RVers around the country complain they see supposedly “full” campgrounds with many sites never occupied. Call them “ghost” campground reservations. People aren’t sure where they want to go, so they reserve campsites at multiple campgrounds, pick their favorite, and never show up for the others. In the end, it maddens people who want to go camping, but can’t find a site. Would you “ghost” a campground reservation if it cost you a $3,000 fine?
Ghost campground reservations will bite
It hasn’t yet happened in the U.S., but one Australian state says ghost reservations will bite the finger that made them. Queensland’s Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI), that oversees many recreation sites in the Down Under, now has a ghost reservation tool with real teeth.
“It is now an offence to not attend a booked campsite or to put up tents and leave them unattended for more than 24 hours without a reasonable excuse, such as in an emergency,” a DESI spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia.
Those who make ghost reservations and fail to turn up are liable for an immediate fine of $322.60. A maximum fine of $3,226 – plus a date with a judge – can also be levied.
“This regulation means people booking campsites and setting up equipment to exclude other campers will now run the risk of being fined and having their camping permits canceled,” the DESI spokesperson told the Australian news agency.
Your thoughts on ghost campground reservations?
What do you think? Should authorities in America take similar, hard-handed steps against those who make ghost reservations? Please put your thoughts in the comments section.
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Hard to argue that if folks are paying for a campsite, whether they are there or not is not anyone else’s business. The resort we used in Florida would prefer that you paid and never showed up.
Something needs to be done to stop the abuse!!
$3000 sounds a bit steep, but $100 should get people’s attention!
For the people that are willing to walk away from several reservations $100.is nothing.
Yes, it sucks that people don’t care about their fellow campers and are being jerks about it. At the very least, they should forfeit any fees paid and put on a list forbidding them from making any reservations in that campground system for a couple of years. Maybe not being allowed to reserve a site in the state parks or national parks would make them think twice. There are other systems like KOA and other large chains that could implement the same policy.
So, these RV’ers are able to make multiple reservations when we can’t even make any. What’s their secret in obtaining multiple sites when CG overcrowding is prevalent throughout the U.S., at least that’s the consensus.
Bots (which should also be illegal to use).
Let’s just see if this works first before getting in a tizzy. I just say pay or not you don’t show up by 6 pm or give the park a call you forfeit your spot and your money. Honestly the few times I have had to cancel at the last minute. I called and talked to the park and they were so appreciative of my calls I got my money back
i think “ghost” reservations have become a real problem. the only way to alleviate this issue is to make it hit people’s pocketbook. it is very frustrating to finally get a reservation and spend the weekend looking at all the empty sites. it is not that hard to cancel a reservation if you are not going to use the site. be considerate of your fellow campers
Yes, leveling meaningful fees for failing to cancel reservations people know they won’t use should be done here in the states as well!
I like this idea! Maybe it will teach people to make up their minds and say, “We’re going to go HERE”, instead of dithering and reserving multiple campsites in multiple locations, and then only picking one. Makes it more fair for everyone else. Obviously, give them a chance to cancel their reservation or call in for late arrivals, because let’s face it, sh*t happens. But the “reserve ten/only show up at one” thing has GOT to go! Bring it to the USA, please!
America should do the same.
Yes, Yes, Yes. It’s just selfish to reserve and don’t show, it excludes others from enjoying
It’s about time someone came up with a decent idea. “Do the crime, pay the fine.” It’s about the only punishment that usually works with these campground outlaws, hit em in their cashbox. Good going Aussies.
We are experiencing this right now! We’re in a lovely campground, and wanted to stay two additional nights. The site we were in was prime. We couldn’t reserve additional nights as all four of our preferred sites were booked for FIVE days each. All four sat empty last night and tonight. Implement a fine for no shows, no tells. But after dealing with Reserve America the past three days, make it convenient to cancel!
Slippery slope ripe for abuse. Who is the arbiter of a “reasonable excuse?” The jealous folks coveting the RV site? Maybe the campground host? Perhaps some faceless, corpulent, pink-haired individual that hates their job? While I personally find it annoying, if they paid for the site but didn’t show up, so be it as it wasn’t mine to begin with and didn’t take money from MY pocket. Lets put things in perspective, as I look at all the destruction from the last two hurricanes, I think there are more important things to worry about than someone paying for a campsite and not using it. Like my dad used to say “It’s not all about you.”
Actually they may have taken money from your pocket if you had to drive another 50 miles because the campground was full but no one was there.
An alternate to that narrative is to call ahead and reserve. Like we said in the military “prior planning prevents p— poor performance.”
That’s right, it’s not all about you. Picture a refugee from Florida trying to find a place to camp, turned away onto the street because campgrounds are ‘full up’, but not really. I guess they would just be ‘jealous’ ‘covetous’ folk who don’t deserve a campsite?
Do you have proof of the above example, or is it supposition?
Good to see GrumpyVet still spewing his royal views to all us peons. Grumpy wears a red hat.
Absolutely, charge those individuals who deliberately book sites with no intention of using them. And charge them B-I-G. A $20 fine will be nothing to them; however, a $2,000 fine will make them think twice. As far as who determines whether there was a “reasonable excuse” for not showing up for the site, let the judge work that out.
Who is the judge? Judy? Wapner? Ito? You? Me? I thought envy was one of the deadly sins?
I agree 20 is chump change but 2K is over the top how about twice the daily fee for days reserved.
I booked sites at 13 different campgrounds, 5 months in advance of my travel dates to travel to MN. Northern campgrounds were the hardest to book sites. But, when we arrived at the booked locations that were supposedly full, and I was just lucky to snag the spot I did get, then to find many sites were open and the people at the desks said they were upset as well as the ones that booked the sites didn’t show up. . I had to try 61 different campgrounds to get reservations at 13 locations. If one can’t make it to the campground, they should at least call to let the campground know they are not coming.
Did the campgrounds get their money? If so, why are they upset?
So Grumpy, are you part of the problem? Sure appears so.
Not on your life! But what I observe is the waah, waah, waah attitude that “it’s all about me attitude” for envious RVers that have a perceived “grievance” for not being able to secure a RV site that they think they “deserve.” No show suck, but the business still gets their money. If the site was occupied or not, it’s paid for so where’s the “personal” slight to the others? Help me understand.
campground gets their money only if fully paid in advance with no refund possible.
Not all campgrounds work on this model now becoming more the norm in the hospitality industry.
Interesting, with the exception of KOAs, I’ve always HAD to pay in full in advance, so that is the model I’ve been working with. If the camper is a no show without prior contact, why can’t the campground just “resell” the campsite? If “everything is booked” as some lament, I am pretty sure there are apps that notify you when cancelations occur?
“Not on your life! But what I observe is the waah, waah, waah attitude that “it’s all about me attitude” for envious RVers that have a perceived “grievance” for not being able to secure a RV site that they think they “deserve.” ”
Actually, you are so far off base there really isn’t worth trying explaining it to you. May all the sites you try to reserve be unavailable.
Cheers
When we rented a car a couple weeks back Enterprise charged us a $300 fee refundable if the car was returned undamaged. Maybe it’s time for campgrounds to do the same- charge a $100 refundable no show fee with the campsite reverting to an available status if people haven’t arrived by 11 pm of the first night reserved. If people do show up that $100 would be refunded to them.
This is great, except it puts a burden on low-income people trying to get a little inexpensive recreation.
Campgrounds should cancel the reservation if there is a no-show after 48 hours and immediately open it up for others. Since many of these no-shows don’t care if they recoup the money, place their names on a restriction list and don’t allow them to reserve any campground in their system for minimum 6 months. Cancel any reservation they have in this punishment period. They will quickly learn to show up or cancel their reservations. Flag their license number, CC number and addresses so they can’t try and game the system.
Agree with the idea of restricting future use. But cancelling a no-show after 48 hours is a joke, by that time the weekend is over and some other family has been deprived of a campsite. Plenty of parks already have this rule, it doesn’t help except in very crowded areas where standbys will hang around trying to get an unused site.
It would be a great move if BLM and USFS went this route. Private campgrounds can do what they want.
If I book a campsite, then I go to the campsite. If for some reason, I can’t go, then I call the office and cancel. I also camp host at SC State Parks, so I understand what the issue is about no-shows. Some people have a good reason to not come, such as an illness, or family emergency, but they usually call the campground and let them know they aren’t going to make it there.
I like the idea of a 2 or 3 k fine and blocked from reserving for 12 months at any campground in the system they are using. There are too many people who only care about themselves.
Another thing that could be implemented, with State Park reservation systems or Recreation.com is to block a reservation from being made for the same time. It would be easy to do in the software. At least that would keep people from making several reservations for the same time and leaving several unused.
All reservations should be only fully prepaid in advance with a no refund policy except in exceptional circumstances: death, major illness — both requiring outside verification.
Hotels/motels now doing this on a regular basis. Time for campgrounds to do it too.
A) Reserve by the license plate of the RV.
B) A license plate number can only be active for a single reservation on any given date range and the tag cannot be expired.
C) Sites cannot be occupied by vehicles tagged different than what was reserved. This eliminates using multiple accounts and email addresses to hoard and cherry-pick.
D) More than one cancellation in a year disqualifies that tag from reserving sites for the rest of the year. That allows for the one-off “oops” that everyone refers.
No need for hiring more people to chase fines, just eliminate the source of the exploits versus building a system to respond to them.
Yes, yes, yes. Make them pay!
Sounds like a great idea!
We would never Ghost a campsite. If we have to cancel for any reason, we always inform the park immediately and free up that site for others. In MI, (State Parks) there is a fee for this based on how long you have held the reservation until you cancel.
We understand this and accept that. We totally agree that there should be a penalty for wilfully Ghosting a site. We have seen many times, Campsites with travel trailers, tents, and motor homes left unattended on sites for more than a few days. It is wrong and should be dealt with. Rules that are not enforced and not Rules at all. If you don’t plan on going don’t book that site. There are plenty of others who Want to be there.
YES!……I just had to cancel my reservations at a Wa.State Park. I had a hard time finding out how to do it. I called for help and still didn’t understand. Probably because I’m inept at a few things these days.
I just went back and started my reservation process all over again and BINGO..I was able to open up 3 sites over 4 days for another happy camper.
Turns out the rains hit Whidbey Island and I am sitting at home in the rain..
I would never ghost a campground. If I owned one, deposit would be substantial, maybe half of the stay. If people don’t show up by the end of the campgrounds open hours without calling or emailing, the site is opened & we’d keep the deposit.
The more and more I see this abuse, the more and more I believe State Parks, and definitely Federal campgrounds should go back to the first come – first served system. If you want to have reservations, make them at private campgrounds, and they can deal what ever punishment they deem necessary for no-shows!
I was leaving MT last week and before leaving was having my wheel bearing repacked when he found a frozen brake! I had planned to boondock that night so no problem. My second night would have been at a campground in UT. I called them immediately when I realized I wouldn’t be leaving that day and make the reservation for the next night and they just changed me to the next night…no problem they had one space for that night. In fact when I got there they had another site open and told me to take my pick.
Australian policy seems good and fair.
Campgrounds should do like the hotels do!
Get your card number in advance and if you don’t show they charge you for the FULL length of scheduled stay! However if you cancel not later than the scheduled start date of your reservation then there would be no charges to your card.
Campgrounds should do like the hotels do!
Get your card number in advance and if you don’t show they charge you for the FULL length of scheduled stay! However if you cancel not later than the scheduled start date of your reservation then there would be no charges to your card.
I don’t think the government should get involved in this type of thing.
What is the campground’s incentive to want people to show up? If a campground receives a booking with full payment but the visitor doesn’t arrive, they get to keep the money and enjoy less work, fewer expenses (electric/sewer/water use, etc) without having to hire the staff necessary to maintain a full campground. Plus, given the increase in horrible campers, staff often prefer no-shows. I’m a camp host and I’m speaking from experience. I’m not saying it’s right, but there is another side to the story.
Also, weasel goals lead to weasel behavior. The decision to fine speeding drivers is a great idea to keep people driving slower, but the unintended consequence is cops being incentivized to write lots of speeding tickets (income!) but not being available to come when you call to report a crime in progress.
I’m normally for fines, but I think that after 48 hours your reservation is cancelled and no refunds. Also, you are prohibited from staying in that reservation system, (State, County, City, etc..) campground for the next 6 months. So, you lose your money but now if you have a reservation at a different campground, you lose that one also. And no refund. That is the punishment. Pretty soon RV’ers will cancel their reservations on time. And if they try and game the system, like using a different credit card, name, (wife, brother, sister} then they are restricted another 6 months to a year. They will be staying in an expensive private campground that will keep tract of the no shows.
Should authorities in America take similar, hard-handed steps against those who make ghost reservations? Yes!
If someone isn’t going to show up, and can’t even be bothered to cancel and free up the reserved site, they should receive enough of a penalty to really bite them in the butt.
In my area they have 25% of the sites not reserve-able so you can stay the 14 day limit, and reserved spots are marked 3 days in advance so you can show up for a 3 day stay in the reserve-able spot. Definitely agree with no cancellation you get charged the 3 days and reservation fee.
Thank you, Russ and Tina! Although a $3000 fine certainly seems punitive enough to significantly reduce unused reservations that are not canceled, it also seems a bit excessive. A much lower fine would be a better solution, particularly for a first violation. Losing reservation privileges does seem an appropriate punishment, especially after multiple violations. Thanks again, have a great weekend, and safe travels! 🙂