KOA Announces Winners of Campground Awards for 2023 – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News

LAS VEGAS – Kampgrounds of America, Inc. (KOA) announced the winners of its campground awards during its annual Convention in Las Vegas.

Founder’s and President’s Awards

Each year Kampgrounds of America Inc. (KOA) gathers guest surveys from more than a quarter-million campers following their KOA campground stays. That vital guest feedback, paired with the results of an annual inspection process, qualifies KOA campgrounds across the U.S. and Canada for certain prestigious awards — the Founder’s Award and the President’s Award.

This year, 436 KOA campgrounds received award recognition.

The KOA President’s Award is presented to KOA campgrounds that excel in providing excellent camping facilities and consistently high levels of guest service. Chosen by KOA’s camping guests through satisfaction surveys and KOA’s stringent quality inspection, recipients of the President’s Award are dedicated to providing great KOA camping.

Dave Drum, founder of Kampgrounds of America Inc., was an extraordinary visionary and dreamer. The recipients of KOA’s premiere achievement, the KOA Founder’s Award, share Dave’s dream of providing the highest-quality camping facilities while exceeding KOA guests’ expectations. As leaders in outdoor hospitality, KOA Founder’s Award recipients embody Dave’s vision of entrepreneurship and innovation while providing excellence for generations of campers. Winners of the KOA Founder’s Award also receive the KOA President’s Award.

To view a complete list of Founder’s and President’s award winners, click here. 

Campground of the Year

The Denver West/Central City KOA Holiday, owned and operated by Chuck and Leza Spencer, has been named the KOA Campground of the Year for 2024. The award, the campground system’s highest honor, was announced Wednesday, November 16, during KOA’s annual International Convention in Las Vegas.

Located in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, Denver West/Central City KOA Holiday sits at an impressive elevation of 8,490 feet and provides stunning views of the Colorado landscape. After operating a KOA location in South Dakota for seven years, the Spencers purchased and began welcoming guests to Denver West/Central City KOA Holiday in April 2010.

Opening the new campground. however, was not without challenges.

“When we bought the campground, we had a lot of cleaning up to do,” Leza Spencer said. “It had been broken into and vandalized. As far as you could see, there were just weeds and no campsites.”

What was once an overrun location has been updated and renovated into a popular Colorado camping destination. The Spencer’s improvements include the addition of 14 pull-thru sites (each with a KOA Patio), four new KOA Patio Deluxe Cabins and 22 RV site upgrades. A focus on delivering premier pet amenities includes a revamped KampK9 dog park and two Paw Pen Sites that provide guests with private, fenced pet areas right at their site.

The Spencer family is also looking to the future of camping and their campground. Four electric vehicle (EV) charging stations have been added to the campground to service the growing interest in EVs among campers. The additional purchase of an adjoining property will allow the campground to open 30 additional sites.

Camping guests have taken notice of the sweeping changes, with one five-star review saying, “We have stayed at many campgrounds, but this was the best facility yet. We can’t wait for our next camping adventure at Denver West/Central City KOA Holiday.”

Ranking 45 among more than 500 KOA locations, the campground boasts a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 89, reflecting the superior quality of amenities and service available at the Denver West/Central City KOA Holiday. The campground has also received Kampgrounds of America, Inc.’s Founder’s and President’s Awards five times.

“The Spencer family’s success is not a coincidence,” said Toby O’Rourke, president and CEO of Kampgrounds of America, Inc. “Their focus on delivering the very best outdoor hospitality has allowed them to continually exceed guest expectations at not one campground, but two. It’s an honor to recognize their dedication to their work and valued partnership with KOA.”

For more information about the Denver West/Central City KOA Holiday, please visit the campground’s website.

Rising Star

The Paris Landing/Kentucky Lake KOA Holiday, owned and operated by Marc and Starr Peterson, has been named the KOA Rising Star for 2024. Also announced during KOA’s annual International Convention in Las Vegas, the Rising Star Award is bestowed upon an exemplary campground that has been a part of the KOA campground system for less than five years.

Owning a picturesque campground near a lake in Tennessee was not part of the Peterson’s plans. Living in the suburbs of Chicago, Marc was busy working in corporate America while his wife, Starr, was beginning a new teaching job. It was when Marc was laid off that the plan changed.

“When I got laid off, I decided I needed to do something different,” Marc Peterson said. “I thought, I’m getting old or too worn out, and asked myself, ‘What do I love to do?’ I love to go camping, and we go to many KOAs — and I love the brand. I saw a link that said, ‘Own a KOA’ and clicked on it.”

Eventually, that one click led the Petersons to a quiet Tennessee campground built in 1974 near Kentucky Lake. When the couple bought the campground in 2018, they immediately began adding more sites while creating a five-year plan. Three years later, they not only met but exceeded their goals.

“We quadrupled our revenue within the first few years. Now, COVID helped — but a lot of that was sweat equity,” Peterson said. “It is all blood, sweat, and tears in this place. I mean all three.”

The Petersons have made significant changes and improvements to the campground, including the recent addition of two Deluxe Cabins and five new RV Sites with KOA Patios, as well as upgrading 23 existing sites with KOA Patios. Wi-Fi upgrades keep campers connected on all their devices.

Campers themselves, the Petersons still take a lot of inspiration from their fellow KOA owners.

“In the off-season, we camp and stop in and meet people,” Peterson said. “We love meeting new people and other owners. We have got to be getting close to 90 or maybe even 100 different KOAs that we have visited or stayed at, and I’m proud of that.”

The family’s upgrades and focus on customer service have not gone unnoticed. The campground ranks 17th in the KOA campground system with a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 92. Paris Landing/Kentucky Lake KOA Holiday has also won the prestigious KOA Founder’s Award all five years of its operation.

“Marc and Starr have taken on the challenge of campground ownership and truly flourished,” said KOA’s O’Rourke. “To achieve such a high level of success in such a short timeframe is a true testament to the Petersons’ entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to every camper they serve.”

For more information about the Paris Landing/Kentucky Lake KOA Holiday, please visit the campground’s website.

Source: https://rvbusiness.com/koa-announces-winners-of-campground-awards-for-2023/