Alumni Portrait: Johan Derran - Campground Operations Manager

Discover the alumni portrait of Johan Derran, who graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor’s degree in Operational Management in International Hospitality from Vatel Bordeaux. Now working as the Operations Manager at the Avignon Parc campground, part of the renowned Yelloh! Village group, he shares an inside look into managing an outdoor hospitality facility, from preparing for the peak summer season to hands-on team management.

Can you explain the different steps involved in properly preparing for the summer season at a campground?

First, it’s important to know that a campground’s summer season begins in April and ends in late September. To be ready for this period, most of the work is done in advance, including drawing up the entire operating and capital budget for maintenance, safety, and the ongoing improvement of the facility.

To draw up this budget, we rely on cost estimates. Having worked at several campgrounds, I’ve acquired a number of skills over time, so I draw on my own experience. This allows me to get a clear idea of the costs with support from certain specialists at headquarters.

Next, when the Avignon Parc campground is closed, we “winterize” the mobile homes. In other words, we clean the units from top to bottom and shut off the electricity, water, and heating systems...

Third, the technical restart of the site, the preparation of the mobile homes, and the cleaning of the water parks take place about a month and a half before reopening.

Managing Campground Teams at the End of the Season

As for team management, the schedules for the following season are finalized when the campground closes. My assistant and I meet individually with each employee at the end of the season or the end of the year, depending on their contracts. The goal is to ask them how their season went and find out if they’ve
thrived with us. These discussions help us learn about their future plans. This allows us to determine whether or not we’ll be working together again next season.

In your opinion, what makes your campground so appealing?

In my opinion, the Avignon Parc campground owes part of its appeal to its location. In fact, we’re close by (less than an hour away by public transportation) to historic and iconic sites such as Châteauneuf-du-
Pape, Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, and Avignon... We attract families with young children whose parents want to introduce them to the region’s scenery. We also attract retired couples.

Overall, our clientele is primarily domestic, but we also welcome nearly 30% of international visitors. We have seen a strong rebound in European visitors, particularly from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

We also set ourselves apart with our “zen” water park, featuring hot tubs and whirlpools in particular. In contrast, our competitors generally focus on recreational attractions such as large water slides. But our greatest asset is our team.

How does your education at Vatel Bordeaux help you in your day-to-day work as a manager?

In my opinion, Vatel Bordeaux’s greatest strength is that it assigns us to every operational position without exception. This has allowed me to become more versatile, and that’s essential!

In fact, I manage a campground where support and administrative functions are outsourced. So from the very beginning, I had to know how to recruit staff, manage a team and a budget, while also having a knack for customer service, and so on. The Vatel Bachelor's program teaches us all of that.

I’ve always made sure to keep my “foot on the ground” so I don’t lose touch
with reality.

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