PRVCA Show Chairman Discusses Challenges, Evolution & Pride For Pennsylvania Confab
The logistical undertaking of a product convention as big as the Hershey RV Show in Pennsylvania requires a lot of different moving parts. Whether dealing with logistics, brand placement or simple association goals, the intention requires a deft hand and a sense of focus. The Buzz sat down with show chairman Dan Saltzgiver who also serves as owner and GM at Camping World Of Hanover to discuss psychology, change and scale.
The Buzz: The Hershey RV Show is a large undertaking but one that also requires an intimate experience for a buyer since selecting an RV is a very personal choice. Can you talk about balance and RVing as a personal journey.
Dan Saltzgiver: Putting the show on and trying to do what you just said by personalizing it, we start literally the day after this show ends preparing for next year’s show. We actually already started talking about some possible changes we may have to make from listening to the exhibitors who are coming into the show. It is literally a year-long thing. We have a committee that is made up of every facet of the industry. That comes from our actual association itself [PRVCA] where we represent all facets [of the industry]. We are the only RV association that literally has transportation, finance, insurance, manufacturers, suppliers, campgrounds and dealers, all represented. When we are looking at this show, we are looking at it from the standpoint of what’s good for manufacturers. What’s good for dealers? What’s good for suppliers? Ultimately we’re looking at when the retail public comes in, how are we going to move them about the show? How are we going to be able to have them see everything they want to see…make it big enough that entices….but also that it is not something too big and they are [still] able to get around. That’s how we started with taxicabs [at the show] years ago. We started out with as few as two and this year we are up to [maybe] 9 or 10 6-seater taxis that literally can haul the dealers around the show, Last year, we had around 77,000 paid people come through the show. That’s not kids. That’s simply paid adults. When you have that many people, you have to go about making it intimate enough. [Also] many of our customers are older customers who maybe they can’t get around as well. So for them to see the show we need to do that.
The Buzz: Can you talk about the evolution of last year to this year?
DS: One of the changes we made…the committee got together and said, “We’re getting some really huge blocks of manufacturers who are taking up huge [amounts of] space” and one of the concerns we were getting from smaller manufacturers [was that] they believed they were getting a lesser spot in the show. We thought “OK. We hear you. But we are not sure how to go about changing that because there are only so many spots around this parking lot where you can set these huge blocks.” We came up with the idea of that, “Let’s make the blocks no bigger than a certain size”. The larger manufacturers can have two or three blocks but they can be put around the shows so when people come in they can see the company here or here or here. We had several manufacturers that had to get two big blocks and another big block to accommodate all their products. I can tell you [though] that it has not been met with the greatest of admiration, let’s put it that way. They’re not very happy with the association right now and some say they would have still preferred to stay in their larger block. We also moved the entrances around to bring people in from different parts of the show to try and get the traffic flow better. So now just about every manufacturer…and this started out as a manufacturer show…has an opening on one of the major thoroughfares going through the show. Now manufacturers have equal footing whether they are a 5 unit display or a 200 unit display. We look at that as a good thing. Again we have larger manufacturers on the committee… and as a committee we made this decision…it didn’t come about with just one or two people’s input. There are about 10 to 12 people on the committee including people who are suppliers that have nothing to do with the manufacturers so they were looking at in a non-biased way giving us their input . They have no stake in the game. It is good getting somebody that is not biased to say “We like what we see” or “we don’t like what we see”.
The Buzz: Can you talk about the identity of the PRVCA and how it has evolved along with the Hershey Show.
DS: One of our goals when we were sitting down…this was probably 15 or so years ago when we did our strategic planning…was to have the association be the one place people can go whether they’re a dealer, manufacturer or the public…they can go to the website or to the association and get things answered. RVIA is massive, way bigger than what we are, but they serve mainly the manufacturing community. We wanted to be that one entity that could be a place where everyone could go and get answers. I think we have accomplished that.
The Buzz: Did you ever think the Hershey RV Show would become this big?
DS: Well…it is the largest show in the country. I hoped that it would. I became chairman of the show when we moved it from Harrisburg to here. There were many reasons for that. It was a space issue and we constantly were having to worry about flooding at the previous facility. We had a flood there one year that pretty near took out a whole bunch of units. By the grace of God, it didn’t take any out but it got pretty close. I mean we had water up to the bottom of the frames throughout much of the show. That happened on dealer days on the Monday before the show. We had Tuesday clean up and Wednesday the show went on. But when that happened, a number of people said, “We were fortunate. We need to find another place”. And we did find another place where we could grow. This seemed to be a natural place…and, as you said, a destination. I can tell you the first year or two wasn’t met very well either. Again change…none of us really likes change…but in order for things to get better, change is inevitable. I didn’t know it would become this big. Now we are trying to keep it from getting bigger. I constantly listen to the customers coming to the show. I started to hear “This is too big. It is overwhelming. I didn’t get a chance to see everything”. That’s not good either. And it is a constant. I think everybody would love to see it get bigger and bigger but, as a committee, we constantly look and say “Is bigger really better”. We are trying to keep it manageable. Last year, it was almost unmanageable because it was physically bigger. We didn’t have more units but it was physically bigger with more space. [At that point] we took a hard look at it and, as a group, decided to keep it the size it is. It is better to be sold out then have space unsold. It is better to have something you can manage than something that is wildly big but unmanageable. That is what we are constantly taking a look at and see if there are things we can do better.
The Buzz: Where did your passion for this industry begin?
DS: I feel fortunate. I sort of fell into this position in the sense that I didn’t come from the RV industry. My parents had a tractor dealership and I was always looked at to take that over someday. An opportunity came to me to work as a salesman for a very small RV dealership. And once I got involved with that…you’re dealing with people’s leisure time. I fell in love with the customers coming and looking to me to help them enjoy their free time. That is probably to me one of the most sacred things…family time…being able to go out and enjoy yourself. This is one of the few industries where you can actually do that with your customer. You can have your own RV. For years, we did a camp out at our dealership and I just enjoyed helping people bring the family together. I think RVing is one of the greatest things there is in this country…just to be able to RV… getting grandparents and parents and children together. I have seen customers of mine meet other customers…people who didn’t have grand kids all of a sudden have adopted grand kids because they met this family and just fell in love. They start camping together. To me this is the greatest occupation I could have had. So that I think is what drives me is being able to provide that for people and to take care of their leisure time. I would say that’s been the driving force over all my years of being in business. I was fortunate enough to buy out my owner…then ultimately bought out my partner and then sold to a larger company [Camping World] while still being able to work in the industry. I mean people have said I couldn’t work for somebody else but I found it not to be that hard because it left me to still do my thing.
Tim Wassberg
A graduate of New York University's Tisch School Of The Arts with degrees in Film/TV Production & Film Criticism, Tim has written for magazines such as Moviemaker, Moving Pictures, Conde Nast Traveler UK and Casino Player. He enjoys traveling and distinct craft beers among other things.
Make Sure To Stay At:
Western Village RV Park, which is a very clean and quiet family campground in South Central Pennsylvania featuring 235 sites including large pull-thru sites, some 50-amp electric, a tenting area, and cabin rentals.