Interview with Blue Water: Top Travel Nurse Stays That Are Safe, Fun & Budget-Friendly

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Vivian Health and Blue Water are partnering together to offer discounted stays to healthcare professionals.

Find properties and book your stay HERE!

Rafael Correa, President & CFO of Blue Water, blends the roles of owner, developer, and operator, leading acquisitions, financing, development, and operations. With over a decade in the outdoor hospitality industry, he’s a recognized leader in campground management and development. Passionate about building strong teams, Rafael believes every individual is essential to delivering Blue Water’s high standards. He lives in Ocean City, Maryland, with his wife, three children, and their dog, Oscar, and holds a BA in Accounting and an MBA from Salisbury University.

Full interview transcript:

00:01  Rafael Correa

My name is Rafael Correa. I am the president and CFO of Bluewater hospitality and development. And so I’ve been here now thirteen years and very proud of what we’ve built here. We specialize in the outdoor hospitality market. So think RV resorts, campgrounds, glamping, you know, that world, we manage over 60 properties across the country from Washington state to the Florida Keys, to Maine and pretty much everywhere in between.

00:31  Rafael Correa 

We are headquartered in Ocean City, Maryland.

00:35  Vivian Health 

Awesome. Alright. So for people who don’t know your brand, tell us what Blue Water is.

00:42  Rafael Correa 

Absolutely. So Bluewater really started out as kind of like a dream a little bit of, um, a reimagining of what an outdoor hospitality asset could be. it’s a father and a son that started the company, Todd and Jack Burbage. And it was actually a pivot out of their original real estate development strategy, which is really focused on subdivision shopping centers, kind of hyper localized, you know, real estate developers in the market that they’re in here in Ocean City. And they bought a, basically, a a beat down trailer park that just happened to be on the bayfront in right outside of Ocean City, Maryland.

01:19  Rafael Correa 

And it was 02/2008. And so the housing crisis was in full bloom. And so the idea of building another subdivision was kind of the last option on the table. And so it was already kind of permitted as an existing RV park. And so we ended up scraping it from the ground and cleared everything out of there, built all new infrastructure.

01:41  Rafael Correa 

And really what Jack and Todd did, they weren’t active RVs themselves, but they decided to build something that they would like to vacation at themselves. And, you know, they were big fans of The Bahamas and the tropics, and that’s where they like to vacation as a family. So we really built the first, like, Bahamian themed RV resort called Castaways and and right here in Ocean City, Maryland. And so we did some really unique stuff. all the colorways were not your traditional kind of browns and greens of camping.

02:11  Rafael Correa 

We actually did everything in the really cool bohemian pastels of yellows and teals and corals and really beautiful colors. And anybody who knows anything about Maryland is palm trees aren’t native here. So we would actually import, you know, $25.30000 worth of palm trees every year just to give it the vibe, just to give it the you know, so you felt like you were in the in the tropics here in Ocean City. And so really had no idea what we were doing other than we wanted to build something that we would like to hang out in ourselves. And so it took off like a rocket, and the rest is history.

02:44  Vivian Health 

we’ll have to throw up some pictures to show the viewers, um, that property. That sounds amazing because, yes, palm trees in Maryland, um, are probably a little rare. Yeah.

02:53  Rafael Correa 

Yeah. Exactly.

02:55  Vivian Health 

Well, that’s awesome. I’m glad it started with a dream and somewhere where they ultimately wanted to be. It sounds like that’s the center of the mission is just providing really quality, um, amenities and properties, and I can’t wait for you to tell us more.

03:08  Rafael Correa 

Yeah. And I think it’s about, you know, surprising people and giving them more than they would have expected from an RV resort campground style property. And I think that’s kind of what we how we made our bones, how our customers know us, and how we’ve really separated ourselves from the pack as this outdoor hospitality industry really has bloomed in the last few years.

03:27  Vivian Health 

Definitely. So tell us how health care professionals kinda fall into the mix. How are they important to your brand? And, um, is there really a moment that inspired, you know, health care professionals being part of your audience? Tell us more about that.

03:41  Rafael Correa 

Absolutely. So, you know, um, long story short, I was actually I started college as a pre med major. So I was I was almost gonna be a health care professional myself. Um, did not have the the wherewithal to finish biochem. so that’s that was the weeding out for me that shifted me into what ended up being my ultimate degree in accounting.

04:02  Vivian Health 

Okay. One eighty. Yeah.

04:05  Rafael Correa 

Yeah. I’ve always been, you know, a big very passionate about the the health care industry sacrifice. Right? It’s a career. It’s a job, but it’s a job that’s in service of others, um, and really requires a certain degree of compassion and empathy, um, to really execute on.

04:22  Rafael Correa 

And so I admire what they do. my brother is actually in medical device sales. He lives and breathes it. You know, I love hearing his tales from the OR that he loves to share with me every once in a while. And so I think that I have a tremendous respect for the profession, Um, because it’s something that you’re not just doing for yourself and and and I think that’s something that we appreciate about it.

04:45  Rafael Correa 

And then ultimately the opportunity now to really blend what we do and give those folks a venue to call home or to vacation at really is a great partnership at the end of the day because what we create here at Bluewater are these really unique memorable destinations, safe, reliable things that you can count on and things that will surprise you. Right? And I think that’s one of the big things that’s kind of made us unique and made us different as an organization. So while we went after this workplace of business, this this type of business, really to kind of satisfy the primary customer is really kind of vacationers. Right?

05:21  Rafael Correa 

people that are gonna try and spend time with their family, they’re gonna try and disconnect, get away. They’re gonna save all their time and their pennies, and they wanna go out and do something fun. We really wanted to build a special place for them to build those core memories, right? I like to think we’re in the core memory business. Like we think back to our childhoods and the things that are the most memorable, it was those trips, those vacations, those opportunities to spend time with family and extended family and make new friends, right?

05:48  Rafael Correa 

Um, and so we really kind of jumped head first into making that happen. Now the how that overlaps and blends with, you know, the travel and healthcare professional world is that, you know, it’s it’s a tremendous outlet for us when these properties are only busy certain times of the year. Right? Our core business busy season is when the kids are out of school. Right?

06:06  Rafael Correa 

I mean, that’s the time that’s practical. But we’ve built these tremendous facilities with amazing amenities and and and and accommodations for folks that can be used other times of the year. Um, and so we were always actively looking for alternative markets that we can connect with, whether it be retirees or full time RVers. Um, and so it just made logical sense that we would connect the dots into this traveling, this growing and burgeoning travel health care professional to really fill in that time that, you know, it’s not so family focused or family centric because everything we have to offer speaks to them just as much as it speaks to, you know, that family of five that’s coming in for a other summer vacation.

06:49  Vivian Health 

Yeah. Definitely. You hit the nail on the head. Really, um, some of the biggest challenges for health care traveling health care professionals is really finding safe and reliable and, you know, solid amenities like you mentioned. So, um, tell us how your properties make travel easy.

07:04  Vivian Health 

I know you have quite a, um, number of properties across The United States. Tell us about a few of them, and, really, um, how does it make it easy for a travel health care professional just to come depending on the type of travel situation that they have.

07:18  Rafael Correa 

Yeah. Absolutely. I think it all starts, you know, in today’s modern age is is you gotta be digital. Right? Um, and I think that’s one of the things that we really pioneered in this outdoor hospitality space.

07:28  Rafael Correa 

You know, it wasn’t unusual, you know, and it’s still not unusual, quite frankly, in the RV world and campground world where you have to submit a form, like a a request for a reservation, or you have to call in. Um, and I think that we worked very diligently with a lot of the property management system partners to really kind of bring that digital booking experience as close and as seamless to what you experience in the hotel world today. You know, it’s very easy to kind of find and book a hotel. To even become very easy to find and book a vacation home thanks to Airbnb and the VRBOs of the world. We were one of the pioneers that really pushed that forward for the outdoor hospitality industry.

08:08  Rafael Correa 

And so when you’re looking for a place, having great photography, great content on the website, great videos on YouTube, and putting all that together so you know what you’re getting which is sometimes can be a grab bag depending on the property. Um, and we make sure that our digital presence is a seamless frictionless process where you find the information that you need for the destination that you’re trying to go to and that you can book with confidence. Right? And I think that’s kind of really step one at the end of the day for us. Step two is is is really executing on that stay.

08:42  Rafael Correa 

Right? And and we do that primarily through kind of building out what we think is the best product on the marketplace, whether that comes down to the welcome center, the, the convenience store that we have, the, the, the camp store that we have there with all the necessities that you might need in a pinch with our bathhouses. Right. And making sure that they’re clean, comfortable, accessible for everybody that, um, that wants to use them. And then last but not least is really the amenity core.

09:11  Rafael Correa 

Right? Like, the site itself, is it is it does it fit my RV? Do I have a patio? Do I have the hookups that I need, 50 amp electric, water, sewer, all the things that really kind of make that site home. Right?

09:24  Rafael Correa 

For that time that you’re there, we make sure all that is in place. And then last, but very not least is the amenity core and staff. Right? Those two things are really like the icing on the cake is the way I like to describe it because the amenities, whether it’s pools, grilling areas, um, water slide facilities, pickleball courts, playgrounds, you know, all the things that you would imagine. And depending on the site, we kind of really kind of customize that to the location.

09:56  Rafael Correa 

Um, we we build that out and then what really kind of breathe life into all that is just this incredible staff that you’ll find at every single property that not only really passionate about, um, the, the property and, like, make sure the guests have a great experience. They’re typically folks that are very local to that area and passionate about the destination that you’re traveling to. And they’re like, just some of the best tour guides that you can possibly get when you’re trying to get to know a new place. and you’re a stranger in a foreign land, they can really help bridge that gap for you. And so really proud of of our team here at Bluewater and and how we do that and make people feel really comfortable and feel at home real quick.

10:33  Vivian Health 

That’s awesome. Yes. Travel health care professionals are, I think, to use your term straight strangers wandering in foreign lands often. They change contracts, um, thirteen plus weeks, um, multiple times a year. So tell us about the variety of properties that you have.

10:48  Vivian Health 

So we might have, um, travel or even staff health care workers that are looking for different types of properties. Kinda tell us about your spectrum of properties that you guys offer, um, um, because you guys have quite a few, um, offerings, and we’d love to hear more about that.

11:03  Rafael Correa 

Absolutely. Yeah. So in the world of outdoor hospitality, there is a tremendous spectrum of products. Right? You have everything from a long more cater something that caters more to long term stays kind of a a housing alternative, typically more in urban centers, places where housing is at a, at a premium or affordability or availability are big issues.

11:25  Rafael Correa 

Um, and so we find that, um, we have one brand in particular that we manage the portfolios at jet stream, and we’re located in the general Houston market, have a location in Austin and another one in Brownsville, Texas, but that particular brand really kind of caters to that type of customer. Their amenities are not. It’s not water slides and gigantic amenities, like water park per se, but they do have great pools. They have great grilling areas. Great fire pits.

11:54  Rafael Correa 

The sites are extremely comfortable paved, all the connections that you want, and you’re typically gonna be minutes from where you wanna be at one of those jet stream properties, um, in in he in that Houston market. And then we run the full gamut all the way to properties like Luray RV Resort and Campground in Luray, Virginia, which is a true kind of five star RV resort experience. And so there we have water slide towers, gigantic resort pools, tiki bars, cabanas, pickle balls, and it sits right on the Luray River. So you actually can tube for forty five minutes from one end of the property to the other and never leave the property on the Shenandoah River. Right?

12:39  Rafael Correa 

And so it’s just a really unique special place that gives people an experience that couldn’t otherwise get, um, all those things kind of in one place. And so we run that kind of entire gamut of of experiences. And then within that kind of gamut, there’s also a couple brands that we manage. So I mentioned the Jetstream brand. another brand that we manage, um, is called HTR.

13:03  Rafael Correa 

It stands for hit the road. and they’re a collection of really beautiful properties in prime markets. And then we also manage jelly stones which is a fun, very family oriented brand. Um, they have I think, over 60 locations across the country. we manage about six of those and that’s gonna be pretty heavy amenity activity, family based.

13:26  Rafael Correa 

and then finally, the KOA brand is another one that we manage on top of our own independent kind of standalone properties. and we’re getting ready to kind of soon be launching a blue water independent brand, which will be kind of that Mary, the thing that connects all those independent assets. but we’re big fans of the portfolio. K. O.

13:45  Rafael Correa 

A. Has three levels as a journey, which is kind of the most simply amenitized kind of stop over between two destination points holiday, which is is more amenitized, and that can be for a stopover or a three to four week long stay. And then you have what’s called a resort level property. And so, um, really nice offerings within that. And I think the one thing that, you know, while those are all unique and and different in their own special way, the one thing that’s very consistent that you can find is that it’s very easy to book them all.

14:17  Rafael Correa 

It’s very easy to look online and see what you’re getting. So there’s no surprises. Right. And I think that’s like, you know, the uncertainty. If I put myself in the shoes of a traveling healthcare professional, I’m thinking like, what, there’s so many variables, what can I control?

14:33  Rafael Correa 

And if I can control where I’m living, where I call home, where I rest my head at night, I think that just takes one piece of the puzzle out of the equation that you have to worry about, and you can enjoy your life a little bit more.

14:45  Vivian Health 

Definitely. Oh, for sure. So tell us if I had something like a sprinter van because it’s very common for travel health care professionals to have sprinter vans or a full on rig, or maybe I’m just starting my travel journey. And like you said, I’m going to maybe more of a rural place, and I need maybe a cabin style accommodations. Can you talk about the different types of accommodations and the different types of stays that would come along with it?

15:07  Vivian Health 

So you’re not just a one stop cabins only or just camping like you mentioned. Can you speak to those different buckets depending on the different, you know, toys or lack of toys that a health care professional might have?

15:18  Rafael Correa 

No. It’s a great point. And and I think the one thing that’s unique about Blue Water too is we service the entire gamut. Right? And so we with the core of the business and, you know, one that we are always mindful to be respectful of is the RV component.

15:33  Rafael Correa 

Right? Whether you’re in a a sprinter van, you got a towable or a drivable, whatever it is that your flavor is, we can accommodate you. And, typically, we’re gonna have depending on your price point too, kinda what do you wanna spend and choose your own adventure and kinda signing that up. And so, um, one of the things that I’m a big believer in is accessibility. Right?

15:52  Rafael Correa 

And so making sure that this style of travel remains accessible no matter what your budget is. Right? You wanna, you know, spend blow it off the top and just blow it out and have a tremendous time. We got that site for you. Right?

16:05  Rafael Correa 

but if you wanna, you know, save your pennies and and make sure that that money is going more for an experience that you wanna have in that particular market, you know, we have an accessible and affordable site that’s available for you and they can accommodate your rig. And so that’s super important. And and if there’s, you know, I know not everybody knows the RV world, but having a a site that’s easy to get your rig in and out of, um, is so important to these folks. Right? It’s like they don’t want that to be a giant hassle.

16:32  Rafael Correa 

And so I think we do a great job of making sure that our properties are properly designed to make that parking and that whole experience of arriving on-site a lot easier. Um, and we also think called Campos, and those Campos will actually take you out to your site at many of our properties and really kinda help you get settled in, watch your back as you’re backing that, you know, 35 foot rig in, um, for for a few months or whatever you’re doing. And so we try to make that as as successful as possible. And so that’s kind of the RV side of the world. And, again, that’s really the, um, if I had to say the the the the core of our business and what we really remain focused on.

17:11  Rafael Correa 

And it’s also something that we really focus on because they are the folks that really make this industry what it is. Um, I try to explain this many times to folks and it’s somewhat hard to explain if you’re not in this world. But RVing is not just a lifestyle. It’s, it’s not, it’s not just a means of travel rather. It is a lifestyle.

17:30  Rafael Correa 

Um, it is a culture. It is a, it is a passion as much as it is anything else. And so because of that, you have to address it differently. You know, hotel rooms and VRBOs and AirBBs, they’re a means to an end. They put you where you want to be.

17:47  Rafael Correa 

Right? If you choose to RV, it’s not because it’s the simplest or easiest thing to do. It’s because you love it. Right? And if you love it, you wanna be with people that also love it.

17:57  Rafael Correa 

And so that general sense of community that you have instantaneously. Right? So, like, again, putting myself in the place of a traveling healthcare professional, I’m going to a I’m a stranger in a strange land. Why not go to a place that I have instant community? People that I already know I share this passion.

18:15  Rafael Correa 

Right? I share this this this thing with that’s so special to me. And so for those reasons, I think it’s such a why we say remain, you know, aggressively focused on making sure that RV component really is, is taken care of. But what we’ve seen a tremendous growth in and continue to to expand into is actually the vacation rentals. Right?

18:37  Rafael Correa 

Whether that is a cabin, whether that is a safari tent. we even have custom retro Airstreams that we bought out of Canada where they take a nineteen seventies Airstream, they gut it, and they rebuild it from scratch into this, like, super chic, fun destination. It’s a great place if you wanted to come, like, you and your spouse or if yourself and your dog, you know, whatever it is. Like, these things are so cool. Right?

19:02  Rafael Correa 

They’re one of my favorite accommodations that we have. And we have glamping pods. Um, so we have stuff that’s more simple, like a more rustic cabin if you’re really kind of committed to that rustic experience. So we really try to run the full gamut and we’re constantly experimenting with new accommodation styles kind of as they come up. We have yurts in the portfolio, pretty much anything that you wanna try.

19:27  Rafael Correa 

You can find in the blue water portfolio, including rental RVs. Right? So let’s just say that you’re not sure that you’re ready to commit to this RV life. You wanna try it before you buy it. I have a lot of properties where you can actually rent the site and the RV kind of is almost like renting a cabin.

19:43  Rafael Correa 

Right? It’s gonna be ready to go for you. And so it’s a great way to know if you’re you’re cut from the RV cloth.

19:49  Vivian Health 

Yeah. Same thing with our audience too, travel nurses. Um, we get a lot of new travel nurses that have never done it before. And, you know, just going into the unknown, but having that ability to have housing and to kind of try that on for a short term. Like, hey.

20:04  Vivian Health 

I wanna maybe try a contract, but there’s so many logistics I need. It sounds like through your guys’ properties, they could, you know, scratch that itch, try that on for thirteen weeks, and decide whether they like it or not. And then, really, they don’t have to you know, they’re eased of that worry of where am I gonna stay and get to try that on at the same time. So that’s really cool. And, um, you know, I think even health care professionals with the burnout that they experience, having a glamping weekend, you know, even if they’re not a traveler, but just having that glamping weekend, I think would be really cool.

20:35  Vivian Health 

I can’t wait to, um, show our viewers some of the pictures, flash up some of those pictures of these yurts and these glamping opportunities. That’s awesome. Um, so we are actually partnering with you guys to provide a discount for our audience for long term and short term. Um, so we definitely will include additional information in the caption and on the screen. Can you tell us, um, can you give us some of your and maybe you can’t give favorites, but can you tell us some of your potential favorite properties that you have or some really unique things that really stand you guys out?

21:07  Vivian Health 

And maybe you can use names, maybe not, but I’m just curious if you have some cool Yeah.

21:12  Rafael Correa 

No. Absolutely. Um, we have some really fun and exciting properties that we recently opened. So if anybody’s going to Key West

21:18  Vivian Health 

Okay.

21:19  Rafael Correa 

Which is one of my favorite places in the world, especially come January, February. You can Yes. See out of Maryland and anywhere in the North. I like to stay warm, try to keep this tan up as much as I can. But we have a property in Sugarloaf Key, which is about fifteen minutes outside of Key West.

21:35  Rafael Correa 

And there we have everything from these really luxury bungalow cabins. we have a few Airstreams of those custom Airstreams that I told you about earlier that are really neat, and then we have RV sites, and they’re all centered around this kind of beautiful, like, lagoon. so almost every site is waterfront or water view. Um, and again, it’s a, it’s, it’s a simple and small property. It’s not giant amenities because really the amenity is Key West itself, and you’re fifteen minutes away from Duval Street and the music and the food and everything that that place is famous for.

22:07  Rafael Correa 

But you have this really beautiful respite escape place to go there. So that one is, you know, a big favorite of mine. I’ll be down there in February myself to spend a little time there because it’s it’s it’s a great way to reboot and recharge down there. Um, the other the other ones that if you’re in the Houston market, like I mentioned, that jet stream portfolio is tremendous, and we actually just opened a K O A, the first Houston city center K O A a few weeks ago. So it’s a k o a, and it’s next to the medical center there which is a, you know, world famous medical center that people travel all over the country and the world to come visit.

22:45  Rafael Correa 

Um, so I think that’s a really relevant one for your folks that might be in that market. Um, but it’s also in great proximity to everything you wanna do in Downtown Houston, whether it’s the rodeo or a baseball game or anything like that. So that’s a really cool property. I mentioned the Luray property. That’s a recent new build 370 sites on the Luray River with every amenity you can imagine.

23:08  Rafael Correa 

We actually have a mountain bike track. So, like, if you have kids that love to ride their bikes, like, we actually built an entire dirt mountain bike track that they can go in there and really tear it up and have a great time. And there’s actually another really cool kinda, like, surprise amenity that people love there is we have a remote control car track. So you actually sit up in this little pedestal and you look down on the track and you can actually sit there and race your cars. Um, and you’d be surprised the number of adults that actually really enjoy that amenity.

23:36  Vivian Health 

Yeah. That sounds very relaxing, but yet competitive.

23:40  Rafael Correa 

Yeah. Yeah. And the last one I’ll just throw out there is this and this place I, you know, I think it’s heaven on earth. Um, honestly, it’s called Endless Caverns, and it’s a little hidden gem right off Route 81 near JMU Harrisonburg, Virginia area. great proximity off the highway.

23:57  Rafael Correa 

but it actually has one of the largest caverns on the property. And so it’s appropriately named Endless Cabins because we don’t actually know where the end of the cabins are. So they’re still actually serving and exploring this cabin. You can go in there and take a a tour. You’re not gonna it’s a it’s about a one hour tour that’s a little bit more controlled, but professional cavers are actually still exploring this cabin.

24:20  Rafael Correa 

And the whole campground is built onto this beautiful hillside, um, that in the spaces are gigantic. They’re super flat even. So it’s beautiful for RVers. We have amenities like a heated pool and pickleball courts and all that’s really, really cool. And, you know, it’s everything you need to escape for a weekend Or even for a long term stay, whatever you’re looking for, but at the very top, we have this really beautiful, endless cavern sign.

24:44  Rafael Correa 

It’s like the Hollywood Sign that’s built into the side of the mountain, and you can actually hike up there. And from that from that vantage point, you can actually see West Virginia in the horizon the mountains of West Virginia. And so go up there to catch a sunset is is a life changing experience.

25:02  Vivian Health 

Wow. That sounds beautiful. Now can you tell our viewers and audience where to book with you? If they’re interested, can you tell us a little bit more about how to do that? We’d love to hear more.

25:13  Rafael Correa 

Yeah. I think the best place, if you really wanna understand the full offerings of Bluewater today is our website. So it’s bwdc.com. That’s bravowhiskeydeltacharlie.com. And so that website, you can take a look at our portfolio.

25:28  Rafael Correa 

We keep that updated. It’ll link you out to every single site. You can search by state, you know, whatever region that you’re looking for. And so that’s a great launching pad if you wanna know if Blue Water has something in the area that you’re looking to be or travel or if you really are just trying to roll the dice and find something new and different and find an adventure.

25:46  Vivian Health 

Well, thank you so much again for your time. I really appreciate it. And, yeah enjoy your Monday.

25:51  Rafael Correa 

Thank you so much.

25:52  Vivian Health 

Thanks have a great one. Bye bye.