WBCCI MOHO issue - 2010 to 2012

[HowieE]

I do not look upon the reporting of units as they vote as being unethical any where as much as I look upon the direct withholding of the fact that there are motions before the Club by certain members of the Leadership that have an agenda.

Has your unit's membership been advised that there are 3 major motions before the Club this year.

[Coloradobus]

In Sedalia as long as the Moho issue FAILS, is what we care about. If it passes, we won't renew. We recently were going to go to another Unit's rally, until we found out some of those members were bringing their SOB's.

[mbmbstreamer]

Obviously that was a Buddy Rally. We have one a year.

We (GA Unit) voted on the first issue in September, but would have preferred to do so last April. If you have lost track, we voted to Ratify. The DenCo Amendment, that is!

[Coloradobus]

Must have been a buddy rally..

[xrvr]

If it was not a buddy rally, then I believe that was a rules violation. jim

[cooperhawk]

Wow! You folks still at it? We quit years ago now in disgust and joined TAC. Much nicer group. The last TAC Rally we went to all our old WBCCI friends showed up wanting to be part of the group. No one objected.

[xrvr]

Yes we are still at it, however, if this motion passes it will be a mute point for many of us. jim

[SilverPal]

At the IBT in Hattiesburg, I heard that 9 of 12 Region presidents wanted the motion dismissed. So, what are your thoughts on the percentage of this passing at International? And more importantly, who is attending International to help ensure this motion DOES NOT pass?? C'mon, let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. It's time to cowboy up and get this motion denied.

(see me now run for cover from the naysayers...i'm just saying....)

[LI Pets]

It's not up to them, make sure your unit's delegate knows how you want to vote.

It will go to the vote at the delegates meeting

[munimula]

Originally Posted by SilverPal

And more importantly, who is attending International to help ensure this motion DOES NOT pass??

I am a Unit Pres and will be at the delegates meeting in Sedalia. My unit votes at our first rally of the season this weekend. I will post the results of our unit vote here on monday.

As an aside, ItsIt will be the delegate for Wash DC Unit (3rd Veep) and will be part of the meeting in Sedalia as well.

--Dave

[LI Pets]

I know you won't disappoint us Dave

[munimula]

Originally Posted by LI Pets

I know you won't disappoint us Dave

This past weekend the Watchung NJ Unit voted down the MOHO Amendment as written . As a delegate I will have leeway to vote up on a re-worded Amendment - Unit members are looking to strike 'Lifetime membership' AND 'Airstream manufactured recreational vehicle' if replaced with 'Airstream MOHO'. I highly doubt the discussion or vote will get to that.

As an aside - it was soooo nice to be out at a WBCCI Unit Rally again.

[GetOutDoors]

Interesting: one side wants to pass this to shore up membership of old friends while the other side tries to hold everyone else hostage by stating they will leave if the thing passes. It's like kids fighting over the last Popsicle that's already melted, with no end to the fight in sight.

From my observation, it's all mute: there is a huge number of members that are within 2-3 years of not being able to participate because of age. Then what? You really think most units can survive if 2/3rds of their membership retires from travel? How many times will the remaining members have to serve as president, or 1st and 2nd vice, or trustees?

I'm much younger, and many years from retirement. Both my wife and I contribute our skills to the club. I understand the passion of some, but frankly have no tolerance for those who think they can hold me hostage, yet expect me to shoulder the load.

Friends I have, and new friends I can make, with or without WBCCI.

Wake up, let go of ideologies and traditions of the past, or become a thing of folk lore.

If you like Airstream, cool: I like Airstream too, and I happen to own one; but I don't expect everyone who wants to be my friend to own one!

I know several in WBCCI who are also members of Good Sam. I've also noticed that when the two club rallies collide, they choose to go with their friends at Good Sam. It's become more relaxed and enjoyable, since they aren't fighting over things WBCCI cannot look past.

[munimula]

The WBCCI is still the largest single brand rv club. As we discussed yesterday at our Unit meeting, MOHO owners are not going to keep the club alive. The challenge for the WBCCI is to reach out to the 40,000+ Airstream owners out there with a compelling club experience. The challenge is real. As discussed ad nauseam, 30 and 40 somethings are for the most part not joiners. That age group does not want to hang with perceived clicky old people. this notion goes beyond rv'ing - it's a generational mindset. they have their kids or each other and that is where the rv experience begins and ends for them from a recreational standpoint.

The new WBCCI ad campaign speaks to this - two hip and happening chicks in the current ad at Airstream Life tries to show that there is an edge that exists within the WBCCI experience. and it's there if you open your eyes and look for it. for the few of us that are hip to it - that edge exists with our club friends in all age groups. you either check it out with blinders on or your eyes wide open. those who stay away because of preconceived notions are better off staying away - you're probably really boring anyway. for me rallies have never been a bigger is better thing. a ten rig event with really choice people makes for a wonderful weekend experience. we have plenty of weekends of airstreaming solitude, music festivals, and trips with sob friends. it's nice to weave the WBCCI experience in to a few RV'ing weekends in the course of a season.

[dwightdi]

The ads are nice, but do they reflect the reality of the how the International and Region Rallies are held? If we advertise fresh young activities, we must deliver, or the people who sign up for the first year will leave, after they experience a bunch of old people sitting around playing cards and listening to music out of the 40's and 50's.

[GetOutDoors]

"The WBCCI is still the largest single brand rv club."

... And that has meaning because.....???


"As discussed ad nauseam, 30 and 40 somethings are for the most part not joiners. That age group does not want to hang with perceived clicky old people. this notion goes beyond rv'ing - it's a generational mindset. they have their kids or each other and that is where the rv experience begins and ends for them from a recreational standpoint."

.... Don't understand how you can say that about me, since you have never met me, but with that attitude I'm sure to stay away from you!

"those who stay away because of preconceived notions are better off staying away - you're probably really boring anyway"

WOW ... Cranky, opinionated, and old. The older generation in our unit couldn't disagree with you more! However, if that's the way you want to be, I'll leave you alone so you can continue to think as you will.....

You are an example of why WBCCI is suffering a loss in membership...

[cooperhawk]

Originally Posted by GetOutDoors

You are an example of why WBCCI is suffering a loss in membership...

Yep, I agree with you 100%. We got sick of the WBCCI attitude and left years ago. Could be the MOHOs can't keep the club alive, but their loss is surely a drain on the club.

As I got older dealing with a trailer hooking up, unhooking, ect., got to be a bit much. I find it much easier to travel in a MOHO nowadays. No bad things to say about trailers, I owned a few in my day.

I have heard it said that this forum is one of the worst things to happen to the WBCCI in years. Believe me when I say that a lot of folks just got sick of the bickering and left the club because of it. We did!

We now are members of TAC. Much nicer group of folks and not that many rules.

Belonging to the WBCCI is like having a Neighborhood Architectural Committee. Busybodies everywhere.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by dwightdi

The ads are nice, but do they reflect the reality of the how the International and Region Rallies are held? If we advertise fresh young activities, we must deliver, or the people who sign up for the first year will leave, after they experience a bunch of old people sitting around playing cards and listening to music out of the 40's and 50's.

Apologies in advance for the long post…

I'm a relatively new member, having joined less than a year ago, and I still work for a living full-time. As it stands now, WBCCI appears to be be made up mostly of retirees, holding events geared toward both the interests and schedules of retirees. Which is understandable. The trick is to appeal to working/family members without alienating retiree members. Pretty pictures of attractive women flirting in front of an Airstream may get people to buy Airstreams, but it may not get them to join WBCCI.

Many of the problems I see with recruiting new, younger members boil down to two issues: (a) what fun events does the club offer for working/family people? and (b) does it offer anything that working/family members could actually attend?

(1) Many events are scheduled to start mid-week, and/or end mid-week. That's not really conducive to working people looking to maximize their vacation while taking minimal time off from work. For example, when I can wrangle a week off, it's almost always around a holiday. By including the weekend before and the weekend after the holiday, I can get a nine-day vacation by just taking four days off from work during the holiday week, which is the most bang for the buck. By contrast, if I took off mid-week to mid-week, without a holiday weekend, then I only get a seven-day vacation in exchange for taking five days off. If at least a few WBCCI events could go weekend to weekend rather than mid-week to mid-week (especially around traditional travel holidays), more working people would be able to attend, thus making the club more attractive to them. I know that event prices would go up because they'd be scheduled in "prime time" so there is a trade-off. But for one or two events out of the whole calendar, that might not be an onerous burden.

(2) Many of the bigger events are planned a year or more in advance, and even some of the club literature makes it clear that new members won't be able to take full advantage of their membership until they've been in the club for a few years. This is simply because they won't be able to reserve a spot at the more popular rallies or caravans if they joined too late for the current year's events. Added to this is the need to take off from work, which is hardly a spur-of-the-moment decision for most people. As a result, unless things change, there will always be new members who join, and find that in exchange for their membership dues they've had no fun, and so they quit.

(2a) Unless they subscribe to Airforums AND check the event calendars— which are not comprehensive— non-members may not even know what events are worth joining for. When I bought my Airstream, the dealer included a WBCCI brochure that described many of the recurring events, but that doesn't help people who buy used, in a private sale.

(3) The fact that all memberships are up for renewal at the same time means that unless you join at just the right time, your first year's membership is actually less than a year long. Some people feel that's a rip-off. It's great for publishing the annual membership list in Blue Beret, but it's a disservice to prospective new members. If the membership roster can be digitized, then there's no reason why membership dues cannot become due on the anniversary date of joining (or at least in the anniversary month) for new members, so they get a full year regardless of when they join. If Sports Illustrated can manage their subscriber list month-to-month, surely WBCCI can do the same for their much smaller membership list.

(4) It's a sad fact, but membership dues are only the cover charge; there's still a two-drink minimum. Once you're in the club, you still have to pay for all of the events you attend. That's true even for Good Sam and the other non-brand clubs, and there's little way to offset it.

Instead of ads— or in addition to them— maybe WBCCI ought to be publishing their (complete and comprehesive, by Region) rally and caravan calendar in various RV magazines, so people can see what the club has going on. After all, ANYBODY can enjoy the "Airstream Lifestyle" without joining WBCCI first, but only WBCCI members can participate in most club events. If you don't tell people what events they're missing, how will they know?

Another possibility, following on from the previous suggestion, is to open up at least SOME rally events to ALL Airstream owners, whether club members or not. Non-members might be charged about 5% more than members, publicized as a 5% discount for members but more likely functioning as a 5% surcharge for non-members, and with members getting priority on reservations. This would do several things: (a) it would expose non-members to club events, so they can decide whether to join after seeing what it's like, rather than taking the risk of joining sight-unseen; (b) it would increase attendance at events, and thus increase revenue, whether membership goes up or not; (c) a discount for events and priority placement at campsites for the events would be seen as added club benefits, thus making membership more attractive.

And as a sweetener, if a prospective member attends an "open" event like this, and joins WBCCI as a result, they could get a special extended membership, from the date they join to the end of the following year, so they get a year-plus instead of less than a year for their first annual dues. This would help preserve the end-of-year renewal schedule that WBCCI seems to like, while still making the first year less of a ripoff for new members.

Of course, some events would still have to be members-only, such as the International, and most if not all of the caravans.

I'm not saying this approach would solve all problems of attracting new, younger members. I'm just saying, I think the the best way to recruit is to hand out samples by holding the occasional "open" rally. SHOW people what they'll be missing if they don't join, instead of just telling them. With the added benefit of using prospective members as another revenue stream by getting their event admission fees.

[HowieE]

You have some very interesting ideas but have missed a few things.

By current policy units have 2 rallies a year that are called "Buddy Rallies" that are not only other Airstream owners but none Airstream owners can attend. Many unit have an Open Invitation to any Airstream owner to attend any rally. Some unit even go so far as to make that rally free to guests. Now it is a fact that with the exception of the required 2 buddy rallies these other offering are unit driven.

You have hit a nerve and have offered a solution to a long time questionable practice of charging a new member as if the WBCCI was part of the IRS. This may be a carrier over from the times when accounting was done on stone tables and is indicative of what needs to be changed to drag the WBCCI into the 21st century.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by HowieE

You have some very interesting ideas but have missed a few things.

By current policy units have 2 rallies a year that are called "Buddy Rallies" that are not only other Airstream owners but none Airstream owners can attend.

Well, I am still new, and haven't heard about the Buddy Rallies. So, how do they work? Are non-members invited to attend by a member, or can they just decide to go on their own initiative? Also, if there are two Buddy Rallies, are they held at times and places convenient to people who still work for a living and have kids in school? And the really big question, how do non-members find out about the Buddy Rallies far enough in advance to make the arrangements to go?

I suspect there is no one universal answer to any of those questions; each Unit probably does things their own way. But it's they're questions each Unit needs to consider.