Month: March 2025

BILLINGS, Mont., and MITCHELL, S.D. – Kampgrounds of America, Inc. (KOA) in a press release congratulated Shay Gregorie, a seasoned KOA campground owner, on his acquisition of the Mitchell KOA Journey. Gregorie and his family are well-versed in the KOA family, also owning the award-winning Mount Pleasant/Charleston KOA Holiday in South Carolina. He brings his extensive experience to Mitchell KOA Journey, aiming to elevate the guest experience while strengthening connections with the local community.

Located just minutes from the iconic Corn Palace and the beauty of Lake Mitchell, the Mitchell KOA Journey has been a well known stop for travelers exploring South Dakota. The campground is known for its welcoming atmosphere, convenient location near Interstate 90, and easy access to local attractions, making it a great stopover for families seeking adventure.

“Mitchell is a fantastic community with a lot of history and outdoor attractions that make it a great stop for campers,” said Shay Gregorie, campground owner. “We see many opportunities to enhance the guest experience and contribute to the local economy by attracting more visitors to the area.”

Campgrounds have a significant economic and cultural impact on local communities. According to KOA’s annual Camping and Outdoor Hospitality Report, the average camper spends $156 daily while camping. With 30% of campers saying they are interested in visiting small towns, and another 30% drawn to food tourism, campers are looking to experience the culture of local regions. 

Conveniently located near the highways and byways of North America, KOA Journey campgrounds are the perfect stop after a long day on the road. With long pull-thru RV sites for quick and easy setup, well-lit after-hours check-in, and a robust line of RV supplies, KOA Journey campgrounds promise a hassle-free stay for travelers.

Guests at Mitchell KOA Journey can enjoy a range of on-site amenities, including a heated swimming pool, a dog park, a playground for children, and a well-stocked camp store offering camping essentials and local souvenirs. The campground also features recreational facilities such as basketball courts, a community fire pit, and walking trails.

Leading the day-to-day operations at Mitchell KOA Journey are General Managers Patricia and Brian Garvis, experienced hospitality professionals with a strong background in guest services, campground operations, and customer experience innovation. Together, they aim to make the Mitchell KOA Journey a valued camping destination with enhanced amenities, upgraded technology, and a guest-first approach to service. A key focus will be expanding pet-friendly offerings, including the addition of KOA Paw Pen Sites℠ at select RV sites, ensuring a comfortable stay for travelers with furry companions. 

The Mitchell KOA Journey is one of more than 500 open-to-the-public KOA campgrounds in the U.S. and Canada. Other brands in the KOA Family of Campgrounds include KOA Holidays, designed as the ideal base camp for the great outdoors, offering plenty of activities and amenities for every type of camper. KOA Resorts provide an abundance of staff-led activities, on-site food dining, group meeting space, and more.

Located at 41255 South Dakota Highway 38, in Mitchell, South Dakota, the Mitchell KOA Journey is open from May 1 to November 2, 2025.

For more information or to make a reservation, please visit the campground’s website, or call 605-996-1131. Reservations are also available by going online or using the KOA App.

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The post Shay Gregorie is New Owner of the Mitchell KOA Journey first appeared on RVBusiness - Breaking RV Industry News.

BERNARDSVILLE, N.J., March 27, 2025 – It’s not uncommon for guests of Spacious Skies Balsam Woods in the Highlands of Central Maine to observe the aurora borealis or for campers at Spacious Skies Woodland Hills in Austerlitz, N.Y. to take in the interstellar spirals of light from the stars, gas and dust of the Milky Way.

With minimal artificial lighting and sprawling acreage bordering lakes and valleys, several locations in the Spacious Skies Campgrounds collection offer an expansive window to dark skies and starry nights.

When lifelong camping enthusiast and stargazer Ali Rasmussen founded and named Spacious Skies Campgrounds four years ago, she clearly had those dark skies and starry nights on her mind.

“Camping and glamping are about being close to the world’s natural beauty, and we urge our guests not to forget that sometimes nature’s most glorious features are the skies,” said Rasmussen. “As we acquired each campground, we imagined what it would be like to sit around a campfire and observe the skies in each location. There’s something magical and rejuvenating about stargazing that reminds you that you are not alone in the universe.”

The Spacious Skies Campgrounds collection has grown to 15 campgrounds located in the Eastern U.S., from Maine in the North to Georgia in the South.

Cosmic Monthly Themes

Every month, the campgrounds feature a new monthly theme that takes inspiration from the starry night skies. Campgrounds stage guest events – such as programs by local astronomers – decorate the campground and host other space-themed activities such as movie nights and kid-friendly scavenger hunts.

Themes include “Galactic Guardians” in May, with a focus on honoring hometown “superheroes” with activities like safety workshops and superhero movies that shine a spotlight on those who inspire and protect. In June, the theme is “Critter Constellations,” with animal-themed fun. August brings “Astro Adventures,” with space-themed fun like Zodiac nights and astronomy hikes.

Best Campgrounds for Stargazing

Here are some of the best stargazing opportunities within the Spacious Skies Campgrounds collection:

Spacious Skies Balsam Woods, Abbott, Maine. Although its location is woodsy – it is named for the fragrant balsam-coated trees and shrubs that comprise the lush forests of Central Maine – the campground is situated near an International Dark Sky Park, and there are several places throughout the campground with prime night sky viewing, including occasional views of the ribbons of color of the aurora borealis. The campground’s management team of astronomy buffs often partner with local astronomers to offer star-themed guest programs.

Spacious Skies Woodland Hills, Austerlitz, N.Y. Tucked away among the Taconic and Berkshire Mountain ranges, the best place to see the amazing spirals of the Milky Way is from the campground’s Cosmic Canine Commons, a heavenly enclosed space for four-legged guests. Local astronomers help guests identify constellations and other nighttime phenomena.

Spacious Skies Walnut Grove, Alfred, Maine. Situated near the tiny town of Alfred and with easy access to the Maine shoreline, this quiet campground features several places with unimpeded views of the night skies including its Cosmic Canine Campgrounds. On especially clear nights, guests set up blankets, sip beverages and enjoy the starry nights while their pups romp in the park.

Spacious Skies Shenandoah Views, Luray, Va. With easy access to Shenandoah National Park, many guests head to pullouts and parking lots along the park’s famous Skyline Drive for clear nighttime views. There are also several places throughout the campground with unimpeded views, including the yurt area and central sport court area with volleyball courts and a jumping pillow.

Spacious Skies French Pond, Henniker, N.H. This campground in Southern New Hampshire features RV sites situated around the pristine water of French Pond, and lucky campers can not only observe starry skies but sometimes see bonus stars in the reflections in the water.

Spacious Skies Hidden Creek, Marion, N.C. Situated near the Blue Ridge Mountains, campers here have expansive sky views from the shores of the campground’s massive Hidden Creek Lake.

Spacious Skies Adirondack Peaks, North Hudson, N.Y. This Upstate New York campground is situated right on the Schroon River, and campers here can find clear night skies from anywhere along the shoreline.

Spacious Skies Seven Maples, Hancock, N.H. Located on what was once a sprawling family farm, this picturesque campground’s best nighttime viewing is from the campground’s fishing pond.

Spacious Skies Bear Den, Spruce Pine, N.C. Situated near the Blue Ridge Mountains where light pollution is minimal, this is an especially compelling spot for stargazing. Some of the best places nearby to enjoy the night sky include the campground itself, the nearby Blue Ridge Parkway, the Bear Den and Chestoa View Overlooks, the historic Orchard at Altapass, the Linville Gorge Wilderness and Mayland Earth to Sky Park & Bare Dark Sky Observatory.

Spacious Skies Belle Ridge, Monterey, Tenn. Situated on more than 100 acres with open fields, cliffs and ridge views, the campground’s clifftop overlooks provide wide, unobstructed views of the night sky. Nearby options include Bee Rock Overlook, the Highland Rim & Standing Stone State Park and Cummins Falls State Park.

The post Spacious Skies Lists Eastern ‘Dark Skies’ Campgrounds first appeared on RVBusiness - Breaking RV Industry News.

CARMEL, Ind. — Element Three, a full-service marketing agency that serves businesses with a distributed sales model, announced today that Steven Hileman has joined the firm as Vice President of Client Solutions. With nearly two decades of experience in the RV and outdoor recreation industries, Hileman will deepen Element Three’s capabilities in serving OEMs and their dealer networks..

Hileman brings a wealth of expertise in the distributed sales model and digital product innovation, built through leadership roles at industry-defining companies including Airstream, REV Recreation Group, and Roadpass Digital. At Element Three, he will be instrumental in developing service lines that support strategic client initiatives—such as product launches, co-op programs, and inventory-driven campaigns.

“Element Three has spent over a decade helping brands like Airstream, Newmar, Grand Design, Klipsch, and Model 1 get the most from their channel marketing efforts,” said Kyler Mason, CEO of Element Three. “Bringing Steven on board represents a major step forward in our strategy to serve manufacturers and their dealers even more effectively. His leadership and depth in the space will immediately strengthen how we partner with clients.”

Prior to joining Element Three, Hileman served as Vice President of Strategy & Business Development at Roadpass Digital, where he led strategic partnerships and marketing strategy. He also held senior marketing and communications roles at Airstream, where he helped lead connected product development and customer experience marketing.

“I’ve spent my career working at the intersection of marketing, technology, and the dealer network—and I was fortunate to be an Element Three client during my time at Airstream,” said Hileman. “I saw firsthand the strategic thinking and partnership this team brings. Joining Element Three feels like a natural fit, and I’m eager to help our clients achieve even greater success with innovative, results-driven strategies.”

Hileman is based in Ohio and will work in a hybrid capacity with Element Three’s Carmel, Indiana headquarters.

For more information about Element Three, head to https://elementthree.com.– 

Reid Morris
SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER

E [email protected]  |  T 317-519-7405  |  W ElementThree.com

A 571 Monon Blvd. Suite 125, Carmel, IN 46032

The post Element Three Hires RV Industry Veteran Steven Hileman first appeared on RVBusiness - Breaking RV Industry News.

Pathfinder Ventures Ltd. (TSXV:RV) has provided an update on the progress of its Lifestyle Communities division and insight into its Western Canada RV Portfolio, according to a press release.

Pathfinder RV Resort Portfolio – Increased Reservations as Canada-U.S. Tensions Rise

Pathfinder’s Camp Resort Portfolio is experiencing an increase in reservations, driven in part by ongoing Canada-U.S. tensions that are leading more Canadians to vacation locally.

According to the company’s latest reservation data, bookings for April 2025 are 48% higher than the same period last year. Looking further ahead, advance bookings for the upcoming months are already up by nearly 10% year over year.

This data suggests two key trends: in the short term, more Canadians are opting to stay local, and in the long term, travelers are increasingly planning summer vacations within Canada rather than in the U.S.

While data on Pathfinder’s winter RV program is still being collected, management anticipates a potential surge in demand for Winter 25/26. Many snowbirds may choose to remain in Canada rather than travel to warmer destinations such as Arizona, Palm Springs or Florida. As all of Pathfinder’s parks are in Western Canada, the company sees a strong opportunity to capture this growing market.

Pathfinder will continue to monitor booking trends closely and provide further updates as more data becomes available.

“The strong increase in bookings for our RV Resort portfolio reflects growing demand for local vacation options. We are well positioned to take advantage of this growing trend and look forward to the continued potential of our parks across Western Canada,” said Joe Bleackley, CEO of Pathfinder.

Pathfinder Communities – Focused on Housing Affordability

Since announcing the launch of its Pathfinder Lifestyle Communities division, Pathfinder has been actively advancing its plans to create vibrant, affordable housing communities in Western Canada. The company’s strategy focuses on land lease communities that provide high-quality, cost-effective modular and manufactured housing solutions tailored to the needs of Canadians seeking affordable homeownership options.

As demand for attainable housing continues to rise, Pathfinder plans on positioning itself as a leading provider of low-cost housing by leveraging innovative modular construction techniques and community-centric development strategies. The vision is to establish and operate well-designed, sustainable communities that offer residents an exceptional quality of life at a fraction of traditional housing costs, noted the release.

“Our Lifestyle Communities division is progressing as planned, and we look forward to unveiling specific projects shortly as we work toward helping Canadians find cost-effective housing solutions,” said Bleackley.

The post ‘Pathfinder’ Notes 48% Jump in Bookings at Canadian Parks first appeared on RVBusiness - Breaking RV Industry News.

International tourists detained at U.S. borders. Steep tariffs imposed on trade partners. Threats againstlongtime allies.

The onslaught of contested policies and language by the Trump administration in recent weeks is causing tourists around the globe to either cancel or reconsider travel to the United States, according to The New York Times. A growing number of visitors say they feel unwelcome or unsafe and are reluctant to support the economy of a country that some foreign officials say is waging trade wars and destabilizing its allies. A draft of a new travel ban circulating through the administration could restrict citizens from up to 43 countries, including Belarus, Cambodia and St. Lucia, from entering the United States.

“So many Americans are looking to escape the tense and toxic atmosphere at home. Why would anyone want to visit, especially right now with all the arbitrary detentions at immigration?” said Mallory Henderson, 53, a marketing consultant in London who usually visits the United States twice a year, but canceled a trip to visit her brother and niece in Boston this Easter.

“It’s a really hostile and scary time, and quite frankly, there’s plenty of other inviting and pleasant places I can go to meet up with my family,” she said.

Even before the change in administration in January, the U.S. travel industry was struggling to recover from the pandemic, mainly because of the strength of the dollar, which makes it more expensive for foreign travelers to visit, and long visa wait times. Inbound international visitor numbers were not expected to reach 2019 levels until later this year and foreign visitor spending is not projected to fully recover until 2026,according to the U.S. Travel Association.

The research firm Tourism Economics had originally forecast travel to the United States to grow by 9% this year, but in February, it updated its outlook, expecting inbound travel to decline by 5.1% and hotel demand to decline by 0.8% in 2025 — the equivalent of an $18 billion drop in spending. Much of the decline is the result of a boycott by Canadian travelers. In February, after President Trump announced tariffs on Canada, the number of Canadians driving across the border fell by 24% compared with the same period in 2024.

To read more, click here. 

The post NYT: ‘Trump Slump’ Has Foreign Travelers Rethinking Trips first appeared on RVBusiness - Breaking RV Industry News.

The 46th Annual York RV Show was held on March 21, 22 and 23 at the York, Pa., Expo Center. Paid admissions included over 3,700 RVers who were excited to see the 2025 models, according to a press release.

James Kesterke, show chairman, reported the energetic crowd enjoyed visiting all the buildings, which featured 165,000 square feet of indoor space, plus 80 additional units outdoors. The show’s nine RV dealers reported great consumer sentiment and high sales.

Twenty-five campgrounds showcased their facilities and talked with the customers about the advantages of coming to their park.  Thirty-two other booths sold camping-related items such as golf carts, RV repairs, food and fire starters. Kids at the show were entertained with balloon animals, face-painting, glitter tattoos and a prize wheel.

A unique feature of the show is an hourly drawing where 24 certificates are given away, with one winner chosen randomly each hour. The contest featured a contactless QR code used for entering. Over 400 families entered the contest. A grand door prize of $1,000 toward a new RV was awarded to a lucky winner from Ebensburg, Pa.

An extensive advertising campaign was formulated which included TV, OTT, newspapers, radio, billboards, posters, postcards and, of course, social media. An online pre-roll video that targeted people who are in the market to buy or currently own an RV within a 50-mile radius of the show was also included. A contest through WGAL, a targeted postcard and geofencing were part of the campaign as well.

The show’s website, www.yorkrvshow.net, was a helpful tool for anyone looking for information about the show. It features bold graphics, pages listing dealers and vendors, a map of the Expo Center and direct links to Eventbrite, where pre-event tickets could be purchased at discount prices. It includes a listing of the RVs sold by each dealer so shoppers can easily find the model they were looking for.

The entire show is produced and manned by volunteers from the Pennsylvania Campground Owners Association. Jason Vaughan shared that the association was pleased to be able to offer campers and dealers the opportunity for a show that featured a record number of RVs. The total paid attendance to the show was 3,765.

Planning has already begun for the 2026 show, which will be held March 20, 21 and 22. For more information, go to yorkrvshow.net or pacamping.com.

The post PCOA Hosts Thousands During ‘Successful’ York RV Show first appeared on RVBusiness - Breaking RV Industry News.

TAMPA, Fla. – Lazydays Holdings, Inc. (NasdaqCM: GORV) will announce its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2024 financial results no later than before the market opens on March 31. A conference call to discuss the results is scheduled for the same day at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

The conference call may be accessed by telephone at 877-407-8029 / +1 201-689-8029. To listen live on our website or for replay, visit www.lazydays.com/investor-relations.

The post Lazydays Schedules Release of Q4, Fiscal 2024 Results first appeared on RVBusiness - Breaking RV Industry News.

STOCKHOLM – As previously announced, Dometic is changing its segment reporting structure from the reporting of the Q1 2025 interim report, according to a press release.

The three Land Vehicles segments of Americas, EMEA and APAC is consolidated into one Global Land Vehicles segment. The other segments remain as before. Restated financials for the new segment structure for the period 2022 to 2024, full year and by quarter, are now available at https://www.dometicgroup.com/en-us/investors
 

The post Dometic Restates Financials for New Segment Structure first appeared on RVBusiness - Breaking RV Industry News.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – PlayStation has officially announced the release of NASCAR 2025 MOD5, set to hit shelves in the fall of 2025, and RVers can expect some thrilling new additions to the game, according to a press release.

The latest installment will feature Campers Inn RV’s iconic paint schemes on both AJ Allmendinger’s Kaulig Racing car and Ben Rhodes’ Thor Sport Truck, marking a significant milestone for Campers Inn.

“We’re absolutely delighted to be part of NASCAR 2025 MOD5 and to see RV Artie take center stage in this global release,” says Campers Inn’s National Director of Store Operations, Larry Peter. “With the addition of Christian Eckes and the introduction of fresh car paint schemes, this season promises to be an electrifying experience—both on the track and in the game.”

NASCAR 2025 MOD5 will showcase Campers Inn’s signature colors of orange, white and green in every game worldwide. Plus, the addition of RV Artie marks a major milestone for both Campers Inn and RV Artie fans, promising to add some excitement to the RVing community.

In addition to this exciting news, Campers Inn will also be sponsoring Christian Eckes as the new Kaulig Racing driver for the 2025 season. Eckes will be behind the wheel of a brand-new paint scheme that celebrates CIRV’s Mobile RV Medics team. His is expected to further elevate the Kaulig Racing team and will certainly be a highlight for the Campers Inn team this racing season.

Fans can mark their calendars for the official release date: November 19, 2025.

For more information on NASCAR 2025 MOD5 and the upcoming season, stay tuned for updates and exclusive content.

Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., Campers Inn RV was established in 1966 and has grown to become the nation’s largest family-operated dealership group with 36 locations throughout the East Coast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. In 2010 and consecutively since 2014, Campers Inn RV has been selected as one of RVBusiness Magazine’s Top50 Dealers in North America and was named a Top 5 Blue Ribbon Award winner in 2023 marking the fifth time Campers Inn RV has earned this prestigious honor. For more information about Campers Inn RV, visit www.campersinn.com or find Campers Inn RV on Facebook

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