What is it with campgrounds nowadays?

[luvmydogs]

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 this world) but I dont understand something they all seem to do. I cant even count now how many times when calling the campgrounds for a site was told "only have one left". So when getting there I'm assigned a spot with also being told, "oh we're booked" or "only have one site available". Well what hogwash that has been just about every single time now. So if its not true, WHY SAY IT? It's been about every single time we've checked in with just a few exceptions. The campground we're in right now, I was told at check in that was the only spot they had. Well, it was grossly unlevel and our services didnt reach, so they gave me another spot. So what happened to that being the ONLY spot available??? And as we sit in the park, most of the sights are empty. Same with almost every campgroun. SO WHATS THE DEAL? Can anyone tell me why they outright lie like this?

On an end note I stupidly joined KOA since I remembered them being some of the better campgrounds years ago. NOT!!!! Dont waste your money. I've found over and over again, that KOA changes there rates depending on who you talk to. Not a good way to do business in my book.

[toedtoes]

Looking at the poster's screen name can offer a clue also. Especially if it includes "owner" and "operator"... 🙂

[SDcampowneroper]

toedtoes wrote:

Us out West wrote:

toedtoes wrote:
#3 above was posted by a park owner/operator.

#3 what???

And your point being?

Reason #3 in my list was posted by a park owner/operator earlier in this thread. My point is that there HAS been a park owner/operator who has provided input - which is what the other posters have been asking for.

Thanks .
a look at profiles can be helpful.
Max

[Swampman597]

Thanks westernrvparkowner, you bring up some good points.

Do you have any insight into what the issue originally was - only having one spot left yet seeing many open ones the whole time they stayed there?

[toedtoes]

3. park/campground management is referring to only the sites that meet the customer's requirements;

Here is the original comment:

SDcampowneroperator wrote:
This is a tough topic to reply to.
The problem isn't what KOAs, Good Sams or public parks do, its about changing travel plans, size, needs and wishes of the guest.
How we read this is that if the guest says they have a ( ) long 5er or mh, needs pull thru with sat. tv. capability for x many days, our flag goes up.
Where is the dome on your rig? Which provider? ( in our location, dish is at 185 , direct at 169 degrees. thats a big chunk of southern sky!) Sorry for our tall trees.
In this scenario, our camp might have only one or none of many that suit the request.
On the reservation issue please understand the camps position of no deposit or deposit required, with penalty for late cancellation or no show. Many others may have been turned away or told only one site left that suits you.
Max

[luvmydogs]

Can you copy #3. I dont know which post your talking about. Sitting in a gorgeous state park tonight and the same thing. Was given one spot and told there wasnt much else and NO ONE IS HERE! I know there not all reserved.

[Us_out_West]

fj12ryder wrote:
Sorry, but I've never had that happen so I can't tell you why, unless you're engaging in hyperbole. 🙂

Agree...never had that happen.

[toedtoes]

Us out West wrote:

toedtoes wrote:
#3 above was posted by a park owner/operator.

#3 what???

And your point being?

Reason #3 in my list was posted by a park owner/operator earlier in this thread. My point is that there HAS been a park owner/operator who has provided input - which is what the other posters have been asking for.

[westernrvparkow]

joe b. wrote:
We have a number of campground owners that are members of this forum but I don't believe I have ever heard any of them mention going camping, owning an RV or ever having owned an RV. I like to talk to the staff/owners/managers while I am in their campgrounds to see what their back ground is regarding running a CG. Most had little or no experience with RVing, it just looked like a good way to make a living to them. My wife and I many years back considered buying a campground, even attended a seminar in Montana at one of the big franchise chains. After about two days we were asking ourselves why we would give up RVing to run a campground and put up with RVers? LOL

I did a lot of travel with my last job prior to retiring and usually stayed in hotels/motels, and found most of the management had prior experience at that line of work, or had at least stayed at a hotel themselves and knew what people might want in a hotel. But not so with campground owners, many have never camped at an RV park because they have never owned an RV.

My pet peeve, especially when we are towing our 5th wheel, is to request a level site from to back and side to side, when making our reservations. But only to arrive at the campground to find the, so called level sites anything but level, in any direction. For a one night stop, we often will not unhook our rig for the night, but when they are unlevel you end up having to do so.
When discussing this with the campground owner, to him, a non RV person the site was level. If I held my head tilted to almost touch my shoulder and looked down, I could almost make it look level also. LOL

I often will ask to see the site prior to committing to rent it. As someone mentioned above, some owners/managers will load up their bad sites first, so if someone later asked to see the sites, they have some good ones to show.

Seems to me, on this forum we read more complaints from campers regarding how they are/were treated poorly at some campground than complaints about actual physical problems at the campgrounds.

The lack of training of some of the campground staff is appalling, at some places. No one in the office seems to have ever walked through the campground, have no idea which sites will work with the different sized RVs, which sites get muddy when it rains and the list goes on. Others are well run and have great employees, but it is all up to the owners to see which group they have at their campground, IMHO.

We tend to spend about 100 nights a year, in our RVs and have done so for many years. I was looking at my KOA account and saw that last summer, we spend nights at 27 different KOAs over the summer months and one of them we stayed at a month, in western Colorado.

I talk about my rig often. I know several other park owners who post here mention their rigs as well. There isn't a business that doesn't have all the problems you mentioned. Every talk to tech support for your computer or your phone? Ever deal with an airline? I am not sure the problems don't have less to do with incompetence and more to do with overly optimistic expectations. The front desk doesn't need to know exactly which sites are what, they can call the outside staff for help if there is a question. You wouldn't expect the receptionist at the doctor's office to diagnose your ailments, you expect them to get you to the doctor. Even something you see as simple, leveling sites, is not all that easy. What is pool table level at the start of a season can be several inches off after a few rigs have parked and there has been rain and heat and cold. Ideally, sites are slightly crowned and slightly sloped so they drain quickly. Perfectly level isn't all that great if it is under 4 inches of water after a rain.
And why would someone need to be an RV'er in order to understand running a park? Going back to my doctor, he doesn't need to have cancer to know how to treat it. I am pretty sure the guys who work on Gulfsteam Business jets don't have a personal one in the garage. Running a quality park isn't rocket science. Most anyone with ambition, patience and some common sense can handle the day to day operations. It's running the business side that separates the wheat from the chaff. That's were many parks falter.

[Us_out_West]

toedtoes wrote:
#3 above was posted by a park owner/operator.

#3 what???

And your point being?

[toedtoes]

#3 above was posted by a park owner/operator.

[Swampman597]

@joe b; exactly what I was wondering too. One of the things that I enjoy about Escapees is they are mostly, active RVers and seem to avoid nuisance things like you mention at their parks (Apologies if this isn't allowed) because they have experienced them personally.

It would be helpful if we could hear from some of these folks.

[joe_b_]

We have a number of campground owners that are members of this forum but I don't believe I have ever heard any of them mention going camping, owning an RV or ever having owned an RV. I like to talk to the staff/owners/managers while I am in their campgrounds to see what their back ground is regarding running a CG. Most had little or no experience with RVing, it just looked like a good way to make a living to them. My wife and I many years back considered buying a campground, even attended a seminar in Montana at one of the big franchise chains. After about two days we were asking ourselves why we would give up RVing to run a campground and put up with RVers? LOL

I did a lot of travel with my last job prior to retiring and usually stayed in hotels/motels, and found most of the management had prior experience at that line of work, or had at least stayed at a hotel themselves and knew what people might want in a hotel. But not so with campground owners, many have never camped at an RV park because they have never owned an RV.

My pet peeve, especially when we are towing our 5th wheel, is to request a level site from to back and side to side, when making our reservations. But only to arrive at the campground to find the, so called level sites anything but level, in any direction. For a one night stop, we often will not unhook our rig for the night, but when they are unlevel you end up having to do so.
When discussing this with the campground owner, to him, a non RV person the site was level. If I held my head tilted to almost touch my shoulder and looked down, I could almost make it look level also. LOL

I often will ask to see the site prior to committing to rent it. As someone mentioned above, some owners/managers will load up their bad sites first, so if someone later asked to see the sites, they have some good ones to show.

Seems to me, on this forum we read more complaints from campers regarding how they are/were treated poorly at some campground than complaints about actual physical problems at the campgrounds.

The lack of training of some of the campground staff is appalling, at some places. No one in the office seems to have ever walked through the campground, have no idea which sites will work with the different sized RVs, which sites get muddy when it rains and the list goes on. Others are well run and have great employees, but it is all up to the owners to see which group they have at their campground, IMHO.

We tend to spend about 100 nights a year, in our RVs and have done so for many years. I was looking at my KOA account and saw that last summer, we spend nights at 27 different KOAs over the summer months and one of them we stayed at a month, in western Colorado.

[Swampman597]

There are some good points being brought up and Toedtoes did a great job of summarizing them.

There must be some campground owners/managers in this group so what do you have to say? Not from a defensive position but if there is a CG owners forum that has an occasional subject like this being raised from your perspective. If there is, then great because we might be able to "walk in each others shoes" a little and understand how we can help each other. It would be nice to hear the other side of the story too.

[atreis]

luvmydogs wrote:
Okay so I understand at some state and national parks that people reserve and I'm told if they dont show, that spot sits empty. So them I say shame on you because you stop others who need the spot. I can only hope you loose your deposit or fees. BUT, this is not the case with alot of campgrounds as even the one I'm in now I was told there was one spot which was bull. The place after 3 nights has been half empty.

SP and NP: Yes, if people don't cancel, they still have to pay even if they don't show, and the site will be unoccupied. If they do cancel, they may still lose some of the fee if they cancel too close to the date, and the SP or NP will allow someone else to reserve the site. If no one reserves it, it will be available for walk-ins. (Really don't know why private campgrounds don't operate this way ... But then, there are many things I don't know and I suppose they have a reason.)

Your specific private campground: No clue why that person at that park behaved that way. Only that person knows.... Your recourse: don't go back, and let others know to avoid the place.

[toedtoes]

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).