MC Fireside Chats, an Outdoor Hospitality Podcast

In this week’s episode of MC Fireside Chats, we welcome Jenna Celmer from Basecamp as a special guest host.  Over the years, the RV, campground, and outdoor hospitality industries have seen significant growth. From primitive sites with no cell reception to reserving sites over the phone, campers can now experience the great outdoors by booking online to different accommodations based on their...

In this special episode of MC Fireside Chats, glamping and camping industry experts from all over the world joined us to talk about the challenges they faced in developing their businesses and how they overcame them.  This week’s special guests are Olja Nicholl, owner of Serbia’s first-ever glamping resort, Stephanie Bias of Camp Aramoni in Illinois, Italian Architectural Design Manager Giaco...

In this week’s Thanksgiving edition of MC Fireside Chats (MCFC), RV experts and enthusiasts discussed the recent events held to help people in the RV industry learn more about growing their respective businesses, and they also looked back to how much the industry has grown this year. In this episode, MCFC Host Brian Searl is joined by RV Dealers Association President Phil Ingrassia and RV Women’s...

This week on MC Fireside Chats, this special edition of the show takes place at this year’s KOA Convention & Expo! Podcast host, Brian Searl, is joined by KOA campground owners around the country. KOA President & CEO Toby O’Rourke, Brigham City KOA’s James Settlemire, KCN Campgrounds’ Nate Thompson, Sandusky/Bayshore KOA’s Jeff Hoffman, and Raton, New Mexico KOA’s Grant Robertson joined to...

This week on MC Fireside Chats, glamping experts joined another discussion on topics surrounding the glamping industry. Recurring guests Ruben Martinez, the founder of Glamping Hub and the American Glamping Association, and Irene Wood of Fields of Michigan joined today’s show. They are also joined by new recurring members of the show, Zach Stoltenberg, the Glamping & RV Resort Design Leader at...

In this episode of MC Fireside Chats, outdoor hospitality experts discussed various trends and provided insights regarding the sector.  In terms of how the season went, Casey Cochran, Vice President of Business Development at Campspot Software, said that for the overall numbers, from the reservation standpoint, they had seen less reservation and occupancy compared to 2021. Cochran, however, n...

In this week’s episode of MC Fireside Chats, campground industry experts talked about electric vehicles (EV), EV charging systems, infra, and how parks and campgrounds can future-proof their businesses.   Amir Harpaz of Torrey Trails RV & Golf Resort, who’s working in the industry as a developer of RV parks and campgrounds, shared that 210 of its 368 properties are EV-enabled. ...

This week on MC Fireside Chats, glamping experts joined another discussion on pressing issues in the glamping industry. Recurring guest Ruben Martinez, the founder of Glamping Hub and the American Glamping Association, joined today’s show with Irene Wood of Fields of Michigan, David Smith of Outside Capital, Miguel Huerta of Nantli Living, and Katerina Kamtsi of Campsaround. This week’s discussion...

Live at the Glamping Show USA, glamping industry experts held an open discussion on pressing issues in the industry and discussed what has happened at the Glamping Show USA.  MC Fireside Chats is joined by Sacha Macey of Yurts for Life, Connor Schwab of Sage Outdoor Advisory, Zachary Stoltenberg of Clockwork, and Nick Purslow of Glampitect.  The discussion started with welcoming the Glam...

This week on MC Fireside Chats, we talked to industry experts Shyft Group Specialty Vehicles President Steve Guillaume, IVEE Management Group Director of Operations Scott Knepp, Florida and Alabama RV Park and Campground Association (FARVC) CEO Bobby Cornwell, and RV Women’s Alliance President Susan Carpenter. In this episode, the group discussed how Shyft Group is growing its operations in terms...

Are you a campground owner looking to save up on electricity costs? Or are you a camper looking for ways to spend less on camping fees?  In this week’s episode of MC Fireside Chats, experts from the camping industry, Mike Harrison and Joe Duemig, joined by this week’s special guest Mike Sorensen, President & CEO of Wild Energy Inc., discussed pressing issues in the camping industry while...

In this week’s MC Fireside Chats, glamping experts joined another discussion on pressing issues in the glamping industry. Recurring guest Ruben Martinez, the founder of Glamping Hub and the American Glamping Association, joined today’s show with Irene Wood of Fields of Michigan, and Mark Kirkendall and Kyle Koch, owners BaseGlamp ReVivify. Martinez opened the discussion by sharing exciting news ab...

On this episode of MC Fireside Chats, sponsored by Fireside Accounting, industry experts discuss the changes and innovations in the outdoor hospitality industry, as well as the concept of experiential hospitality. We were joined by Randy Hendrickson, Founder & CEO of United Park Brokers; Sandy Ellingson, an RV Industry Consultant; Mark Koep, Founder, and CEO of CampgroundViews.com; Scott Foos,...

This week on MC Fireside Chats, we are joined by RV industry and Outdoor Recreation experts, such as Susan Carpenter of RV Women's Alliance, Curtis Hemmeler, the executive director of the RV Technical Institute (RVTI), who discussed the RV service technician shortage, and full-time RVer Jason Gossett of The Unhustle Bustle who talked about his family’s RVing journey. Gossett, with 15 years of expe...

In this week’s episode of MC Fireside Chats, sponsored by Firefly Reservations , Kyle Krieg, co-owner of Black Rock Adventure Park and Campground , joined the show to discuss the impact of amenities, accommodations, and innovation on the experience of guests and staff members. We were also joined by our regular guests, Mike Harrison from CRR Lifestyle , Duncan Winship from Papoose Pond , and Joe D...

On this pilot episode of MC Fireside Chats’ glamping-focused show, happening every second week of the month, we were joined by Ruben Martinez, the founder of Glamping Hub and the American Glamping Association (AGA), who talked about his journey in the glamping industry and shared how AGA has helped and continues to help industry members.  Martinez started in the glamping industry a decade ago...

On today’s episode of MC Fireside Chats, sponsored by Fireside Accounting, industry experts talked about the latest news and trends in the camping and RV industry.  We were joined by Casey Cochran, Director of Business Development at Campspot Software; Randy Hendrickson, Founder & CEO of United Park Brokers; Sandy Ellingson, an RV Industry Consultant; Ruben Martinez from the American Glam...

On today’s show, we talked to Rich Schnippel, the founder and president of Encore RV–an Elkhart-based RV OEM manufacturing lightweight and easy-to-tow trailers. Our regular guests also joined us on MC Fireside Chats. Experts on both the RV Industry and outdoor recreation include Eleanore Hamm, President at RVDA of Canada; Shane Devenish, the Executive Director at CRVA; and Kurt Repanshek of Nation...

In this week’s episode of MC Fireside Chats, sponsored by Firefly Reservations , we talked to Simon Neal, Founder of CampMap –a web mapping platform startup that helps improve guest’s experience and camp management by delivering consistent and easy-to-use digital maps of campsites. We were also joined by our regular guests, Mike Harrison from CRR Lifestyle and Joe Duemig of App My Community . Cara...

In this episode of MC Fireside Chats, sponsored by  Let’s Camp , we are joined by Ken Kaplan, CEO of  K2 Commercial Finance , who talked about the whys and hows of campground and RV park financing, and Bill McLeod and D Melton, owners of  Big Rig Friendly RV Resort  in South Carolina who shared the story on how they built and developed their RV resort from the ground up. McLeod...

In this week’s episode of MC Fireside Chats, experts discussed the latest news in the outdoor hospitality industry, mainly how inflation, gas prices, and other economic effects are impacting today’s recession, the industry, and the traveling plans of people.  They also discussed how outdoor hospitality businesses can alleviate the adverse effects and adopt new solutions to thrive in today’s e...

In this week’s episode of MC Fireside Chats, we talked about Nova Scotia’s booming camping and outdoor recreation industry with Sandra Fraser, the Parks Promotion & Development Officer of  Nova Scotia , and Neil Demosthenous and Demos Demosthenous, the founders of  SkyWeb , who discussed the importance of wireless services and connectivity at campgrounds. Fraser proudly introduced No...

This week on MC Fireside Chats, we talked to industry experts Eleanore Hamm of  RVDA  of Canada, Shane Devenish, Executive Director at  CRVA , and Susan Carpenter of the  RV Women’s Alliance  to discuss current events, challenges, and trends in both the RV Industry and Outdoor Recreation. Present in the discussion were Lance King and Bill French, the creators of  Cybe...

In this episode of MC Fireside Chats, industry experts talked about the glamping industry, the challenges glamping owners are facing, and the future of glamping from the UK to North America. Present in the discussion is Mike Harrison from  CRR Lifestyle , Duncan Winship of  Papoose Pond , Nick Purslow of  Glampitect , a glamping design consultancy, and Kevin & Izaac Rains, the o...

In this episode of MC Fireside Chats, we talked to entrepreneurs Jonny Feld, President of  Field Van , a custom builder of vans and class B motorhomes, and Heather DeSantis, CEO and Founder of  Publicity for Good , a purpose-driven PR company servicing intentional brands. MC Fireside Chats host Cara Csizmadia opened the discussion by sharing the initiatives of the camping, RV, outdoor re...