Today we’d like to introduce you to Suzanne Fortino.
Hi Suzanne, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My journey into the RV rental business began almost by accident. Around 2018, while I was living in Idaho, my cousin and best friend, Lori—who is now my business partner and co-owner of Sweet Dreams RV Rentals—asked me to help with her annual August camping trip.
After years of tent camping, Lori was ready for something more comfortable. She was dealing with congestive heart failure, and her mother was living with dementia, so having a motorhome would provide a safer, more comfortable and contained environment for both of them.
Lori has always counted on me to help figure things out, so I drove from Idaho to Oregon to help her purchase a motorhome. We spent the day looking, but she didn’t find anything she liked, and we left empty-handed.
On the drive back to her house, I started searching online for a motorhome we could rent instead. Everything was booked.
That’s when I started running the numbers.
I realized that if we each purchased an RV and rented them when we weren’t using them, the rental income could potentially cover the payments. We decided that December, when prices would typically be lower, we would each purchase a motorhome and give it a try.
That sold-out rental market became the beginning of our business idea.
At the time, Lori worked with a woman who was friends with the owners of Sweet Dreams RV Rentals. When she learned what we were planning, she reached out to the owners on our behalf and asked if they would be willing to mentor us. They declined, understandably, because we would be entering the same market and becoming competitors.
The next couple of years brought tremendous change and loss. Lori lost her mother after her battle with dementia, which was devastating for Lori and our family. Then, in 2020, the Almeda Fire devastated Talent, Oregon, and the surrounding community. Sweet Dreams RV Rentals was directly affected, losing all but one of its RVs in the fire.
Sometime afterward, the owners contacted us and asked if we would be interested in purchasing the business.
We said yes.
It was an incredible full-circle moment. The company whose owners had once been asked to mentor us was now being entrusted to us. We purchased Sweet Dreams with one remaining RV—Ella—along with the website and existing customer base, as well as 40 hours of training by the previous owners.
We also understood the circumstances that had created that opportunity. The Almeda Fire was a tragedy that affected the previous owners and an entire community, and we wanted to honor that history.
During our first year, we set aside $15 from every reservation to support those affected by the fire. We asked Darby, the previous owner of Sweet Dreams and the mayor of Talent at the time, where those funds could best serve the community. By the end of the year, we were able to donate approximately $1,000 toward recovery efforts.
At the same time, our own story of resilience was unfolding. During our first year in business, Lori was diagnosed with breast cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In the years since, she has continued to face serious health challenges. Those challenges have limited how much she has been able to physically participate in the business, but they have never changed what she means to Sweet Dreams—or to me.
Lori is my cousin, my best friend, my business partner and one of my greatest inspirations. She just keeps going.
Because breast cancer had become such a personal part of our lives, the following year we incorporated breast cancer awareness and research into our charitable giving and promotional efforts.
There’s a phrase that resonates deeply with me: “Out of the ashes we rise.”
For me, that doesn’t diminish the tragedy of the Almeda Fire or any of the challenges we’ve faced. It’s about resilience—honoring what was lost, facing what comes next and finding the strength to keep building.
Starting with that single remaining RV, I reinvested in Sweet Dreams, purchasing seven additional RVs with cash and growing the company into an eight-RV fleet.
Today, Sweet Dreams provides RV accommodations for family vacations, reunions, weddings, hunting trips, festivals and events, extended stays and temporary housing. We deliver and completely set up our RVs, allowing our customers to arrive and simply enjoy their home away from home.
August 2026 marks another exciting chapter for Sweet Dreams with the launch of our brand-new website. Customers can see live availability, receive instant quotes, enter campsite information and handle reservations, contracts, pet addendums and invoicing through one streamlined system. Because it has just launched, I’m excited for both longtime and new customers to experience it, give us feedback and help us continue making it even better.
When I look back, it’s remarkable how it all started: an annual camping trip, a family that needed a better solution, a sold-out rental market and me sitting in a car doing the math.
I saw a problem and thought there had to be a better way.
I had no idea where that thought would lead. What began as a solution for one camping trip became a business shaped by family, friendship, loss, resilience and a determination to keep moving forward.
And in many ways, that’s still the heart of Sweet Dreams today.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely has not been a smooth road, but some of the biggest challenges have also been the experiences that taught me the most.
When Lori and I purchased Sweet Dreams RV Rentals, I was brand new to many of the physical aspects of the RV business. In fact, the day we delivered the check to purchase Sweet Dreams was the first time I had ever towed an RV. We drove away pulling Ella, the one RV that had survived the Almeda Fire. It was only the second trailer I had ever pulled in my life.
In many ways, I learned this business by doing it.
My former husband initially taught me how to tow and hook up trailers and helped tremendously with repairs. He was a bit of a MacGyver and could figure out how to fix almost anything. When my marriage ended, I wasn’t only going through a divorce personally; I also lost a major source of practical help within the business. Suddenly, when something broke, I had to figure it out.
And RVs break. A lot.
I started spending time talking with local RV technicians and parts professionals, asking questions and learning everything I could. I learned to troubleshoot problems and make many repairs myself, and when something was beyond my ability, I learned when to call a professional. I certainly didn’t start this business knowing how to do all of those things. I learned because I had to.
At the same time, Lori was facing significant health challenges. When we originally envisioned the business, I would handle the website, reservations, invoicing and administrative side, while Lori would handle much of the cleaning and physical work. Her health simply didn’t allow that plan to happen the way either of us expected.
In the beginning, I didn’t fully understand the extent of what she was going through, and that created challenges for both of us. Over time, I came to understand it very differently. We were fortunate to have an incredible cleaner who helped us for several years, and we’ve had others along the way, but much of the responsibility has ultimately fallen to me.
Then there was the challenge of growth. I expanded the fleet quickly, which sounds wonderful until you realize that every RV going out also has to be cleaned, stocked, inspected, delivered, completely set up and eventually picked back up. There have been plenty of days when several RVs needed to be delivered or picked up at different locations, and I was coordinating—and often physically doing—much of it myself.
One of my biggest challenges, though, is something I have to take responsibility for: I’m not particularly good at delegating.
I’m a perfectionist, a bit of a control freak and extremely particular about customer service. If my name and Sweet Dreams are attached to something, I want it done correctly. That has helped me build a business I’m proud of, but it has also meant I’ve sometimes carried far more than I needed to because letting go and trusting someone else to do things can be difficult for me.
I’m still learning that growing a successful business isn’t just about learning how to do everything yourself. Eventually, you also have to learn how not to do everything yourself.
Between Lori’s health challenges, my divorce, teaching myself RV maintenance, learning to tow and maneuver trailers, managing the logistics of a rapidly growing fleet and figuring out how to ask for and accept help, there have been plenty of moments when this business has tested me.
But every season, I know more than I did the season before.
I can tow the trailers. I can troubleshoot problems. I can manage the logistics. I can take care of my customers. And when I don’t know how to do something, I’ve learned that I can figure it out.
For me, that may be one of the greatest lessons of entrepreneurship: you don’t have to know how to do everything before you begin. Sometimes you begin—and then you become the person who knows how to do it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Customer service has been at the center of my professional life for more than 30 years, and it is truly one of my passions\. I also have a degree in psychology and have studied business, computers and technology, as well as several years of professional photography\. I certainly haven’t mastered all of those areas, but each has given me skills that I bring to Sweet Dreams RV Rentals.
My background in psychology and customer service has taught me to listen to people, understand what they actually need and recognize that every customer’s situation is different. My experience with business and technology helps me manage the systems that keep Sweet Dreams running efficiently. I’ve also spent several years studying professional photography. I haven’t incorporated those skills into the business nearly as much as I’d like to yet, but that’s an area I’m excited to grow into, particularly in how we showcase our RVs and tell the Sweet Dreams story visually.
At Sweet Dreams, we specialize in making the RV experience as easy and stress-free as possible. We deliver the RV directly to the customer’s campsite or destination and completely set it up. Our customers don’t need a truck, don’t have to tow a trailer and don’t need to know how to set up an RV. They can simply arrive and have their home away from home waiting for them.
Our RVs are used for everything from traditional camping and family vacations to reunions, weddings, hunting trips, festivals and events, extended stays and temporary housing. Every reservation is different, and I genuinely enjoy figuring out how we can best accommodate each customer’s individual needs.
What I believe sets Sweet Dreams apart is the personal attention behind the business. After more than 30 years in customer service, I’ve learned that great service isn’t just about being friendly. It’s about listening, communicating, anticipating needs, paying attention to the details and, when something doesn’t go perfectly, doing everything you can to make it right.
I’m particular about our RVs and the experience our customers receive. I want someone to walk into one of our units and feel that it was prepared specifically for them—not that they’re simply the next reservation on the calendar.
I’m also incredibly excited about the brand-new Sweet Dreams website, which went live in August 2026. Customers can see live availability, receive instant quotes, enter their campsite information and handle contracts, pet addendums, invoicing and reservations through one streamlined system. Because it has just launched, our customers are only beginning to experience everything it offers. I’m looking forward to hearing feedback from both longtime and new customers and continuing to improve the experience as we learn what works best for them.
What I’m most proud of is how much I’ve learned and how much Sweet Dreams has grown. I didn’t come into this industry knowing how to do everything. I’ve learned to tow, set up, troubleshoot and maintain RVs. I’ve learned the logistics of coordinating multiple deliveries and pickups and managing all the moving pieces that come with an RV rental business, And I’m still learning.
I don’t believe you have to know everything before you start. You have to be willing to learn, adapt and care enough to keep getting better.
For me, it ultimately comes back to something very simple: **take care of people.**
The RV may be what we rent, but the experience we provide—and the way we treat the people who trust us with part of their vacation, celebration, hunting trip or temporary home—is what I want Sweet Dreams RV Rentals to be known for.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
The quality that is most important to my success is a genuine commitment to customer service. I’ve spent more than 30 years working in customer service, and for me, it has never simply meant being polite or completing a transaction. It means making people feel heard, valued and confident that I genuinely care about their experience.
That’s especially important in this business. People aren’t simply renting an RV from us. They may be taking their children on a family vacation, attending a wedding or reunion, heading out on a hunting trip, or needing a temporary place to call home. Whatever the reason, that experience matters to them—and because of that, it matters to me.
I also believe great customer service means being willing to recognize when you can do better.
Like any business, we’ve had occasional problems over the years. This season, there were a few situations where the customer experience didn’t meet the standard I expect from Sweet Dreams. I take that seriously. I don’t expect that nothing will ever go wrong—especially when you’re dealing with RVs—but I do expect myself to listen, learn from those experiences and take action to improve.
That’s a big part of why I’m so excited about where Sweet Dreams is headed\. In addition to launching our brand-new website, I’ve recently developed a working relationship with someone who has extensive mechanical and repair knowledge and is helping me go through the fleet, address maintenance issues and bring every RV up to the standard I want for our customers. He’s also willing to teach me along the way, which is incredibly valuable because I’m always looking to learn and become better at what I do.
To me, that’s what growth looks like. It’s not pretending that you never encounter problems or get everything right. It’s listening to your customers, being willing to look critically at your own business and then actually doing something about what you learn.
I want every customer to open the door to their RV and immediately feel that we cared about their experience before they ever arrived. I want them to feel valued throughout the entire process—from their first interaction with Sweet Dreams until their trip is over.
So, if I had to identify the characteristic that is most important to my success, it would simply be this: **I genuinely care about the people I serve.**
And I’m willing to keep learning, investing and improving to make sure the experience we provide reflects that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://SweetDreamsRVRentals.com
- Instagram: @SWEETDREAMSRVR.
- Facebook: Sweet Dreams RV Rentals — Facebook
