12 minute read
Broad River Campground: What I Learned the Hard Way
Glamping Business Americas speaks to Tyler Watts who built and co-owns the Broad River Campground located in Mooresboro, North Carolina and finds out how the build of his first glamping and RV site went and what he might do differently next time round!
What is your background and how did you come to build a glamping resort?
I hold a Civil Engineering Degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and I am also a General Contractor who built Broad River Campground. I discovered real estate about 10 years ago and our group focused primarily on apartments. In 2020, I decided to pitch the idea of building a luxury RV & Glamping resort and fast forward to July 2022, we took an 82-acre tract of raw hunting land and developed it into a resort destination! My knowledge and lessons learned from building RV sites/Cabins/Glamping Domes can be utilized for others to learn from my mistakes. We went through all of the steps from selecting a piece of land, to permitting, to literally crawling on top of a Glamping Dome and tightening the bolts!
Timing - how long did it take (did it take longer than expected?)
It took around 9 months (full time) for us to build the park. Permitting and Engineering took a year. It did take longer than expected naturally due to materials on back order and contractors running behind on schedule. We opened one month past our deadline, on July 1, 2022
Cost - did this fall in line with what you thought?
No way! To our defense, a lot changed from the time we developed our budget, and the time we started to develop. During 2021/2022 pricing on materials were going up daily so our initial material cost that we budget didn’t align. We also changed some things during development that added cost.
You lived near this location but is this essential?
This particular build was great as I live 20 minutes away. The next park will likely be farther out now that we have our first one built. Location doesn’t scare us, we will build anywhere in the United States. We hope to continue building up and down the East Coast.
Tell us about groundworks and water management – yes those toilets again…
One of the biggest undertakings is your sewer. We had to install septic on this project and that requires extensive testing and engineering to understand where you develop and not develop. We wanted to understand this more, so we went and received our certification to install septic systems.
Why did you choose the accommodation types you did?
The goal of our park was to build something that everyone could enjoy, whether you want to tent camp like in the old glory days or spent your weekend in a luxury cabin with all the amenities. We wanted to be different than other parks by offering multiple ways to stay and play! Our guests love the luxury domes, there were not too many other sites in this area offering them.
Tell us about constructing the domes yourself…
Dome construction is a love/hate story. We purchased five Domes and the only instructions we got was a picture of a completed dome and some letters. After multiple failed attempts and some prayers, we built our first ever Dome and the first one in our city. Let’s just say the first one took about a week, the next 4 we built in 4 days!
How do you manage with staffing?
We currently have one full time member of staff (Park Manager) and five part time employees. On holiday weekends we will staff up more to accommodate guest needs.
How did you approach marketing and choosing your sales channels?
We use all the social media platforms to promote Broad River Campground. Our biggest platforms right now are Facebook and TikTok. We also have been featured on Woodall’s podcast, we are presenting at ARVC in Kansas City in 2023, we are presenting at CARVC in Myrtle Beach, SC in 2024 along with being included in many local magazines and newspaper articles. We are going to be featured on Charlotte’s WCNC News network as well.
How have your found your guests so far? Did any throw you a curveball?
Here at Broad River Campground, we have an amazing staff who have been extraordinary in us maintaining our 5-Star Google review. We want the guest to feel at home and that they can truly relax and enjoy everything we have to offer. The staff do an amazing job at being flexible and understanding guest needs, our reviews show for themselves!
What are your future expansion plans, might do anything differently next time?
Future expansion for Broad River Campground includes 45 more RV sites on Phase II. Phase III is still up in the air, however, we have a few ideas we think the market would like to see!
Of course, you learn as you build more and there are a lot of little things we are doing now that speeds up the process of developing phase II. We now have the established contacts with contractors, engineers, manufactures to get what we need, and when we need it. Phase II should be fully developed in around half the time it took us to develop phase I. We don’t have to worry with utilities as much as they are already on the property.
Watch a video about Broad River Campground here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hl7MFTZn96SedH6TZ_ppoECEhpLboWmO/view
10 THINGS TYLER LEARNED
1. Don’t underestimate what it takes to build a glamping site.
2. Your budget is your budget, and it’s likely not high enough!
3. Develop a good team of contractors, and work with them and take care of them.
4. Understand your market and your competition.
5. Tour other parks, talk with owners, developers, park managers on the pros and cons.
6. Network with contractors, lenders, city officials to develop relationships.
7. Be flexible with design.
8. Understand your land, soil testing is a must, know where your views are.
9. Set yourself apart, offer something different than the norm.
10. Bring on a good team, people that share your passion.
About Tyler Otto
Tyler is the President and Owner of Glamping Bookkeepers, a remote accounting and tax firm dedicated to helping glamping operations drive profit and build wealth. Tyler has served as a Finance Director in the hospitality industry for everything from 2-star to 5-star accommodations and loves helping business owners perfect their financial performance.
www.glampingbookkeepers.com
Tyler@GlampBK.com
