RE: how to get the new 2013 campground book
Gbranco:
Is the new Undertow software going to be the Good Sam Directory on disc?
I saw on their update site that it is going to be available early in 2013.
No, at this time we do not have a contract with Undertow to create a new RV Campground Software. I am not sure who they may be partnering with for this data.
Thanks!
Genevieve
RE: how to get the new 2013 campground book
I am so dissapointed in GS for removing their Campground search engine from the website. Don't tell me it is still there, it is not. the US map showing all the different parks for an area of travel is gone. The new version don't begine to show all the parks in an area. I have the book, about 3 inches thick, hard to read and a pain in the ass. I was getting ready to go for a life membership but this removes my need for GS? I would be happy to pay additional for this service if required but I'm sure it is long gone. It is now almost imposible for me to plan a trip.
Guess what, I have great news for you! Right this second, as we speak, we are finalizing a tool you're going to love! It's a map-based search, which beats any other map we've had on our family of sites in the past. You'll be able to zoom in and out, move the map in any direction, filter and refine results, and even to click icons on the map to view more information about that location. It's quick, interactive, and extremely helpful.
I'm hoping that we'll have it rolled out in a month or two, tops. Although we aren't going to ask you to pay additional for this service as you suggest, we may make it (or some of the custom features) available to Good Sam Club members only. It's still up in the air.
Thanks for your feedback! I'm glad that I have good news for you today.
Genevieve Branco
Director of Marketing
Good Sam RV Travel Guide & Campground Directory
RE: how to get the new 2013 campground book
kknowlton:
In an effort to reduce the direct mail that is hitting our member inboxes, we have decided not to direct mail the Directory solicitation for 2013. However, we would love for you to take advantage of this smokin' Good Sam Club member deal at:
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/good-sam-2013-rv-travel-guide-campground-directory/66727
CampgingWorld.com also happens to be having a no-shipping cost member offer today on the website. It's a great time to order.
Thanks!
Genevieve
Good Sam RV Travel Guide Marketing Director
RE: Good Sam website reviews
Recently noticed that the Good Sam website no longer has a resource for user reviews on parks. Any particular reason why it was removed? I often referred to those reviews as well as others when looking a various parks. It was a very helpful part of the website. I know there are other review sites out there, but liked the GS reviews. It often told you if the GS rating matched the experience. ;)
Thanks for your feedback about the subject matter of park reviews. We do appreciate that user reviews are very helpful when choosing a park, in addition to our Expert Good Sam Rating system. That is why we're hoping to bring back an improved user review system around summer time. Keep your eyes out on our sites, as we're making a lot of great changes to the campground and RV park search module over the next few months!
Thanks,
Genevieve Branco
Good Sam RV Travel Guide & Campground Directory Marketing Director
RE: 2013 Trailer Life Directory
gijoday - we had a delay in directories ordered from 11/1 through 12/17. Please give it another week, if you don't mind, and if you still don't receive it, please email me at gbranco@goodsamfamily.com and I will personally make sure you get it.
RE: 2013 Trailer Life Directory
Thank you for taking the time to give us feedback about the new, merged Directory.
I am the Director of Marketing for the Good Sam RV Travel Guide and Campground Directory, and I have been with the Good Sam Family for ten years. You're feedback is very valuable to our team, and will certainly influence our 2014 edition.
I wanted to take a minute to explain some of the challenges that we were met with as we merged the two Directories, Woodall's and Trailer Life, for the 2013 edition, and solicit your further feedback about how we can improve our next edition.
1) First, the size.
Indeed, the National Edition of the Directory is a Goliath, isn't it? The reason for the larger size isn't the increase in travel guide content in the glossy section (as both Directories had a 100+ page glossy section in the past), but is the increase count of listings. Not only did we incorporate over 2,000 additional parks than our largest Directory, but we included both Woodall's Extended Stay Guide and Trailer Life's Yellow Page Guide to RV Services and Military Park listing section. In fact, the newsprint section of the 2013 edition is over 200 pages larger than either newsprint section from 2012.
With the increase in park count, we chose to reduce the amount of content we place in each listing, except for Good Sam Parks and certain qualifying parks. Did we cut too much out of listings? What is the MOST pertinent information you feel should be in every single listing? Is it:
- Policies such as hours, handicap access, age restrictions or pets?
- Services such as escort to site, honey wagons, internet access?
- Amenities such as laundry room?
- Site information (including big-rig information)?
- General Park information such as address, lat/lon, phone number and driving directions?
- Recreation?
Along those same lines, if you would like us to add more information to all listings, then how do we reduce the size of the Directory? Would you suggest that we reduce the number of parks we include? We'd love to hear your feedback about that as well!
2) Second, the content.
Our vision for the Good Sam RV Travel Guide and Campground Directory is to make it a valuable resource, with excellent travel editorial, tips, coupons, and of course great listing information. This didn't add a huge amount of girth to the Directory, but it did add a lot of great information! What are the travel topics you'd like us to explore next year?
3) Third, making the new Directory the "best of both worlds."
Somewhere in this forum string it was mentioned that we merged both directories and took a bit from each. This is true! We talked to both Good Sam Club members and non-members who were users of the Woodall's and Trailer Life Directories, and determined how to keep the best parts of each Directory. Of course, not everyone has the same opinion, but we used the majority opinion in most instances. We did make some compromises. For example, we adopted Trailer Life's format of running the listings A-Z (USA, then Canada, then Mexico), instead of Woodall's Eastern and Western split. However, the result was that we could no longer produce a two-volume, East/West set of Directories and now your only choice is to purchase a single National Edition.
4) And last, the price.
We were happy to be able to offer Good Sam Club members this ultimate Directory, with more listings than ever at the lowest price EVER! We decided late in the fall, that we were going to give Members a $9.95 price through Camping World Retails Stores and the call centers. We simply want to offer Good Sam Club members as much value to your membership as we can!
Year over year, the Directories historically contained 200,000+ changes to listing information for parks. With our 40 expert consultant teams that personally visit, rate and inspect privately owned parks across North American every single year, we recognize that our product is unmatched in the marketplace. However, we are determined to continue to refine and improve our product every year, to meet our users' needs.
We welcome your feedback, and will be rolling out a more formal survey in the next few weeks, to help us improve our 2014 edition. I promise to post the link to that survey here, as we would love your focused opinions. In the mean time, I welcome your continued feedback! You may post to this thread, or you may also email me directly at:
gbranco@goodsamfamily.com
Thank you for your passionate input. Overall I am hopeful that Directory users are pleased with the new Directory and feel that they received a good value for their purchase.
Thank you,
Genevieve Branco
Good Sam Directory Team
gbranco@goodsamfamily.com
RE: 2013 Trailer Life Directory
eoguinn and all,
First of all, I'd like to say that we're sorry for the confusion that the varied pricing of the Directory may have caused. Early orders of the 2013 Good Sam RV Travel Guide & Campground Directory, the result of the merger of Woodall's and Trailer Life Directories, were at a higher price than the later Member price of $9.95. It wasn't until the fall of 2012 that we decided to deeply discount the new Directory to $9.95, and add it to the list of Good Sam Club member benefits.
However, we are aware that some Members already purchased the Directory at a higher price, and we are already working on making that right. Members who paid a higher price for the 2013 Directory should expect to hear from us in January, with a far solution.
Thank you for your patience and we work through this issue. If you have further questions, please feel free to email me directly at gbranco@goodsamfamily.com.
Have a fantastic holiday!
Genevieve Branco
Marketing Director
Good Sam RV Travel Guide & Campground Directory
RE: 10/10/10 rating system, consumer rating ( new ideas)
@Wills250psd - I apologize if I wasn't clear, but we will not be allowing anonymous reviews. Each member will have a profile online, tied to their membership. Reviews will be only permitted when attached to their profile, for the world (and all their online friends) to see as well. We will not be allowing anonymous postings.
Thank you.
Genevieve
RE: 10/10/10 rating system, consumer rating ( new ideas)
Hello, and thank you, Max, for starting this helpful post and for each of you for sharing your ideas and concerns about both user ratings and professional ratings of RV parks and campgrounds.
I would like to share a few things, on behalf of Good Sam, about our current rating system and our plans for the future. Although user ratings are just taking shape and there is a lot yet to be determined, I certainly think I can put your minds at ease.
First of all, regarding our current 10/10*/10 Triple Rating system: The reason that we use a triple rating system is to includes both development as well as maintenance in an objective manner. The first rating describes the amount of development at the park - its facilities and amenities. The second rating helps a consumer understand how developed and well maintained are the public restrooms at a park. RVers have told us that a nice, clean restroom is the sign of a great park. And third, we evaluate the park based on visual appearance and environmental quality. This rating takes into consideration site appearance, litter and debris, noise, layout, etc. Park owners should always feel free to call their Good Sam Consultant team and discuss their ratings with the team. We are very transparent about our ratings and we have several auditing tools in place to ensure accurate ratings are presented to consumers.
Second, regarding our up and coming user-based rating system: As mentioned earlier, the details of the rating system aren't finalized. However, we can tell you this:
1) There will be no anonymous reviews permitted
2) We are creating a feedback loop to inform park owners of negative comments so that you can respond publicly and "make it right" or tell your side of the story.
3) As with many user reviews, the "community" tends to self-correct if a review is way off base. Just wait and see how your best customers come to your defense if someone posts a poor review of you! And of course, offensive or inappropriate comments will always be removed.
4) The user reviews will not replace the professional reviews of Good Sam, nor do we expect them to be competitive to our reviews. Users will review the park overall, 1-5 and write a comment. User reviews can take into account things that we cannot, such as staff friendliness and value. However, we believe that our professional, independent rating system will remain the unbiased valuable tool for RVers that it is today.
5) Photos - We hope to allow users to upload their own photos of a park. Perhaps, even, use the Good Sam mobile application to do so. However, these details are still being worked out.
We will continue to discuss this hot topic of user reviews with our Good Sam Park advisory council so that we can create a valuable tool for consumers and for park owners alike. We always value your feedback. You may email me personally at gbranco@goodsamfamily.com, your Good Sam consultant team (for park owners and operators), or any of the Good Sam Family team members if you have comments, ideas or concerns about the rating systems and we would love to discuss them with you.
Thank you, and keep talking!
Sincerely,
Genevieve Branco
Good Sam RV Travel Guide & Campground Directory Marketing Director
gbranco@goodsamfamily.com
RE: Woodalls I-phone App
Thanks for your interest in the iPhone App. You're correct, the iPhone app does work on iPod touch, however I will let you know that its a scaled down version. We're excited to say we're moving forward with an app for Android and we're shooting for a 4-6 month timeline.
Thanks!
Genevieve
Marketing Director
Good Sam Enterprises
