin site that you can drive right up to. All the campsites have at least two tent pads, except for the ADA-accessible one (which can fit two tent pads, but because of the access and leveling of the property, is basically one big tent pad).
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Days on Campspot
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Increase in Net Campsite Revenue from Year 1 to 2 on Campspot
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Employees
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Park Features & Amenities
“The other side of the property is a day-use pavilion event area. People can also book that area for group camping events or special use—they can book it hourly for up to four hours, 12 hours/full day, or overnight.“Events can range from wedding receptions or rehearsals, to locals lunches, all the way to corporate retreats. Some of our brand partners like North Face or YETI will come out and do retreats, athlete summits, product testing, and so forth.“We just hosted our 2nd annual Family Supper event out there. It was a four-course outdoor dinner that we partnered with some brands for.
“We aim to provide frustration-free amenities. We want to create that immersive, dispersed-camping feel while still making everything really accessible.
“Our camp bathrooms get cleaned 3+ times a day. We include unlimited firewood with the camping reservations, on-site and ready to go. Our knowledgeable staff is there to give recommendations on recreation in the Gunnison-Crested Butte Valley. Our sites are all walk-in (minus the micro cabin) and right off the parking area. We have gear carts too, so even if you’re on one of the sites that’s farther down the path, you can load stuff in on our carts and walk it down.
“The same principle applies to our backcountry hut. Campfire Ranch Red Mountain Pass is full food service. It sleeps eight, has hot and cold water, full bathrooms, and food service. There’s a hut manager up there who stays in an outbuilding overnight and cooks all meals for guests—coffee, tea, breakfast, afternoon soup/snack, dinner, and dessert.
“At our campground, we have full rental camping gear offerings. If people don’t have gear—they’re flying in or want to try out some new gear—we keep a full inventory so they can rent it when they’re checking out, priced a la carte.“Or, if they get to the property and realize they forgot something or want something new, they can get that added on, and our team will have all the rental gear set up for them. So when they arrive, their campsite can already have a tent, cooler, sleeping bags, pads, cook stove—everything—all ready to go.
“My staff’s motto is that we’re your friends in the mountains who have all the gear and know all the cool places, and you just have to show up.
“That’s the dynamic we strive for in our customer experience. We’re really big on having staff on-site being as involved and engaged as people want us to be.
“We now have an adventure concierge specialist. whose full-time role is to help guests our groups plan their stay with us. Engaging the adventure concierge can be as simple as guests coming up to the office in the morning and asking, ‘Hey, where should I go hike? Where should I ride today? Where should I go fish?’
““It can go all the way to connecting guests with the best guided activities. We don’t hold guiding permits ourselves, but we work with local licensed outfitters who are regionally specific to each of the properties.
“If a guest wants to go whitewater rafting, rock climbing, or fly fishing with a guide, we take all the front-loaded effort off their shoulders. They don’t have to read through a bunch of review boards and call around; instead, they can reach out to us with what they want to do, and we can introduce them to all the great people we know and actually make the bookings for them.
“All the guest has to do is show up, share their name, and sign their waiver. Then, their bill is lumped into the reservation with us, so they just have one bill at the end of the day.”
“At the huts, the adventure concierge varies by season. There’s a lot more activities in summer, when you can go whitewater rafting, fly fishing, and so on. Winter activities are primarily backcountry skiing and riding. Guides will actually skin in from some of our partners right to the hut after breakfast, and then take the guests out for a day, straight out from the hut.
“We don’t push any upcharges onto the guests for the adventure concierge. We’ve had many of our partnerships for a long time, so we get a commission from our partner companies for sending them all the business. What the guest sees on the White Water Rafting company’s website is exactly what they’re going to get charged from us.
“Campspot is seamless to work with and very user-friendly, both on the customer side and on the back-end through the admin portal.”
Keenan Scribner, General Manager of Colorado for Campfire
“Our website’s really detailed, and our marketing highlights a lot of what the experience is like.
“We also have very thorough guest communications. When guests book through Campspot, they get their automated reservation, which is also very detailed with hyperlinks to a packing list, rules, property descriptions, directions, and more. Our response time for calls and emails is always within 24 hours, if not sooner.
“Now, with our adventure concierge specialist, these touchpoints can be further up-leveled by having an actual person reach out. We can increase the communication we have with guests so we can fully round out their stay—whether they want rental camping gear or adventure concierge—and make their trip even more special.
“Campspot’s been great. I really like the certification course. Having a decent-sized front-of-house team, that was super helpful; rather than having to do a bunch of one-on-one training where I have to go through everything, staff could start with the certification course and then bring questions forward.
“I usually have everyone take Campspot’s certification course, even headquarters staff, just so they’re all familiar with the system as well. Overall, it’s been a great experience for the staff.
“We have all of our properties listed on Campspot, and as we expand, we’ll continue to do so.”
“I would say Campspot’s knowledge base and customer service center is one of our favorite things.
“I’ve been using Campspot for a long time. I like to think I’ve got it pretty-darned figured out, but being able to call that number if I mess something up or something’s not looking right, and having someone jump into the account and look on the back-end is super helpful.
“Again, it’s great especially with newer staff, who might not want to call and tell me they accidentally messed something up. Instead, they can call Campspot and get it figured out really quickly.
“Overall, it’s been a great partnership. Campspot is seamless to work with and very user-friendly, both on the customer side and on the back-end through the admin portal.
“The knowledge base, customer service, and certification program have been really great for onboarding new employees.
“We have all of our properties listed on Campspot, and as we expand, we’ll continue to do so.
“We’re excited about our expansion and have quite a bit of growth on the horizon. We’re looking forward to continuing to up-level the experience we’re able to give our customers when they come out and stay with us at any of the properties.
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