SpringHill Camps has experienced both sides of growth. Its traveling day camp program grew from roughly 3,000 campers to 19,000, creating incredible ministry opportunities while also revealing an important lesson: growth works best when the systems, margins, staffing, and quality behind it can grow too. Eric Bartz shares what SpringHill learned from that season, and how camp leaders can recognize when growth is creating healthy momentum versus stretching the organization too thin.

Those lessons shaped SpringHill’s next chapter. The organization made difficult decisions to refocus its programs and resources, invest in its Michigan property, strengthen pricing and margins, and rethink how it used its 1,600-bed capacity. Eric breaks down how to think differently about unused capacity, when it may be time to let go of a program, and why better margins can create room for better experiences. At SpringHill, that focus also helped substantially grow guest group revenue by putting previously unused capacity to work.

SpringHill also became more intentional about retention, using survey data, personalized texts, direct phone calls, and empowered staff to understand what was keeping families from rebooking. Combined with a continued focus on program quality, retention climbed from 52% to 61%. Camp leaders will come away with practical ideas for improving retention, evaluating growth opportunities, and building systems that support sustainable growth for the long term.

Mark’s Quick Camp Marketing Tip brings that same thinking to capacity: stop telling prospective campers you’re “full.” By capturing demand with a waiting list instead, camps can fill cancellations, redirect families to available weeks, and uncover growth opportunities hiding in the capacity they already have.

Keywords

camp growth, sustainable growth, camp leadership, camp capacity, camper retention, camp marketing, summer camp enrollment, retreat groups, camp pricing, customer engagement, camp revenue, SpringHill Camps

Sound Bites

“Bigger isn’t better.”

“No margin, no mission.”

“Not every bed is created equal.”

“A week up here shapes a lifetime out there.”

Hosts

Mark P. Fisher, Inspiring Growth
Carl Lefever, Improve & Grow

Guest

Eric Bartz, SpringHill Camps

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