RV Industry April 2026 Update: Shipments, Bookings & Outdoor Travel Demand

The first quarter of 2026 told a clearer story than any quarter since the post-pandemic correction: RV travel demand is stabilizing at a structurally higher baseline, and the operators winning are the ones that invested in amenity, experience, and direct-booking infrastructure.

Shipments Are Recovering, but the Mix Has Shifted

RV Industry Association wholesale shipments showed sequential growth through Q1 2026, led by towable units. The bigger story is composition: park-model RVs and high-end fifth wheels continue to outpace entry-level travel trailers. That mirrors what park operators are seeing on the ground—longer-stay guests, bigger rigs, and higher willingness to pay for full-hookup, 50-amp pull-throughs with amenity packages.

Practical implication: parks with aging 30-amp infrastructure and tight site spacing are losing share to properties that have invested in big-rig sites and concrete pads. This is the single most consistent theme in our acquisition pipeline conversations.

Occupancy Trends Heading Into Summer

KOA's quarterly camper research and Kampgrounds' booking data both point to the same thing: weekend transient demand is strong, midweek leisure remains soft, and seasonal/annual sites are the most stable revenue line in the portfolio. Parks that solved for midweek—remote-worker amenities, monthly snowbird pricing, group/event packages—are running materially ahead of 2025.

Sun Belt and mountain-west markets continue to lead. Florida and Texas remain the snowbird gravity well; Montana, Idaho, and the Carolinas are the standout summer growth markets. Oklahoma City and the broader I-35 corridor are quietly outperforming as a stopover and event-driven market.

The Glamping & Luxury Outdoor Hospitality Surge

Glamping inventory grew double digits again in 2025, and the trend continued through Q1 2026. ADRs at premium glamping resorts are now routinely $250-$600+ per night—competitive with boutique hotels in the same regions. The takeaway for traditional RV parks: there is room to add a handful of premium cabin or safari-tent sites on underutilized acreage and capture an entirely different rate band without alienating the core RV customer.

What's Driving Bookings This Summer

• National park demand is structurally high—Glacier, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton all expanded reservation systems for 2026. Gateway-market RV parks (West Glacier, Whitefish, West Yellowstone) are pacing well ahead of last year.
• Event-driven weekends—college football, NASCAR, music festivals, and rodeos remain the highest-ADR weekends for parks within 60 minutes of a major venue.
• Snowbird demand is broadening—the traditional Florida/Arizona winter is increasingly being split with the Texas Hill Country and the Gulf Coast.
• Direct booking is winning—operators with first-party reservation systems and active SEO are converting at materially better take rates than those reliant on aggregators.

What This Means for Investors

The bid-ask spread on RV park acquisitions has narrowed meaningfully. Sellers who held through 2024-2025 expecting peak-cycle pricing are increasingly meeting the market, particularly in markets without a clear demand-driver story. The opportunity set for 2026 looks more like 2019 than 2021: disciplined, value-add, infrastructure-focused, with realistic underwriting on transient ADR growth.

Our acquisition criteria continue to favor stabilized parks in the 75-300 site range with a defensible demand driver (national park, university, military base, or major employment center) and clear infrastructure upside.