Travel trends are changing, and so are camper preferences when it comes to making campground reservations. Based on statistics from the RV Industry Association, nearly 40% of RV owners are from the millennial or Gen Z generations. With nearly half of your campers likely to be from this tech-savvy era, adapting to generational trends is key to prioritizing the camper experience.

Let’s take a look at some of the latest camping trends to not only attract millennials to your campsite, but also to create a memorable experience for every guest.

1. The Technology

First things first, millennials spend much of their time online. Since they are more likely to browse your website than call your property, consider increasing your campground’s online presence and providing online booking options on your site through your campground management system. 

Campground Reservation Guest Portal

Millennials can take control of their reservation through a guest portal. Whether they need to make changes or communicate directly with your staff, ensuring your campground is utilizing, at minimum, commonplace technology further enhances the guest experience.

Social Media

Chances are, if millennials are hearing about your property, it’s through social media. In fact, 43% of millennials use a social media platform as a news source every day. Take advantage of this statistic by increasing your social media presence.

Continue to update your social media pages and to showcase the beauty of your property by:

• Creating compelling content. You can spark the interest of your target audience through camping-related blog posts or posts by special guests such as social media influencers.
• Sharing property photos. Highlight the special features and amenities of your campground through high quality pictures and videos.
• Communicating with potential customers. You can promote a great customer service experience by answering about your campground or reservations across your chosen social media platforms.

Improving your social media presence is crucial to attracting more campers and leaving the right first-impression of your staff and property. As a bonus, you may have the option of adding a book now button to your Facebook page and directly on your website, which means creating an easier reservation process.

Offer WiFi

Consider offering complimentary WiFi. Since over 80% of both the Gen Z and millennial generations use social media — and many of them are active across several platforms — they may want to share their experiences at your campground by making posts throughout their stay. 

Even if your campers forgo sharing on social media, 61% percent of working millennials are remote workers, so access to WiFi is a must-have. Consider offering upgraded internet packages for high-speed internet or unlimited data bundles. 

Access to WiFi may be something they specifically look for when booking a reservation, so make sure to highlight the availability of WiFi at your campground both on your website and across your social media platforms to entice bookings from the younger, tech-driven generation.

2. The Unique Experience

Providing millennial campers with an all-around great experience means they may bring their friends with them next time. Consider personalizing their stay and communicating with your campers ahead of time to let them know what is available during their reservation. The best campground management software allows you to send notices and email messages to your campers so they can plan ahead.

To create a unique experience consider offering:

• Bike trails, kayaking, and equipment rentals. Taking your individual property’s assets into consideration, suggest fun outdoor activities like biking and kayaking that will keep your campers active and allow them to explore the area. Equipment rentals are also a great way to provide your millennial campers with everything they need to get the most out of their stay — all while potentially creating additional revenue streams for your business. 
• Games and activities. Millennials are more likely to camp in large groups including with friends and family. Offering ways for campers to interact with each other such as charades, bonfire nights, or karaoke, will make their experience, and your campground, memorable.
• The dog-friendly advantage. Who doesn’t love the family dog? If you make your property dog-friendly yet still safe, campers can share this wonderful time with their furry loved ones. Consider having sanitary pet waste stations, a leash policy, and allowing other, more unconventional, pets — such as cats — to come along. 
  

3. Glamping

While it’s true that millennials are huge campers, they do prefer a little luxury over the traditional, tent-style camping. Glamping, a mix-mash between the words “glamorous” and “camping,” has become popular, with around 48% of glampers being millennials. 

Glamping includes comfy beds and blankets, a functional toilet, and provides the comfort of a hotel room in an outdoor setting. Millennial glampers may appreciate bottled water, extra clean bathrooms, and provided towels so they can enjoy what your property has to offer in comfort. 

Keep Your Campground Current With the Latest Camping Trends

Since trends come and go, it’s important to keep your pulse on generational preferences so you can adapt to be the go-to campsite for all generations. An all-in-one campground management system can help you do just that. 

Plus, choosing a cloud-based system configurable to your needs will help you shift with the trends and create the best experience for each camper — or glamper — no matter their age or background. 

Learn how you can utilize your campground management system to tackle trends like those and more with these valuable insights. Download The Generational Camping Trends Report today!