โJun-04-2015 01:42 PM
โJun-06-2015 07:58 PM
โJun-06-2015 07:35 PM
westernrvparkowner wrote:wnjj wrote:Where would you draw the line on legitimate reasons and who is going to be the judge? I can say my mother in law died hundreds of times. Same with I had mechanical problems, got called to jury duty, dog ate my homework and on and on. How would you know if someone kept a reservation somewhere else? There is no way anything can be verified. Either you have a refund policy or you don't. Creating one with all sorts of loopholes, exceptions and gray areas means you don't have a policy.GordonThree wrote:Robin1953 wrote:RRinNFla wrote:I suspect that if they got zero refunds you would see a lot less of this. Losing $500 (hypothetically) as opposed to $17.50 would be a great deterrent. If a cancellation costs minimal dollars I suspect the practice will continue.
I don't think Michigan's system would stop this practice. These folks make four separate reservations, then cancel the ones they don't want at the last minute. They do pay up front, but if they cancel they get all but 17.50 refunded.
Sounds fair to me... zero refund policy for reservations - the airlines can do it, and many hotels, why not campgrounds?
How about a compromise to help out folks with legitimate reasons? If you have a reservation somewhere that you keep, no refund for all of the rest that you cancel. So if you only have one reservation in the first place and cancel it, you only pay the fee. Or if you only cancel some percentage of the days (like 1/4) on your reservation you only pay the fee. The last one would stop the 2-weekend bookers who book 10 days just to get one weekend.
Also don't allow refundable cancelations all the way up until the last minute to allow time for others to book the spot. Cut off all refunds a few weeks out.
โJun-06-2015 03:02 PM
Naio wrote:Rich people get rich precisely because they care where every dollar goes. They aren't into wasting money. It's actually the language they most understand. Stiff cancellation fees absolutely puts a brake on multiple unused reservations. That is experience talking.
I'm a business owner. I make my living by looking for opportunities that have not yet been developed by other people. This puts me in the weird position of being, AFAICT, the farthest-left person on this forum, but unbothered by the unregulated systems described in this thread.
I like the contradictions this thread brings out! In me and everyone. They tickle my brain.
As for fairness, well, I don't like any system that makes me have to get online in the wee hours :). I think a lottery system would be much more fair to people who have to work, etc.
Anything that involves fines, cancellation fees, etc., will have no effect on people with money but will be a serious hardship for people with less.
โJun-06-2015 02:26 PM
โJun-06-2015 10:40 AM
โJun-06-2015 10:32 AM
Naio wrote:
It's pretty humorous to see a long thread on a fairly conservative forum, where people are almost unanimously arguing against the free market and for increased regulation.
'Regulation is needed to protect the little guy' is the foundation of liberalism.
And y'all are saying the parks should comb through their data, find the patterns that show them who is gaming the system, and write software that spots those patterns and blocks them. Are you voting for increased taxes to pay for that, at standard software engineers' salaries?
I'd vote for it, but I am a bleeding heart treehugger :).
โJun-06-2015 08:05 AM
โJun-06-2015 08:03 AM
โJun-06-2015 07:30 AM
westernrvparkowner wrote:x96mnn wrote:Not bad, except it would strongly benefit the locals and punish the out of towners. The locals wouldn't care if they had credits, they would just use them instead of cash for the next trip. No skin off their teeth. The visitors from far away who had to cancel due to a legit reason might never get to use those credits so they would be out the full $150 in your example while the guy who really abuses the system, books every weekend, only planning on using it when the weather is good, would be out $15.00 .
As an idea,
All bookings are paid in advance.
Cancelation fee would apply of 10% of the booked value
Refund would be of non cash value but camping credits.
Camping credits used for future bookings, being non cash value would not be refunded during cancelation.
Example, I book 10 days in July, pay 300 up front. I show up for five, my bill is $150 for the days I use and I get a camping credit of $135 for the canceled days. I book 5 more days and show up, I use my camping credit for the $135 and pay the extra $15. I do not show up I am out the $135 camping credits and I receive a $13.50 camping credit for refund on the $15 I spent out of pocket.
System is not perfect, it helps those who cancel for legit reasons. It does not help those who live a lifestyle that causes frequent change. System in use today's does not work for everyone, any system implemented will not work for everyone.
โJun-06-2015 07:26 AM
x96mnn wrote:Not bad, except it would strongly benefit the locals and punish the out of towners. The locals wouldn't care if they had credits, they would just use them instead of cash for the next trip. No skin off their teeth. The visitors from far away who had to cancel due to a legit reason might never get to use those credits so they would be out the full $150 in your example while the guy who really abuses the system, books every weekend, only planning on using it when the weather is good, would be out $15.00 .
As an idea,
All bookings are paid in advance.
Cancelation fee would apply of 10% of the booked value
Refund would be of non cash value but camping credits.
Camping credits used for future bookings, being non cash value would not be refunded during cancelation.
Example, I book 10 days in July, pay 300 up front. I show up for five, my bill is $150 for the days I use and I get a camping credit of $135 for the canceled days. I book 5 more days and show up, I use my camping credit for the $135 and pay the extra $15. I do not show up I am out the $135 camping credits and I receive a $13.50 camping credit for refund on the $15 I spent out of pocket.
System is not perfect, it helps those who cancel for legit reasons. It does not help those who live a lifestyle that causes frequent change. System in use today's does not work for everyone, any system implemented will not work for everyone.
โJun-06-2015 12:37 AM
4X4Dodger wrote:majorgator wrote:
It's very presumptious to put a negative label on all the folks who make reservations like this. The truth is, we do this ourselves sometimes. As a contractor who works all over FL, my schedule changes almost daily. I might make a reservation for a certain week months in advance, only to have to cancel it the week before because it coincides with a bid...or a bid date changes. Sometimes, instead of picking a certain date, I have to select a date range and make reservations (sometimes multiple) accordingly.
Also, here in FL, this happens terribly during scallop season along the Big Bend area. People will reserve an entire month or 2 of hotel/resort rooms and campground sites just to make sure they get 1 or 2 good weather weekends. I've heard of people reserving MANY rooms at the hotels over a 2 month weekend, then brokering them out for higher fees. Now there IS something to say about that crap...
I am sorry but as a hotel owner in the past in a resort area I cannot imagine that any hotel is allowing this. The person who makes the reservation or the person named in the reservation must be the person standing in front of me with ID to get that room.
I really question the authenticity of this.
Further any hotel that lets one party reserve a block of rooms over a long period is going to ask for a substantial deposit. or full payment of the first night at least. Again I think this is mostly "urban Myth" material...
โJun-05-2015 09:59 PM
โJun-05-2015 09:36 PM
โJun-05-2015 05:06 PM