SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — I'm continuing my quest in finding the best staycation spots around San Diego! Today, I'm checking out KOA Resort in Chula Vista. Now, KOA is no stranger to the camp world. In fact, they've been around for decades!
Whether you own an RV, or want to rent a deluxe cabin, this spot seems to have something for everyone in your family. Plus, KOA is a dog-friendly campground with a 7,000 square foot dog park called Kamp K9. Obviously.
Today I want to introduce you to Clint Bell. Clint runs KOA in Chula Vista...and the camping business has been passed down in his family for generations. I spent the day with him and truly felt the passion he has for the camping industry.
Here's Clint's story:
As a child growing up in the family’s business of owning and operating a KOA campground, we all pitched in and helped with various projects around the property. Our jobs ranged from pouring orange juice at our Sunday pancake breakfasts to helping in the office and around the store. As we got older, we were given more responsibility around the campground, everything from janitorial and construction to overnight security. Before I had graduated high school, I had already seen almost every position there was to have at San Diego Metro KOA. It was a lesson not only in gaining skillsets but also in better understanding the staff that I would eventually work with and lead.
After college, I was living in Colorado, and my goal was to apply to the National Guard to fly rescue helicopters. I eventually came back to San Diego and helped my family with several jobs, including the recreation team at San Diego Metro KOA. From there, I began managing the office and front of the house, learning more about the campground’s operating systems.
Eventually, I helped take on our first KOA expansion project into Arizona, all while growing into my role as general manager and supporting the growth and redesign of the San Diego campground. Even among all that work, I still cleaned bathrooms – truly a cornerstone of working in the camping industry. Recently, we’ve hired a new general manager at San Diego Metro KOA so that we can continue to strengthen our operation across the seven campgrounds our family now.
Has it been a smooth road?
All roads have bumps in them – sometimes they’re potholes, other times they’re mountains. Growth – and the changes that come with it – can be a struggle and it can be difficult not to let the disagreements at work interfere at the dinner table when you’re a part of a close family, working in a close family business. It’s especially difficult to simultaneously learn as you do but without challenge, there’s a little reward and that reward is worth it.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the San Diego Metro KOA story. Tell us more about the business.
San Diego Metro KOA is owned by Kampgrounds Enterprises, Inc. We own and operate seven KOA campgrounds across California, Arizona, and Missouri, including San Diego Metro KOA – the oldest camping resort in San Diego. We specialize in creating lasting family camping memories around the campfire while also providing best-in-class hospitality to our guests. We’re likely best known for our customer service to the outside world. To the industry, however, we are innovators and incubators, pioneers and developers.
The Bell family is native to Chula Vista, and the San Diego area and our business were founded by my grandfather, Ted, in 1968. It’s since been passed on to three generations of Bell’s working side by side, slowly integrating the fourth generation. We certainly don’t do it alone, and we’ve been honored to be a part of visits from more than two million guests from around the world these past 50 years.
I’m proud that we’ve had multiple generations of staff work for us over the years. I’m proud that we have staff members who’ve dedicated years of service to our campground. Our longest-standing employee has been with us for more than 37 years!
I’m proud that even after 50 years, we continue to update and innovate to meet the needs of the modern-day camper. I think what sets us apart from others in our industry is our ability to successfully marry resort hospitality and the outdoors through our incredible facilities, unique landscape and a dedicated team of people who have the guest’s experience at heart.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Since 2014, more than six million new North American households have started camping, according to KOA’s annual North American Camping Report. The camping lifestyle has taken hold in these new campers and the number of campers who camp three times or more each year has increased by 64 percent in the past four years.
Campers are more also more diverse than ever before and in line with the general U.S. Census. Within the outdoor hospitality sector, we’re seeing higher levels of camping across the board, but primarily among younger campers. Six out of every ten millennial households tried some type of camping or lodging in 2017,
KOA CAMPGROUNDS
111 North 2nd Avenue
Chula Vista, CA 91910
800-562-9877
koa.com/campgrounds/san-diego