What is it with campgrounds nowadays?
Well we've been on the road now for about 2 months. It's been a few years since we've rv'd and boy have things changed with the campgrounds. Not only are they more expensive (like everything else in t...
Forum Discussion
So far, in answer to "why do they do that?", we have heard:
1. people makes reservations and don't cancel and don't show;
2. park/campground management wants to get the "bad" sites occupied;
3. park/campground management is referring to only the sites that meet the customer's requirements;
4. park/campground management has closed down loops/sections/sites for a variety of reasons;
5. the park/campground may be empty when you arrive, but will fill up while you are still there;
6. people overbooking (either booking more sites than needed or for more days than needed);
7. seasonal campers who are away at the moment;
8. "by reservation" sites must be kept open for reservations;
9. it's a marketing scheme;
10. a way to turn away undesirables;
11. a way to charge premium prices;
12. sites are kept open for walk-ups;
13. private parks can do what they want;
14. incompetent park/campground staff;
The truth is, no one really knows why. Most of what is listed above is supposition or based on a single experience. If you are experiencing this a lot, I suggest you start asking politely "so, why aren't these sites occupied?" and start gathering data. Then you can hopefully find a pattern so you know how to work around it (e.g., if the pattern shows that the sites are held open for walk-ups, then perhaps next time don't make reservations so you can choose from the walk-up sites).
1. people makes reservations and don't cancel and don't show;
2. park/campground management wants to get the "bad" sites occupied;
3. park/campground management is referring to only the sites that meet the customer's requirements;
4. park/campground management has closed down loops/sections/sites for a variety of reasons;
5. the park/campground may be empty when you arrive, but will fill up while you are still there;
6. people overbooking (either booking more sites than needed or for more days than needed);
7. seasonal campers who are away at the moment;
8. "by reservation" sites must be kept open for reservations;
9. it's a marketing scheme;
10. a way to turn away undesirables;
11. a way to charge premium prices;
12. sites are kept open for walk-ups;
13. private parks can do what they want;
14. incompetent park/campground staff;
The truth is, no one really knows why. Most of what is listed above is supposition or based on a single experience. If you are experiencing this a lot, I suggest you start asking politely "so, why aren't these sites occupied?" and start gathering data. Then you can hopefully find a pattern so you know how to work around it (e.g., if the pattern shows that the sites are held open for walk-ups, then perhaps next time don't make reservations so you can choose from the walk-up sites).
