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]

mdcamping wrote:

OutdoorPhotographer wrote:
I love the KOA in Queechee, VT. Not resort style although they have a pool that I don't use. Friendly management, lots of trees, nice bath houses, and great BBQ or pancakes at a local joint across the street.

X2!

Great BBQ across the street!, loved the smoked chicken and DW loved the pulled pork! :C

Mike

We normally cook but pulled in late on Friday night the first time we stayed there and I was looking for good food to grab. So glad we arrive late! And, ditto, I usually go with smoked chicken and DW pulled pork.

Had to cancel our Memorial Day reservation because daughter moved out of school that weekend. I was bummed.

[Skid_Row_Joe]

kknowlton wrote:

I will politely ask if you've stayed in a $60 hotel lately? Really hard to get a room that doesn't stink for less than $85 and that's when you are no where near any attraction or maybe in a crowded enough place that competition gets a holiday inn or Comfort Inn down to that rate.

And there definitely won't be a spa, pool, or gym for $60/night.

Amen to that. Hotels (with similar amenities) that used to charge $30/night several decades ago now go for $120-180/night. That's just the way life is.

Super 8s are now in the $70 and Up range now. That's kind of the entry-level motel number today.

The Marriot Courtyard in Mission Viejo, CA., just off of I-5 is $239.00 a night. That's not bad, given it's location. With smallish towns now sporting Hilton Garden Inns, Holiday Inn Expresses, Marriot Town Places and Mariott Fairfield Inns, etc. for $115-$140 a night, that's kind of the going rate nowadays.

[Skid_Row_Joe]

FordDiesel250 wrote:
That is why we always try to stay at State Parks first. KOA's used to be camper price friendly but not any more. Way over priced for a family on a camping budget.

We don't stay at KOA affiliate CGs either. Not if we can help it.

With prices in some areas above $100 a night, we expect all the amenities to be there, including location. That's really our first priority anyway - location.

[kknowlton]

I will politely ask if you've stayed in a $60 hotel lately? Really hard to get a room that doesn't stink for less than $85 and that's when you are no where near any attraction or maybe in a crowded enough place that competition gets a holiday inn or Comfort Inn down to that rate.

And there definitely won't be a spa, pool, or gym for $60/night.

Amen to that. Hotels (with similar amenities) that used to charge $30/night several decades ago now go for $120-180/night. That's just the way life is.

[scout_dad]

Just booked a 3 day stay at nearby KOA and it was less than $40 a day, got a special priced weekend for fathers day. This CG is little more depends on time of year, than others.
Breaking up trip, heading straight for another CG , not KOA for a 5 day trip.

[mdcamping]

OutdoorPhotographer wrote:
I love the KOA in Queechee, VT. Not resort style although they have a pool that I don't use. Friendly management, lots of trees, nice bath houses, and great BBQ or pancakes at a local joint across the street.

X2!

Great BBQ across the street!, loved the smoked chicken and DW loved the pulled pork! :C

Mike

[dodge_guy]

I have paid upwards of $120 a night!!! for the right campground with the right amenities it can be well worth it.

[OutdoorPhotogra]

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.

I would love to boondock. Not that easy in a pop-up, particularly when just making an overnight stop in route. I will politely ask if you've stayed in a $60 hotel lately? Really hard to get a room that doesn't stink for less than $85 and that's when you are no where near any attraction or maybe in a crowded enough place that competition gets a holiday inn or Comfort Inn down to that rate.

And there definitely won't be a spa, pool, or gym for $60/night.

[gcloss]

You should see the nightly prices of some campgrounds in the Northeast where $80+ per night is not uncommon.

[qtla9111]

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.

[OutdoorPhotogra]

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.

^ This. I still love tent camping in a State Park, but not all the time. There was a time I wouldn't even check KOA's because I thought they were expensive. Now I check every time. If I have a weekend to camp, I'm going to a State or National Park. If I'm traveling, I like the consistency of KOA and like stated, they are going to be consistent with rates of other parks in the area. Maybe a little more but not $60 compared to $30 if you are comparing apples to apples, like full hook up. If I'm making a one night stop and the KOA is near my route and offers reasonably level sites, that's a winner. They also tend to have clean bath houses which I need with a pop-up. I love the KOA in Queechee, VT. Not resort style although they have a pool that I don't use. Friendly management, lots of trees, nice bath houses, and great BBQ or pancakes at a local joint across the street. Central location to tour VT. I do think I paid $60/night the last time I visited - the third week of October in Vermont when bad hotels were $200+ IF you could find a room. I didn't complain about the price.

[jplante4]

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.

[3oaks]

FordDiesel250 wrote:
That is why we always try to stay at State Parks first. KOA's used to be camper price friendly but not any more. Way over priced for a family on a camping budget.

That's the way I see it too. Families with small kids and on a budget are hit the hardest at KOAs. The ones that can least afford it. 30+ years of camping, never stayed at a commercial park. State, National, C.O.E. and national forest campgrounds are the greatest for enjoying nature at it's finest. 😉

[Army11Bravo]

colliehauler wrote:
Their campground their rates, your money your choice.

No truer words have been spoken. Those of us that like KOA's will pay their prices, those that don't, won't. But there is no starting price of $60. Many are much lower.

[westernrvparkow]

agesilaus wrote:
If you look at RVPARKREVIEW you'll see that most of these KOA's were in the $35-40 range last year, so this price jump occurred over the winter. Yes I know that high demand areas like the Florida Keys are always more expensive. So only CG Devils Tower KOA being the one and only CG explains that price jump. But I hardly think that Bozeman is a tourist mecca.

Bozeman is one of the primary interstate connections for Yellowstone, Interstate 90. It's airport is poised to be the busiest in Montana by 2020, surpassing Billings. It is a college town. It is the access point of Big Sky Montana, home of some of the most exclusive mountain real estate in the world, rivaling Jackson and Vail. Bill Gates, Former Vice President Dan Quayle, Pro Golfer Anaka Sorenstan, Tour de France winner Greg Lemond are among the property owners. Bozeman is a prime destination for Fly fisherman with the Yellowstone, Gallatin, Madison and Missouri rivers minutes away. It is between multiple mountain ranges and is considered one of the best outdoor recreation communities in the United States with Hiking, biking and mountaineering opportunities everywhere.
It has very tough zoning, can't just plop an RV park down anywhere. It has tremendously high land prices. No couple of hundred or thousand dollar an acre plats. There is a great shortage of RV spaces, you won't find an unsold site from June thru September. Prices in the $50s to $70s are very reasonable for the area during the prime season.