Editorial byline
Maggie Holloway
Maggie Holloway covers buyer guides and industry reporting for CampBuzz: the questions worth asking, the fine print worth reading, and the ownership changes worth knowing about before you sign. CampBuzz does not rank vendors. Some CampBuzz articles are written with AI assistance.
Some CampBuzz articles are written with AI assistance.
Articles by Maggie Holloway
Industry Analysis
October Is When the Quiet Contracts Get Loud
*A renewal-season review for camp directors who need to find notice periods, ownership gaps and changed terms before another software or service contract rolls forward. Not a ranking; a working method.*
September 28, 2026
Buyer Guide
How to Arrange Transportation for a Summer Program
*A structural map for specialty and university-affiliated programs comparing transportation scope, pricing and delivery—not a ranking; a map of what to ask before signing.*
September 11, 2026
Buyer Guide
Safety Is Not One Purchase
*A structural map of safety and security vendors for traditional overnight camps: where offerings differ, what changes the price, and what to ask before signing. Not a ranking; a map.*
September 8, 2026
Buyer Guide
Your Insurance Policy Has to Follow the Child Past 3pm
*A structural map of insurance for afterschool and out-of-school-time programs: how offerings differ, what shapes price and delivery, and what to ask before signing. Not a ranking; a map.*
September 3, 2026
Buyer Guide
Make the Demo Survive August
*A buyer’s guide to controlling a camp software demonstration and testing the workflows that matter under summer pressure. Not a ranking; a map.*
August 31, 2026
Industry Analysis
Who Owns Your Camp Software Now
The quiet consolidation of the camp-management world — what it means when the company you signed with becomes a line item in someone else's portfolio, and the one question to ask before you renew.
August 6, 2026
Buyer Guide
The Photo Stack
Camps solve the photo problem three ways: a dedicated platform, the features bundled into their management software, or taking the phones away and handing kids a camera. A guide to choosing your photo stack — including the biometric-data questions to ask before the demo ends.
July 31, 2026
Trend Report
Next Summer Goes On Sale Before This One Ends
Next-summer registration used to be a January project. Now it opens in August — sometimes before the season ends. Why re-enrollment keeps moving earlier, the economics driving it, and how to run an early launch without burning family goodwill.
July 27, 2026
Buyer Guide
Where Counselors Actually Come From
Where camp staff actually come from — returners, your own community, local hiring, job boards, and the J-1 pipeline — and how the answer changes for overnight camps, day camps, nonprofits, and the soccer camp at the local field.
July 14, 2026
Buyer Guide
The Background Check Is the Easy Part
A plain-English guide to background screening for camps — what a check actually covers, the questions that separate a real screening partner from a database lookup, and why a clean report is the beginning of child safety, not the end.
July 12, 2026
Buyer Guide
How to Choose a Camp Management System You Won't Regret
Choosing camp management software? Skip the feature checklist. Here's what actually matters — support, payments, data portability, and the ownership question — plus a neutral comparison of the major camp registration platforms and who each is built for.
June 24, 2026
Buyer Guide
The Great Camp T-Shirt Scramble
Custom camp T-shirts, swag, name labels, and sun gear: what to order, when to order it, and the hidden fees that catch camps off guard. A plain-English field guide to buying camp apparel without the mid-summer panic.
June 17, 2026
Opinion
What Actually Matters in Your Camp Health Center
A plain-English look at the busiest room at camp: what the health center job really demands now, why mental and emotional health has quietly become the biggest part of it, and the medication and records gaps that surface only when a parent is on the phone.
June 10, 2026
Trend Report
When Families Stop Googling: What the Shift to AI Search Means for Camps
The way parents find and vet camps is changing. Most of it is hype — but a few parts are real, and worth a camp director's attention. What the shift from search to AI answers actually means for how families find, vet, and trust your camp.
May 27, 2026
Operator Story
Camp Food, Honestly
Nobody puts the mess hall on the brochure. But it might be the hardest-working room at camp — and the one campers remember longest.
May 20, 2026
Operator Story
The First 72 Hours
Every camp's whole year is built toward a few days that arrive like a wave. Here's what actually happens when the buses pull in — and what experienced directors do differently.
May 13, 2026