Advice on Building an RV Park

[John Erickson]

We've put an offer in on some land with the idea of building an RV Park. The property has both a lake and river and is a 5 - 10 minute walk from the small but artsty/funky downtown area which features about 10 festivals a year and draws both foreign and domestic tourists. We have investment properties, both SFH and MFH, which are a mix of short-term (Airbnb, VRBO, etc...) and long term rentals. However, I don't have experience in building a project like this. I do own an RV and have traveled in it quite a bit over the past year so I am familiar with that side of things. The director of Tourism (who also sits on the Zoning Board) for the city is EXTREMELY supportive of having an RV Park in town and says there is a huge demand for it. He says they turn away plenty of RV'ers that want to stay in town but drive 30 miles away to the nearest decent park. The only competition is a run-down park which is mostly full-timers with neglected trailers. The director of Tourism said that he won't in good faith recommend that park to any travelers who come to town. Would any RV park owners out there be kind enough to spend a few minutes chatting about building and/or running a park? I'd also love any advice posted here. Thanks in advance!