Gila Bend KOA has won the Medium Park of the Year Award from the Arizona Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (Arizona ARVC).
The statewide award, issued last week during the association’s annual convention, was the latest industry recognition for the 130-site park and its owner, Scott Swanson, who won KOA’s 2018 Rising Star Award in November.
Arizona ARVC’s Park of the Year Awards are given annually to parks that deliver extraordinary guest experiences as a result of all-around excellence in operations, professionalism, marketing, customer service and industry involvement.
“We’re heading in the right direction,” said Swanson, who also serves as president of Arizona ARVC. Swanson runs the Gila Bend KOA with assistance from his mother, Sandy Catalana, and his dog, Winston, who accompanies Swanson as he makes his rounds through the park.
Swanson partly credits his success in Gila Bend to his continual investments in improvements, the latest of which are a new heated swimming pool; a new 2,500-square foot veranda with a fireplace and seating outside his recreation hall; and a 1,500 square foot restroom/shower building with a dog wash station.
“People love this secluded desert park,” Swanson said, adding that his overnight snowbird business was up 36 percent this winter while his monthly business increased by 19 percent.