BC Parks Reservation System
Obviously this isn't working. What do other provinces/States do that does work? http://www.nationalpost.com/m/wp/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/bc-campers-face-a-sold-out-summer-as-p...
Forum Discussion
Some one started another thread in the General RV'ing forum. I C&P'd my response here...(with spelling corrections)
"i posted about this in the Canada/USA forum. The problem is first come first serve wasn't working because people would set up their gear in a site on a Monday in order to get that site for the weekend. It ended up with some campgrounds not having any sites available even though their were. And now there is this scam. The company is using their clients name & cc info to reserve so it doesn't appear that they are reselling. I do think that charging the full rate (reservation fee plus campsite fee) would stop most of this. But then it wouldn't be fair for people who ha e mechanical issues while on the road."
Gary, what you got back from BC Parks was their standard response. They have been saying that for a long time. The problem is, unless they are willing to make all the data available to the public (Gov't is public isn't it?) then how can anyone verify this? Also the private Company would have to do the same thing...ain't going to happen! Plus, who is going to spend a lot of time analyzing it all?
Here's some possible solutions, It would need studying though!
1/ When someone reserves, bill them for the reservation fee + the campsite fee for the whole time (maybe even increase the reservation fee) Make sure that it is spelled out that there are no refunds unless you can show proof of a medical emergency, mechanical breakdown, or other similar 'circumstance beyond our control' issue, with back up proof.
2/ Re the above, If the reservaion includes a holiday weekend, then there should be no refunds at all.
3/ Stop this practice of having reservable sites in the best spots in the campground. Last year we were in Wells Gray & the campground was empty. But all the sites along the river were reservable, but available for just 1 or 2 nights. We saw & talked with some of the people who said they wanted to stay longer, but felt they couldn't so they left. Or they felt they had to stay in the sites away from the view & weren't pleased.
4/ Go back to having only 40% of the sites reservable as it was when they introduced this system. Today, some are 100%!
5/ Let BC Parks manage the reservation system. The private company is currently making a profit, so if the Gov't takes it over, then they could use that money to hire more staff to stop abusers.
Anyway, there are probably more good ideas out there and hopefully others will offer their suggestions.
"i posted about this in the Canada/USA forum. The problem is first come first serve wasn't working because people would set up their gear in a site on a Monday in order to get that site for the weekend. It ended up with some campgrounds not having any sites available even though their were. And now there is this scam. The company is using their clients name & cc info to reserve so it doesn't appear that they are reselling. I do think that charging the full rate (reservation fee plus campsite fee) would stop most of this. But then it wouldn't be fair for people who ha e mechanical issues while on the road."
Gary, what you got back from BC Parks was their standard response. They have been saying that for a long time. The problem is, unless they are willing to make all the data available to the public (Gov't is public isn't it?) then how can anyone verify this? Also the private Company would have to do the same thing...ain't going to happen! Plus, who is going to spend a lot of time analyzing it all?
Here's some possible solutions, It would need studying though!
1/ When someone reserves, bill them for the reservation fee + the campsite fee for the whole time (maybe even increase the reservation fee) Make sure that it is spelled out that there are no refunds unless you can show proof of a medical emergency, mechanical breakdown, or other similar 'circumstance beyond our control' issue, with back up proof.
2/ Re the above, If the reservaion includes a holiday weekend, then there should be no refunds at all.
3/ Stop this practice of having reservable sites in the best spots in the campground. Last year we were in Wells Gray & the campground was empty. But all the sites along the river were reservable, but available for just 1 or 2 nights. We saw & talked with some of the people who said they wanted to stay longer, but felt they couldn't so they left. Or they felt they had to stay in the sites away from the view & weren't pleased.
4/ Go back to having only 40% of the sites reservable as it was when they introduced this system. Today, some are 100%!
5/ Let BC Parks manage the reservation system. The private company is currently making a profit, so if the Gov't takes it over, then they could use that money to hire more staff to stop abusers.
Anyway, there are probably more good ideas out there and hopefully others will offer their suggestions.
