The #1 camping information and booking app, The Dyrt, says it was nearly five times harder to find campsites in 2022 than it was in 2019. The new 2023 Camping Report reveals that last year was the most booked-up year on record, with campsites being twice as scarce in 2022 as they were in 2021.
In 2019, only 10.6 percent of respondents had difficulty booking a site due to reservations being full, while in 2022, this figure ballooned to 58.4 percent. The report also found that the number of campers in the United States has increased by 15.5 million over the past two years, to more than 80 million campers across the U.S.
To meet the increased demand, camping property managers and private landowners are expanding capacity, adding dates, and offering new types of camping. In 2022, 35.7 percent of property managers added campsites, while 18.6 percent expanded their calendars. Additionally, 48.6 percent raised rates in 2022, and 46.4 percent planned to do so in 2023. Among those who introduced new types of camping, 44 percent added “glamping” options.
Despite campgrounds being fully booked, cancellations do occur frequently. To help campers, The Dyrt recently launched The Dyrt Alerts, which are availability scans that send text notifications when a sold-out campground gets a cancellation. Campers can select up to five sold-out campgrounds to receive alerts for.
To learn more about The Dyrt and try a free 30-day trial with code “rvtravel”, click here.Â
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1st #1app? I don’t think so. 2nd, who did this report? 3rd, Nice advertising for the Dyrt! It’s this kind of deception that makes me often scroll right past RV travel articles. It’s too bad because there is a lot of good I might miss.
We RARELY have a problem booking reservations our way. We just plan a little in advance and generally have no problem getting our first choice of RV Parks when travelling. This article looks like an infomercial for DYRT who I had never heard of before now so it worked. But alas, have no need for their service at this time. There is no crises.
Scare / Sales tactic! Never had a problem booking! We have our 6 favorite areas we go to. Call them up, hand pick our site, off we go. These “ads” are getting more and more common on here. What used to be fun to read is now a quick scroll and then delete. Tired of all the naysayers, we can’t get in here, we can’t get in there, RV’s are too big, those people just sit in their class A all day and never come out, blah blah blah.
I’m sorry. Figures don’t lie, but liars figure. I find reports like this very bias and misleading. Yes there are more campers, and yes, depending on where you are trying to stay, it may be more difficult to find reservations. But these generalizations are misleading. They need to provide a stratification of where they have problems getting reservations. We have never and let me repeat – Never had issues getting reservations, but we do not use our camper as a hotel at big time vacation attractions. Reservations are tough at Orlando but never an issue in OK at the Settle Inn outside Pawhuska. So lets get a little more accurate / specific about this supposed reservation issue. JMHO.
Interesting, as we book a month near Gulf Shores area. We are booked in a very nice resort for $1,200.00 for June all inclusive. These are privately owned lots. Many vacancy’s there as many want $1,500 to $2,200 per month. In fact I am finding that overpriced sites in many places are not booked except for holidays.
Well there’s a sales tactic as old as time itself. Put out a “News Release” scaring people into thinking they need your product. Kind of like advertising “Leaf Filter” in the desert SW where less than 5% of homes have rain gutters. I’m not saying the Dyrt is bad, just pointing out a marketing technique.
Harder, yes. But are there actually 5x fewer sites?
Where I used to pick up the phone and make a quick call to book a site, I now have to make a LOT more calls, do a LOT more research, and perhaps take a site that was not my first choice. That does not mean sites are not still available.
However, I am more frequently forced to book sites that (1) do not have the amenities I wanted but have everything we need to bunk down for the night; (2) are further distance from the area in which we are visiting; (3) at first glance look a little run-down or not in the best area of town; (4) priced way more than we think reasonable.
Perhaps if we looked at this from the other side of that coin, we would see that “back then” when we were booking sites without problem, there were also hundreds of empty sites not being booked? More likely, campsites are finally reaching full capacity which simply leaves us with far fewer choices.
Traveling from SJ to Indianapolis. Left Sunday. Did book all parks in advance, but one just a month ago. Of the 5 rv parks we have stayed in so far, only one was pretty full. This was in Cheyenne, Wy. The reason, workers. The woman at the desk said they have another park 40 miles away & for rodeo week in July they are making workers move to other park. They are also planning to do away with worker sites as they can make more money w/travelers. BTW, 1st experience w/dynamic pricing. Price was $61 at booking (which was too high for this park). Prior to arrival checking website for info, price showed $20 to $40! Called & they adjusted price.They do not like DP, but part of RJourney which uses it. All other parks, plenty of spaces.
An advertisement like this should always be identified as such right up front. Hope the Dyrt paid you good money for this.
I read several of your email newsletters each week and always find useful information. I was dismayed reading your first article this morning about it being 5 times harder to book an RV site. The article quotes The Dyrt and seems to be an ad for The Dyrt rather than a new article. I have no problem with ads but wish that you would more clearly identify them Thank you
Well Said, Bonnie…