About the author: John Hansen is a Nebraska Landowner bringing his ideas and perspective to the forefront of our mission; to partner with landowners who value adaptive management and are seeking alternative sources of revenue. With an education in Animal and Range Sciences from Montana State University, several years managing small to medium sized ranches, and 26 years with Ted Turner managing some of the largest land holdings in the U.S., John brings a depth of knowledge and experience to LandTrust and its landowner partners. His strong background in agriculture and natural resource management provides a unique opportunity to share what he has learned through this extensive experience base with landowners to help them achieve a more profitable Land Business.
If you have decided to try listing your property for recreational activities, there are several things to consider. First, what you want to offer for possible activities. Hunting and fishing are usually the first to come to mind. However, there are other activities that are becoming more popular, and more marketable, such as bird watching, star gazing, agricultural experiences (farm/ranch vacations, tours, etc.) as well as hiking and camping. Secondly, what do you want to offer as services or amenities to support the chosen activities and improve the guest’s experience? Additional services or amenities can provide a means to attract bookings and increase chances for repeat bookings and referrals. It can provide a means to generate more revenue from a booking – the more you offer the more you can charge. You can view this as a “value added” means of increasing revenue.
Regardless of what activity or level of services and amenities you choose to offer, you must work to supply a reasonably high level of quality. A clean and appealing operation and facilities will generate that all important first impression that will set the tone for your guest’s visit. Being precise and candid about what you offer with a booking is very important to avoid any misconceptions by either the guest or you.
Photography: Adequate quantity and good quality photography will assist you in representing what you have to offer and help the guest assess if it meets their expectations for their trip to your property. The old adage – “A picture is worth a thousand words” definitely applies. Use these photos to showcase any unique features your property offers, whether it is landscape, wildlife, production methods, or activities. Photos are also an excellent means to show prospective guests what may be offered for housing, RV or camping sites, and any other service or accommodations that may be included in their trip to your property.- Accommodations: Most landowners that are considering offering recreational activities ask – “Do we have to offer a place for them to stay?”. No, you don’t, however, depending on the type of activity or activities being offered, it may make it more appealing and marketable to offer some form of accommodation. This can be anything from offering a house for them to stay in to a designated RV or camping site. Many farms and ranches have either an empty house or a minimally used bunkhouse on the property. Both of these provide a great opportunity to accommodate clients, pay for building upkeep, and generate more revenue. RV and camping sites are another good option. For RV and camping, water or sewer hookups are nice but not critical (many RVs are self-contained). Some form of lavatory facility is of great convenience for clients and could be as simple as a clean and well-maintained outdoor or portable restroom facility. If you do not offer any overnight options, having a list of locally available hotels, motels, RV/camping parks, or Bed & Breakfast businesses available will go a long way in assisting your clients and making it easier to decide to book with you.
Lovejoy Ranch offers camping, right where the Turkey like to hang out. 
Food/Meals: By sharing your property with other people, you are offering hospitality. Sharing a meal, or even just coffee and cookies, is considered very amenable to welcoming guests. If accommodations have cooking facilities, or in the case of RV/tent camping, the guest has the capability to cook for themselves, then this becomes more of a bonus or value-added benefit. People there on a day trip may bring what they need for lunch or snacks, but a provided noon or evening meal may be considered an added incentive to book – especially if the provided meal showcases a product or products grown on the farm/ranch. Meals such as these can also serve as a great opportunity to visit with the guests and answer any questions they may have. Building these relationships can lead to repeat visits and increased referrals. If you elect to not provide food or meals, provide a list of locally available restaurants, stores, or other business that will accommodate your guests’ meal needs.
Guiding and Hosting: For some activities it may be appropriate to offer guiding or hosting to the activity venue. Guiding hunters and fishermen is commonly offered or required in many situations. Your knowledge of the property is valuable to your clients and may be very much in demand for some visitors. Not wasting time to find the best places to hunt, fish, bird watch, etc. allows the client to maximize the enjoyment time on your property. Your interaction with the clients allows you to educate the visitors on the various attributes and processes that take place on the farm or ranch. Most people that have an interest in recreating on your land probably are interested in learning more about your operation.- Services: Some services that can be of great value to your client, specifically in the hunting activity, is that of game retrieval and having a processing/storage area for harvested game. Game retrieval is a very big benefit to offer. Most farms and ranches have an ATV or UTV that can access harvested game animals and can greatly reduce the hard labor often involved in retrieving game animals. A place to hang harvested game is also a great amenity for hunters. I have seen ranchers wall off a small corner of a shop building and install an air conditioner to provide a cooling room for animals harvested during warmer days. It takes very little to provide an area for hunters to process an animal enough to get it in coolers for the trip home. In the case of fishing, a good cleaning table and access to a freezer will allow a fishing client to take home some quality fish. If it does not fit your situation to provide the game/fish processing and storage service, you could have a list of local businesses that will accommodate the needs of your hunting and fishing clients. If you go this route, remember that local game processors are often very busy during hunting season so developing a good relationship with the processor will go a long way toward having game processed in time to go home with your guest.
- Additional Amenities. There are plenty of simple additions to a property that will dramatically increase the trip value and require little commitment, both financially and energy wise. Such amenities include game cameras around the property. LandTrust is happy to assist with the access and setup of these cameras, which take photos of wildlife that can be added to a listing as proof. Sportsmen and bird watchers are easily excited by these game camera photos as evidence of what they’re looking for. Similarly, hunting stands and blinds are helpful for sportsmen and can go a long way for them while out in the field for a weekend. Finally, bird feeders that attract either game species or migratory birds that are of interest to bird watchers can bring more wildlife activity to your property. These simple additions are relatively inexpensive and require little attention from landowners once they are set up. They also provide recreators with a better experience so they are more likely to rebook or tell their friends.
An accurate description of what you offer, and the various options, is essential for your success and the satisfaction of the guest. These are just a few of the ways to generate more bookings, more revenue per booking and increase the revenue from your property’s recreational potential. The customer success team at LandTrust is available to assist with the set up of any of these offerings.
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