rating of campgrounds

TinyoneRV wrote:
Wbwood,
Yes, that's why the present system is pretty good. Opinions can be based on a smile when checking in but a score sheet takes opinion out of the equation. I take most reviews with a grain of salt since the reviewer or the park could be having a bad day.

Sammytoo,
However, a park must meet a minimum to be a GS park as well as pay a fee.

This is copied from their web site..


It’s easy to join.
Good Sam welcomes new members. Ask your Trailer Life Consultant for more information. It’s easy to join – and Good Sam membership pays!

Advertiser Rate $295
Non-Advertiser Rate $1,500

Looks to me like it's just a way to push advertising,

jdog wrote:
Are not most RV campgrounds just paved parking lots with hook-ups?

I guess that like saying that most state parks, national parks and other similar places are either grass fields, dirt lot parking lots and etc without hookups.

jdog wrote:
Are not most RV campgrounds just paved parking lots with hook-ups?

I guess that you have never been to one??

Wbwood,
Yes, that's why the present system is pretty good. Opinions can be based on a smile when checking in but a score sheet takes opinion out of the equation. I take most reviews with a grain of salt since the reviewer or the park could be having a bad day.

Sammytoo,
However, a park must meet a minimum to be a GS park as well as pay a fee.

Raywalker wrote:
Hi Marcus;
I am sure you are aware that not all Good Sma Parks are created equal. There are some that do not deserve to be called Good Sam Parks. Is there any place where we can rate our stays at Good Sam Parks? I am thinking of a forum similiar to RV Park Reviews.

Regards;
Ray Walker

Surely you understand that the requirement for a campground to be a GS park is that they pay the yearly fee. Kind of like the requirement to be a GS member is to pay the fee.
The GS ratings (imho) are usually fairly accurate and GS will change them if you contact them. However you have no reason to have higher expectations of a GS Park.

TinyoneRV wrote:
Open your Trailer Life directory to the scoring pages and score the park yourself using the same criteria used by the inspectors. Tried it once and came up one point difference. The criteria are pretty objective and easy to score. Not much mystery to it and not much room for subjective opinions.

Ratings should not be either subjective or an opinion. Reviews are for opinions.

Open your Trailer Life directory to the scoring pages and score the park yourself using the same criteria used by the inspectors. Tried it once and came up one point difference. The criteria are pretty objective and easy to score. Not much mystery to it and not much room for subjective opinions.

Are not most RV campgrounds just paved parking lots with hook-ups?

I know of a campground in Branson which is literally nothing more than a paved parking lot that has a 10/10/10 from Good Sam. I guess it's all about what you're looking for.

2gypsies wrote:

Good Sam Care Team wrote:
If you ever want to tell us about an especially good or bad campground, please email us at info@goodsamclub.com. We'll remove campgrounds as necessary.

Kat Robinson
Marcus' Rapid Response Team
goodsamcs@goodsamfamily.com

I've tried that over the years and my emails were never acknowledged and the ratings of the parks stayed the same so this way is not working.

If I visit two parks with the identical ratings I can find obvious descreptancies in the rating system. So your 'raters' are not doing their jobs!

I'm so sorry to hear that your emails haven't been acknowledged in the past. The email team addresses all emails that come in, so after you send an email please ensure that you get an automated confirmation that your email was sent sucessfully.

Please understand that the raters visit campgrounds once or twice per year, with at least one unannounced visit. Our Triple-rating system is composed of the completeness of facilities, the cleanliness and appearance of the restrooms and showers, and the overall visual appearance. It's possible that the facilities were in better condition at the time that they visted.

Kat Robinson
Marcus' Rapid Response Team
goodsamcs@goodsamfamily.com