Delaware River Tubing has received the President's Award in the annual marketing competition conducted by the New Jersey Travel Industry Association.
ALEXANDRIA TWP. - Delaware River Tubing has received the President's Award in the annual marketing competition conducted by the New Jersey Travel Industry Association.
The company attracts customers to the Delaware River and then equips them for a few hours of floating or paddling, according to a news release.
Owner Greg "Hot Dog Man" Crance and his sons Matt and Yuuji were presented the award during the recent New Jersey Conference on Tourism in Atlantic City.
"Our vigorous marketing is just a reflection of our enthusiasm for sharing the beauty of the Delaware River with our guests," said Greg Crance. "We are obsessed with safety, but coming in a close second is our desire to bring visitors out to Hunterdon County for a refreshing and fun river adventure."
The company rents tubes, rafts, canoes and kayaks to customers, buses them to a launch site just south of Frenchtown in Hunterdon County, serves them lunch at its floating hot-dog stand, picks them up just north of Stockton and buses them back to their starting point.
"You haven't enjoyed a hot dog, until you've eaten one of ours while standing knee-deep in the river, with hawks soaring overhead, and a view of the Kingwood cliffs," Crance said.
The association, which regularly partners with the New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism, presented awards for excellence in Digital Outreach, Partnerships, Advertising, and Public Relations. The Delaware River Tubing's website won an award in this competition in 2011, but this time Crance won the President's Award, which is not confined to those categories.
In 2008, the Famous River Hot Dog Man won the N.J. Restaurant Association's Diamond Award.
The tubing company's gets tens of thousands of customers each summer, according to a news release, thanks to its website www.delawarerivertubing.com combined with an email list of about 60,000 and a Facebook page with about 21,000 followers.
While half of the customers come from the Garden State, another 25-percent are from
Pennsylvania and 20-percent from New York. It is not unusual to see license plates in the parking lot from Connecticut and Maryland, too.
Crance prides himself on attracting tourists, and likes to enhance their experience by referring them to other local businesses, it was stated. For example, his website has links to more than 200 nearby attractions, B&Bs, hotels, restaurants and more.
Crance, who grew up in the Delaware Valley, returned after service in the U.S. Marines to open his mid-river eatery in 1987, billing himself as "The Famous River Hot Dog Man."
He began his tubing business in 2003, which has been based in Alexandria Township since 2015. The tubing company is an official concessionaire of the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry, and the hot-dog stand and the buses are inspected on a regular basis, according to the news release.
Safety is also important. "When the river is too high and the current too swift, we close down," Crance said. All customers must wear life jackets and alcohol is prohibited. Crance and other personnel patrol the 6-mile route in jet-boats, ready to assist anyone in distress.
Although the business employs about 60 people during its 10-week season, at its core, besides Crance, are his wife, Megumi, and their grown sons Yuuji, Matt, Ricky and Seth.
Delaware River Tubing plans to open for the season on Memorial Day. It is located at 778 Frenchtown Road (Route 619). The GPS address is Milford.