August 7, 2004

see original article at MSNBC.com

WiFi meet RV

RV campers stay plugged in across California, as campgrounds add this amenity and many others

Courtesy of RVIA RV parks are providing Wi-Fi to appeal to computer-savvy users

By Tom Stienstra
Updated: 4:49 p.m. ET Aug. 7, 2004

SAN FRANCISCO - Can you imagine a life in which you keep your full-time job—and yet spend your days driving across the West in an RV, taking time out to hike, bike, fish, boat, sightsee and watch wildlife? Or anything else you feel like doing?

That is exactly how Laurie Lee Dovey spends her time.

“Advances in technology mean I can live in an RV full time, and yet still earn a full-time salary,” Dovey said. “In fact, since I started this, my income has gone way up, not down.”

Dovey turned two unlikely hobbies, golf and hunting, into a high-paying gig in which she writes on-the-spot freelance stories about golf courses, golf pros, hunting areas and guides while she roams across the country in her RV. With her partner driving, she can write stories, correspond by e-mail, invoice for payment, all while heading to the next destination—and see America in the process.

“I have a satellite Internet connection for my computer and wireless phone, so I can be anywhere and get my work done, including in my RV, while we're driving down the road,” Dovey said.

This is part of a transformation in the RV camping business, with parks scrambling to provide Wi-Fi among other attractions to bring in high-end RV traffic.

Wi-What?

Wi-Fi? That's the hottest thing going this summer at RV parks, along with many other new attractions.

Wi-Fi stands for “Wireless Fidelity,” which is essentially a way to get to the Internet. RV parks that buy the Wi-Fi portal can provide wireless Internet reception for many computer users within 200 feet. That gives RV visitors three options: satellite hookup, Wi-Fi connection or the old-fashioned modem dial-up, typically from the RV office (almost archaic in the face of the wireless technology).

The one catch is that the Wi-Fi signal can be blocked at RV parks set in a forest. That aside, some 50 percent of upscale RV parks either have Wi-Fi or are in the process of getting it this summer.

More changes at the campgrounds

RV parks are making other major changes to appeal to computer-savvy users like Dovey, according to a statewide survey conducted by research editor Stephani Cruickshank.

These changes are crowned by the new park model cabins, now available at hundreds of RV parks this year, providing an option for privacy and intimacy.

Other trends: 24-hour security, online reservations, improved landscaping and appearance, and more amenities such as spas, recreation rooms and small gyms.

New rules across the board at most parks include a strict quiet time after 10 p.m., and “no biters or barkers” when it comes to dogs. There is a new wide-scale ban on three species of dogs: pit bulls, Rottweilers and Dobermans. Park owners say their insurance carriers are demanding it.

Another big change is that old mobile home parks with various numbers of permanent residents, with some side space set aside for overnighters, are fast disappearing.

“People will pay high prices for prime location, privacy, security and lots of amenities, where their kids can play and they don't have to worry about feeling safe.’ — Stephani Cruickshank Research editor

“That's not what most people want, it's at simple as that,” Cruickshank said. “They want to stay where the odds of a quality experience are high.” She said prices are secondary. “People will pay high prices for prime location, privacy, security and lots of amenities, where their kids can play and they don't have to worry about feeling safe.”

The average price varies according to area. The Redwood Empire, Lassen County, Mendocino and Shasta-Trinity are relatively cheap, for instance, generally about $25 to $30 per night for a site with full hookups. Upscale parks at Tahoe, Monterey, Morro Bay, Santa Barbara and San Diego are more expensive, ranging $35 to $45 per night, occasionally higher. The rest of the Western United States tends to fall somewhere in between.

The most expensive RV park in the West is in San Diego at Campland on the Bay, where sites range as high as $200-plus per night for prime water frontage. Demand is so high that reservations are made two years in advance, and a phone call requires a wait of 20 to 45 minutes or longer. This is an example of where location rules, despite complaints sent to me about poor service, long waits and rude employees.

The trends at public campgrounds also include major changes. The price hike this month for state park campsites, now typically $16 to $20 per night for a tent site, has inspired many city, county, regional and federal entities to increase their fees to the same range.

Another big change is that the “snowbirds,” the retired escapees of the 40-hour-a-week grind, have become astute and aggressive to capture the best spots at the best times. Just like ducks, they head north in the summer and south in the winter—but they'll show up as early as Oct. 1 in Southern California and Arizona, when the weather is still hot, to claim their prime spot.

What makes it all work is the new technology, the ability to be anywhere and remain plugged in to the world—and if you want, have the chance to still earn a full-time wage.