LOS ANGELES — A growing interest in outdoor experiences among travelers motivated Island Hospitality Management to expand its reach.
West Palm Beach, Florida-based Island Hospitality created its new outdoor division, IHM Outdoors, to grow its presence in the experiential travel space, said Gregg Forde, president and chief operating officer at Island Hospitality.
The company recognizes the growth potential in the outdoor segment, he said, which is dominated currently by smaller, single-property owners. According to Island Hospitality, there's growth potential there, and opportunities for consolidation and more sophisticated, centralized management.
IHM Outdoors has five destinations under its management purview that comprise roughly 2,000 individual sites, including recreational vehicle resorts, vacation rentals, glamping sites and other outdoor hospitality options. The five locations are Sun Outdoors San Diego Bay in Chula Vista, California; Sun Outdoors Paso Robles in Paso Robles, California; Sun Outdoors Lake Rudolph in Santa Claus, Indiana; Jellystone Park at Larkspur in Larkspur, Colorado; and Jellystone Park of Western New York in North Java, New York.
Taking on this expansion requires full commitment and being focused on the core business, Forde said. The company’s success so far shows this type of hospitality management can be scaled up, he added.
IHM Outdoors has its own team leadership, plus accounting and revenue management teams. The division plugs into Island's hospitality infrastructure.
Island's broad reach also helps the IHM team when it comes to hiring, Forde said. Staffing varies by site, but locations require everything from reception teams to park rangers and general maintenance — hundreds in total. With high summer demand, many locations rely on students on summer break to fill seasonal roles.
Several locations offer a combination of stay options, from cabins to vacation rentals and RV sites.
“This is clearly a burgeoning area in the hospitality market,” he said. “These RV resorts and other locations provide a different stay experience. At its core, it’s the same thing: people taking care of people.”
The key to these sites is acreage, Forde said. Acres of natural beauty surround guests, and they have different entertainment options, plus typically central event spaces, pools and other programming. Some have restaurants; most have fire features, grills and sports options like miniature golf or cornhole.
“What we’re bringing to it is years of experience, of hospitality management experience,” he said.