RVWA Spotlight: Introducing April Cumming of Outdoorsy
EDITOR’S NOTE: Several times a month RVBusiness will post an “RVWA Spotlight,” which will highlight a member of the RV Women’s Alliance (RVWA) in each instance. Provided by RVWA, the member spotlight series interviews many of the women who make up the RV industry, highlighting how they got into the industry, what they currently do, and advice for other women. The series also dives deeper to better understand these women and what drives them.
April Cumming
April Cumming – Everybody starts somewhere; remember what it was like to be a beginner.
April Cumming didn’t exactly have a background that set her up for a career in the RV industry when she was hired at Outdoorsy.
But, oh, man did she have the heart for it.
“You could say I got started when I was 11 years old and I would beg my parents to take me to the local Austin RV show. I’d always walk around and get so excited walking through the RVs,” she said. “I had this whole picture in my head that they were like elevated treehouses to me.”
Cumming said that as she walked through each RV she would plan out what part would be her room and where she would keep her things and what she would be willing to share with somebody else.
Now as the public relations manager for Outdoorsy, she is helping others make those kinds of dreams come true by connecting people looking to experience the RV lifestyle with people who own an RV and might be looking to make a little extra cash on the side by renting out their unit.
“I’ve been with Outdoorsy for four years now, ever since they moved to Austin,” she said. “I just knew this company was in the outdoor travel space, which was my biggest passion. I needed to find a way in. It’s everything I am as a person and I’ve been here ever since.”
She said that one of her ultimate goals is to help people overcome “nature deficit disorder” by getting them outside and experiencing even the smallest outdoor settings.Part of that has been with her own family.
Last year she and her 4-year-old son rented a 30-foot Class C motorhome. Cumming is proud to say she drove it the whole way to the campground and home again.
She said she enjoys the friendliness she finds in all levels of the RV industry and seeing customers’ experiences come to life as people want to share their passion for the outdoor lifestyle and travel with other people.
But it wasn’t always necessarily so easy for her.
“As you get into it, it can be really intimidating,” Cumming said. “There are a lot of things to work on.”
But she credits a team at Outdoorsy that was willing to pass on their knowledge of the industry and willing to give her time to grow into her PR role with helping her find her comfortable spot.
And she recommends anybody considering a job in the industry look for a similar situation.
“That’s been so crucial to me,” she said. “When I started with Outdoorsy I didn’t know the difference between a Class A, Class B and Class C RV and I was super confused that a Class C was larger than a B because in my mind it should be A, B, C with C’s being the smaller one.”
“Look for those teachers,” she says. “Every RV is a little nuanced and different, just like every job is nuanced and different. You have to find that one person who is willing to let you give that job a test drive.”
She said she has tried to have that same attitude toward others as she grows in the industry and sees new people come on board. Passing on knowledge is one of the easiest ways to help others and it also wins over new supporters of the RV lifestyle.
“Always remember what it was like to be a beginner,” she said. “Remember everything was once new to you. Maybe at first something was intimidating to you but now you’re an expert. Just always remember what it felt like to be a beginner. Never feel like you’re too much of an expert to share your knowledge.”
She said winning over people to the RV lifestyle also can help win them over to wanting to protect nature, something she also is passionate about.
“One thing we’re always trying to work on at Outdoorsy is how to make sure everyone feels welcome and accepted in the outdoor space,” Cumming said. “Whether it’s through PR efforts or some other initiative, we need to make sure everyone feels welcome in the outdoors and welcome to the idea of RVing. The more people actually have a connection with the outdoors and nature, the more they will want to protect and care about it.”
She said campgrounds can play an important role in winning people over to the RV lifestyle, adding that she sees the future of campgrounds as wide open, “kind of like the Wild West” in that the blueprint for how the campground industry will evolve in the future has yet to be finalized.
It’s important to not leave one part of the population out of the camping equation, she says, adding that the vision is for everyone to find they’re calling, and accommodation preference, in the outdoors — be that in a tent, an RV, or a blend of those two experiences with the perks and amenities offered at a hotel or resort.
Just as there is room for improvement in the campground search and booking process, Cumming said there is also room for improvement in the design of RVs and she looks forward to seeing what the future brings by way of improved features and function for people wanting to spend more time out on the road.
“I still love looking around RV shows and seeing all the new features,” Cumming said. “So much has changed since I was a kid. Now there’s RVs with home offices and Campervans with solar panels and indoor showers, but they still feel like big, rolling treehouses to me.”
Source: https://rvbusiness.com/rvwa-spotlight-introducing-april-cumming-of-outdoorsy/
