Noel & Sheri Latus of Fall Hollow Campground and RV Park talk about what they look for in an online reservation system, and how RoverPass stacks up to their expectations.
Tucked away in dense Tennessee greenery, and bordering the 444 mile Natchez Trace Parkway, lies Fall Hollow Campground and B&B. After searching all over the country for the right campground to call their own, current owners Noel and Sheri Latus found Fall Hollow back in October of 2015. What was then a charming little park with only a handful of RV hookups and a bed and breakfast has since doubled the number of RV lots, an achievement they attribute to property improvements and their use of RoverPass.
“When we bought [the campground], it had just 19 sites that were just water and electric. We [then] put in a sewer system and that started to increase the value,” Noel Said. “Then we started using [RoverPass], and that increased our booking rate and we were able to make an expansion. After the first year, we added eight sites or hook up sites.”
With Noel and Sheri renovating the park and RoverPass bringing more and more people to their park, Fall Hollow had grown so much, the two retirees had to then slow down the growth.
“We started this as an attempt at retirement.” Noel Said. “We’re not very good at that, so now Sheri is taking the checkbook away from me and saying I can’t fix anything else. No more building!”
Given Noel and Sheri’s success, we wanted to find out what it is they looked for in a campground management software, and how RoverPass stacks up to their expectations. From what they told us, a good campground management system can be narrowed down to three key points. Intuitive usability, measurable results, and more time out of the office.
Entrance to Fall Hollow Campground
Intuitive Usability
Using an online campground management system should be easy and supplemental to running a campground. With a campground management system like RoverPass taking care of the books, Noel can focus on tending to the park’s guest and maintenance. All he has to do is push that confirmation button.
“[RoverPass will] book the bed and breakfast room, the campsites and the cabin and it’s always just hassle-free,” Noel said. “If I have the spaces available, I just accept the reservation given their site number and boom, they show up and they can pull right in.”
In addition to the ease of accepting a reservation, communicating with their customers is another feature that Noel and Sheri both find intuitive and useful, making the entire booking process a breeze.
“It’s hassle free from check-in to checkout, and if something does come up where a room or a site is not available, we have the ability to message the customer through the RoverPass page to see if another room or another date would work for them,” Noel said.
Arial view of Fall Hollow
Measurable Results
For any product, you want to make sure you are getting your money’s worth. Perhaps the best way to find out if they do is by looking for results you can actually count and see. Noel and Sheri attribute much of Fall Hollow’s growth to their combined efforts in renovations, and the implementation of RoverPass.
“The park has doubled in size for RV spots, When we purchased the park, in the first four months we didn’t see a single guest in the RV park, now we have 18 to 25 people constantly here,” Noel said. “RoverPass helped us with probably a 30% increase [in overall growth].”
Being able to make a reservation online doesn’t just add convenience for the customer, it also adds to the visibility of the campground as a while. Noel and Sheri agree that having their website updated and being able to receive reservations greatly increased their business.
“Having a website, having it marketed properly, and having the sewer system (along with the other improvements) is what started getting everybody in,” Noel said.
A campground at Fall Hollow
More Free Time
Now, of course, more business is good, but not if it becomes too much to handle. A campground reservation system should allow an owner to take on more business, while simultaneously freeing up time for leisure. The Latus’s said RoverPass makes it so that they can be sure the park is running smoothly without having to be at the office, making more time for each other and the things that really matter.
“It allows us not to be at the park as often. We can accept reservations from the restaurant down the road, or we could be back visiting family 700 miles away. We can still accept reservations and be sure that people are being checked in.”
Thanks for sharing Noel and Sheri!
