Some RV park and campsite owners will be able to attend the virtual Outdoor Hospitality Conference and Expo this year for free.
Registration for OHCE2020 started today, July 21, and the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds announced the opportunity for campground owners, operators and managers who are decision makers at their campground to RSVP for free. The program is called “Hosted Buyer.”
According to the ARVC, a hosted buyer program is an event that brings qualified buyers (decision makers) and sellers together with a high likelihood to book real business with each other through pre-arranged face-to-face meetings. ARVC will use these concepts to create new opportunities for engagement at the Outdoor Hospitality Conference and Expo.
“This is an extremely exciting way for ARVC to replicate the engaging in-person experience of the expo floor to our members and vendors, while at the same time offering a significant cost savings for attendees who are the real decision makers,” said Paul Bambei, president and CEO of ARVC.
Click here to read more RV News coverage of the virtual 2020 Outdoor Hospitality Conference and Expo.
The conference began accepting Hosted Buyer applications as regular registration for the virtual event began Tuesday morning. The ARVC is accepting an initial 200 Hosted Buyer applications for this year, and will up those numbers if demand requires.
While registering, an attendee can choose to fill out and submit the Hosted Buyer application, which costs the same as a regular registration prior to reimbursement ($199). The application will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Once submitted, the ARVC team will complete a qualification process of each applicant to ensure they are a decision maker at their campground. All applications will be reviewed and qualified and all applicants will be notified if they have been accepted into the program no later than one week after an application is submitted.
“Our expo is always a highlight of the year, with vendors offering solutions to the major challenges our members face, so finding a way to get them face-to-face in a virtual setting to have meetings that will have great results is a huge win for everyone involved,” Bambei said. “And allowing these valued members to attend for free is just icing on the cake.”
Once accepted into the program, Hosted Buyers will be able to pre-schedule meetings with vendors that offer products and services they are interested in. The ARVC announced that each Hosted Buyer will commit to participate in a minimum of five one-on-one meetings during the virtual OHCE2020 expo. Following OHCE, and once a Hosted Buyer’s obligations are fulfilled, ARVC will reimburse them the cost of registration. Hosted Buyers will be able to begin scheduling meetings in October.
“So much business gets done each year on the expo floor during OHCE, that we knew we had to find a creative way to enhance the important one-on-one conversations that naturally happen in person,” said David Basler, vice president of membership and marketing. “We want to provide a valuable business experience at OHCE2020 for both the attendees and the vendors, and by taking the time to vet these buyers beforehand, we are able to make that a reality and streamline the process.”
Not all applicants will be accepted and there is a limit of one Hosted Buyer spot per campground.
“We want every buyer possible to have a chance to take advantage of this program and to attend for free, but also know that space is limited as we need to respect everyone’s time during what will be a busy week. We encourage you to act quickly and apply to join the program,” Basler said.
Last year’s OHCE featured more than 120 vendors set up for business and attracted more than 1,200 attendees for the in-person conference and expo, the ARVC announced. This year, with the conference going virtual, ARVC anticipates even more attendees to login for the event, leading to even greater chances for networking and sales.
Businesses interested in the Hosted Buyer program can contact Gary Headrick at 303-681-0401. Click here to register for OHCE2020 or to learn more about the Hosted Buyer Program.
