Reservation Rant for the Day

[Finally_Time]

I'm trying to make reservations for my summer big trip, 40 days, eleven campgrounds. Three of them have answering machines; "leave a message, we'll call back." So far only one has called back. Not a peep from the other two even after leaving multiple messages. Normally I would say forget it and call different campgrounds. But for one of them the only alternative in the area would have a negative rating if RV Park Reviews allowed minus stars. And the other would be my last stop and I really didn't want to drive another 50 miles that day. Now it looks like a stay in a dump and drive more.

Are these people really in business or what? If they won't even answer the phone are return a call, I wonder what the rest of their operation is like.

There now I feel better!

[wbwood]

westernrvparkowner wrote:

SDcampowneroperator wrote:
Ours is closed because there's a lot of snow & mid Nov. to mid Mar. temps can run to -35 f.
There is no business to turn away.
And yes,we are recharging our batteries preparing for another busy season at home.
It is not entirely a vacation, we bring along all the paperwork to do for last year and this one.
In our winter walkabouts, I can say for all parkowners I know, we learn from those camps we visit, leave a tip sometimes with them. A business that is not innovative, is dying.

A tip I would give any park that closes seasonally and doesn't regularly return calls and emails is to make it clear that they are closed, not returning calls or answering e-mails. Then I would make it equally clear when the park will begin to take calls and return e-mails. To just leave potential customers in limbo is inexcusable.

Agree 100%

[GraciesDaddy]

For "40 days and eleven campgrounds," I agree as well with what others have said here: Many campgrounds, right now, are closed for the season and usually don't reopen until March or April. I would definitely secure reservations... Especially for those CGs farthest away from home. It's just more than a little comforting to know that way out there, in CampgroundLand, someone knows we're coming and, in the words of Tom Bodette, will "...leave th' light on for ya!"

It's the Mister Rodgers School of RVing. 😉

Bottom line: If it makes you feel better/more secure to have a reservation for a site on someone's books/database... DO it. But, at the same time, lighten up... This stuff IS supposed to be FUN, Y'know! 😉

[hotpepperkid]

I used to make reversation for every place we were going to stop and now I rearly make them except for maybe some holidays and high profile places like Yellowstone. I just show up or call when I figure out where Im going to end up that day

[westernrvparkow]

SDcampowneroperator wrote:
Ours is closed because there's a lot of snow & mid Nov. to mid Mar. temps can run to -35 f.
There is no business to turn away.
And yes,we are recharging our batteries preparing for another busy season at home.
It is not entirely a vacation, we bring along all the paperwork to do for last year and this one.
In our winter walkabouts, I can say for all parkowners I know, we learn from those camps we visit, leave a tip sometimes with them. A business that is not innovative, is dying.

A tip I would give any park that closes seasonally and doesn't regularly return calls and emails is to make it clear that they are closed, not returning calls or answering e-mails. Then I would make it equally clear when the park will begin to take calls and return e-mails. To just leave potential customers in limbo is inexcusable.

[wbwood]

If they aren't responding within a week or having someone do it for them, then I would take it that they do not care about their customers or at least new ones. They may rely on the same people over and over. Sounds like a mom and pop thing. Which there is nothing wrong with, but when you run a business there should be a certain minimum level of customer service. As westernrvparkowner mentioned, if they don't have a website (especially nowadays) then you have to somewhat questio their dedication.

[SDcampowneroper]

Ours is closed because there's a lot of snow & mid Nov. to mid Mar. temps can run to -35 f.
There is no business to turn away.
And yes,we are recharging our batteries preparing for another busy season at home.
It is not entirely a vacation, we bring along all the paperwork to do for last year and this one.
In our winter walkabouts, I can say for all parkowners I know, we learn from those camps we visit, leave a tip sometimes with them. A business that is not innovative, is dying.

[Lantley]

To the OP the CG owners appear to be away for the off season. As others explained it is not financial feasible to man phones during the off season.
Furthermore we have a hard to time grasping that a place can be closed. The owners are not trying to spend their entire existence making money.
At some point they decided to take a break away from the CG.
They are will to lose sales for peace of mind and relaxation.
I see nothing wrong with that approach.
It's not always about money or making the sale. Your trip is months away. Be patient and wait until at least March before you go into Rant mode.
Many experienced owners have learned to get away while they can. This is there off season to enjoy themselves.

[westernrvparkow]

Finally Time wrote:
In response to the campground owners, the message I leave starts out with my name and telephone number, including my area code, then the type of site I want to reserve, the length of my motor home, the dates I want to reserve, and I end by giving my name and telephone number again. I do articulate well enough that others in general are able to return my telephone calls. One campground's website states "Reservations by phone only, reservations can be made year around." They don't even have a email address on the website, just the phone number. I have telephoned once a week for three weeks, no reply. The other campground's website says "Open year round." I have sent them an email and have also telephone once a week for three weeks. Both campgrounds are in areas popular enough that if you don't have a reservation you don't stay in that area. I guess that's why they can stay in business with such lousy customer service.

If everything you say is true, then I would be looking for another park. Interesting trip in that you say you are going to multiple popular vacation areas and there is only one RV park at each location. If a park won't invest in something as simple as a website, I would be very leery of everything else it has to offer. I would say they are probably sending a valuable message by not responding. I would listen to that message very carefully.

[Finally_Time]

In response to the campground owners, the message I leave starts out with my name and telephone number, including my area code, then the type of site I want to reserve, the length of my motor home, the dates I want to reserve, and I end by giving my name and telephone number again. I do articulate well enough that others in general are able to return my telephone calls. One campground's website states "Reservations by phone only, reservations can be made year around." They don't even have a email address on the website, just the phone number. I have telephoned once a week for three weeks, no reply. The other campground's website says "Open year round." I have sent them an email and have also telephone once a week for three weeks. Both campgrounds are in areas popular enough that if you don't have a reservation you don't stay in that area. I guess that's why they can stay in business with such lousy customer service.

[wbwood]

PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:

Oasisbob wrote:
My rant is that I was told I could not make reservations until a specific day and time. Out of boredom I checked site availability the night before and found several sites already filled.

All on-line reservation systems allow booking from the first day of the stay.

If I go on-line and book my two week Labor Day stay starting on Wednesday Aug 25 through Tuesday, September 8 - on the first day that Aug 25 reservations are available - and you look at that CG for Sept 4-7 before the Sept 4 bookings open - you will see my site as 'booked'.

Yes, it hurts the weekend camper who can't go early.

The reverse of requiring the entire stay to be in the booking window would result in many short reservations - and many one and two day open periods that no one wants.

hmmm...book a week ahead of the time you really want to go and book it for two weeks...then when the real day becomes available for booking, then you are already booked..then cancel the first week of your trip. May get charged a small fee, but would be worth it for hard to get into place......clever if it works...

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

Oasisbob wrote:
My rant is that I was told I could not make reservations until a specific day and time. Out of boredom I checked site availability the night before and found several sites already filled.

All on-line reservation systems allow booking from the first day of the stay.

If I go on-line and book my two week Labor Day stay starting on Wednesday Aug 25 through Tuesday, September 8 - on the first day that Aug 25 reservations are available - and you look at that CG for Sept 4-7 before the Sept 4 bookings open - you will see my site as 'booked'.

Yes, it hurts the weekend camper who can't go early.

The reverse of requiring the entire stay to be in the booking window would result in many short reservations - and many one and two day open periods that no one wants.

[SDcampowneroper]

Lantley wrote:
Relax you did say a summer trip correct? They will call you back. If they are not there it is not very likely the place will be book solid.
If it is off season maybe the CG staff is taking a vacation/break.
You have at least a month before CG's really get going in many parts of the country.
For better or worse this a normal during the off season.

Thank you, Lantley, for coming very close to why the OP did not get immediate reservations. Smaller parks in seasonal regions do not have the resources to have a 'live' reservation or answering service in off season. I'm certain that he would recieve a satisfactory response in due time to his request if he understood that even when a camp is open all year, does not mean that the office is manned all open hours or by personnel authorized to make reservations.
In my experience, we have had trouble replying to requests due to reply emails being sent to their junk, not being able to understand their voice mail on the recorder.
To minimize these issues, speak clearly and slowly when leaving a message, repeat the request. Give your phone # in a measured fashion.
when making an email request, enter the recipients address into your accepted mail.

[Lantley]

Relax you did say a summer trip correct? They will call you back. If they are not there it is not very likely the place will be book solid.
If it is off season maybe the CG staff is taking a vacation/break.
You have at least a month before CG's really get going in many parts of the country.
For better or worse this a normal during the off season.

[wbwood]

tsetsaf wrote:
OP this is a very common occurrence and I feel your pain. We currently have three outstanding phone calls to parks in Florida. Currently staying at one that did answer and was very professional. RV parks are the last largely mom and pop organizations. It reminds you why big retailers killed off the majority of the other mom and pop/ small retailers.

This is why the KOA brand charges a premium (and gets it) consistent professional service.

If you have been following industry trends you will agree that reservations are a must this next season.

Yep, I've been posting articles on our RVing Facebook page about the rise in RV ownership and the lower as prices. It will be crazy this summer for sure. That's if the gas prices don't double before then.