Why Go To Camp Fairs? - CampHacker #8

In this week's podcast we talk about the Why's and How's of summer camp fairs.

Joining us on the show this week: Paul Sheridan, Director at Four Winds * Westward Ho camp on Orcas Island in the San Juans in Washington state.

1. CampHacker-podcast-2012.jpg

It seems that each of us have had a different experience with camp fairs and it was really interesting to hear about each person's preference.  At Paul's camp they prefer Slideshows in families' homes as their major promotional tool.

Does your camp go to camp fairs?  Do they work for you?

Tool  of the Week - Something that you use to make yourself a better Camp Director

(please note: Amazon products are affiliate links)

UPDATE:

Former 5th Chair Nathan Brant's free e-book about summer camp is out!  The book is full of thoughtful essays on summer camp's past & present.   It includes articles from CampHacker podcast hosts Travis Allison and Dan Weir, plus another 5th Chair guest - Dave Bell, Co-founder of CampLeadership.org.

Download Trail Heads - Thoughts from the Camping Profession.

Your Hosts:

 

Parents are People, Too - CampHacker #7

In this week's podcast we talk about developing a positive attitude in your staff (and yourself!) when dealing with parents.

1. CampHacker-podcast-2012.jpg

This week we are excited to have with us Nathan Brant from the South Mountain Y in Pennsylvania.   Nathan runs a residential camp and a day camp there as well as outdoor education and family programs.   Nathan is just about to release a free book of essays on the state of the summer camp called Trail Heads.  Dan and I both have essays in the book and I have had a chance to read the proof - it's awesome.  We'll post a link to the book when it has it's official release.  You should also check out Nathan's Summer Camp Source blog - he wrote a great piece about our discussion here today.

Have you seen staff members roll their eyes when they get a call from a camper's parents? What do you do to train your staff to understand the parent's side of things?

Tool  of the Week - Something that you use to make yourself a better Camp Director

(please note: Amazon products are affiliate links)

Your Hosts:

And plus...

Thanks for the evening, friends.

New Sources of Revenue for Summer Camps - CampHacker #6

How do you grow your camp business in the non-summer seasons?

Happy New Year, Everyone!.  Dan, Joe, Gab and I talk this week about ways that camps can increase their revenue out side of the summer camp months.  It was great to hear each perspective: Dan's camps run year round with a major Outdoor Ed. component, Joe's camp uses rental group revenue to subsidize their summer program and at Gab's they ran Outdoor Ed. for 5 years and then decided that it wasn't the right program for Ouareau.

What does your camp do that no others do to bring in extra revenue?

Tool  of the Week - Something that you use to make yourself a better Camp Director

Your Hosts:

And plus...

Thanks for the evening, friends.

Year End Business Review for Summer Camps - CampHacker #5

What will happen this summer at camp?

In this week's podcast we talk about the developments we saw in the summer camp world over 2010.

We were sorry to miss Gab this week - she is busy with exams and finishing up her design course in England.  Dan, Joe and I had a really great time talking about some of the things we noticed looking back on this year.

Have you noticed any changes in camping in the past year or so?

Tool  of the Week - Something that you use to make yourself a better Camp Director

Your Hosts:

And plus...

Thanks for the evening, friends.