Thousand Trails
Thousand Trails is a membership campground company operating private campground resorts (referred to as "preserves" in company parlance) in the United States and Canada. As of 2010, the company claimed to have 130,000 "member families" and over 80 preserves in 22 states and the Canadian province of British Columbia.[1] Members typically pay a one-time membership fee and annual dues to use Thousand Trails campgrounds, which tend to cater to the owners of Recreational Vehicles.
History
The company was founded by Milt Kuolt in 1972 with one campground in Chehalis, Washington. Kuolt would go on to found the airline Horizon Air, which he sold in 1986 to Alaska Airlines.[2] In 1979, Kuolt made Thousand Trails a publicly traded corporation.[3]
In 1991, Thousand Trails and another membership campground company, NACO (National American Corporation) both came under the umbrella of the newly formed USTrails, Inc. (which took the name Thousand Trails, Inc., in 1996).[4] Concurrent with this consolidation, USTrails filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 1991.[5]
In 1999, Thousand Trails, Inc., purchased the holding company that owned Leisure Time Resorts of America, Inc., a network of ten membership campgrounds in Washington and Oregon. [6]
In 2003, the company once again became privately owned when Thousand Trails, Inc., was purchased by the private equity firm of Kohlberg & Co. for $113 million.[7] The next year, it was sold to Manufactured Home Communities, Inc., a real estate investment trust, which became Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc.[8]
In 2006, the company was acquired by Privileged Access Gp. Corp., a private company based in Frisco, Texas.[9]
In 2008, Thousand Trails was re-acquired by Equity Lifestyle Properties.[10]
Press Characterizations
In an article entitled "Newest RV Phenomenon has Campgrounds Going RSVP" in the November 28, 1980 edition of the Los Angeles Times, staff writer Ted Vollmer characterized "membership-only resort parks catering to Recreational Vehicle owners" as "either about the smartest investment or the most ridiculous scheme ever served up to the camping public- depending on who's doing the talking." The same report noted that, "Unlike time-sharing schemes involving resort-area condominiums, the campground site is never owned by the camper who buys into a membership park. This fact alone has prompted some private campground owners and campers to question the wisdom of signing up at fees as high as $7,000."[11]
On June 22, 1986, the New York Times ran an article entitled "Campgrounds that Double as Clubs," explaining that "membership campgrounds tout themselves as destination resorts, where families can get away for a weekend or longer in an atmosphere that is a mixture of natural retreat and private country club." The same article reported that Thousand Trails, Inc., had revenues of $128 million the previous year. It also noted that "Like time-share resorts, many of the membership campgrounds do mass mailings to invite people to tour their facilities. The trade press has sharply criticized them for badgering prospective customers with high-pressure sales techniques, or offering nonexistent prizes in promotions."[12]
References
- ^ {{cite web|url=http://www.1000trails.com/aboutus.asp|
- ^ {{cite web|url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Thousand-Trails-Inc-Company-History.html|
- ^ {{cite web|url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Thousand-Trails-Inc-Company-History.html|
- ^ {{cite web|url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Thousand-Trails-Inc-Company-History.html|
- ^ New York Times, Jan. 10, 1992, page D4
- ^ {{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-58036641.html|
- ^ New York Times, May 1, 2003, page C4
- ^ {{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2004_Nov_10/ai_n6345220/|
- ^ {{cite web|url=http://www.woodalls.biz/output.cfm?id=1094779|
- ^ {{cite web|url=http://www.woodalls.biz/output.cfm?id=1709911|
- ^ Los Angeles Times, Nov. 28, 1980, page SD A1
- ^ New York Times, June 22, 1986, page F17
Categories: Camping in the United States | Membership Campgrounds in the United States
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