3 Flavors of KOA

We tend to stay at many KOA campgrounds as we travel, generally just for a night or two. I wonder who is going to decide which category each CG fits into, with the new ratings? Many seem to use the term, resort, somewhat loosely ,IMHO, not just with KOAs either. Like many used car dealers like to use the term, honest, in their names. LOL

A few months back KOA announced they were going to be posting camping reviews of their CGs. I even got a few email surveys about the KOAs where we had recently stayed. That idea didn't seem to last very long, as I suspect some of the member campgrounds didn't like what was being said about their campground. Makes me wonder how long the new 3 tier listing will last. Not too many I have stayed at would fit in what I consider the resort category. Most, IMHO, are good, well run basic campgrounds, with most having easy access off the major highways of North America, sort of the Motel 6s of the campgrounds. Now the Mount Rushmore KOA is a resort, but not too many are to me. Many are located in resort areas, but the CG is not a resort.

Robin1953 wrote:
For years RV enthusiasts have complained about paying the full fare just for an overnight stay. Thus we have the WalMarts that many use just for that purpose. I got a newsletter from KOA a good while back when they were floating the idea. The "Journey" KOA would be for those seeking an overnight stop with few amenities and a lower rate. The "Holiday" parks would have a few more amenities at a slighter higher rate. Their target audience were the weekenders and the transients that wanted to stay a few days to explore the area. That leaves the "Resort" KOA with several amenities and a still higher rate that targets the RVers looking for a destination stay. It makes sense that a campground organization like KOA would be attempting to cater to the various RV customers.

Sounds like what some of the motels are doing now.

For years RV enthusiasts have complained about paying the full fare just for an overnight stay. Thus we have the WalMarts that many use just for that purpose. I got a newsletter from KOA a good while back when they were floating the idea. The "Journey" KOA would be for those seeking an overnight stop with few amenities and a lower rate. The "Holiday" parks would have a few more amenities at a slighter higher rate. Their target audience were the weekenders and the transients that wanted to stay a few days to explore the area. That leaves the "Resort" KOA with several amenities and a still higher rate that targets the RVers looking for a destination stay. It makes sense that a campground organization like KOA would be attempting to cater to the various RV customers.

The amenities can vary quite a bit between different KOAs. We have stayed at a number of them. Some are very basic. Some have quite a few extra features/facilities/activities. Appears they are trying to better identify for the traveler what each may have by adding a tag to each one. I would guess they will eventually add one of the tags to all the nearly 500 KOAs.

Trick question. Answer is you are not staying at a KOA you are still home. ;) In which type of KOA campground will you be staying. I don't know. Maybe call and ask.

I have seen many RV Parks that will have both "Journey" and "Holiday" features. Those two types of Parks, if laid out properly, can easily co-exist. I would normally want to stay away from a Park called "Resort" if I just wanted a quick over-nite.

For KOA, it might be a marketing tool to raise prices.

That's interesting in that the two KOAs that I have reservations for are not listed in any of the three categories. So what type of KOAs am I staying in?