What questions should you ask the owner when buying a campground?

Documents tell you what happened. The owner can tell you how it felt, and where the park is fragile. Plan your first site visit as a conversation, not an inspection. Walk the grounds together, keep your questions open and write down what the owner says so you can compare it with the records later. The questions below start the conversation.

How the season really runs

Ask the owner to describe a busy weekend from start to finish. Who opens the gate, who cleans, who answers the phone, and what goes wrong most often? Ask what the first week of opening and the last week of closing involve. You will learn how much of the work is routine and how much depends on the owner being there.

The campers and the bookings

Ask how bookings arrive, whether by phone, online or word of mouth, and which sites fill first. Ask which seasonal campers have been there longest and whether any are thinking of leaving. Ask what the owner has promised any of them. The page on seasonal campers explains why that matters after a sale.

What broke, and what the owner would change

Ask what broke or needed fixing last year, and what was put off. Ask what the owner would change with more time or money. Honest answers show you where your own first-year spending may go. Compare them with what you see on the grounds and with the inspection later.

What only the owner knows

Every park has jobs that nobody else knows how to do: the quirks of the water system, the neighbour who must be called first, the supplier who delivers on short notice. Ask what those are, and whether the owner will stay for a handover. Ask also why the owner is selling. Our page on testing the owner’s reason for selling can help you weigh the answer.