Chautauqua Lake KOA: General Manager

Team Outsider; Dewittville (NY); On-site; USD 68,000 - 72,000; Full time

Job summary

Team Outsider is seeking an experienced General Manager to lead Chautauqua Lake KOA Holiday, owning the property, team, and guest experience.

The role is hands-on and highly visible, balancing exceptional hospitality with strong business performance across spring opening, peak season, and off-season planning. You will manage labor, budgeting, and guest services while driving the campground toward financial goals.

Qualifications

• Strong experience leading a hospitality, campground, resort, or similar complex operation.
• Proven success leading and developing teams.
• Strong financial and business acumen, including budgets, labor, expenses, and revenue.
• High standard for hospitality, cleanliness, safety, and property condition.
• Strong organization and ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, seasonal environment.
• Confident addressing performance issues and holding people accountable.
• Proactive communication and follow-through with stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Own campground financial performance and make decisions to support long-term success.
• Manage labor, expenses, purchasing and other controllable costs within budget.
• Lead full seasonal operation from spring opening to fall close-down.
• Recruit, hire, onboard, train, schedule, coach, and develop a strong seasonal team.
• Collaborate with Operations, Marketing, Finance on pricing, promotions, and revenue opportunities.
• Ensure property standards, safety, and guest-ready facilities at all times.

Skills

Leadership

Team development

Budgeting

Operations management

Guest experience

Communication

Problem solving

Tools

Reservation & POS systems

Job description

At Team Outsider, hospitality is our product. We believe the best outdoor experiences are created by exceptional teams who care deeply about one another and about the guests they serve.

Our mission is to be the most hospitable team in the world, and our values guide how we work every day:

• We Put Our Team First
• We Make Them Say "WOW!"
• We Express Gratitude
• We Get Better Every Day
• We Are Steadfastly Resourceful
• We Give Back

About the Role

We're looking for an experienced General Manager to lead Chautauqua Lake KOA Holiday and take ownership of the property, team, and guest experience.

This is a highly visible, hands‑on leadership role for someone who loves hospitality, knows how to build and lead a strong team, takes pride in running an exceptional property, and understands how to balance guest experience with strong business performance.

As General Manager, you'll lead the full seasonal operation of the campground, from spring opening through peak summer and fall close-down. You'll be responsible for creating a great place to work, delivering an outstanding guest experience, maintaining high property standards, and achieving the campground’s financial goals.

What You'll Own

• Take ownership of the campground’s financial performance and make thoughtful decisions that support long-term success.
• Manage labor, expenses, purchasing, and other controllable costs within budget.
• Adjust scheduling and spending based on occupancy, seasonality, and business needs.
• Partner with Operations and Marketing on pricing, promotions, and other opportunities to increase revenue.
• Identify ways to improve profitability without compromising the guest or team experience.
• Oversee approved capital projects and ensure they are completed on time, within budget, and to a high standard.

Guest Experience & Hospitality

• Lead the team in delivering exceptional hospitality throughout every stage of the guest experience, from reservation through departure.
• Maintain a visible leadership presence throughout the campground and stay closely connected to what guests are experiencing.
• Train and hold the team accountable for strong phone, reservation, hospitality, and service recovery standards.
• Proactively identify and resolve guest concerns.
• Build on Chautauqua Lake KOA Holiday’s strong reputation while continuing to look for ways to improve the guest experience.
• Create an experience that earns strong guest feedback across online reviews and guest surveys.
• Recruit, hire, onboard, train, schedule, coach, and develop a strong seasonal team.
• Establish clear expectations and accountability across all areas of the campground.
• Provide regular feedback, recognition, coaching, and development.
• Address performance and conduct concerns promptly and consistently.
• Build a collaborative, high-performing culture where team members understand how their work contributes to the success of the property.
• Create an environment where team members feel supported, valued, and accountable.

Property Standards

• Take ownership of the overall appearance, condition, cleanliness, and safety of the campground.
• Maintain high standards across campsites, cabins, amenities, common areas, landscaping, facilities, and other guest-facing spaces.
• Ensure the pool, activity areas, playgrounds, dog parks, camp store, trails, recreational facilities, and other amenities are clean, safe, functional, and guest-ready.
• Establish consistent property walks, preventative maintenance practices, and operating routines.
• Identify and resolve issues before they negatively impact the guest experience.
• Ensure the campground consistently meets Team Outsider and KOA standards.

Seasonal & Operational Leadership

• Successfully lead the full seasonal operation, including spring opening, peak summer operations, and fall close-down.
• Build organized, repeatable systems that allow the campground to operate safely and efficiently.
• Maintain strong processes around scheduling, inventory, purchasing, cash handling, safety, and other operational responsibilities.
• Become proficient in the campground’s reservation and point-of-sale systems and ensure the team uses them effectively.
• Ensure company policies, operating standards, safety requirements, and administrative processes are consistently followed.
• Stay organized and ahead of the business as occupancy, team needs, and operational priorities change throughout the season.
• Maintain proactive, clear, and consistent communication with your manager and Home Office partners.
• Identify and communicate risks, challenges, and opportunities early.
• Come prepared for regular leadership, financial, and operational meetings.
• Collaborate effectively with Operations, People, Marketing, Finance, and other support teams.
• Follow through consistently on commitments, priorities, and action items.
• Know when to solve an issue independently and when to ask for additional support.

What Success Looks Like

You’ll be successful in this role when:

• The campground achieves its financial goals and operates within budget.
• Guests consistently describe their experience as welcoming, clean, responsive, and memorable.
• The property is well maintained, safe, organized, and guest-ready.
• The team is appropriately scheduled, engaged, accountable, and delivering strong performance.
• Operational issues are identified and addressed proactively rather than reactively.
• Priorities and projects move forward with strong follow-through.
• Your team and support partners have clear visibility into what is happening at the property and what support may be needed.

What We’re Looking For

We're looking for someone who brings:

• Strong experience leading a hospitality, campground, resort, property, or similarly complex operation.
• Demonstrated success leading and developing teams.
• Strong financial and business acumen, including experience managing budgets, labor, expenses, and revenue.
• A high standard for hospitality, cleanliness, safety, and property condition.
• Strong organization and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, seasonal environment.
• Confidence addressing performance issues and holding people accountable.
• Strong judgment and practical problem-solving skills.
• A proactive communication style with a track record of following through.
• Comfort working hands-on and being highly visible throughout the property.
• The ability to adapt quickly as guest needs, team needs, weather, occupancy, and operational priorities change.

You’ll Thrive Here If You

• Love creating exceptional guest experiences.
• Take pride in building a great team and developing others.
• Notice the details and care deeply about how a property looks, feels, and operates.
• Are comfortable balancing hospitality with financial discipline.
• Naturally anticipate problems and take action before they become urgent.
• Take ownership rather than waiting to be told what to do.
• Communicate early, clearly, and consistently.
• Enjoy being part of the operation rather than managing from behind a desk.
• Are resourceful, adaptable, and willing to jump in where needed.

If you're excited to lead a beautiful seasonal campground, build an exceptional team, and take real ownership of the guest and business experience, we’d love to hear from you.

The pay range for this role is:

68,000 - 72,000 USD per year (Chautauqua Lake)