KOA standard charge now $60?!

[agesilaus]

Got hit with a $65/night charge at Devils Tower KOA and the same at Bozeman KOA(walked out) and I see St Mary's KOA is now $60. No more KOA for us

[OutdoorPhotogra]

mileshuff wrote:

Skid Row Joe wrote:
Do you have any specific examples of these "$60 a night" hotels? I don't know of any with; "a spa, pool, and a gym," all for $60?

True if you only book hotels at rack rate. I stay at 3-4 star hotels quite often for $50-$75/night. Hilton, Sheraton, Crowne Plaza etc.

That said I don't complain about $60 for a decent RV resort spot. On the California coast during summer its quite common to see spots priced at $80-$110+.

So what site do you use to get those rates? There is a big gap between rack rate and $75. Few people are paying rack rate. The next question, is are those rates easier or harder to get on short notice for one night? It's a whole other conversation but my preference in a condo from VRBO if I'm not using our PUP for vacation. You can get a lot of bang for your buck.

[mileshuff]

Skid Row Joe wrote:
Do you have any specific examples of these "$60 a night" hotels? I don't know of any with; "a spa, pool, and a gym," all for $60?

True if you only book hotels at rack rate. I stay at 3-4 star hotels quite often for $50-$75/night. Hilton, Sheraton, Crowne Plaza etc.

That said I don't complain about $60 for a decent RV resort spot. On the California coast during summer its quite common to see spots priced at $80-$110+.

[Skid_Row_Joe]

qtla9111 wrote:
Boondocked all the way through the western U.S. and then across Canada down through the Great Lakes and back into Canada four months. The few times we paid it was never more than $20 or less thanks to Passport America. $60 a night I would pull into a hotel, use their services, park in their lot and use my own kitchen at dinner time and free breakfast in the morning with use of the pool, spa and gym.

$60 and above is nuts. It's not about whether I have money or not, but what is really best for my needs. We saw so much wilderness and beauty on our last summer's trip I have pretty much sworn off rv parks all together.

Do you have any specific examples of these "$60 a night" hotels? I don't know of any with; "a spa, pool, and a gym," all for $60?

[BubbaChris]

There was another thread on here recently where a couple of (non-KOA) park owners jumped in. One shared that on average a private CG will change owners in about 3.5 years. From that I can guess that very few of them (CG owners) are getting rich off us RVers.

We stayed at a KOA last weekend and I was impressed with how well staffed they were from a maintenance perspective. It showed in the restrooms/showers and at one point we took note of how many of the different amenities were being used by the other campers. Probably in part because of how inviting the "care" made everything.

They had new folks working the front office, so that experience wasn't up to par. But they were nice and I'm sure they'll learn to do it better.

[westernrvparkow]

rockhillmanor wrote:

jplante4 wrote:
I always get a kick out these threads. People driving around in motorhomes worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars complaining about paying $60 for a place to park it.

Before making flipent remarks like this there are VERY 'different' ways people RV. Weekend, vacation, snowbird, full time.

IRREGARDLESS of what 'type' of RV they have it is how OFTEN they use CG's that makes a difference regarding the costs of CG's NOT the cost of what type of RV they are capable of owning. :R

$20 bucks per night here or there for a week end trip or a vacation most certainly will not break the bank for the weekend warrior or for someones once a year 10 day vacation.

FYI:
For the full time and Snowbird RV'er traveling on the road.
60.00 x 30 days = $1,800
28.00 x 30 days = $840.00

Hmmm, possible savings up to $1,000 a month? Don't care who you are a millionaire or not. It's about prudent 'smart' management of ones finances. Just saying.:W

You can play that game with most any purchase. But I don't believe those two campgrounds are comparable. The $60.00 a night place has advantages over the $28.00 place. It might be location, it might be amenities, it might be the $60 is an overnight rate and the $28.00 is the daily rate if you stay for a month. But it isn't a comparison of apples to apples.
What I find amusing about these threads is that the option is not paying $60.00 or nothing it is really about paying $60.00 versus what that person somehow feels should be the price. I have asked a few people over the years who though my price was too high, what they thought the price should be. Most don't even answer, and those that do give some insane amount like 20% of what the rate really is. If that $60.00 site was $56.00 instead, would that really make life hunky dory? It is quibbling over very small amounts of money.

[OutdoorPhotogra]

2gypsies wrote:

jplante4 wrote:
I always get a kick out these threads. People driving around in motorhomes worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars complaining about paying $60 for a place to park it.

Most retirees driving big motorhomes or big 5th wheels with an expensive truck have saved many years for the privilege of buying it! They are not rich as you seem to infer.

We used public campgrounds 95% of our 16 years of full-timing. Not only because of the senior discount but because we'd much prefer being surrounded by nature than being surrounded by row after row of RVs.

I don't think it was a slam on folks being rich or not - we're all RV'ers at some level on this site. I think the price point is different for full-timers and vacationers. A full-timer (or frequent retired traveler) has more flexibility to stop in route where rates are lower and can go state park to state park. As a working family, if I'm on a 2-3 week trip for summer vacation, there is the stay portion and the transit. For us, the stay is almost always a national park. For the transit, I stick to a safe distance per day and try to be set up by 7 PM at the latest but I don't have the luxury of doing 100-150 mile days. If my schedule is get to the border of NY and MA, then I just need to find a decent campground that doesn't divert me off my route more than absolutely necessary. $60 near my route is better than $40 off of it.

It's also about balance. On our cross-country last year, we stayed at 3-4 KOA's averaging around $50/night, 2 Jelly Stones at $50-60, 1 municipal at $12, several private campgrounds and a national park. Loved the $12 municipal in MN for the setting although bath house was a dump. That was fine for the price and a couple nights. Worst experience was a campground in NE that was basically a parking lot, $60+ the best I remember, and had the bath house locked and decided not to leave the code for us after we called ahead to say we would arrive after the office closed. No campground host. What you get for $60 varies.

[2gypsies1]

jplante4 wrote:
I always get a kick out these threads. People driving around in motorhomes worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars complaining about paying $60 for a place to park it.

Most retirees driving big motorhomes or big 5th wheels with an expensive truck have saved many years for the privilege of buying it! They are not rich as you seem to infer.

We used public campgrounds 95% of our 16 years of full-timing. Not only because of the senior discount but because we'd much prefer being surrounded by nature than being surrounded by row after row of RVs.

[bee_46]

Been on the road for 8 nights now traveling across the country. Seven of those 8 nights have been at different KOA's. We have not spent more than $50 a night, and most nights much less than that. The one night we were not at a KOA we regretted it.

[wbwood]

rockhillmanor wrote:

jplante4 wrote:
I always get a kick out these threads. People driving around in motorhomes worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars complaining about paying $60 for a place to park it.

Before making flipent remarks like this there are VERY 'different' ways people RV. Weekend, vacation, snowbird, full time.

IRREGARDLESS of what 'type' of RV they have it is how OFTEN they use CG's that makes a difference regarding the costs of CG's NOT the cost of what type of RV they are capable of owning. :R

$20 bucks per night here or there for a week end trip or a vacation most certainly will not break the bank for the weekend warrior or for someones once a year 10 day vacation.

FYI:
For the full time and Snowbird RV'er traveling on the road.
60.00 x 30 days = $1,800
28.00 x 30 days = $840.00

Hmmm, possible savings up to $1,000 a month? Don't care who you are a millionaire or not. It's about prudent 'smart' management of ones finances. Just saying.:W

Yeah but a full time or snowbirder don't move several times a week. Most of the time, they are there for weeks or months at a time and take advantage of long term rates. And more than likely they will not be staying in a tourist destination during prime time. Those that do, are only there for a week or so at the most. And those usually don't have an issue paying that amount.

[wbwood]

Who said RVing was cheap? I would expect to pay that much at a KOA in that location. Find another park in the area that is cheaper. $60 is an average price to us for a private park. We normally only stay in private parks when at a destination (like the beach or any other tourist area). Otherwise, the majority of our stays at county, state and national campgrounds.

[fil564]

I think it is all about what you are willing to pay for, we stayed in our first KOA last year in Virginia and it was priced less than some of the other campgrounds we stayed in on that trip mainly because of the location to other destinations. There are other independent campgrounds that charge more or less depending on where they are located to the attractions in the area. I do admit, there are some that are pricey and there is nothing special around them. Thee is one about an hour and a half north of us that is that way.We are going to Michigan this year and staying in 2 different KOA's because of their location to what we wanted to do, availability,and because the other on our trip needs a 50Amp service and some campgrounds do not have it. We are staying 10 nights and paying a total of about $430. The way I look at it is that is about 2-3 nights in a mid level hotel, so I am not complaining!!

[rockhillmanor]

jplante4 wrote:
I always get a kick out these threads. People driving around in motorhomes worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars complaining about paying $60 for a place to park it.

Before making flipent remarks like this there are VERY 'different' ways people RV. Weekend, vacation, snowbird, full time.

IRREGARDLESS of what 'type' of RV they have it is how OFTEN they use CG's that makes a difference regarding the costs of CG's NOT the cost of what type of RV they are capable of owning. :R

$20 bucks per night here or there for a week end trip or a vacation most certainly will not break the bank for the weekend warrior or for someones once a year 10 day vacation.

FYI:
For the full time and Snowbird RV'er traveling on the road.
60.00 x 30 days = $1,800
28.00 x 30 days = $840.00

Hmmm, possible savings up to $1,000 a month? Don't care who you are a millionaire or not. It's about prudent 'smart' management of ones finances. Just saying.:W

[dodgboy]

If you check State of California parks with hook ups the price ranges from $40 to $80 a night. Most of the desirable parks are in the $65 range.

[soren]

abc40kids wrote:


Any more a decent cg is gonna be 65 or better and if it's cheap it probably shows.

We are on the road about 2/3rd of the time. I would say that we spend $65 or better, about once a month. We are currently at a stunning place in the San Juan mountains in Co. It's $34. We just had a decent string of using Passport America, and ending up in nice campgrounds, all of which were less than $20/night.

[Lauren]

I am amazed - and, quite honestly, pleased.

I thought this would turn into yet another KOA bashing thread but almost to the opposite. I think people made their points well and, surprisingly, most people were positive of KOA.

We have stayed in exactly 175 different RV parks in our 17 years part time RVing. What we have found is that it is location, season and amenities - KOA or other (and KOA tends to have more than the average place I think).

We were thinking of perhaps heading back up to Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Glacier, etc in 2016. All places in those areas we have stayed and all the prices have gone up considerably in the last few years. And only one is a KOA.

We used to live in Estes Park, CO and the prime season rates have skyrocketed and the places have, in our mind, gone downhill considerably over the last few years for the summer. Location, location, location and timing, timing, timing.

We won't stay there anymore - we stay down in Loveland at Riverview RV Park and love it.

So, everyone, enjoy your time and the place you stay - $20 or $150 per night is YOUR choice in most cases.

Be safe.