SINGLE WOMEN SHOW GROWING INTEREST IN PARK MODEL LIFESTYLE

Comfort, affordability and security are leading attractions in campgrounds and RV resorts with park models


     NEWNAN, Ga. - Campground owners across the nation notice a subtle change in the demographic of their guests who buy or rent recreational park trailers or "park models": Single women of all ages are becoming more frequent customers.

     The trend is very apparent at Red Apple Campground in Kennebunkport, Maine, where 70% of the 100 seasonal sites are park models. "Fourteen percent of our park model customers who have seasonal sites are women camping by themselves," says owner David Berg.  "It's divided 50-50 between people who have camped all their lives and their spouse has passed on, while the other half are women who are single and choose to live the RV lifestyle all summer long."

    Many of the younger singles live in nearby Massachusetts and drive up for the weekend, he noted.

     He's also seeing an increase in the number of single women who come in for overnight camping. "We have many women who camp on their own and we're seeing a lot of women going out for a weekend, such as grandmas and their grandchildren," he said.

     The sense of security and ease of camping in a park model are the big draw for these units, says Betty Berger of Holliston, Mass., a longtime camper at Red Apple, who used to camp in a travel trailer but bought a pre-owned park model two seasons ago. She comes up to Red Apple on the weekends to rest and relax from her job at a financial advisory firm.

      "It has more conveniences than a travel trailer has. The old trailer had a dump tank. I don't have to do that anymore," she said. "My park model also has larger appliances and a much larger living area."

     Berger added a "Florida room" which doubled the size of unit and comes in handy when her children visit.

     Tim O'Neil, managing partner for the new Lakeside Cabin Resort near Three Oaks, Mich., also notes growing popularity among single women of all ages for his 260-site park model resort located a 90-minute drive from Chicago.

    He finds that the single women fit into one of three categories: single mothers who want a nice place to take their kids to on the weekend or on a vacation; women in their 40s to 60s who enjoy antique shopping, art galleries and restaurants in the area and want something that is affordable; and women of all ages who are just looking for a place to get away to on the weekend.

     Kirsten Randall Belzer was in that first category when she bought a park model in Lakeside in 2006. She found the park model concept perfect for her and two grade-school age children. "It's like coming to another house and everything is ready," said Randall Belzer, who is a psychotherapist in private practice in Chicago. Randall Belzer has since gotten married, but still uses her park model as a weekend getaway.

     Barbara Kendall, a portfolio investor in Chicago, heard about Lakeside from a friend with a park model cabin there and decided to investigate. "She "fell in love with it immediately," she says.

     She particularly likes the sense of security that goes along with buying into a gated community and was attracted by the affordability of a park model. "This allows me to have a second home without spending a lot of money," she said.

     Lakeside is available to assist in financing and insurance, a process Kendall likened to buying an auto.

     Lynne Oberman, a retired school teacher from Tinley Park, Ill., was one of the first residents to buy into the Lakeside resort. "At the time I purchased my cabin, there was nothing here. It was a leap of faith," she said. "I was impressed by how much could be gotten into 400 square feet of living space which was amazing to me," she said.

     Now in her third summer at Lakeside, she is pleased with her investment. She likes best "the sense of community, the camaraderie. It adds, to a single woman's point of view, to the feeling of security," she said.

     Kampgrounds of America Inc. (KOA), the nation's largest campground chain, also notes the popularity of its park model cabins among single women. "It is a way for a single mother to give a camping experience to her children without the expense," said Terry Shade, southeast regional vice president. "It's a question of being attracted to a campground and not having camping equipment in your possession. In a park model, you have all the advantages of a hotel suite but the feeling of peaceful security that you don't get in an urban hotel."

     Trinity Lake Resort at Pinewood Cove, located in the Trinity National Forest in northern California, provides single women this experience every spring. "It usually happens right after school lets out in June," said Maddy Simmons, store manager. "We get a lot of grandmothers who bring their grandchildren to give their kids a vacation."

     Simmons figures older women prefer park models because "it's easier to keep track of the kids, it's more comfortable, it's easier to move into and it offers a little more entertainment."

     That single women are drawn to park model living comes as no surprise to industry officials.

     "It's a super idea that makes perfect sense," says William Garpow, executive director of the Newnan, Ga.-based Recreational Park Trailer Industry Association (RPTIA). "From a financial standpoint, given the constraints of a single-parent trying to raise a family, it may be one of the few alternatives for that family to get away and enjoy a break from their daily responsibilities."

     "For older women - grandmothers, for example - most of them are looking for activities that are not only desirable for their own purposes but also for their grandchildren to enjoy and spend time with them. That may be very hard to come by. This is an ideal way to do that, especially if the park trailer is located within a reasonable range for the grandchildren."
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