The Campsite Operator

My time in Düsseldorf is over. Today I'm getting in a car with our CCO, Michael, and Jon, who is responsible for all of our up-and-coming markets in Europe. It is about a 6-hour drive from Düsseldorf to Vejle, but I'm very happy that I'm making this trip with these two guys. I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Michael and Jon in my close to 2 years of employment by Isabella. Michael has been nice enough to invite me over to dinner what seems like every time I'm in Denmark, not only getting to know him more but also his wife and his two kids. After some high speeds on the German autobahn and some good conversations about Isabella and personal life, Michael was kind enough to drive me to the Billund airport so I could pick up my rental car. I'm looking forward to an evening catching up with my cousin and her husband, then off to prepare for my interview at Feddet Strand, where I'm going to interview the director who has turned it into the number one campsite in Denmark, and the only Danish campsite to be in the top 100 in Europe.

Feddet Strand is on the complete opposite side of Denmark from where the Isabella headquarters are and where my family is from. Luckily Denmark is a small country, about half the size of Indiana, so to get there only took me about 2.5 hours. I'm very familiar with this drive as it's the main highway you take to Copenhagen, which means you get to drive over two very large bridges as you connect to the main islands that make up Denmark.

Upon arriving at the campsite it almost feels like you're turning into a private drive, but you quickly realize that this campsite is off the beaten path and nestled in a lot of natural beauty. It is situated on somewhat of a peninsula surrounded by the sea, which makes this a very special place to visit.

The director who I'm interviewing, Kasper, has been managing Feddet Strand Resort for roughly 20 years and has been responsible for its growth in popularity and strategic direction. Our CEO, Morten, believes that this is the nicest campsite in Denmark, and just being on site briefly I had to agree with his statement. The facilities are very nice. They even have their own restaurant and lounge-style bar, with a lot of other accommodations for sports and activities for children.

After I went to the front desk and asked for Kasper and waited briefly, he arrived and offered me something to drink. We went into the closed restaurant, as it was still morning time, and had some sparkling water, where I updated him on who I was, my role at Isabella, and what I hoped to accomplish that day. This short pre-meeting made it very clear that Kasper is a very energetic and thoughtful guy who brought a lot of passion to the role that he fills.

We quickly decided to go to the new area that they had just finished renovating, where six Camp-let units stood. A few years prior the area had flooded significantly, so they decided to raise the entire area about 3 meters to prevent future flooding. That enabled them to redo all of the campsites to accommodate much larger RVs that are growing in popularity in Europe and also to establish more rental units.

This is where Isabella and Camp-let come in. The campsite has all three of our rental products, but the one I was most interested in for this trip was his experience with Camp-let.

We will be at the Glamping Show Americas in Aurora, Colorado, on September 29 and 30 of this year, and we are a new brand in the United States. Interviewing Kasper ahead of the show would help me understand why an operator in the U.S. should consider investing in Camp-let. Can an operator make money by incorporating a Camp-let? Do the guests enjoy the experience of staying in them? What is it like to maintain them during the camping season? These were the primary questions I intended to get out of the interview.

Kasper started with three Camp-let units two seasons ago, and only after one season he decided to add six more. During the interview, each response that he had either met or exceeded the reasons why I think Camp-let would be great for a campsite operator. Hearing his words and his real experience gave me increased optimism for the success of showing Camp-let at this trade show in Colorado. In his words, he was able to pay off the investment in 12 months or less.

During the interview a recurring theme came from Kasper: "They are very easy to maintain." The Camp-lets are set up in May by two people, which only takes one day. When the season is over in September, the tent trailers are given a wash, dried, then folded back into their fiberglass shell for storage. That is it.

After a 15-minute-or-so interview on camera, I could tell that there were other areas on the campsite that needed his attention. I sensed that and said this was really all I needed and that if he needed to go, that would, of course, be okay. I thanked him for his time and asked him if I could explore his campsite, which he agreed to.

The reason I wanted to spend some time on the campsite was because in a different area, that is where he had the original three Camp-let units, as well as the other Isabella products that we offered for rental units. Walking through the beautiful wooded area that was situated along the coast, it was great to see all of the seasonal campers who still had their caravans set up, along with seeing what kind of awnings were there. In Denmark we have an estimated 90% market share, so the beauty of walking through these areas is seeing all the Isabella awnings that are still set up.

After shooting more content and looking at the way they had built up their rental units, I decided it was time to make the 2.5-hour drive back home to my cousin's.

Already my last day in Denmark. I started the morning bright and early with a review meeting with Laila from Development, who has been assigned to making the T@B prototype for the American market. This has been a product that we have been working on for over a year now. Multiple 5-hour drives to Sugar Creek to test with the team at nuCamp. Dozens of inbound emails from T@B owners asking for a new product. If it doesn't sell, a lot of effort to create something I strongly believe in will be wasted. nuCamp is the American manufacturer of the T@B that originally was created in Europe. Because of this we have always had a set of products that have been capable of being attached to the American T@B. We've been selling what we call our Deluxe awning and a Sun Canopy in the U.S. for a few years now.

The challenge was realizing, once I had entered my role and started to communicate with nuCamp, that in 2021 they had made significant changes to their trailers that deviated from the European design, predominantly around size and height. Because of this, the European Deluxe awning that we had made no longer fit the American models.

However, because of the early adoption of Isabella in the T@B community and their desire to have a high-quality product like ours, our name has started to become well known within that community. It also helps that the founder and the team at nuCamp have been incredibly open to working with us. An observation I've been making since coming into my role is that, because these sorts of accessories (the ones that Isabella makes) are not very common in the United States, people are unfamiliar with setting up so much on the exterior of their RV. To better help communicate this thought, I've started talking with RV manufacturers about the way they develop comfort inside of the trailer. Isabella exists to develop comfort outside.

The product development direction was to develop a new Sun Canopy, which is our best-selling product for T@B, but allow accessories to be added to turn it into a proper European awning: a full canvas enclosure on the outside of the trailer. This means a T@B customer can buy the canopy during the first season, then determine if they want to add a front panel, draft skirt and flooring during the next season to fully enclose their space. Strategically my intention is to make this easier on us to produce, and on resellers of this product, so they don't need to carry two different SKUs at a high price point (sun canopy and awning).

What I think will happen is that as people continue to purchase the sun canopy component and enjoy their time underneath the canopy, they will then start to realize the benefit of the way that camping in Europe in the RV space is so common. They'll then enjoy having an enclosed area where they can lay down a carpet, a table, and chairs, and a place where either small children or animals can be contained and bugs can be kept out. This opens up the possibility of enjoying those evenings or early mornings in a covered space while still being outdoors.

After Laila ran through the product with me, my morning was mostly spent with final meetings with my colleagues and getting a spare wheel kit for one of my Camp-let customers that I then checked under the plane. This is something that I've been doing very consistently since I'm traveling back to Denmark almost once a quarter. There always seems to be an awning, a prototype, or a spare part that I end up checking underneath the plane. This often results in me needing to go to the oversized luggage area to make sure it gets in and under the plane.

The last order of business at Isabella was a lovely visit from my two uncles, who came to have lunch with me. These are two guys that have dedicated their entire working lives to the growth and prosperity of Isabella. It's always nice to have them in the building, sit down with them, and talk about all things life and work.