RVers who buy up campsites

Well somewhere in all this it would help to know if the existing rules are being enforced? Is there a 24 hour occupancy rule? Is it being enforced?
Does the CG have vacancies or paid for unmanned sites every weekend?

toedtoes wrote:
I think where we're losing sight to the OP's post is that the person who reserved that campsite DID go to the campground and paid for the campsite for 5 days and then LEFT and didn't return for at least 2 days...

..This was someone who intentionally booked a campsite they had no intention of using for several days.

Wow. You seem to know a lot of details about the person who paid for the site. Was it you? If not, then I call BS on your assertion. You have absolutely no idea WHY they didn't show up. None.

And again, it did not, could not, would not affect the OP in any way shape or form, other than it was a nicer spot. Tough cookies; if you want the nicer spot, get there earlier or book earlier.

Lantley wrote:

4x4van wrote:
As has been said; there are numerous reasons for the original purchaser to not show up. Accident, injury, sickness, mechanical breakdown, change of plans, even a simple change of mind...but I don't understand how any of those could have possibly affected the OP in any negative way. Did the OP not get a site? Or was it just because the OP would have preferred THAT site? In actuality, the ONLY effect that it had on the OP was to make the campground less crowded; isn't that a bonus for the OP? Perhaps whatever prevented the purchaser from showing up was fluid in nature, and they still hoped to at least salvage a day or two. But again, it's really irrelevant.

My point is, nothing would have changed for the OP if the original purchaser HAD shown up. If I purchase something (a campsite, a concert ticket, ANYTHING)...it is up to ME to decide what to do with it, up to and including NOTHING.

I also see nothing wrong with what Dave54 is doing. He is paying for additional days (one early, one late); it is his decision on how to use those days; no one else's. Again, if I am paying for something, it is up to me on how to use it. The only possible problem is with the half-price issue; he is paying for 1 add'l day and getting 2.
Personally, I dislike the middle of the day check in/check out times anyway; it makes no sense to me. Either make it early in the morning, or late in the afternoon/evening. That way, I actually get to camp for the ENTIRE weekend, rather than spending Sunday morning loading up to leave at noon (or forcing me to buy add'l days like Dave54).

I think where we disagree is your right to do nothing with the site.

I can see one or 2 sites remaining open do to unforeseen circumstances but several sites being open smells of abuse of selfishness

Since we ARE talking about 1 or 2 sites, and not an entire campground, then I stand by my assertion that if I paid for it, I can do what I want with it. What's next? Complain because someone pays for a large campsite and only pitches a small tent? There is a campground that I frequent at the Colorado River, where I always book 2 adjacent sites; one for my motorhome, and one for a small tent since my kids and their significant others go along. Yes, I could fit the tent on my single site with the RV. But since I am willing to pay extra to have the extra room, it's none of your business what I PUT on that site, even if my kids back out and I decide to keep the extra site for more "elbow room".

Lantley wrote:

toedtoes wrote:
I think where we're losing sight to the OP's post is that the person who reserved that campsite DID go to the campground and paid for the campsite for 5 days and then LEFT and didn't return for at least 2 days. This wasn't someone who had an unforeseen circumstance happen, this wasn't someone who made a reservation online and added a day for an early arrival or late departure. This was someone who intentionally booked a campsite they had no intention of using for several days.

Out here, in campgrounds that are close to a large town/city, this is why there is the "must be occupied the first night" rule - because otherwise locals drive up to the campground and reserve 2 weeks so they can have their favorite spot on the weekends. For those who are from outside the area, they drive up to a no-reservation campground that is fully booked but there are a dozen empty sites.

For me, that's why I stay at reservable campgrounds in high season. I don't want to arrive after a 4 hour drive to find that the locals booked all the sites and are sitting at home watching tv while I'm driving around looking for a place to park, or worse, driving the 4 hours back home.

But that's why there are different rules at different campgrounds. Because there is no one rule that makes it "fair" for everyone. You just have to find the campgrounds with the rules that work best for you and stay away from the ones that don't. Or start boondocking. :)

I'm not naive enough to believe the drive away camper scenario does not exist. But I imagine it is not a major issue. I'm sure there are locals that may game the system sometime but I don't think it is an epidemic. Most people don't have that much time or money to waste on NOT camping.

There are areas where it is an "epidemic". Not every area, campground, etc., has this problem, but it does exist and in some areas/campgrounds it is a major issue. That's why there are different rules - because every campground and every area is different. Again, there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to campsites.

If I go to the office, reserve a site for 5 days,AND PAY FOR IT, it is my site to use as I see fit. If the site is occupied by someone after I PAY FOR IT, there would be he** to pay. Some people cannot take no for a answer.

toedtoes wrote:
I think where we're losing sight to the OP's post is that the person who reserved that campsite DID go to the campground and paid for the campsite for 5 days and then LEFT and didn't return for at least 2 days. This wasn't someone who had an unforeseen circumstance happen, this wasn't someone who made a reservation online and added a day for an early arrival or late departure. This was someone who intentionally booked a campsite they had no intention of using for several days.

Out here, in campgrounds that are close to a large town/city, this is why there is the "must be occupied the first night" rule - because otherwise locals drive up to the campground and reserve 2 weeks so they can have their favorite spot on the weekends. For those who are from outside the area, they drive up to a no-reservation campground that is fully booked but there are a dozen empty sites.

For me, that's why I stay at reservable campgrounds in high season. I don't want to arrive after a 4 hour drive to find that the locals booked all the sites and are sitting at home watching tv while I'm driving around looking for a place to park, or worse, driving the 4 hours back home.

But that's why there are different rules at different campgrounds. Because there is no one rule that makes it "fair" for everyone. You just have to find the campgrounds with the rules that work best for you and stay away from the ones that don't. Or start boondocking. :)

Respectfully, nobody is losing sight of the facts. Your scenario is quite plausible, even probable, but there are always other possibilities. The person could have driven to the campground and paid for the site with every intention of camping that very night. But, perhaps, his cell phone rang with a family or work emergency, so he did not go right to the site. Or perhaps he is local, drove to the park without his gear to see if he could get a walk up site, got one, paid for it, headed home for his gear, and had an accident (or had mechanical problem, or got arrested, or got an emergency call, or whatever). He did not cancel because he hoped to make it. Maybe he even called the Rangers to tell them what happened; he did not communicate it to the OP or anybody else posting here.

As to Bill Gates, hard to imagine he or anybody like him books campgrounds without planning to show up. But if somebody did book a big block of campsites and could not use them due to an emergency, blame the emergency.

I know people will walk up and pay for walk up sites mid week just to be sure they will have it for the weekend. Some places make them pitch a tent or something to show that it is taken, nobody is apt to check to see if somebody is actually sleeping there. Like you, I do. It want to drive to a walk up location to be turned away, so I want to drive to a reserved site. No wonder so many parks are switching to advance online reservations. People book the nights they want and leave the rest for others. So, if your assumption the person just badly wanted the weekend is correct, a reservation system would have served the OP and the weekender well.

toedtoes wrote:
I think where we're losing sight to the OP's post is that the person who reserved that campsite DID go to the campground and paid for the campsite for 5 days and then LEFT and didn't return for at least 2 days. This wasn't someone who had an unforeseen circumstance happen, this wasn't someone who made a reservation online and added a day for an early arrival or late departure. This was someone who intentionally booked a campsite they had no intention of using for several days.

Out here, in campgrounds that are close to a large town/city, this is why there is the "must be occupied the first night" rule - because otherwise locals drive up to the campground and reserve 2 weeks so they can have their favorite spot on the weekends. For those who are from outside the area, they drive up to a no-reservation campground that is fully booked but there are a dozen empty sites.

For me, that's why I stay at reservable campgrounds in high season. I don't want to arrive after a 4 hour drive to find that the locals booked all the sites and are sitting at home watching tv while I'm driving around looking for a place to park, or worse, driving the 4 hours back home.

But that's why there are different rules at different campgrounds. Because there is no one rule that makes it "fair" for everyone. You just have to find the campgrounds with the rules that work best for you and stay away from the ones that don't. Or start boondocking. :)

I'm not naive enough to believe the drive away camper scenario does not exist. But I imagine it is not a major issue. I'm sure there are locals that may game the system sometime but I don't think it is an epidemic. Most people don't have that much time or money to waste on NOT camping.

qtla9111 wrote:
All of a sudden everyone here is a lawyer. Take the best option and go boondocking. No headaches, no noisy neighbors and the views are always great.

Boon docking is not fool proof either. You can be all set up on 100 acres with no one around for miles and someone wiill pull in and set of 50' away.
or someone will run a genset 24/7 50 yards away.
I wish there were a foolproof approach but there are always pitfalls

All of a sudden everyone here is a lawyer. Take the best option and go boondocking. No headaches, no noisy neighbors and the views are always great.

I think where we're losing sight to the OP's post is that the person who reserved that campsite DID go to the campground and paid for the campsite for 5 days and then LEFT and didn't return for at least 2 days. This wasn't someone who had an unforeseen circumstance happen, this wasn't someone who made a reservation online and added a day for an early arrival or late departure. This was someone who intentionally booked a campsite they had no intention of using for several days.

Out here, in campgrounds that are close to a large town/city, this is why there is the "must be occupied the first night" rule - because otherwise locals drive up to the campground and reserve 2 weeks so they can have their favorite spot on the weekends. For those who are from outside the area, they drive up to a no-reservation campground that is fully booked but there are a dozen empty sites.

For me, that's why I stay at reservable campgrounds in high season. I don't want to arrive after a 4 hour drive to find that the locals booked all the sites and are sitting at home watching tv while I'm driving around looking for a place to park, or worse, driving the 4 hours back home.

But that's why there are different rules at different campgrounds. Because there is no one rule that makes it "fair" for everyone. You just have to find the campgrounds with the rules that work best for you and stay away from the ones that don't. Or start boondocking. :)