News & Events

07/07/2010

Texas Parks Appealing to Non-RV Business

An industry built on wanderlust is surviving on the notion of "wander less."

Texas RV campgrounds are part of a national trend of anchoring specialty vehicles, called park models , which look and feel like small cottages, for rent or purchase.

Forty percent of Texas recreational vehicle campgrounds have introduced the models, twice the rate of five years ago, to appeal to a broader market and to increase revenues, according to the Texas Association of Campground Owners.

"There's a good segment of the population that wants to experience the campground experience but don't own an RV, and they don't want to sleep in a tent," said Brian Schaeffer, the association's executive director.

Despite the recession and fluctuating fuel prices, reservations at RV parks were up 8 percent in 2009, and rentals of park models were up 20 percent, according to the industry, as many people were looking for cheaper, shorter vacations.

"The idea of driving to the Grand Canyon isn't happening as much as it used to," Schaeffer said. "They are looking for something nearer to home."

To campground owners and managers, the park models make sense as an alternative to hotels.

"People who had been in the business a lot longer than me said everyone in the business should have them," said Bryan Kastleman, president of the management company for Hill Country RV Resort in New Braunfels.

He said the owners have invested $1 million in the park, including adding 33 park models, in the past two years.

Park models typically are 300 to 400 square feet, with the option of an additional 150 square feet of loft space for children. Some come with porches. Decks can be added once the model is anchored, its trailer hitch detached and the underside carriage hidden by skirting that matches the building's exterior.

'Little houses'

"They're not cabins," said Ken Butschek, the owner of La Hacienda RV Resort & Cottages, on Hudson Bend Road on the way to Lake Travis. "They're little houses."

The cottages are free-standing (no common walls) with full kitchens, wood laminate floors and high ceilings. They are typically equipped with the comforts of home: high-definition televisions, air conditioning, linens, microwaves, coffee pot and dishes.

"Bring your clothes and your ice chest, and you're good," Butschek said.

Butschek said he started with two models when he opened in 2004, has 15 today and expects to add more.

Austin Lone Star RV Resort, which has been in business for 40 years at Interstate 35 and William Cannon Drive, has just taken delivery of its first park model, manager Sharon Knopf said.

"We're looking to sell them," Knopf said.

The national chain, Carefree RV Resorts, bought the local site four years ago. The chain, Knopf said, has a track record of selling park models and leasing the plots where they are anchored.

"They are very popular in Florida," Knopf said.

Rents for the models vary by size, season, locale and duration of your stay. Daily rents can range from $80 to $195, as opposed to $20 to $50 for a spot for an RV. Weekly or monthly rates are cheaper. The larger cottages can sleep eight.

"We love living here," she added.

If the road ever stops calling, there's always a cottage that's just across the park. It's not going anywhere.

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