Campground Cancellation Fees
I know about them, I see the "warning and policy" each and every time I make a reservation. I know I "agree" to them when I make a reservation. That said, I do a LOT of meticulous long range pla...
Forum Discussion
Lantley wrote:
The fees are all about keeping people from gaming the system. If there were zero penalty people would make and cancel reservations all the time. They'd book the entire month and eventually cancel the weeks they did not need and make a mess of the reservation system.
Let's say I wanted the week you just cancelled but it was unavailable because it was booked. because there is a fee I trust that the person was truly interested in the site and suffered a penalty for cancelling.
Without a penalty everyone could book sites they really never intended to use and cancel later.
While that may seem harmless enough the cancellation effects people who may have wanted the same site but could not book due to availability.
In the end someone will be happy you cancelled,however someone else maybe disappointed because they also made plans several months out but were unable to get a site because it was booked by someone who is actually not going to use the site.
Penalties and fees help maintain the integrity of the reservation system. In some case higher penalty fees are needed to keep people from booking sites that they know they plan to cancel at a later date.
As I said, I understand it, but suspect the private campgrounds I booked with aren't quite as altruistic as you describe above. I suspect they see this as a way to make money as opposed to stopping someone from gaming the system.
