ELKHART — The 12th annual RV Industry Power Breakfast saw its highest attendance rate ever this year, with more than 1,350 people packing the RV/MH Hall of Fame on the city’s northeast side.
The emcee for the event Thursday was RVBusiness publisher Rick Kessler. He noted the record-breaking crowd and acknowledged the challenging market conditions.
“This is a room full of our industry’s brightest stars,” Darryl Searer, president of the RV/MH Hall of Fame, said in a brief video statement. “I remember one such star two years ago at the sold out breakfast ... making a comment on stage that we will soon need a bigger space. Well, the room we’re in today is more than double the size.”
The breakfast featured 13 speakers, some working with the RV industry including Toby O’Rourke, KOA president and CEO, and Craig Kirby, RV Industry Association president and CEO. Some of other speakers included Elkhart Mayor Rod Roberson, U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym and Micah Shrewsberry, University of Notre Dame men’s basketball coach.
O’Rourke reiterated, as speakers in years past had done, how the COVID-19 pandemic drove interest in the outdoors.
“All in all, I see these past 10 years as outdoor hospitality, camping, RV really solidifying our place in travel,” O’Rourke said. “One out of every three leisure trips last year involved camping. So, I think this is quite phenomenal. I think we should all congratulate ourselves with how far this industry has come.”
Some of the results from the statistics O’Rourke presented included an increase in camper engagement, the return of baby boomers, campgrounds with more capacity, shorter booking windows and an increase in same-day reservations.
O’Rourke also presented on the important trends coming to the outdoor, camping and RV industries. One of the most disruptive trends already in practice is the emergence and usage of artificial intelligence.
“I can’t believe it hasn’t come up yet today,” O’Rourke said during her presentation. “This is the biggest disrupter we’re going to have.”
According to the data collected by KOA, 50 percent of campers say they are using AI tools to plan their trips. They are also using AI for customer service.
The breakfast ended with a talk from Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at The Economic Outlook Group.