Sites to be seen

COEUR D’ALENE – Anne Hall says running an RV park is a bit like ranching – similar hours and a long list of essential skills, but tending tourists instead of cattle.

Ironically, ranching was one of the few jobs not on her résumé when she and husband Mark Hall decided to launch Blackwell Island RV Park in the mid-1990s. But looking back, she says each of her jobs – from warehouse worker to Wall Street secretary – taught her something useful.

During a recent interview, Hall discussed the most important lessons, as well as how the RV industry continues to evolve.

S-R: Where did you grow up?

Hall: In Spokane. My dad graduated from Gonzaga Prep in 1929, and I attended Holy Names Academy. Mark was born in Moscow, Idaho, and his family moved to Spokane in the ’50s.

S-R: What career did you envision back then?

Hall: I didn’t know what I wanted to do, so I went to secretarial school and ended up on Wall Street working for a stock brokerage firm. When I got tired of pushing paper, I came back home, graduated from Eastern with a degree in secondary education, and taught physical education and biology.

S-R: What other careers have you had?

Hall: Mark and I owned Carstens Marine for 10 years. Then we opened one of Spokane’s first One Hour Photos, and did that for another 10 years. When we decided there wasn’t a future in that business, I started selling real estate and was one of Spokane’s top 100 agents.

S-R: Tell me about Blackwell Island’s history.

Hall: My father-in-law, James Hall, bought it back in the ’50s. It was in a flood plain and there was a city dump here. As taxes started to climb, the family thought about possible uses for the site. We contacted FEMA because of the environmental issues, and they said we could either build an RV park or a golf course. We went with the RV park.

S-R: How did you learn the business?

Hall: We purchased an old Georgie Boy motor home, traveled to other parks and took copious notes about what we liked and didn’t like.

S-R: Then what?

Hall: It took three and a half years to get our plan through the city and county. It was the longest annexation process in Coeur d’Alene history.

S-R: How did the business evolve?

Hall: We started out with 122 sites, and advertised in travel guides. But developing the website had a huge impact. And little did we know how the industry was about to change, with baby boomers purchasing RVs and traveling all over the United States.

S-R: How do you and Mark divide labor?

Hall: Mark is the number cruncher. I’m the PR person.

S-R: When did your son and daughter-in-law, Matt and Karen Hall, join the team?

Hall: When we decided to add more sites, we asked Matt, who was a Navy lieutenant, and Karen to come back and help us. We couldn’t have grown the business without them. The first six years, Mark and I did everything ourselves. Now we can take two or three days off each week.

S-R: What’s been your best idea?

Hall: Building the (barn-like) rally room in 2002. That allowed us to host weddings and family reunions – even funerals. We work with eight different caterers.

S-R: What’s been the biggest surprise?

Hall: How huge RVs themselves have gotten. When we started, the big ones were about 38 feet. Now they’re 45 foot with four or five slide-outs, and can cost anywhere from $250,000 to more than $1 million. We’re also surprised by how many celebrities travel by RV. Last year we hosted (country music singer) Brad Paisley and his entourage.

S-R: What other changes are you seeing?

Hall: A lot more young families. And everybody wants enough power to run all their computers, games, washers and dryers. Some motor coaches even have hot tubs.

S-R: Where do your guests come from?

Hall: All over – we have close to 18,000 visitors a year. People from Europe fly into Calgary, rent RVs, do Banff and Lake Louise, then drop down to Idaho.

S-R: How about domestic visitors?

Hall: This year we’ll host 30 groups, some with as many as 100 motor coaches. We’re also the starting point for a 60-day caravan tour – 24 rigs – heading to Alaska. We do four of those a season.

S-R: What months do you operate?

Hall: We open April 1, and close the park Oct. 15.

S-R: How long do people stay?

Hall: Anywhere from one night to a month. Evel Knievel used to stay almost two months every year. He’d bring a big trailer with memorabilia from his stunt career.

S-R: Besides a place to park, what services do you offer?

Hall: We have more than 500 feet of beach, so we rent pontoon boats, water bikes, canoes and kayaks. We also have a concierge service, if guests need a dentist appointment or dinner reservations.

S-R: What’s the business outlook?

Hall: Excellent. All you have to do is drive down I-90 or Highway 95 and see how many RV dealerships there are.

S-R: How much did it cost to launch this business?

Hall: Mark and I took out a loan for $1.8 million in 1998.

S-R: What’s it worth today?

Hall: I hate to say, because I don’t want our taxes to go up. But because of the location – on the lake, with city water, city sewer – I would guess it’s worth $15 million.

S-R: What challenges do you face?

Hall: Keeping up with the technology guests expect.

S-R: How far ahead do customers reserve sites?

Hall: Individuals are booking into 2017 now, and groups reserve as much as four years ahead. We don’t require deposits or charge cancellation fees, because we know we can fill every vacancy.

S-R: Do economic downturns or spikes in gas prices impact your business?

Hall: No.

S-R: Did the skills you picked up in other careers transfer to this one?

Hall: Every job I’ve had, staring when I was 12, has taught me something useful. That includes working in a Tupperware factory filling orders and waiting tables at the little Felts Field café.

S-R: What job did you have when you were 12?

Hall: Cleaning out the poop under rabbit cages. I think I got paid 10 or 15 cents, and would spend it all on penny candy.

S-R: What did you learn?

Hall: Success is about doing a job on time and completing a task. As you go through life, you realize that some people do 98 percent of a task, then can’t finish it. That last 2 percent makes all the difference.

S-R: What do you like most about your job?

Hall: Getting to know people from all over the world. Over 50 percent of our business is repeat.

S-R: What do you like least?

Hall: Cleaning restrooms. We have nine, and we clean them eight times a day.

S-R: Sort of like your first job, cleaning up after rabbits.

Hall: (laugh) Yeah, but the pay is a lot better now.