They left Wall Street to turn bad motel stays into an adventure hospitality empire.

Now, they've got $100MM fund and the backing of Marriott.

The story of Trailborn 🧵 Michael Weiss and Ben Weinberg saw a gap in the hospitality market.

Travelers heading to national parks had two options: outdated motels or luxury resorts. Nothing in between.

So they built something better.

𝗥𝗩 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝟭𝟬𝟭

𝘋𝘶𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦

𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦

There is a steep learning curve for most when evaluating the infrastructure of an RV park or campground.

This thread will cover environmental, water/sewer/septic, electrical, and facilities.

1/14 Environmental

GET A PHASE I!

This is a high-level report you hire an environmental firm to complete.

If they find any problems and you still want to pursue the deal, you will have to get a Phase II.

This involves on-site soil testing.

2/14

𝙊𝙪𝙩𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙃𝙤𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝟭𝟬𝟭

𝙎𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙮 & 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣

If you're thinking about buying/building an RV or glamping resort, campground, or other type of Outdoor Hospitality asset,

here are 4 steps to understanding your local market:

1/6 This thread is intended to show you how to get a 10,000-foot view of your local market,

NOT a deep-dive comparable analysis, which will come soon!

2/6

🧵 (1/8)

Operating expenses on seasonal campgrounds/RV parks

I've been working on a proforma (forecasted profit & loss) for a portfolio of campgrounds for discussion purposes with investors who are interested in getting involved in such a venture.

What does this look like? 👇 (2/8)

First, let's describe this hypothetical portfolio. We're talking about 1,000 sites across ideally 7-10 seasonal parks located in ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT, NY or PA. The parks will average 80-90% full-season campsite rentals (vs. transient) on private water and septic.

🧵 Seasonal RV Park/Campground Operations - Lessons Learned

(1/12)

I've learned many lessons after my 1st season at my RV park/campground.

Some of these may be obvious to you #SMBTwit guys and gals but I am just a simple RE guy trying to run a seasonal campground.

Here goes: (2/12)

1. If you're buying your 1st park and have never managed 1, manage it yourself for a season.

You should know the park & ops like the back of your hand b4 u expect anyone else to do it effectively.

Unless u r a seasoned pro with an ops team, u should do it yourself 1st.

🧵 RV Park 101

Due Diligence - Infrastructure

(1/14) A large learning curve for me when I opted to buy an RV park was familiarizing myself with the unique facilities and infrastructure at an RV park.

This thread will cover enviro, water/sewer/septic, electrical, and facilities (2/14) Enviro

This goes for virtually any piece of commercial property. GET A PHASE I! This is a high level report you can have an environmental firm run for a few thou. If they find any problems and you want to to pursue the deal, you will have to for further on-site testing.

🧵 RV Park 101

Due Diligence - Financials

(1/15) Much like other real estate asset types with heavy mom and pop concentration, RV park books are often a mess.

First, let's dive into auditing income using an RV park deal I recently acquired.

These books were definitely a mess! (2/15) I was sent 3 yrs of tax returns, a pile of receipts, reservation slips, and a spreadsheet put together by the seller to try and make sense of it all.

Tax returns provided nothing more than context, because the income was drastically underreported and expenses overreported

🧵 RV Park 101:

(1/8) Let’s talk about financing RV parks. This is one of the great inefficiencies in the industry that stops a ton of investors in their tracks, but also creates a lot of opportunity.

There are a few obscure national banks out there who will lend on RV parks… (2/8) that will lend at up to ~65% LTV, 20 yr amort, and interest rates in the 5’s. However, they’re likely not going to lend to anyone that doesn’t have a track record in the industry.

Next stop, local banks located near your target RV park: certainly worth reaching out to…

🧵 RV Park 101:

(1/4) On the hospitality side of the industry, we generally have 2 broad categories of parks/campsites:

Transient - short-term stays. Near tourist destinations or conveniently located off the highway with easy in/out sites, “pull-throughs”. E.g. KOA Journey… (2/4) Seasonal/long-term stay - more of a destination park. Also more common in colder climates as parks are closed for the winter season. More highly amenitized. Sometimes “resort-style”. Think of the RV as becoming a vacation home for the consumer. E.g. KOA Holiday or Resort…

Hey SMB people:

🧵 Looking at a biz that sells sheds and auxiliary buildings. Not much inventory, mostly custom orders taken from customers and sent to the builders. Biz receives unit from builder and delivers to customer.

What kind of multiple on EBITDA I should be targeting? And keep in mind I’m a real estate guy so please explain it like I’m a full-on idiot. #SMBTwit #SMB