Share your Airstream dreams at the Design Info Exchange

Would you like to share what you love about your Airstream—and what you wish were different—directly to  Airstream factory executives?

Every year at Alumapalooza, attendees get this remarkable opportunity during the men’s and women’s “Designer Information Exchange”. Justin Humphreys—Vice President of Sales at Airstream, Inc.—will lead the discussions at Alumapalooza 6.

The sessions are segregated—guys will share their likes, dislikes and feature wishlists in the main tent at 9:30 on Friday of Alumapalooza week; gals will do the same later that morning. “I think a lot of people assume we do this because women discuss interior and guys discuss exterior, but that’s not the reason,” explained Humphreys. “I do it because, typically, men dominate the discussion if they are combined, so by separating them, more people get to contribute.”

You might be surprised that, more and more, the groups are breaking free of traditional gender roles. “Women talk about tires, and men talk about the interior décor,” said Humphreys. “The women do have a tendency to mention interior items more, but over the past few sessions, they’ve been discussing a lot about storage space and floor plans. They’re offering more structural suggestions, in addition to expected decor and galley items.”

“The men spend quite a bit of time on tires each year,” added Humphreys. “That’s always a hot topic, from sizes to brands. It always seems to come up.”

“Both sessions are great,” he said. “I’ll give a little secret though—I always schedule the men first because I want to spend more time with the ladies. They have some great ideas!”

These meetings at the factory during Alumapalooza demonstrate how closely Airstream listens to their end users and prospective buyers. “Customers provide great feedback,” said Humphreys. “We’ve made several changes to our product based on the feedback sessions. For example, in 2013 women wanted more privacy in the trailers. They told us that the curtains in the panoramic windows were too thin, and they felt there was too much ‘shadowing’ for on-lookers outside of the trailers.  We have since added more ‘dark-out’ material in our curtains to address this issue.”

Another example is flooring—neither men nor women wanted carpet in their coaches, and the factory has since removed all carpet in every new Airstream.

“Alumapalooza is a great opportunity for many of our employees to interact with our customers,” continued Humphreys. “My favorite part is seeing what everyone has done to their trailers. Airstreamers are awesome in showing us their upgrades, modifications and renovations. It’s all very helpful for us in understanding how they’re using the product, and the changes they’ve made to suit their needs.”

There’s still room at The Mothership for you and your Airstream! If you haven’t already, sign up online soon for Alumapalooza 6.