RECREATIONAL RENAISSANCE

It was late March when Martha Gaughen, an owner and vice president of Birmingham, Ala.-based Brownell Travel, a Virtuoso member agency, came to terms with the fact that the international travel she’d booked for the year was likely a washout.

“The bulk of our business is luxury international travel,” said Gaughen, who works out of Brownell’s Atlanta office. “But with everything happening [around Covid-19], we realized we’d have to focus on domestic travel. We don’t typically do a lot in the U.S., outside of major cities, Napa Valley or the national parks, and the profitability on domestic travel isn’t nearly as high.”

But with the summer travel season just around the corner, Gaughen and her team knew it would be vital to offer a high-end, domestic travel alternative to clients, many of whom would likely be unwilling or unable to hop on a plane amid a global pandemic. 

The answer? Luxury recreational vehicle, or RV, road trips.

“We wanted to find a way to still give our clients that ‘wow’ experience in their own backyard,” Gaughen explained.

This spring, her agency began promoting its domestic road trip planning services under the tag line “See the USA in the Brownell Way,” a play on the 1950s jingle “See the USA in Your Chevrolet” popularized by Dinah Shore.

“But instead of a Chevrolet, we’re talking about road trips with rock star-style tour buses, luxury motorcoaches or converted Mercedes vans and adding in guides and private drivers and glamping and other experiences,” said Gaughen. “And the beauty of RV travel is that you can do most any kind of itinerary and combine it with any other mode of transportation or accommodation. You can make it as deluxe and as customized and full-service as you need to.”

Gaughen isn’t alone in rediscovering the magic of the RV road trip. 

RVshare, a peer-to-peer RV rental marketplace, reports that RV bookings on its platform have surged 650% since early April as U.S. travelers seek out domestic vacation options that allow for social distancing and minimize air travel.

“People are very hesitant to travel internationally or plan travel internationally in the next three months, but they’re very happy to plan travel that’s closer to home,” said Jon Gray, CEO of RVshare. “And I think we’re going to see a premium on the ability to stay in a place that’s self-isolated, like an RV.”

Launched in 2013, RVshare boasts an inventory of more than 100,000 vehicles. Among the site’s more popular models are Class C RVs, which are typically between 20 and 30 feet long. Due to relatively limited supply, Mercedes Sprinter vans and Airstreams are also in high demand.

“Even prior to the pandemic, this idea of getting out into the great outdoors was at the forefront of things,” added Gray. “There’s something so quintessentially American about hitting the open road and going out and seeing nature.”

A luxury experience

As advisors are expected to pivot to expand their domestic travel offerings, destination management companies and other suppliers are stepping up to provide a diverse array of high-end road trip itineraries, experiences and vehicles.

Luxury tour operator Abercrombie & Kent (A&K), which launched its U.S. destination management office this year, unveiled a collection of North America itineraries in late May. They include options like a road trip from Los Angeles to the Southwest — with stops at the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park and hot air balloon, helicopter and off-road vehicle excursions — and a Chicago to the West trip, which showcases visits to Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone, among other sites. 

“We’ve done a lot of work, even pre-Covid, to try to understand what luxury, experiential travel would mean in the United States,” said Stefanie Schmudde, A&K’s vice president of product development. “And our plan is centered around the idea of creating that great American road trip, which I think is something that resonates with people.”

All A&K road trip itineraries can be fully customized, and starting points are available in almost any major U.S. city. A chauffeured luxury RV is a recommended mode of transportation, with the vehicle also able to double as accommodation in more off-the-beaten-path locales.

“If you have a seven-night itinerary, maybe you want to spend one night in the RV where the accommodations in a particular destination might not be of the caliber that you’re typically used to,” said Schmudde. “But then you have six other nights where you can stay in a casita or cabin and spread out. You can have the best of both worlds and true variety of experience, without having to unpack and pack all the time.” 

A&K’s road trips start at $12,895, though pricing varies according to vehicle size and add-on experiences and services. 

Like A&K, luxury destination management company Excursionist is also seeing growing interest in high-end RV travel within the U.S. The group recently unveiled an On the Road Again collection of experiences, showcasing U.S. and Canada road trip itineraries that can start from a client’s home.

The itineraries can be self-driven or chauffeured, and transportation options range anywhere from a 30- to 40-foot Class A motorcoach, which can include up to five beds to a Class B Mercedes or Winnebago van, which are generally 12 to 24 feet in length. Pricing ranges from $8,000 to $35,000 per week for a Class A vehicle and $4,000 to $6,000 per week for a Class B. 

“RVs have been a part of our repertoire for a while, but we’re seeing a lot more demand for them,” said Norman Aynbinder, Excursionist president and CEO. “For a long time, I think there was a stigma around family RV travel and this idea that it may not be a luxury experience, but in the last 10 years, luxury clients have really gotten excited about wanting to experience these incredible national parks and other amazing natural wonders in our own country.”

Aynbinder added, however, that Excursionist considers RVs just one piece of the road trip puzzle. The company’s itineraries will generally include stops at a variety of accommodation types, including private lodges, boutique inns and even luxury glamping sites.

“For a luxury traveler, we don’t necessarily recommend they sleep in the RV every night, even though it’s certainly doable,” he explained. “Most clients coming to us now are not necessarily looking at the RV as a place to stay but more as something that adds to the overall experience and comfort of the journey.”

Aynbinder also generally recommends opting for a driver, particularly when booking a large, Class A RV. Excursionist ensures that drivers are provided with separate but nearby accommodations throughout a road trip. 

“A driver can help take care of everything,” said Aynbinder. “You won’t have to deal with waste management and all of that. And then of course in the parks, you’ve got narrow roads and mountainous terrain, so having a driver can be a huge advantage.” 

Meanwhile, when it comes to high-end RVs, few know the market better than Goss RV, an Atlanta-based RV rental and RV vacation planning specialist. Established in 2003, the company has a fleet of more than 150 luxury vehicles, and according to Goss RV CEO and president Jer Goss, a growing number of travel advisors are knocking on their door. Goss RV currently offers advisors commissions of between 10% and 15%.

“We’ve always worked with some luxury travel advisors, but the amount of excitement around RV travel right now is crazy,” said Goss. “It used to take us months of networking to be able to present what we offer, but now, CEOs of some very large travel agencies are calling us. Business was going 100 mph until March 15, when everything dropped to zero. And now it’s going 150 mph.”

Goss RV trip prices start at approximately $15,000 to $20,000 per week, though opting for a top-of-the-line RV can quickly grow that quote to $40,000 to $50,000 per week.

Among Goss RV’s newest standouts is a Prevost bus conversion by Marathon Coach, which can sleep six and features a full bathroom, indoor and outdoor televisions, a stovetop and Sub-Zero refrigerator and a washer and dryer, among many other amenities. Goss calls the RV “an apartment on wheels.”

“We’re really hopeful that given the hype around RV travel right now, we can introduce more people to the fact that there are these really nice vehicles and they can stay in all these amazing places,” he added. “Most people don’t realize that there are these super-high-end luxury RV resorts all across the country.”

Upscale resorts

Sun Communities’ Sun RV Resorts, which has close to 150 RV resorts across the U.S. and Canada, counts its Carolina Pines outpost, located near Myrtle Beach, S.C., as one of its latest upscale venues. Opened last year, the resort features full hookup RV sites, vacation rental cottages and numerous amenities, including swimming pools, a waterpark, miniature golf and a yoga studio. 

The company plans to expand further into the luxury space with Costa Vista, an RV resort set to open as part of the Port of San Diego’s Chula Vista bayfront redevelopment project in the first quarter of 2021. 

Costa Vista’s first phase will comprise 197 RV sites and 49 vacation rentals. The resort’s amenities will include a full-service restaurant with a dining deck overlooking the wetlands as well as an indoor-outdoor fitness center, pool, playground, dog park and meetings and event space.

“The big difference between campgrounds and luxury RV resorts is really the amenities,” said Jackie Maguire, regional vice president of Sun RV Resorts. “That’s what’s going to set Costa Vista apart. And we’re heavily invested in going in the direction of more of these luxury, ground-up properties.” 

While Sun RV Resorts doesn’t currently work with advisors, the company said it is exploring the possibility of a new digital platform “accessible to travel agents.

Glamping options

Putting a similarly high-end spin on the traditional RV campground is AutoCamp, an alternative-lodging company specializing in Airstream travel trailer accommodations. Launched in 2013 in Santa Barbara, Calif., AutoCamp’s trailers remain stationary, so there’s no road tripping necessary. Still, the Airstreams, which have been outfitted with high-end finishes and furnishings, promise a camping-inspired experience, complete with dedicated fire pits and outdoor dining and lounge areas.

“Camping can be challenging for people,” said AutoCamp co-founder Ryan Miller. “What AutoCamp offers is a turnkey camping experience, where you don’t have to have previous knowledge about setting up a campsite or towing an RV trailer.”

Though AutoCamp’s original Santa Barbara location has permanently shuttered, the brand has expanded with two new California locations in the Russian River Valley and Yosemite. A third AutoCamp on Cape Cod is set to open next spring. 

Rates for an Airstream Suite at AutoCamp’s Russian River Valley and Yosemite locations start at around $289 per night. AutoCamp offers a 10% commission rate for travel advisors.

In addition to Airstreams, some Auto-Camp sites offer a mix of luxury glamping tents and cabins as well as a family-friendly hybrid accommodation called a “base camp,” which combines an Airstream with an adjacent tent. The company is also testing out a “mini-base camp” concept, featuring a miniature tent geared toward families with young children.

“We think family travel is going to be a strong consumer preference going forward,” Miller said. “And when things start to rebound and people are comfortable traveling again, we think that the demand for drive-to and outdoor destinations will also be pretty strong. Time spent in the outdoors can have a really profound effect on people’s physical and mental well-being, and now more than ever, people are really craving wide-open spaces, fresh air and active experiences. And that’s what we’re all about.”

Correction: Abercrombie & Kent’s road trips start at start at $12,895; an incorrect price appeared in an earlier version of this article.