monkey44 wrote:
Comments folks make here are opinions
You listed your inaccurate opinions as fact. Your base presumption that RA is raising rates, charging more than the states should pay is simply wrong/ false information.
Yes, RA has raised rates - as new contracts have been awarded. They are now up to between $4 and $5 per transaction. Anything higher is money the AGENCY is charging users, not RA.
monkey44 wrote:
and never irrelevant or inaccurate. I don't make reservations because the system does not work as we need it to work AND because we watched it raise rates over and over - and many of the employees are rude when you try to go beyond the typical "Which days do you need", and "Oppps, we're full" ... and checking back over time, that hasn't changed - just because we don't make reservations and use a system that remains archaic doesn't make us ignorant of how it works.
That is a lot of opinion about a system you say that you do not use. A system which has been improving over time, and has worked to make their employees better able to understand the needs of campers/ RV'ers.
Like all tools, Reserve America takes training to learn how to use properly.
One also has to understand the limitations of the tool. The data on the Reserve America sites - both Recreation.gov and ReserveAmerica.com - is only as good as the originating agency supplies.
While a campground host at a national park, I compiled a new data set for the campground. Pictures of all 60 sites, accurate measurements, notes about which sites were suitable for RVs, which were not. The park staff said "Thanks but no thanks." They were worried about having to keep the data updated in the future, so they chose to just supply the least amount of data possible to RA.
I use it, well the Recreation.gov portal, at least weekly. Not to make reservations but for information. I want to know how fully booked a campground is, which sites are open.
Almost always when I arrive at a campground without a reservation, I can tell the gate attendant which site I want. Because I know the site is open, and I know it is not reserved for the length of time I want to stay.
I reserve about three or four a year - usually for major holidays only. But we frequently stay at a campground/ site which is in the Recreation.gov/reserveamerica.com system often
68 different campgrounds over the past four years for 403 nights.
I've never found the employees to be rude, but will agree that any large organization does have some bad apples, or some folks simply having a bad day.
Now from what I've seen about reservecalifornia, and my past career in IT.
These are my opinions.
The website was developed without much, or no, input from actual campers/ RV'ers.
The website was developed to be a social media portal "because social media is the wave of the future". It is designed to be graphical, use high bandwidth and cutting edge (imho unproven) technology.
The website made almost no use of the great volume of information the state of California and their state parks have compiled about their parks/ campgrounds/ individual campsites. As mentioned - the campground maps do not appear to be accurate, if the campground on the new website actually has a map. I've found several that do not.
In my professional opinion, the state of California is spending a lot more money on bring the reservation system in-house than they paid RA, and will be four or five years at this higher cost - which will be passed on to campers - before they get to the functionality of RA.
