Camp Host Jobs at Risk?

Supply and demand have powerfully affected your chance of getting a job you will enjoy.    How so?  Just while you read this page, hundreds from the ranks of aging America will hit the road in an RV.  Many have given up their sticks and bricks location and must have a place to park. 

A telephone interview with Warren Meyer, President and CFO of Recreation Resource Management (RRM) confirms the flood of retirees and disaffected workers who want to camp host.  Mr. Meyer stated he could not find enough help to run the 175+ sites his company manages in 12 different states.....before 2009, that is.  Now he is swamped with applicants.  He had set up several web pages to entice people to apply, but now he does not even acknowledge the countless online applications from camp-host.com, www.camphost.org, or work-camping.com.  To read Warren's well-written description of this trend away from home ownership to RV wanderings just click here. 

Crazy Camp Hosts ready-2-volunteer at Wekiwa Springs

Bob asked Warren if he had anything open right now...and he didn't waste a second saying he didn't.  Warren is an incredibly adept businessman, but still many can't understand how his company can take over failing parks and make them profitable.  I know one HUGE reason:  A greatly reduced payroll.  There's a limitless supply right now of retirees with a premium work ethic, low interest in pay, and a strong desire to make positive change (some just call it their pride in performance).  To get the job done "right" this group will work double or triple the required hours...even more!  And the pay is no more than minimum wage to start with. 
Then there's the VOLUNTEERS.  They happily do all of the above, but with no pay...other than to wear some type of shirt with a badge on it or maybe just a cheap trucker hat with a flimsy vest.  Here in Florida the volunteers get a plastic-y hat with an ill-fitting gray T-shirt (pictured on Bob) and a cheap plastic name tag, and for that they risk being ordered around like a lackey. 

Today I met a camp host (quite a bit older than me) who was trying to enjoy her grandchildren.  But she had firepits and toilets to clean and (this I couldn't believe) sites to rake.  Each site is a huge area, but the hosts must rake it back to front leaving perfectly parallel rake marks. 

Michael Duffey the Wekiva Gator Hunter

The volunteer in the Nature Center was a surprise...because they let him wear a nice shirt with badges.  That was his only pay for countless hours keeping the center open.  He kept telling me his wife was out of patience because he was averaging 7 hours a day...every day!  I visited on a Monday, a day when they should have been closed, but Michael said he'd already seen over a hundred visitors.  Wow!  He kept asking me to volunteer to give him some help.  He said I would be great at it, especially since I'd been a science teacher. 

I later found out Mikey had been giving out volunteer applications to even kids, in hope someone would spell him off and "save" his marriage.  I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd been writing and calling for months trying to get a volunteer position at his park...because it's the closest one to our son in Orlando.  They "couldn't" take me on because of the cost of providing a camp site.  There you have that persistent problem of everyone who does RVing full time:  Where do you park the rig?

Now...if you don't need a camp site, you can volunteer at Wekiwa Nature Center.  The only unusual requirement is shown in these pictures.  You need to have no qualms about handling snakes and gators so your visitors won't freak when you hand them a corn snake or a cute gator.

BOTTOM LINE:  Too many people chasing too few positions has lowered or eliminated pay and increased job responsibilities.  Abuses are becoming more common....by the day!  You'd better be able to afford your RV site for most or all of the year, because "free" sites for "light duties" are quickly becoming the stuff of dreams.   Sorry.

Bob strips on the spot and jumps in Wekiva Springs

Bob says of his swim:  "It was great!"

15 miles of beautifully maintained trails radiate from our camp site at Wekiwa Sandhill Campground

Want to be paid Cash Money?

There ARE many, many camp hosting positions that are paid (in real money).  One of the must varied lists of camp host jobs is found at http://www.simplyhired.com/ .  You can get your free spot without even being in a campground.  Another surprising site is jobsonline.net  with an easy search gadget.  You could be involved with anything from camp counseling to RV sales.

We worked with a couple who had happily been employed by Hoodoo Recreation.  She had been an area manager, and he drove a nice truck around with a spray system mounted on the back.  He could clean outhouses in a whole forest in one quick run.  Word is they all smelled great, too.  The secret?  Jasmine air fresheners and biological agents which contain not only potent enzymes, but also bacteria to break down the mess.  Anyway, click on the following site for an excellent description of both host and attendant jobs... It also explains why some jobs pay more than others:  Hoodoo Campground Host Job Descriptions

Recreation Resource Management has contracts to staff many campgrounds throughout ten states. They hire about 500 seasonal employees per year to work at one of 175 different campgrounds.  You can apply with Recreation Resource Management in one of three ways; you can apply online, download an application from the website and mail it in, or receive a paper application by mail to mail back in.   Click here to learn more or go to CampHost.org .  One caveat:  Some hosts have complained area managers with RRM have given them such a hard time that they felt they had to quit.  We do not know if some situations have really been that bad, do you?

I was told ALL of the state parks in Texas pay their camp hosts.  See How to apply for Texas State Park jobs  It turns out SOME of the jobs are paid.  The State of California has had paid camp hosts in the past but is going toward using more and more volunteers.  Check out their jobs at California Host Positions .    Don't forget Older and Bolder for paid jobs.

Legacy RV Resorts hires for their RV resorts in eight states. Visit http://www.legacyrvresorts.com/ to learn more about the job opportunities available.  Their online application is very easy to fill out.

Are you interested in employment at a Jellystone Park™? Check out the parks who are looking to fill  positions by visiting http://www.campjellystone.com/.  Please contact the individual parks directly for detailed information.  Bob and I paid to stay in a Jellystone campground here in Florida, and it's a great place if you miss having kids around.

If you go to http://koa.com/community/ there's a list of KOAs you can contact for employment.  As always, it's best to go in person to the campground you are interested in.  You want to see what the job is, and the employer will feel so much more comfortable meeting you in person before offering you a position.

Applying to American Land and Leisure

Silver Glen Springs, Florida

Our dream job for the winter was to continue with our present company, American Land & Leisure.  We loved the management and how well we'd been treated.  We called the Area Managers, Ken and Judy, in the only spot AL&L manages in Florida:  Ocala National Forest.  We learned we could probably work at a day-use area to cover the existing host when she needed time off.  We were excited!  Silver Glen is not just a beautiful spring, but a lovely boating and recreation area.  But the number of visitors from up north (snowbirds) had dwindled to the point that the company actually cut back on employees this season...and we were on our own to find a job in Florida.  Here we go...off into the unknown.  If you want to check AL&L's current openings in the U.S. just click here:  Current Job Openings  The application is simple to fill out.  When we turned ours in, I added a letter of recommendation from our former employers...which was not requested, but I think it helped.  Click here to see the Application for Employment  This company does supply everything you need to do your job, including some type of vehicle, nice shirts, caps, jackets, and work gloves.  You are even paid minimum wage for your hours. 

JOB APPLICATIONS - How? Why? Why not?

Why not apply?  Just as other hosts had told us, applications did not work for us (at first).  It was much better to call...and best to visit in person about openings.  We applied at Workamper.com over a year ago and never heard a whisper.   And it was a great application!  We did run into some of their employees in a rock shop just outside Bryce Canyon.  They said they loved being Workampers and said to join the mailing list online.  We did, and still nothing.   The same thing happened with our online ap to Recreation Resource Management at Host Jobs .  If you want to see the online ap click here.  But when Bob CALLED he was able to talk to the Area Manager in Florida and find out everything we wanted to know about working in the campgrounds they managed.  The problem was...they had no current openings.
Why apply?  We found applications (written just the right way) really DO work...if you make a friendly call first.  Take lots of notes, listening carefully to what the position requires, and then specifically, enthusiastically write on your ap how your qualifications match the requirements.  Leave out all of the details of your life and experiences that don't match the job so your comments will be concise and your message clear:  YOU are the best person for the job!
How?  The next posts will detail how we got each job offer...and were we ever surprised by the number of offers.  It's well advertised that we baby boomers are flooding the market with our efforts to get that wonderful spot for our rig in the out-of-doors.  And it's true...you almost have to "douse yourself in gasoline and set yourself on fire" to get the attention of those filling campground positions.  They are SWAMPED with applications.  If you ever want to hire me to apply for you, just let me know.  We've been told our applications garnered a job offer for every opening in Florida.  Funny.

Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk

Tell everyone who will listen to you that you are interested in camp hosting. We decided to visit as many state parks and national forest campgrounds as we could while driving up the coast. At Pismo Beach everyone in the shops, the streets and the beach knew we were interested in campground management.