RVBusiness, January/February 2021

Forced to Move to a Virtual Platform Annual RV Dealers Convention Expo Deemed a Success Q A CONVERSATIONS BY TRAVIS O PRYOR BY RVBUSINESS The Retail Surge Continues Five High Profile RV Dealers Indicate But So Do Some of the Challenges the Industry Has Faced All Year Inventory is a concern because it looks like 2021 due to the overall popularity of the lifestyle and the ways that it enables social distancing is going to be another very good year for the industry if we have the product said Jeff Hirsch of Campers Inn RV So Im really optimistic with a concern that there may be some interruptions along the way F ive well known North American RV dealers sat down with RVBusiness in November in a virtual sense of course for a rather enjoyable and thought provoking interview that touched on themes that are clearly relevant to most every North 46 RVBusiness J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 1 American RV retailer at the moment What made it so enjoyable the participants seemed to agree afterward was the fact that it provided a chance for these highprofile dealers to relax and compare notes with professional peers Under the cloud of COVID 19 organizers did their best to deliver the annual National RV Dealers Convention Expo even if the gathering had to take place in a virtual setting instead of at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas as had been scheduled Taking place online Nov 9 20 and available on demand after that the Con Expo was produced by the RV Dealers Association RVDA RVDA of Canada and the Mike Molino RV Learning Center The event was able to deliver with a full slate of educational opportunities and Vendor Training Plus seminars that included Q A sessions as well There also was a general session and annual membership meetings for both RVDA and RVDA of Canada as well as virtual vendor booths that allowed dealers to interact with suppliers As of the last day of the official show RVDA President Phil Ingrassia reported that 1083 people had registered in the online platform Also there were 39 on demand sessions on customer service sales F I human resources fixed operations and other topics available for viewing 24 7 through Jan 31 at virtual rvda org Vendor booths also will be available although they wont be staffed Those who did not register for the event can still register to gain access to the content for training purposes Thanks to everyone who participated in the live portion of the convention over the past two weeks Ingrassia told RVBusiness We had good comments on both the content and the digital platform Staying Financially Sound During the annual meeting outgoing RVDA Chairman Ron Shepherd of Camperland of Oklahoma acknowledged that the virtual setting wasnt anybodys idea of the perfect gathering But he was quick to praise the program that RVDA staff was able to put together on short notice once it became obvious that it was not going to be possible to gather in Las Vegas this year Both Shepherd and Ingrassia also praised partners and sponsors who came on board to support the virtual platform and thanked vendors for being willing to give the virtual booth concept a chance as well Also despite a drop in revenue due to inperson Con Expo transitioning to a virtual event RVDA finished the 2020 fiscal year with a healthy surplus and Shepherd said it remains in a strong financial position I can tell you it was a challenging year for all associations as live events were cancelled and the future remains cloudy for early next year as we know he said These in person events are an important source of revenue for any association and RVDA is no exception The virtual convention will not make up the revenue of our regular convention but the board felt it was important to keep all of us connected and provide professional development op Phil Ingrassia Ron Shepherd