is this common practice?

Mike LeClair wrote:
Well, please be assured that I am not, in any way, trying to raise anyone's ire. This is MHO only. I think that the "practice" of charging visitors who are joining a paid in full on site customer (for a couple of hours or the entire day) is absolutely reprehensible and is simply another example of "in your face" screwing of the consumer. The rationale of having to cover insurance costs for future liabilities or extra use of facilities is absolutely ridiculous. The insurer does not cost out the policy based on the number of paid guests or visitors or any other such number of random circumstances. The policy is based on industry standards, previous claims, etc. etc. I concur that the "base rate" does indeed take into consideration all of the costs for insurance, guests, visitors and so on. Yup, classic grubbing for extra dollars - kinda like having to pay extra $$$ to have a new propane tank purged, having to pay for air and water at your local "service station" and so on.

As always, YMMV

Cheers, all!

Mike

I totally agree!

Lets see, the OP states that there was only 2 of them at the site. That site most likely entitles them to have 6 or 8 people camping, & using the facilities.

They have a couple of guests for a few hours. Now we have 4, still under the allowable number.

Where do these KOA, & other, CGs get off charging extra for guests when the total is still under the allowable number of people per site?

A situation like this caused me, well, the DW, to boycott KOA for 7 years. We will never return to the CG that hit us for guests who were only coming in for dinner & we were under our allowable number for the site.

kenbert wrote:
In Fort Wilderness you pay for the site up to six people no xtra charge. Campgrounds are not an amusement park, and I will not stay in a campground that charges extra for children.

Ken

In addition, if someone wants to enter Fort Wilderness to visit someone staying there, they are not charged. However, that has its bad side as well. I know of one situation where two people had adjacent campsites, and then invited over 50 people to come for a party.

I have been to many National and State Parks and I often go in and ask if I can just drive through to check it out for future camping trips and I've never been turned down. I'm not surprised that a KOA would charge, I have been cheated by them so often, I would travel a 100 miles rather than use them. Not a happy customer.

Well, please be assured that I am not, in any way, trying to raise anyone's ire. This is MHO only. I think that the "practice" of charging visitors who are joining a paid in full on site customer (for a couple of hours or the entire day) is absolutely reprehensible and is simply another example of "in your face" screwing of the consumer. The rationale of having to cover insurance costs for future liabilities or extra use of facilities is absolutely ridiculous. The insurer does not cost out the policy based on the number of paid guests or visitors or any other such number of random circumstances. The policy is based on industry standards, previous claims, etc. etc. I concur that the "base rate" does indeed take into consideration all of the costs for insurance, guests, visitors and so on. Yup, classic grubbing for extra dollars - kinda like having to pay extra $$$ to have a new propane tank purged, having to pay for air and water at your local "service station" and so on.

As always, YMMV

Cheers, all!

Mike

Last time I checked, every RV has wheels. If you don't like the extra fees, go someplace else. If you can't find a CG that doesn't charge extra for what is clearly optional for most of their guests, find a new hobby. BTW, the CGs that don't itemize, just add it into the base rate and you pay for it whether you use it or not.

It's not about bashing KOA. We've never even been to one. This particular campground is in New Jersey in Cape May County. I also don't think it's about insurance, but just plain greed.

You have to buy wood from them at an outrageous price because they will not allow you to bring it in (even artificial like Duralogs), the camp store had a price markup of very close to 250%, pay for showers at .25 per minute, $5.25 to do a load of laundry WITHOUT dryer. Dryer was additional. Gate key fee, cable tv fee, wifi fee; the list of fees went on and on.

To charge $24 for a two hour adult visit also plays into flat out greed.

dave54 wrote:
Must be a eastern thing. I have not experienced anything like that in the west. All day I could understand, but an hour or two?

Apparently the fee doubles if the guests stay overnight.

EsoxLucius wrote:
$24 to visit? Might as well get another site.

That's my point exactly, except the site fee at this particular campground was $80 a night for full hookup. My lunch guests did NOT use any of the campground facilities, including the bathroom.

I am somewhat new to camping and had no idea the fees could be that high.

kenbert wrote:

schlep1967 wrote:

westernrvparkowner wrote:
I Believe the Disney parks advertise themselves as a family adventure and they charge per person. Same with restaurants that serve food "family Style". There is no way a park or any other business could separate out who is family and who is not, with friends, neighbors, etc. And what if Great grandma and grandpa brought his 3 kids and spouses who each brought their 3 kids and spouses who each brought their 3 kids, that would be 53 people, all constituting a "family unit" by your definition. And continuing with your political correctness, should the park ask to see marriage certificates, birth certificates, civil union documents and the like at check in?
At least at my parks you won't run into that problem. No where on our websites or advertising do we ever use the phrase "family campground" so I assume at my parks our $5.00 per person fee for over two people is fine with everyone. Apparently it is all in the wording.

I can see your point. And I feel it would be reasonable to put a cap on the "included" in the price of the site. But charging per head for more than 2 people is just not going to assure future users of your campgrounds. Make it anything over four, that seems reasonable, and a family of 5 is not slammed with $15 a night extra charge. So more families can afford to camp and more children get introduced to camping. And there you build the future customer base.

In Fort Wilderness you pay for the site up to six people no xtra charge. Campgrounds are not an amusement park, and I will not stay in a campground that charges extra for children.

Ken

So what does Fort Wilderness do if you have 5 children, hence seven people in the site? Charge for the seventh, hence charging for children, and therefore Fort Wilderness is not a park you would stay in? Or do they just refuse the reservation and therefore forbid large families from staying in their park? You just take the selfish view of "if it works for me, fine" and I then you can climb onto your high horse and preach about how other policies are wrong. Simple fact is there is no policy that can work for all situations. Let in parties of 8, the party of one feels they are getting the shaft. Charge for extra people, the big parties feel put upon.