Alabama RV Parks Modernize During Coronavirus

Ed Bridgman was in full sales pitch mode for his Homestead RV Community in south Mobile County as a reality TV camera crew filmed his every movement Thursday.

“Very few (RV parks) have been built in the last 20 years (in Alabama),” said Bridgman, wearing a cowboy hat and taking questions before a small crowd of local RV dealers and county and tourism officials. The film footage, he said, would be used for a program broadcast on HGTV or another network.

“The average (RV) site is 20-foot, by 50-foot,” he added. “You cannot park your truck on either side of that. But you will have plenty of room (here) for a therapeutic-jetted hot tub.”

The crowd chuckled as Bridgman emphasized the hot tub rentals, “Have I said that enough time? I’m working on it.”

Indeed, Bridgman’s RV complex, which opens in October with 59 large campsites, is aimed at attracting a younger working-class traveler that is fueling a surge in RV sales in the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic. Equipped with high-speed Internet and amenities like a stocked pond for fishing and jacuzzi rentals, Bridgman is banking on an uptick of RV users seeking an experimental leisure experience they cannot get from an older RV park.

“Millennials are driving this market,” said Bridgman, referring to the age group that is between 26 and 40 years old. “This is about the young professionals. They need to be able to work where they want to live, and they need to live wherever they want to vacation. That is important to the young professionals.”

Check out the full article from Alabama.com here.