[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to A Place to Call Home. I'm Ed Bridgman, engineer, developer, and founder of EOB Consulting. Today we're exploring how innovative RV destinations are redefining modern living. You're watching now Media Television.
Hello to another segment of A Place to Call Home with your host, Ed O. Bridgman, surrounded today by beautiful women.
Thank you, ladies, for allowing me this time with you as you're very busy. I know because we're here at the opening day of the Arizona Conference.
So how long have you been working with the conference?
[00:00:38] Speaker B: Seven years.
[00:00:40] Speaker A: And tell everybody your name.
[00:00:41] Speaker B: My name is Faith Zorb, and I am from Sunrise RV park in Apache Junction, Arizona.
[00:00:47] Speaker C: Awesome.
[00:00:48] Speaker A: And, Susan, how long have you been working with the association?
[00:00:52] Speaker D: It's 23 years now.
I represent both the Manufactured Housing Communities of Arizona, who I've been with for 23 years, and the Arizona OHA, which I've been with now for four years. So.
[00:01:09] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:01:09] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:01:10] Speaker A: And so each year you put on a conference?
[00:01:13] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:01:14] Speaker A: And why?
Well, first of all, who should attend the conference?
[00:01:21] Speaker D: Anyone who has anything to do with either the RV parks, campgrounds, glamping, or
[00:01:31] Speaker B: the mobile home parks, 55 plus parks.
[00:01:35] Speaker A: Anybody with any one of glamping RV or manufacturing homes. How about boat and RV storage?
[00:01:42] Speaker D: We don't get into storage very much, although a lot of the parks do have storage. And just as an FYI, in Arizona here we have special storage laws. So if you're charging for storage, you better. We have a book that has all of the storage laws in it that was written by our attorney.
I advise you to get hold of it.
[00:02:02] Speaker A: Okay, so is this association only for people that live in Arizona?
[00:02:08] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:02:08] Speaker D: What we cover are the Arizona state laws and all. Although we have some national speech, some national people who attend, and national speakers. So it's an overall conference.
But our attorney probably gives four or five sessions at each one of our conferences during the two days.
And our attorney really just concentrates on Arizona state law.
[00:02:34] Speaker A: Okay, so as a member of the association, your dues help pay for an attorney to understand the laws that are influencing your industry?
[00:02:49] Speaker B: Correct. And for no other reason. That's why you should come.
[00:02:53] Speaker A: If for no other reason, you should learn because laws change.
Does this attorney act as a lobbyist to help you promote laws that are good for you and put on lobbyists? You have a different lobbyist, and that person is also paid from the association dues?
[00:03:14] Speaker D: Yes, for the RV Association, I am also the lobbyist in addition.
[00:03:18] Speaker A: Oh, you are?
I didn't even know that part of My job?
[00:03:22] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:03:23] Speaker A: Okay, so part of your job is to go before legislatures, the governing officials in your state, and understand what laws are being voted on and what laws are positively affecting and what laws are negatively affecting.
If something is negatively affecting, you can gather the association members and you can write letters and you can go storm the Capitol.
[00:03:52] Speaker D: And for example, like here in Arizona, there's a statewide association that represents the residents who live in RV parks and in mobile home parks.
And this year there was legislation that they would like to have passed that every owner, or excuse me, every park manager of an RV park would have to have at least four hours of continuing education every two years.
[00:04:24] Speaker A: Continuing education on what subject?
[00:04:26] Speaker D: Well, it's because Arizona is kind of different from a lot of states.
Believe it or not, in Arizona we have both a short term RV act, which is basically the general commercial act. Yeah, it's the hotel act, the hotel laws.
[00:04:46] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:04:47] Speaker D: But if you happen to have park models in the park, which quite a few of our members do, or if you happen to give people a written rental agreement for more than 180 days.
[00:05:01] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:05:01] Speaker D: Then you're going to fall under the long term RV act, which has different rules.
[00:05:07] Speaker E: Oh, yeah.
[00:05:08] Speaker D: And it gets quite. It gets into quite a few different rules.
[00:05:12] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:05:13] Speaker A: Okay, so you need to be familiar with these rules or be a member of an association that can provide you with written documentation that explains the rules.
[00:05:24] Speaker D: Yes, we have a whole book all about it. Goes through all of the different rules and regulations and then spells them out in people terms.
[00:05:35] Speaker A: And you provide those to your association members?
[00:05:38] Speaker D: Yes, and association members get a great discounted price on it. Cheaper than you can go to any attorney.
[00:05:44] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:05:45] Speaker A: So it is available to other people also. Yes, just at a higher price.
Okay. All right. So one reason to join the association is to be aware of the changing, ever changing laws.
What's another reason to be a member of the association?
[00:06:05] Speaker B: Get to know colleagues, other people in industry.
[00:06:07] Speaker A: Yes, Networking. Okay.
[00:06:10] Speaker B: Very important.
[00:06:11] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:06:11] Speaker A: And this weekend, it's not exactly a weekend. What is today? Wednesday. This is Wednesday and Thursday.
This conference that we're in today is a good place to network.
[00:06:23] Speaker B: Absolutely, absolutely. And with vendors too.
[00:06:26] Speaker A: Okay, so how many vendors are here that are you expecting?
[00:06:30] Speaker D: We have 58 of them. 58 vendors and everything from bingo to asphalt.
[00:06:39] Speaker A: That's A and B and great consultants. And consultants.
[00:06:43] Speaker C: Abc. There you go. Abc. I'm sure we have some rest of
[00:06:48] Speaker A: the Alphabet is represented also. I'm sure. Okay.
[00:06:53] Speaker C: All right.
[00:06:54] Speaker A: So if you want to know anything about. About the association, if you Want. Oh. So how about a phone number? Does the association have its own phone number?
[00:07:03] Speaker B: Yes, it's your phone number.
[00:07:05] Speaker C: Well,
[00:07:08] Speaker A: you want to share it?
4, 80 what?
[00:07:12] Speaker D: 480- what?
4804-8035-1351-7071.
[00:07:19] Speaker A: 7071. How about one more time?
[00:07:24] Speaker D: 480-351-7071.
[00:07:29] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:07:30] Speaker A: And if someone wants to know some more about the association, they can call that number and you will give them all the information. So there's some annual dues.
[00:07:39] Speaker D: I assume there are annual dues based upon the number of spaces in your community, in your park. But, you know, if you want more about the information, come on down.
[00:07:48] Speaker C: Come down to the conference.
[00:07:49] Speaker D: Come down to the conference.
[00:07:51] Speaker C: Well, sure, but this will probably be aired next month.
But you have this every year.
[00:07:57] Speaker D: Then mark May 12th through 14th of 2027 on your calendar.
[00:08:01] Speaker A: Now, May.
[00:08:02] Speaker D: You better say it May 12th through the 14th, 2027.
[00:08:06] Speaker A: You already have picked the dates for next year.
[00:08:08] Speaker D: Yes. And it's going to be at Wekapa Resort, which is just north of Scottsdale. It's a beautiful resort.
[00:08:14] Speaker A: And that's where we are now.
[00:08:15] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:08:15] Speaker A: Awesome. Awesome. I've already won $100.
[00:08:18] Speaker C: Okay.
Yeah.
[00:08:23] Speaker A: Come for the association and stay for the blackjack.
[00:08:25] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:08:26] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:08:26] Speaker F: Good deal.
[00:08:28] Speaker A: So what else can they expect to see here at the conference?
Vendors networking, different products that you
[00:08:38] Speaker B: don't even think of. We saw.
What were those glamping things one year?
[00:08:44] Speaker D: Yeah, the glamping tents and the covered wagons.
And we've had. And today we're doing something special. Typically on the first day of the convention, we'll do a tour of something such as we've been to a lot of the factories and things like that.
Today it's a little bit different. We actually have a park that is closing due to the fact that they happen to be on reservation land. And the reservation no longer wants non Indian people living on the land. So there are.
Since the park is closing, we have quite a few homes, particularly older homes.
[00:09:24] Speaker A: Park model or manufactured homes? Manufactured homes that are coming up for sale.
[00:09:29] Speaker D: But there are also some older, smaller mobile homes.
[00:09:34] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:09:34] Speaker D: Yeah, awesome. And yeah. So today's tour is we're going out there to the park and you can bid in the auction on those homes.
[00:09:44] Speaker A: Isn't that interesting?
[00:09:45] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:09:45] Speaker A: Okay, awesome. So we have food, we have entertainment. Tonight we're having a pool party.
It's a beautiful location.
Come and network.
Come and see vendors that you might need some pedestals or some reservation software or some consulting and you will see someone here. And there's also, you forgot to mention training.
You have breakout sessions.
I just happen to know that because I'm leading one.
[00:10:16] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:10:17] Speaker A: So you can come to a breakout session and learn about a specific topic.
[00:10:23] Speaker D: And we have specific breakout sessions specifically for, like, upper management and owners and for the RV parks and for manufactured home parks. And then we started something special a couple of years ago where our vendors have an opportunity to talk. If you're particularly, say, interested in getting new asphalt.
We've got two or three asphalt companies here and they will give a one hour session.
And so you can kind of sit there and compare, compare them.
[00:10:58] Speaker A: Well, the reservation software, they could talk for an hour very easily and compare the different things that the reservation software each reservation software company provides. That's quite extensive. That can take up some good time. So this is a good place to meet different vendors, all in the same room and compare apples to apples and see which one you want to work with. Exactly, exactly.
So you're gonna give out your phone number, too.
[00:11:34] Speaker C: I just thought maybe you can come
[00:11:37] Speaker B: to Sunrise RV Resort and stay. We have park models. In fact, we have a lot of park models this year.
[00:11:42] Speaker D: Right?
[00:11:42] Speaker B: We got 10 coming in and I already have eight.
So that's a lot for us.
[00:11:48] Speaker A: What's their phone number?
[00:11:49] Speaker B: My phone number? Oh, my goodness.
[00:11:51] Speaker A: Their phone number.
[00:11:52] Speaker B: Sunrise rv.
[00:11:55] Speaker C: Look it up. Okay. Sunrise rv, Arizona.
[00:12:00] Speaker A: Don't call her personal.
[00:12:02] Speaker B: It's a Roberts resort.
[00:12:03] Speaker A: It's a Roberts resort.
[00:12:04] Speaker C: Okay. So beautiful resort.
[00:12:06] Speaker A: I hope you've enjoyed this conversation as much as I have. Stay tuned to another segment of A Place to Call Home. We'll be right back with more insight into designing communities that combine freedom, profitability and purpose. Stay tuned on NOW Media Television. And we're back. I'm Ed Bridgman and this is a place to Call home on NOW Media Television. Let's continue the conversation.
[00:12:32] Speaker C: Welcome to A Place to Call Home with your host, Ed O. Bridgman. We are here at the Arizona Conference in 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. Interviewing Steve Stafford from Camp Jellystone. Thank you for letting me interview you, Steve.
[00:12:49] Speaker F: My pleasure, Ed. Thank you.
[00:12:51] Speaker C: Well, thank you for being here. Why are you here? Why did you come to the conference today?
[00:12:55] Speaker F: Well, man one is the networking possibilities. But Camp Jellystone, the campground, we are looking for potential owners of campgrounds, potential developers. They're looking to kind of up their game, so to speak, with adding the brand, the Jellystone brand and moving out west with more Jellystone campgrounds. Right now we have nothing In Arizona, but somebody will be the first.
[00:13:25] Speaker C: Okay, so. So you have RV destination and manufactured home destination, right? Both.
[00:13:34] Speaker F: We have both RV sites. And cabins. And cabins.
[00:13:39] Speaker C: And it's like a franchise.
[00:13:40] Speaker F: It is a franchise.
[00:13:41] Speaker C: Okay. So someone is either a building from scratch or B, they're, they have an existing destination and they would like to become part of the franchise.
[00:13:55] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:13:56] Speaker C: So what's the advantage of being part of the Jellystone team?
[00:13:59] Speaker F: That's a great question.
Thank you for asking that question.
Yeah. I came from a background, actually, of working at a campground in Texas, where we were just a typical campground, but more campgrounds were coming into our area to the system, and we needed something that would give us that shot in the arm, that boost that brand recognition. With Jellystone kind of gave us that lift.
The support, the training, the merchandise. For example, Warner Brothers has about seven to 800 items that they've approved for Camp Jellystone to sell in their store.
And so just like those items you can only buy at a Jellystone park, you can't buy them anyplace else. So that lift, that training, brand recognition, the marketing team, the retail team, and we can't forget the three bears, Yogi and Boo Boo and Cindy, they just, they add to the fun and the families that come in and that experience just.
Just makes so much family memories.
[00:15:14] Speaker C: So when someone is deciding where they want to stay for a week or more or less, they can go on the website and they can see a Jelly Stone park in the area that they want to be and they can say, oh, I have an idea what to expect when I get there, because I've stayed at a Jellystone park before.
And so I have an idea of how I'm going to be treated, how, what amenities I'm going to have.
That's because Jellystone is a franchise. And when you go to a Jellystone park, you have this commonality.
[00:15:56] Speaker F: Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's correct. There is a blueprint, if you would, for success, that Jellystone has over 50 years of experience running a campground and being in the system that you know what to expect. However, different locations can still theme out their park, have a feel based on its location, you know, so you might go to one in Texas, one in Utah, California, Massachusetts, and see a little bit different feel. But yet you can expect the bears to be involved, an activity program to be involved, and some of the attractions or amenities may be slightly different.
[00:16:43] Speaker C: Okay, so how many parks of. And we didn't rehearse this, so I don't know if you know the answer, but how many Jellystone parks are there today?
[00:16:51] Speaker F: So we're 79.
[00:16:53] Speaker C: 79.
[00:16:53] Speaker F: You did know the answer. Yeah, I didn't know the answer. And there's, I think four in. Four in. In Canada. That includes four in Canada. So. Okay, we'll have probably another two or three coming on later this year. Probably open up next year, but.
[00:17:06] Speaker C: But today you don't have any in Arizona.
[00:17:09] Speaker F: Correct.
[00:17:09] Speaker C: And it's actually a good goal of yours to move Jellystone west. Yes, to gather some sites west of the Mississippi.
[00:17:20] Speaker F: Yeah, I mean, if you want to say that, Mississippi is correct. But, you know, most of the population we know is out east. You know, the camping is out there as well. That's kind of where Jellystone started.
And so it's kind of popped up. The people have experienced it, so it's familiar.
So they kind of keep growing.
The same thing will start happening out west as soon as that first one picks up. And then other campgrounds, the owners will start to look at, oh, this is good. We need to look at this as well, you know, too.
[00:17:52] Speaker C: Okay, so what if I own an existing destination and is it possible to be too small?
[00:18:01] Speaker F: Yes, there is always that possibility to be too small. Our minimum, you know, we look at. We like to see 40 acres plus 40 acres with about 110.120rv sites, four to six or so cabins, you know, basic, you know, your pools, your shower, laundry. We call it a ranger station, you know, your reservation, building a store.
But we start with parts that are existing and get them launch, call it phase one, and let them get going and growing. And then they'll. They'll naturally grow just by default, almost because they'll feel it expanding and the revenue will come in and they'll want to add on.
[00:18:46] Speaker C: So once I meet the basic qualifications to become a Jellystone franchise, then there's some paperwork and whatever. And then
[00:18:58] Speaker E: what.
[00:18:59] Speaker C: What goes. What's next?
Do you guys bring in your own software? Reservation software? Do what training is involved? What do you provide?
[00:19:09] Speaker F: Yeah, so some of the things that we provide, once they're coming on board and we've talked through this, we have multiple training sessions throughout the year. So they would go to our training as a new park owner.
[00:19:25] Speaker C: So they would travel someplace.
[00:19:27] Speaker F: They travel typically it's in Cincinnati.
[00:19:29] Speaker C: Oh.
[00:19:30] Speaker F: But sometimes it can be at a particular campground, which we like to do, because then they can see the inner workings of that existing campground.
[00:19:39] Speaker C: So you could become a training facility.
[00:19:42] Speaker F: So some of our Jellystone parks are actually a training facility. There's nothing like seeing it firsthand in operation. You know, when we talk about here's what a camp store should look like to actually be at the store, here's what an activity program looks like and here's how you, how the bears interact with the customers and things like that.
So there's the support and the training that happens before day one opens.
There's the setting up at the camp store, doing the retail, the purchasing, the marketing that goes out prior to opening that we're pushing the campground and new ones coming into the area.
And then our software is Camp Spot. They're our preferred PMS system and been working for them for the Watt for a while now.
And all those things we just make sure you're good to go. The theming, the statues, the entrance signs. We help, you know, kind of.
[00:20:44] Speaker C: So is there a team that comes out to that location and helps it set up?
[00:20:47] Speaker F: Yeah, well, not only will you come and do training at maybe a jelly stone location, but we will also have part of our team come out to your location to help you set up the store and get started and get started.
[00:21:00] Speaker C: But after that is open, do you help, help hire people? Because there's going to have to be somebody in the bear suit, there's going to have to be somebody at the store, there's going to have to be somebody leading the sessions.
How many employees is a minimum number of employees?
[00:21:17] Speaker F: That's a good question. I get that question a lot too because it varies. One, we don't do the hiring for you, one of your first questions. But we can't talk about, you know, things you may want to look for in terms of job description of a recreation director, a front desk, you know, a reservation. Let's say we can help with building out or give you recommendations on what that job description might look like. But ultimately it's going to come down to the owners, the operators to do the hiring. Unless they've gone with a third party management to help manage the park.
[00:21:54] Speaker C: So you can work with them even if they already have a third party management. Yeah, I didn't realize that. I thought you kind of were the third party manager.
[00:22:02] Speaker F: Yeah, no, and we're seeing a little bit more of that because more developers and investors are getting on the bandwagon, if you would, of getting their, you know, expanding their portfolio of doing campgrounds. Maybe they had residential shopping centers and now they want to expand and go into the camping industry and expand that portfolio for their, you know, stockholders, if you would. And so they're getting on board but they don't want to run it. So there's multiple third party management options that are out there. Again, that comes down to those owners on who they go with. Again, we can give recommendations on that. But, but back to the hiring. It comes down to those, the individuals that own the park. How many? Again, it depends, you know, and how, how robust your activities are. You know, are you having a water park? Are you having jumping pillow, laser tag, you know, archery, you know, running a different program, miniature golf. And how many of those need staff? But. And then how long they're open?
[00:23:07] Speaker C: Do you give them any advice about, like, if they don't have a miniature golf? Do you advise them whether or not this is a good idea or not to add this amenity?
[00:23:18] Speaker F: So we can talk about that. We have a list of all of our parks and which amenities they have. And we can break it down based on percentages of. And I'm just guessing right now, but let's just say that 85% of our campgrounds have a jumping pillow or a jumping pad. So that may be something you want to add at your park. You know, we may say, you know, inflatables maybe. Only 10% of our parks have, so it may be low on your totem pole. So we can give that list. The majority of our parks are having had these attractions. The other beauty of the Jellystone family or community is that you can talk to an owner operator that has that attraction.
What do you think?
[00:24:04] Speaker C: Get that feedback?
[00:24:05] Speaker F: Do you like it? You know, who'd you get it from?
And so you don't need to hear it from us, but hear from the actual owners and operators.
[00:24:14] Speaker C: So I have 10 seconds to give us how they can get ahold of you.
[00:24:17] Speaker F: So I'm Steve Stafford. It's S. Stafford
[email protected] we'll be right
[00:24:29] Speaker A: back with more insight into designing communities that combine freedom, profitability and purpose. Stay tuned on NOW Media Television. And we're back. I'm Ed Bridgman, and this is a place to call home on NOW Media Television. Let's continue the conversation.
[00:24:48] Speaker C: Hello, this is a place to call home, and I'm your host, Ed O. Bridgman. Today we are coming to you from Orlando, Florida, where we're enjoying the Florida Alabama Outdoor Hospitality Conference and Expo here at the EOB Consulting booth. I ran into a friend of mine, John McGee, and I said, hey, John, come get in front of the camera and tell us about your project. So thank you very much for allowing me to interview you.
[00:25:19] Speaker E: Thank you, Ed. It's a pleasure to be here.
[00:25:22] Speaker C: I'm glad you're here.
So why are you here? Why did you come to the Florida Alabama Outdoor Hospital Conference and Expo?
[00:25:30] Speaker E: I specifically came to this event.
My wife and I are recent investors into a new RV park development in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
And we've contracted you to do a marketing analysis to help us get this park running.
[00:25:48] Speaker C: That's exciting. I'm very happy to.
[00:25:51] Speaker B: Actually.
[00:25:52] Speaker C: We just.
We haven't actually inked the contract yet, but we just found out about this two days ago. So we were already on our way here when we found out about this. And usually we stay booked four to six weeks out, but we're squeezing you in next week.
[00:26:09] Speaker E: That's what I hear.
[00:26:10] Speaker C: We're going to be flying. Monica and I are going to be flying to Myrtle beach next week to work on your project.
So please tell me about your project. How many acres?
[00:26:21] Speaker E: 23 acres.
[00:26:22] Speaker C: 23 acres?
[00:26:23] Speaker E: 20. 21 and a half, I believe. Usable acres.
[00:26:28] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:26:30] Speaker E: The. The other investors had a senior living facility a few years ago that they were developing, and unfortunately, that was right at the time that Covid hit. They had to pivot away from that because the numbers no longer made sense for them. That site set dormant for a while. It's been determined that the greatest and best use is an RV park.
That's where we're at.
The site's ready to go, but we need all the final details to put it together. And that's where we're coming to you for.
[00:27:06] Speaker C: Cool. Happy to help any way I can.
So give us a little bit about your background.
Where are you coming from?
[00:27:15] Speaker E: I recently recently retired from the Boeing Company.
[00:27:19] Speaker C: Congratulations.
[00:27:20] Speaker E: Thank you so much.
[00:27:21] Speaker C: Wonderful company.
[00:27:22] Speaker E: As a master Six Sigma black belt, awesome doing.
Doing complex problem solving. Since retiring, my wife and I have been real estate investors and we are keeping ourselves busy with different asset classes that we've invested in. RV parks is the newest one.
[00:27:45] Speaker F: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:27:46] Speaker E: We don't own any yet, but that's what we're doing.
[00:27:50] Speaker C: So would it be correct to say that if this does well, that this might be the first of many?
[00:27:59] Speaker E: Absolutely.
[00:28:00] Speaker C: Absolutely. I love working on those projects.
[00:28:03] Speaker E: Absolutely.
[00:28:03] Speaker C: Awesome. Awesome. Okay, so have we done any analysis whatsoever? Do you have any idea? 22 acres, 21. Something that is accessible.
Look at that. We got some background noise. We're gonna play right through it.
Do you have any idea how many sites you're looking for?
[00:28:31] Speaker E: Between 180 and 220.
[00:28:34] Speaker C: Okay, so you have started doing some analysis. Between 180 and 220 sites. That's cool.
Okay. What other amenities are you thinking about?
[00:28:48] Speaker E: My partners have that.
[00:28:50] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:28:55] Speaker E: I don't have all that information yet.
[00:28:57] Speaker C: That's all right.
[00:28:58] Speaker E: I wasn't a true member of the group until a few days ago. As you might know.
[00:29:04] Speaker C: This is how fast we work. Okay. We are. We are on top. Okay. We are doing good. So you're a member of an investment group? Yes, for the Porch Creek Indian Tribe.
[00:29:18] Speaker E: That's something else that I'm doing. I've recently been voted into the investment committee. It's a small committee of decision makers that help deploy capital that the tribe has for nonprofit organizations, as well as say we have our senior members of the tribe. We have members of the tribe that haven't reached 18.
We invest their funds grown by the tribe and. And I help decide where those funds get deployed.
[00:29:55] Speaker C: So you, you just mentioned that. Especially nonprofits.
Would it be safe to say that a non profit person who is watching the show that they could contact you and say, we have something we want to pitch to you?
[00:30:13] Speaker E: Absolutely.
[00:30:14] Speaker C: Okay, cool. I didn't realize we were going there, but now that we have, why don't you tell them how they can get a hold of you?
[00:30:25] Speaker E: They can contact me via my email. It's john.m.mcgeemail.com and please say that again
[00:30:35] Speaker C: for the people who were running out of the room to grab a pencil and a paper and they just got back. So Sure.
[00:30:42] Speaker E: J o h n mcgheemail.com and just put in the subject line non profit investment opportunity.
[00:30:57] Speaker C: So if you have a non profit investment opportunity and you happen to be watching the show, you might want to get a hold of John and say, hey, I want to pitch this to you.
So you might have hundreds of people contacting you here pretty quick, which would mean that you would have a lot to choose from. That wouldn't be bad.
Okay, so you guys are getting into the outdoor hospitality destination industry, specifically building an RV destination.
[00:31:24] Speaker A: This is from raw land, Correct?
[00:31:27] Speaker C: Okay, so you're building up from raw land in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina?
[00:31:31] Speaker E: Yes.
[00:31:32] Speaker A: Or how far are you from Myrtle Beach?
[00:31:36] Speaker E: We're four miles from the beach off of Highway 9 entering North Myrtle Beach.
[00:31:43] Speaker C: Okay, four miles.
[00:31:45] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:31:46] Speaker C: All right. How far from a grocery store?
[00:31:50] Speaker E: We went through that analysis last week. I think two.
Less than two miles.
[00:31:56] Speaker C: Oh, that's awesome. Okay, cool. On a blacktop highway.
[00:32:00] Speaker E: Oh, over 30,000 cars a day on a blacktop highway. Go right past your place and next to a golf course. Right next to a golf Course.
[00:32:11] Speaker C: Awesome. In Myrtle beach, which more people travel to Myrtle beach each year for vacation than I think it's the second highest in the nation or it's way up in the top five.
[00:32:22] Speaker E: One or two. It's number one on the East Coast.
[00:32:26] Speaker C: Number one vacation destination on the East Coast. You found 22 acres four miles from the beach.
What an ideal location.
[00:32:36] Speaker E: We hope so.
[00:32:37] Speaker C: Right on the blacktop highway. We're gonna be there next week. We're gonna do the financial analysis. So what we're gonna do is we're gonna walk the property with you and the decision makers. We're going to sketch out where we feel like the buildings, the maintenance building, the event center, the reception area, where the entrance is going to be. We're gonna map that all out in the three days that I'm there.
I'll spend a couple of days in the area doing a competitive analysis identifying who is also in that area and what their occupancy rate is, what they're charging, stuff like that. When I leave on 10th May, you will have a verbal commitment of oh, there's a big red flag or this is a go one or the other. Okay.
Then we'll go back to Alabama and my in house CAD team will create a design that maximizes the value of your property.
We'll be able to go back and forth, you might say, oh, you know what, I like this over here, that over there, we'll change it, whatever we need to do until we get a design that everybody likes. Once we have that, we'll create an Excel spreadsheet that identifies the line items for development.
We'll work with you guys to identify what those construction costs are.
And then with that information, we'll be able to fill in a 10 year cash flow analysis of what your operating costs are going to be, what your return on investment is going to be, what your NOI is going to be. We'll be able to provide all of that for you.
And we're going to wrap this up in less than a month.
You're going to have all that information.
[00:34:26] Speaker E: That's excellent.
[00:34:27] Speaker C: He's almost silent. He almost can't talk. Okay.
Blown away.
[00:34:32] Speaker E: I think we needed it a month ago.
[00:34:35] Speaker C: All right, well, we were told that this was a high priority and we needed to get it done sooner than later. So we worked you in.
[00:34:43] Speaker E: Thank you.
[00:34:44] Speaker C: Next week, faster than normal. But we're proud to do it. We're proud to be on your team. Thank you very much.
[00:34:53] Speaker E: Thank you.
[00:34:53] Speaker C: We hope this is the first of many successful outdoor hospitality destinations that we do together.
[00:35:00] Speaker E: Outstanding.
[00:35:01] Speaker C: I'm looking forward to it.
[00:35:02] Speaker E: Thank you so much. We're looking forward to it.
[00:35:04] Speaker C: Well, thank you for hiring us. So we're here at the Florida Alabama Outdoor Hospitality at conference and Expo 2026 in Orlando, Florida. We're interviewing clients of EOB Consulting who are building world class destinations that are going to be very popular, very easy to make a lot of money.
And what we're also interviewing is the industry leaders that are providing products and services that my clients are going to require. Pedestals, signs, reservation software.
We can throw a stick and we can hit a dozen different people that we're going to be employing to make your place successful. So we interview the EOB Consulting clients, we interview the industry leaders that are providing the products and services that make the client successful. And then we also interview the guest. And really it's the guest that's who we're trying to please.
[00:36:12] Speaker E: We got to provide that user experience that people want to come back to.
[00:36:16] Speaker C: Absolutely. It's much easier to provide a positive experience that gets people to come back rather than trying to win a new customer. So we interview the guests, we, we find out exactly what they want, exactly what they don't want. We interview the clients and we interview the outdoor hospitality leaders.
So in these segments we cover it all.
So please stay tuned after the break when we come back and we'll be interviewing somebody else.
[00:36:47] Speaker A: We'll be right back with more insight into designing communities that combine freedom, profitability and purpose.
Stay tuned on NOW Media Television.
[00:37:05] Speaker G: Your your business plan was top notch.
You knew the direction of the company. There wasn't you know of, of the business and what you needed to do to get it up and running and through the ramp up period and through to profitability.
[00:37:21] Speaker C: And
[00:37:24] Speaker G: was apparent within your business plan when we looked at it. So that's where our credit team was willing to make the bet. And the bet was on you.
[00:37:35] Speaker C: Everybody is, everybody's pulling their jobs.
[00:37:39] Speaker A: Every, everybody is canceling their jobs and what are you going to do? And I said I've got my funding. You know, Berkshire is supporting me, David is on my team and we are
[00:37:53] Speaker C: ready to move forward.
[00:37:54] Speaker A: And he said thank goodness he could stay in business. So my point at this segment of our interview is to emphasize to my clients that the bank is truly on your side and they're, they're putting things in place like this interest reserve, for example, like this contingency portion to help the borrower keep the general contractor and thus the subcontractors doing a good job so that you have a product in the end that you can be proud of and make profit on.
[00:38:37] Speaker G: It's an interesting time right now for entrepreneurs and people who are taking the risk, as you did, Ed, in creating a business, developing a business.
And if you're willing to take the risk and you're willing to kind of partner with the right people, whether it's a feasibility study, whether it's a lender, the rewards can be fantastic.
