2 night min stays - negotiable?

[Txsurfer]

I have noticed that some parks require at least 2 nights and was curious if any here have had any success negotiating that to a single night? I guess it's about supply and demand but I would assume a park half full would welcome the add'l REV.

[mowermech]

That's why I am on wheels. If I don't like the park policy (ANY policy), I can easily get on down the road.
I have only encountered policies I could not accept twice in all our years of travel/camping. One was a 2 pet rule, just East of Seattle. At the time we were traveling with 2 indoor cats and a dog. They were firm, it was all handled with a phone call, and we never even darkened their access road. They lost a 13 week rental.
The other was South of Everett. It stated firmly in their website list of rules "NO firearms allowed". I wasn't carrying at the time, but I didn't even bother to call them. Same thing, they lost a 13 week rental. But then, they didn't know it, so no great loss.
The RV park in Poulsbo was very happy to have us. IIRC, we ended up staying 26 weeks.
The park makes their own rules. I am very happy to assist them in enforcing their rules by finding another place where I will be welcome, "warts and all".
Of course, that also applies to the dreaded "10 year rule".

[tenbear]

Walmarts are a good bet if you are just stopping for the night and then continuing on your way. Just check with the management.

[wa8yxm]

As noted. you don't know till you ask.. But I have had it happen that I stayed one night in a "2 night minmum" park and friends 2 nights in a 3 nights minimum hotel.. We just had to pay for the 2nd/3rd night.'

In the case of the friends it was kind of funny. . The hotel was in Las Vegas here is the condensed story
Normally when visiting Vegas they had stayed at a hotel well away from the strip, but it was booked solid for a convention.. So I said "Give me a few and I'll see what I can find"

Found them a room on the strip, it was 3 nights minimum, but the 3 nights cost them the same as 2 in the "outlying" hotel so it was no more money.

And of course when they wanted to visit the casino instead of a 30 minute drive in a car.. It was a short ride in an elevator (Circus-Circus was the one I put 'em up in).

[doxiemom11]

We have only run into this if it is a busy park, during special events, or on holiday weekends.

[Dutch_12078]

The only places we've found an exception to a 2-3 night minimum on occasion were when we rolled in late in the day with no reservation looking for an overnight spot, and the park had a few one night holes in the bookings.

[rhagfo]

Txsurfer wrote:
in all fairness it is the weekend after Memorial Day so that prob has something to do with it. Panhandle of FL

Makes perfect sense, why rent for a single night, when you might get three nights, supply and demand doubt that the park operator has an issues with getting more than enough people to fill the spot for the two night minimum.

[westernrvparkow]

Crowe wrote:
We never waiver from our pricing policies. To do so is tantamount to saying you don't have a pricing policy. What do you think the reaction from all the people who accepted the two night minimum policy be if they found out others didn't have to follow that policy?

Disagree on both points. To me it says "yup, we have our policy but under CERTAIN circumstances we may waiver". As far as the reaction goes, I think more people would be in the "wish I had thought to ask!" category. I'd be far more apt to stay somewhere that's willing to bend than at a cg that only deals in black and white. I fully understand policies like that and don't have any issue with them, but also agree that a site booked for one night is better than a site booked for 0 nights.

And if I book that one night stay and three of the people who would have booked the required two nights, now only take one night, I am down two nights' rents, not up one.
Most of these policies come from one of two situations.
The first being holidays, where there is little likelihood of arrivals in the middle of a three day weekend.
The other is where guests tend to overstay the last day and not vacate the site until late in the afternoon. This happens a lot at parks on lakes, near amusement parks, and other daily use businesses and attractions. Can't really blame people for trying to get two days packed into a one night stay, but the parks are in business to make money, not accommodate every whim of every guest. Requiring two nights is advantageous to the park as a means to minimize that situation.
A simple solution for a park in the your example is to only allow one night stays based on availability for drive in guests, no advanced reservations. That keeps the park's policy in place and offers those who only want one night to at least have a chance of getting that site. I think you will find that is the policy at most parks that have minimum stay requirements at certain times.

[Txsurfer]

in all fairness it is the weekend after Memorial Day so that prob has something to do with it. Panhandle of FL

[Crowe]

We never waiver from our pricing policies. To do so is tantamount to saying you don't have a pricing policy. What do you think the reaction from all the people who accepted the two night minimum policy be if they found out others didn't have to follow that policy?

Disagree on both points. To me it says "yup, we have our policy but under CERTAIN circumstances we may waiver". As far as the reaction goes, I think more people would be in the "wish I had thought to ask!" category. I'd be far more apt to stay somewhere that's willing to bend than at a cg that only deals in black and white. I fully understand policies like that and don't have any issue with them, but also agree that a site booked for one night is better than a site booked for 0 nights.

[BB_TX]

Last minute reservations would likely be more successful than trying to get a single night far in advance.

[Veebyes]

I can understand a weekend, certainly a holiday weekend minimum. Now, if you drive up, no reservation, & they refuse putting something in an empty site, well silly them. A Walmart is seldom too far away. This is why RVs have water tanks, batteries & inverters.

[NYCgrrl]

DutchmenSport wrote:
We bumped into some of this when attempting to make reservations the week of July 4 (July 1, 2, and 3). We'll be traveling all 3 days, and only want a single night, so we can keep moving the next day. We had several just simply tells us they were already booked. I could tell by the hesitation in their voices they were not. They were thinking, what if we can't get someone booked the full week-end adjoining the 4th of July! I could sense it in their voices.

Well, we did get all 3 night booked, thanks to good old KOA. They aren't picky. I think they know they'll have one-night transients every day that week and booked solid at that!

I think the KOA policy might depend on ownership and locale.....the closest KOA to me has a 3 night minimum for the 4th of July holiday which ought to be wonky this year since it falls on a Tuesday.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

One night stay? Well, why not boondock instead?

Txsurfer wrote:
I have noticed that some parks require at least 2 nights and was curious if any here have had any success negotiating that to a single night? I guess it's about supply and demand but I would assume a park half full would welcome the add'l REV.

[DutchmenSport]

We bumped into some of this when attempting to make reservations the week of July 4 (July 1, 2, and 3). We'll be traveling all 3 days, and only want a single night, so we can keep moving the next day. We had several just simply tells us they were already booked. I could tell by the hesitation in their voices they were not. They were thinking, what if we can't get someone booked the full week-end adjoining the 4th of July! I could sense it in their voices.

Well, we did get all 3 night booked, thanks to good old KOA. They aren't picky. I think they know they'll have one-night transients every day that week and booked solid at that!