Florida Keys RV Parks in Winter

jplante4 wrote:

dalenoel wrote:
Don't know about the Keys but just north of Tampa some of the parks only accept reservations for a 4 month period.

Is that Rock Crusher? That's too bad. We stayed there for a week a few years ago. Nice campground. Lots of Michiganders...

I spoke with some returning snowbirds last week that stayed in Mexico Beach area. They said it was still a mess from last hurricane season.

I don't know if four month minimums are necessarily bad, but it's not hard to see how events quickly shaped the market in the area. We spend our winters in the Spring Hill area, north of Tampa. We recently bought a site in the park we frequent. We made the decision to buy as it has become increasingly difficult to find a nice place to stay, in the area. Prices are constantly rising, and most places worth staying at are booked a year ahead. When we started staying at our park, six years back, you could randomly pull in, in January or February, and get a site. It was only 80-90% full at peak. By March of this year, without any extended stay requirement, the park was 100% booked from Dec 1st to April, 1st, 2020.

There are supposedly 10K boomers retiring, every day of the week. Given that fact, record RV sales, and a few really nasty winters for northerners, the pressure on availability continually rises. We have stayed in several top notch parks from Tampa north to Gainsville, and have seen monthly site rentals increase in price by 20-80% in that six year span. It's possible however,to find a nice park in central Fl. north of I-4 for 75-80% LESS than top parks in southern Fl. Our park is still extremely accommodating with folks seeking short stays, but they still fill up a year ahead. I can see why others do the three or four month minimum. They have far less work and drama while running the operation, and they often require first and last month's rent, and a deposit for electric. By doing that, they not only have a fully booked facility, but they know that they will be getting paid for all four months. You can leave anytime, but you lose your last month's rent.

We came through Mexico Beach and Panama City on the way north, this year, and it is still an ongoing disaster, with lots of basic clean-up still waiting for funds. Everything from homes and hotels, to the air base look like they just suffered an extended bombing campaign. Driving through three million acres of planted pine forests, that have most trees snapped clear off, at 10-20 feet off the ground, for as far as you can see, is pretty mind blowing also.