{"podcast":{"title":"Grow Your Camp","slug":"grow-your-camp-7692382","podcast_index_feed_id":7692382,"rss_url":"https://api.riverside.fm/hosting/idzX3ZjO.rss","website_url":"https://growyourcamppodcast.com/","image_url":"https://hosting-media.riverside.com/media/podcasts/a20bc04e-40b5-4e64-a5f2-67eda6997509/logos/77d4b576-d2d3-4be8-9782-7613ef8ab5a1.jpeg","author":"Mark P. Fisher & Carl Lefever","episode_count":17,"summary":"Welcome to the Grow Your Camp Podcast: 'Cause You Can't Minister to Empty Beds Where we share stories and systems to help camps grow. Hosts: Mark P. Fisher , of Inspiring Growth Carl Lefever , of Improve & Grow Overview: Most camp directors didn't sign up to be marketers. They signed up because they know what happens to a kid who spends a week away from everything — and they wanted to be part of it. But empty beds are a real problem, and figuring out how to fill them, fund the mission, and still lead well is work nobody really prepared you for. The Grow Your Camp Podcast exists for that director . Every episode opens with one tactic you can use this week — then goes deeper with a real camp leader who's already solved the problem you're sitting with. Real numbers. Real stories. The systems behind the growth. This is what it sounds like when the mission gets to grow. Key Themes: Filling the Calendar: Strategies and real-world examples of how retreat and camp leaders increase bookings and reduce seasonal gaps. Topics might include: lead generation systems, improving inquiry response times, pricing strategy, market positioning, capacity management, and off-season marketing approaches.…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-18T20:20:44.188986+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/grow-your-camp-7692382"},"episode":{"title":"Ep 8 | From Spiky Bookings to Steady Growth","slug":"ep-8-from-spiky-bookings-to-steady-growth","published_at":"2026-04-20T16:55:32+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/grow-your-camp-7692382/ep-8-from-spiky-bookings-to-steady-growth","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/grow-your-camp-7692382","url":"https://api.riverside.com/hosting-analytics/media/09a0042cac0306a196ad471eb033c8773ad306ff41a7bacce397034e7dc8f9d7/eyJlcGlzb2RlSWQiOiI5Yjc5OTAwOS1mY2I2LTRhMTQtYWU2ZS0zODFkYzViMThjZmYiLCJwb2RjYXN0SWQiOiJhMjBiYzA0ZS00MGI1LTRlNjQtYTVmMi02N2VkYTY5OTc1MDkiLCJhY2NvdW50SWQiOiI2OTI0ZmUzZmQ5YTYwMzc4YTgzYjNmOWMiLCJwYXRoIjoibWVkaWEvY2xpcHMvNjllNjU2ZTQ5NzBkZjdkNGQxYTAzZTEzL2dyb3cteW91ci1jYW1wLXBvZGNhc3QtY29tcG9zZXItMjAyNi00LTIwX18xOC00MC00Lm1wMyJ9.mp3","audio_url":"https://api.riverside.com/hosting-analytics/media/09a0042cac0306a196ad471eb033c8773ad306ff41a7bacce397034e7dc8f9d7/eyJlcGlzb2RlSWQiOiI5Yjc5OTAwOS1mY2I2LTRhMTQtYWU2ZS0zODFkYzViMThjZmYiLCJwb2RjYXN0SWQiOiJhMjBiYzA0ZS00MGI1LTRlNjQtYTVmMi02N2VkYTY5OTc1MDkiLCJhY2NvdW50SWQiOiI2OTI0ZmUzZmQ5YTYwMzc4YTgzYjNmOWMiLCJwYXRoIjoibWVkaWEvY2xpcHMvNjllNjU2ZTQ5NzBkZjdkNGQxYTAzZTEzL2dyb3cteW91ci1jYW1wLXBvZGNhc3QtY29tcG9zZXItMjAyNi00LTIwX18xOC00MC00Lm1wMyJ9.mp3","summary":"In this episode, Carl shares a practical marketing tip on turning past guests into your next booking engine—one of the fastest, most cost-effective ways to increase occupancy without chasing entirely new leads. By segmenting your audience and sending timely, relevant follow-up emails, camps can unlock a major source of repeat business that often goes underused. Then Mark interviews Bob Briscoe, Executive Director of Williamsburg Christian Retreat Center, brings a long-term perspective shaped by decades in camping—from his early experiences as a camper and trail guide to leading the organization through seasons of change. That background informs how he approaches leadership, balancing mission, relationships, and financial sustainability. The conversation walks through how the camp moved from inconsistent, “spiky” bookings to steady growth. Faced with unpredictable revenue and underperforming programs, Bob and his team made key decisions to simplify their offerings, focus on profitable guest groups, and invest in improving their marketing visibility. The result was fewer gaps, stronger midweek bookings, and significant growth in room nights—including doubling occupancy in one of their primary lodging facilities. This episode highlights what actually drives sustainable growth: clear decisions about what to stop doing, systems that support consistent marketing, and the willingness to seek outside help when internal capacity runs thin. Keywords camp growth, retreat center marketing, camp occupancy, guest group strategy, camp revenue growth, digital marketing for camps, camp leadership, camp operations, retreat booking consistency Sound Bites “Our bookings were spiky… full weekends and then crickets.” “The big change was answering the phone because it was ringing.” “You can’…","meta_description":"In this episode, Carl shares a practical marketing tip on turning past guests into your next booking engine—one of the fastest, most cost-effective ways t…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2189,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/grow-your-camp-7692382/episodes/ep-8-from-spiky-bookings-to-steady-growth/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/grow-your-camp-7692382/ep-8-from-spiky-bookings-to-steady-growth.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}