A Conversation with Village Camp CMO, Julie Saffell
We do a lot of things with the Newbook platform to help us create memorable guest experiences. – Julie Saffell, Village Camp CMO
At a Glance
Challenge: Create a seamless guest journey that builds excitement from first booking through checkout while efficiently managing operations across multiple luxury outdoor resorts.
Solution: Implement Newbook’s connected hospitality platform to power multi-channel communications, streamline operations, and deliver personalized guest experiences.
Results: Enhanced guest engagement, increased on-property event participation, and improved operational efficiency with unlimited growth potential.
The Adventure Begins: Village Camp’s Story
Village Camp Outdoor Resorts isn’t your ordinary resort. As a luxury basecamp for outdoor enthusiasts, it combines premium accommodations with curated adventures in some of America’s most spectacular wilderness destinations: Flagstaff, Arizona, Truckee-Tahoe, California, and Moab, Utah.
For guests seeking both comfort and thrilling outdoor experiences, Village Camp offers the perfect blend of luxury and adventure. But delivering this unique experience requires seamless communication and operations – which is where Newbook enters the picture.
The resort uses Newbook’s connected hospitality management platform to energize guest interactions, drive on-property activity engagement, and build strategic momentum for future growth.
Building Excitement From First Click
For Julie Saffell, CMO of Village Camp Outdoor Resorts, the guest experience begins the moment someone makes a booking.
“There are stats out there that say that guests enjoy the planning process more than they enjoy the actual experience,” she says. “We want to lean into that excitement when they hit ‘book’ and then nurture them all the way until arrival.”
This insight drives Village Camp’s communication strategy, powered by Newbook’s connected hospitality management platform. By capitalizing on the anticipation phase, they transform routine booking confirmations into the first chapter of an adventure story.
How Newbook Powers the Pre-Arrival Journey
As SEQ Properties continues to evolve its parks and offerings, the team remains confident in their Village Camp leverages Newbook to build this excitement and more. The software enables Julie’s team to craft an end-to-end communication journey that sets expectations from day one.
Using Newbook, they:
- Create visually engaging HTML emails that go beyond basic reservation confirmations
- Introduce guests to available amenities, events, and facility hire options through multiple touchpoints – during the online booking process, on the online guest portal, and in pre-arrival email communications
- Set clear expectations for what guests will experience during their stay
- Capitalize on the planning excitement phase that research shows guests often enjoy more than the actual stay
- Build anticipation through visual elements that make the pre-arrival communications more engaging
- Deliver a consistent brand experience from the first booking touchpoint using Newbook’s 100+ customization options controlled within their easy-to-use settings page
The result is a pre-arrival experience that builds anticipation while providing practical information – all delivered through visually engaging communications that reflect Village Camp’s premium brand.
Staying Connected Throughout the Guest Journey
Village Camp’s relationship with guests evolves throughout their journey, requiring different communication approaches at each stage. Newbook’s multi-channel capabilities make this possible.
Before Arrival: The Nurture Sequence
A series of thoughtfully timed communications guide guests from booking confirmation to arrival day:
- Immediate booking confirmation with essential details
- Pre-arrival information about their specific location
- Activity recommendations based on season and interests
- Final preparation details before check-in
During Stay: Real-Time Engagement
Once on property, communication needs shift to immediate, actionable information. Julie’s team discovered that guest preferences shift too:
“We pair our email confirmations and our pre-arrival nurture series with SMS because we’re finding that a lot of our guests are responding to SMS more than that they’re responding to email.”
This insight led to implementing a robust SMS strategy for on-property communications:
- Movie night announcements
- Live music schedule updates
- Seasonal event notifications (like Halloween costume contests)
- Weather advisories for outdoor activities
- Stay extension promotions (like 10% discounts) to capitalize on guests’ positive in-the-moment experiences
These timely updates enhance the guest experience by ensuring they never miss out on the activities that make Village Camp special.
Powering Operations With Integrations
Julie is especially excited about Newbook’s robust integration capabilities, which are transforming Village Camp’s operational efficiency.
Village Camp is currently implementing Toast, a point-of-sale (POS) system designed for the hospitality industry, to streamline operations and make them function more smoothly. Village Camp uses Toast to manage orders, track sales in real-time, simplify payments, and improve overall service at their on-site food and beverage outlets.
Additionally, the team is exploring analytics integrations to better evaluate and analyze their data from a holistic perspective.
These integrations represent significant growth potential for Village Camp. As Julie looks toward future planning, she sees Newbook’s platform as key to using their information more efficiently and unlocking limitless operational opportunities.
Around the Clock Support
Village Camp also values Newbook’s international support team, which provides assistance regardless of time zone differences. This 24/7 availability has proven especially valuable during their recent rebranding initiatives, helping with visual aesthetics, booking flow optimization, and any issues that arise.
The consistent support ensures that Village Camp feels continuously supported, with someone always available online and over the phone regardless of when questions or needs arise. This commitment to excellence is reflected in Newbook’s impressive customer support metrics: an average 9.6/10 customer service score and a 99.99% reliability rating.
The Next Adventure
As Village Camp continues to evolve its premium outdoor resort experiences, Newbook’s platform remains central to their guest communication and operational strategies. With so much more yet to explore within the platform’s capabilities, Julie and her team are enthusiastic about how it will support their future growth and efficiency goals.
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Discover how Newbook can help your property deliver exceptional guest experiences from the first click to checkout – just like Village Camp Outdoor Resorts!
