Recent burgeoning interest in recreational vehicle travel has spawned one new startup that has its sights set on fast becoming a leading system of top-end RV resorts.
Quentin Incao is the driving force and self-described “hospitality guru” behind Camp Collective, a new branch of his Missoula, Mont.-based Q Hospitality Management firm. Incao has more than 33 years of experience in operating and managing high-end independent hotels, mostly in the Northwest. He sees the Camp Collective concept as a natural extension of what he and his management team have learned to do over the years.
“We started keeping an eye of the outdoor hospitality market about six years ago,” he said. “We had some experience being the asset manager for a high-end glamping and RV park operations in Coos Bay, Ore., called Bay Point Landing. It was really the Four Seasons of RV destinations.”
Incao said that experience led to an “ah ha” moment. “We just weren’t finding anything in the current RV park and glamping market that was a true system of locations offering a high-end, elevated brand experience for RVers and glampers. There are several beautiful one-off locations, but a system of destinations just isn’t there,” he said.
Incao sees Camp Collective appealing to the next generation of RV traveler who is looking for an enhanced outdoor experience, be they traveling in a traditional RV, a conversion van or a glamper. “Our guests would be those looking for well-curated locations that are more detail-oriented than they may have experienced elsewhere,” he explained. “Camp Collective locations will be into the details of connectivity, landscaping, and food service, to name a few. We’ll create destinations where you are fee to choose whether you want to be connected or unplugged. We will be like Ace Hotels meets WeWork.”
Ultimately, Camp Collective will focus on destinations in highly desirable tourist locations such as Yellowstone, Yosemite, Austin, Texas, or the Willamette wine country. “We want them to be spaced well so that people can stay within the Camp Collective system as they travel the country,” Incao mentioned.
Camp Collective plans to open two parks in 2021, although those locations haven’t been announced. Then, up to five more locations would be added every year.
Right now, the name of the game for Incao is funding. The Camp Collective website (campcollective.com) is intentionally short on marketing materials geared to guests. Its current target is potential investors.
Those investor dollars would be used to purchase existing RV park destinations that have at least 70 RV sites and have the potential to add glamping options. Camp Collective will also lease existing parks from owners, as well as enter into management agreements with independent park owners to add to the system.
“We aren’t planning to get into any franchising right now, but you never say never,” he said.
Incao said his group is already reaching out to big industry players such as Marcus Lemonis, CEO of Camping World. “Our name wouldn’t mean anything to him at this point, but we are reaching out to some of our points of contact at Camping World. We want to bring in a number of key partners,” he said.
The Camp Collective system model will also likely include some sort of reward card option, seasonal memberships and even the option to directly purchase-to-own a campsite at selected locations for your personal seasonal use.
“We want to increase the number of our parks as fast as possible to secure our market share,” Incao said. “This will be an elevated outdoor experience with an approachable price point. We’ll always be predominately RV destination parks, with just a kiss of glamping.”
