Campground Rates

When I go to San Diego it's usually for at least 10 days. What makes it hard and frustrating getting a space is the weekenders will fill the place up for 2 nights and then it's only half full during the week. I think the 3 night minimum helps folks like me get a space by ruling out the 2 night weekend traffic. Is it right? Depends on if the place gets more long term traffic or weekend traffic. Perhaps hold a percentage of the spaces for the weekend traffic and the rest for longer term.

It is time to face the facts, low cost camping and convenience is history and it is time to find better things to do.

What are the other campgrounds/RV parks in the area charging? It is an all over increase or is it just this one place? If the latter, then I would stay elsewhere.

If the former, then I would say it has more to do with the pandemic. Folks are willing to pay a lot because they are sick of sitting at home. Wait a couple years and those rates will drop as folks get back to other activities and the campground stays empty due to the rates.

Motel rates are up too. Double in many cases.

…….. 6 years of RECORD RV sales & NO NEW campgrounds; supply & demand; prices are only gonna go 1 way…. Unfortunately….

#1Flyboy wrote:
…….. 6 years of RECORD RV sales & NO NEW campgrounds; supply & demand; prices are only gonna go 1 way…. Unfortunately….

Spot on.

FWIW every RV park In our area of camping has seasonal adjusted rates and some have a weekend and holiday minimums for years.

#1Flyboy wrote:
…….. 6 years of RECORD RV sales & NO NEW campgrounds; supply & demand; prices are only gonna go 1 way…. Unfortunately….

Actually that is supposedly not true, it's said that there is a record number of new cg being built countrywide. However you need to look at the area of the country. I doubt the NE and Cali don't have a record number being built because of land prices and outrageous regulations. So yes, lot of folks want the camp but there are minimal cg and the price will go up, simple supply and demand.
As Pres Obama said, "elections have consequences"
Cg prices run in the $20-40 range for many cg in the SE, Midwest and Rocky Mountains with scatterings of prices about that.

It really is Economics 101! The demand for campsites has expanded as the availability of sites has decreased in several parts of the country - notably the Northeast. In that area land values have exploded and the costs of both creating and particularly running a campground have gone up perhaps every higher. Very few newer campgrounds have been constructed over the past 20 years and so many older ones have sold and have become shopping malls or residential developments! Ask anyone who owns a campground today. Costs for everything have skyrocketed over the past decade far beyond their ability to absorb them. DH and I have been RVing for over 45 years. We have seen costs increase over all this time. We used to camp often in the Myrtle Beach area, generally in the 2 state parks there. Their price for a site with full hookups was $25/night for SC residents for years, with a significant discount for Seniors. Over the past 3 years, the state has gone to the 'price determined by demand' system. This season, the base price for the same site is $56/night, higher during periods of the most demand - and getting a site over a weekend is basically an impossibility! The many privately owned CGs in the area, for the same dates, are getting over $100/night - and they are full as well! While I agree almost $100/night for an RV site is absurd, I look at the cost of a simple motel room in the same area, then factor in the enjoyment we both get from camping, the security we feel when being in "our own bed" and the expenses we do not incur when making our own meals, etc. and we still find it well worth while. So, to answer your question directly - yes, prices are climbing much faster than I would like. I do not see a "3 night minimum" reservation requirement as anything particularly new or 'gimmicky" - we have seen them often for many years, particularly in high-volume tourist areas, over holiday weekends, and during high-demand times for years. Airlines and hotel chains have used the "prices determined by demand" process for years. A number of attractions, like theme parks and others, have "in-season and off-season"- pricing too. That's similar, I think. They are all about supply and demand. The more something is wanted, the higher a price it can be sold for! Reservations are still very hard to come by when planning a trip in our RV for weekend stays. The demand for each site is very high. I am in the process of finalizing our plans for a month long 'voyage' in September. still not complete, and I began it in April! There may well be a few nights while traveling spent boondocking in a parking lot (which we do not like to do, as we believe in supporting local campgrounds as much as we can) simply because the travel is over a weekend night and there is 'no room at the inn'! Fortunately we belong to a national fraternal organization and have found several of their lodges that allow for and have facilities for our RV, or the planning would have been much more difficult!

If they were full up for the weekends, it makes sense. Why fill a site for 2 nights per week if they have someone willing to pay for it for 3 nights.

I presume, later in the season, things eased up.

Why they would charge more for a W/E site...All else being equal, it makes no sense. Are they somehow in a better part of the park?

For years we owned a park adjacent to a major, major national park. We were sold out every night virtually all season long. Yet, every evening we did not have a line of RVs hoping for a no show. For popular places, people know you do not travel to them without a reservation. It is actually hard to fill last minute cancellations even at a park that turns hundreds away hundreds of reservation requests.