ReserveAmerica=Good Sam
Am I missing something here? I was just on ReserveAmerica’s website looking for a SP in Florida for April. As I scrolled thru 23 pages all I saw was Good Sam private parks, is this something new?
Forum Discussion
1. Reserve America/ Recreation.gov/ Active Network reservation systems all are the same company and get paid a fee for every reservation transaction. One fee if it is a totally on-line transaction, a higher fee for a transaction where an employee must interact with the customer.
2. The fee is set by the contract with the campground, each campground/ contract agency decides if an additional fee will be charged to the customer.
3. Reserve America has contracts with most of the US states park agencies. All have a fee for reservations, cancellations. Every state has a fee higher than the money they pay Reserve America for the transaction. The states determine the fee the camper pays, not Reserve America.
4. Recreation.gov is a domain owned by the US government. The largest campground operator in the federal government is the US Department of Agriculture - the US Forest Service - National Forests. That agency was the first to contract for an on-line reservation service. A decision as made to require other federal recreational facilities to use the same system as the Forest Service. So the Dept of Interior (National Parks, Bureau of Land Management) and Department of Defense (Corps of Engineers) were added to the contract.
5. You pay a fee for every reservation at a National Forest or a National Park or a COE campground. The fee that Reserve America receives is the same for all reservations. The extra money above the fee the contractor is paid is used by the agency to offset the costs of operating the reservation system. The Forest Service charges a $9 fee currently. The COE includes the fee in the costs of the campsite, as do most national parks and BLM.
6. There are a few reservable campgrounds not in recreation.gov. The US Forest Service campgrounds around the Land Between the Lakes have their own reservations web site. The Everglades National Park Flamingo campground has been moved to management by a contractor, including a phone in only reservations system.
7. In the last couple years, the state of California dropped Reserve America and developed their own reservations system. If you ‘hate’ the Reserve America/ recreation.gov interface, go try to make a reservation at a California state park, and let us know which you like least.
2. The fee is set by the contract with the campground, each campground/ contract agency decides if an additional fee will be charged to the customer.
3. Reserve America has contracts with most of the US states park agencies. All have a fee for reservations, cancellations. Every state has a fee higher than the money they pay Reserve America for the transaction. The states determine the fee the camper pays, not Reserve America.
4. Recreation.gov is a domain owned by the US government. The largest campground operator in the federal government is the US Department of Agriculture - the US Forest Service - National Forests. That agency was the first to contract for an on-line reservation service. A decision as made to require other federal recreational facilities to use the same system as the Forest Service. So the Dept of Interior (National Parks, Bureau of Land Management) and Department of Defense (Corps of Engineers) were added to the contract.
5. You pay a fee for every reservation at a National Forest or a National Park or a COE campground. The fee that Reserve America receives is the same for all reservations. The extra money above the fee the contractor is paid is used by the agency to offset the costs of operating the reservation system. The Forest Service charges a $9 fee currently. The COE includes the fee in the costs of the campsite, as do most national parks and BLM.
6. There are a few reservable campgrounds not in recreation.gov. The US Forest Service campgrounds around the Land Between the Lakes have their own reservations web site. The Everglades National Park Flamingo campground has been moved to management by a contractor, including a phone in only reservations system.
7. In the last couple years, the state of California dropped Reserve America and developed their own reservations system. If you ‘hate’ the Reserve America/ recreation.gov interface, go try to make a reservation at a California state park, and let us know which you like least.
