AutoCamp Corporate Retreats

We’ve seen them – the “business people” pulling up in luxury coaches (uh…buses), piling out for a few days of team building, business, and fun. AutoCamp has designed their clubhouses to be ideal locations for corporate retreats for smaller businesses.

AutoCamp Fostering Corporate Relationships

Vinny Cuneo, vice president of revenue management at AutoCamp, said there’s been an increase in corporate demand as leisure tapers off, and group size and length of stay are comparable to 2022. His team partners with local experience providers to curate special activities on the property and off.

“That’s really what gets groups to come out to AutoCamp,” he said. “We have really strong relationships with experience providers in all of our markets. We actually have a platform on our website, where even our leisure guests can go and book those, and they’re hosted and managed through local relationships. We try to be the best partner we can in the communities we operate in and don’t try to duplicate anything that exists there.”

CoStar

Interesting. Recently, Cuneo said the leisure segment was still strong. However, he did note that it was the “experiences” curated at each location that made the difference in the leisure segment. That seems to be the case in the corporate segment, as well.

The Clubhouse – AutoCamp Corporate Retreats

AutoCamp is working harder and harder to cater to corporate retreats. AutoCamp designed the clubhouse for not only corporate retreats but also weddings, bachelor/bachelorette parties, and more. However, most of their marketing and focus is now on the corporate clients.

The newest AutoCamp, location near Zion National Park, in Virgin River, has designed their clubhouse with corporate retreats in mind. They have physically separated the main clubhouse from the corporate meeting space.

The main clubhouse is for the general public – it has the general store, the check in/out desk, the kitchen, free breakfast coffee and granola, and lots of public seating, an indoor firepit, and games. This is on the left in the photo, above.

The darker and lower building to the right is solely for corporate events. Sure, it could be used for private parties, but the reality is that it is sterile. It’s not party friendly. It’s corporate friendly. It has white boards and screens, tables, and chairs. Not much else. This isn’t very inviting to bachelorette parties, weddings, or birthday parties. “Parties” will need to bring decorations to make it festive and inviting.

The clubhouse, aimed at the rest of the guests, is far more inviting and comfortable, below:

Here’s the clubhouse at AutoCamp Joshua Tree:

See the two “domes”? The one to the right is the very tiny clubhouse. It’s second smallest of all the AutoCamp properties. Only Russian River was smaller (and yet we liked it far more!).

The dome to the left is the corporate retreat space. you can even see the chairs lined up, but here is a close up:

Kind of cool.
And COLD.
Could you imagie doing anything other than a corporate something here?

AutoCamp calls it a “blank canvas.”

A blank canvas in a desert setting. The Desert Flat is an ideal outdoor event space with flexible capabilities adjacent to the Mojave Dome.

• 1,300 square foot outdoor event space for up to 108 guests
• Adjacent food truck parking spot and hook ups

Joshua Tree is marketing this space heavily. I’ve not yet seen pano/3d images on the site, but they have them for the meeting space at Joshua Tree.

They’re pushing “full buyouts,” a very corporate term:

Maximize your experience with exclusive access to our Clubhouse and amenities, including the outdoor bar, and a variety of indoor and outdoor event spaces

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Exclusive access to property and amenities for up to 165 guests
• Indoor and outdoor lounge and event spaces

In the “Mojave Doom” – that sterile meeting space,

Host your next meeting or event in the Mojave Dome, our private event space adjacent to the Clubhouse at AutoCamp Joshua Tree.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• 973 square foot open-air Quonset hut room
• Flexible private space for up to 50 guests

AutoCamp Meetings and Events (AKA Corporate Retreats)

AutoCamp is pushing “meetings and events” right from the top navigation of their website:

On that page, they are marketing towards providing an “unforgettable wedding or invigorating your company retreat.” They then outline the offerings at each of their 6 open locations. Of those locations, it’s only Joshua Tree and Zion, outlined above, that have the most segregated spaces. AutoCamp Cape Cod also has very significant space, but it’s not physically separated as Joshua and Zion are.

1,200 square foot private meeting space for up to 63 guests

• 1,000 square foot terrace with a view of Buzzard’s Bay

Conclusion: We’re Worried

We’ve got an article coming this week that AutoCamp is now selling “an AutoCamp Airstream.” One? Really? We don’t think so. As we’ve written about extensively, AutoCamp was supposed to open 4 properties this year. They only managed one (Zion), and they were months late. The other 3 properties will be a year or more delayed. This, coupled with the info we received from Airstream that they have parking lots full of AutoCamp Airstreams waiting for delivery was worriesome enough. Now, add the sale of Airstream(s) plus the focus on corprorate retreats, we’re not liking how this is feeling for AutoCamp. Hitting their goal of opening 100 locations in 10 years is beginning to look like a fantasy.