The off-season is upon us! Sure, a little downtime is great and all, but we understand how the fluctuating seasons can also bring about a new load of stress thanks to the slowdown of profits. Don’t worry, we’ve got your back. The trick to making this off-season a successful one is by being creative, implementing alternative revenue streams to your business, and learning from what you’ve done so far. Thanks to your friends here at Bonfire, we’ve put together a list of 40 things you can do while in the off-season to beat the lull.
Host an open mic music event.
Take new photos of the business.
Work on the website.
Get some merchandise and business cards made.
Review your ‘Reviews’.
Keep in touch with customers through social media.
Do a customer feedback survey.
Work on maintenance, repairs, and construction for the property.
Put on a haunted hayride and pumpkin patch for Halloween.
Host a Christmas Lights Drive-Through.
Host a Drive-In Movie Night.
Provide early-bird discount offers to book next season.
Host a Thanksgiving Event for your team and the local neighbors.
Start the search for new staff to hire for the coming season. (Check Nearby Colleges & Universities.)
Budget for next season!
Don’t forget your taxes!
Host a wine and craft beer tasting event.
Explore new technology to use in your business. (Check us out.)
Beef up your equipment.
Get rid of what you don’t use.
Host weddings!
Host a ‘Kid’s Fish Day’ if you have a pond or body of water on your property.
Make a schedule of events for the next season.
Build a playground.
Throw a good ol’ fashioned BBQ.
Have a softball or a wiffleball tournament.
Take out and advertisement with a local radio station to announce upcoming events for your off season and your regular season.
Install solar panels and wind turbines.
Attend some conferences and trade shows.
Make sure you are up-to-date with all inspections and permits.
Clear out those trees you always hated.
Host a New Year's Eve party. Fireworks are a plus.
Have a Valentine's Day couple’s picnic event.
An Easter egg hunt is a must!
If your campground is in an area where it snows often, have a snowman building competition, snowball fight, and sled race!
Sell hot chocolate and hot apple cider at the above event(s).
Have a bonfire in a safe area after checking local laws. Fireworks are still a plus.
If there are any astronomical events occurring such as a meteor shower or, get a few smaller telescopes and have people come and watch it and take a closer look at the planets if the night sky is clear enough.
Don’t let your business or your attitude stagnate!
Lastly, have fun and enjoy the downtime!
We hope that you found our list helpful, and that you discovered a few new ideas that you can implement at your campground or place of business when things start to slow down. Taking a less-than-ideal situation and turning it into a positive one is truly the hallmark of a savvy business owner, so don’t look at your off-season simply as a time when your business slows down. Take full advantage of the down time to plan for next season, get any necessary repairs done, and to host events to keep people coming back. So don’t be afraid to think outside the box, get creative, and try some of our ideas out! If you have any ideas or practices of your own that you implement during your off-season that you don’t see on this list, feel free to let us know.
Your Friends at Bonfire
