It’s already happening, and you can expect it will be happening more often beginning this summer: RV parks are raising the price of a campsite based on demand. Midweek, when plenty of spaces are available, the cost of an overnight stay would be lower. But as the weekend approaches, and sites begin to get booked, the cost would go up. A $35 site for Tuesday night could end up at $60 on Friday night, or even more. Want a site for next July 4th weekend? Expect the highest rates of the year!
In a recent RVtravel.com reader’s poll we asked, “Would you pay $80 for a $40 hookup campsite if it were the only available site for 50 miles?” More than one-third of the 3,425 readers who responded answered yes. That $80 price would likely be a result of “demand pricing.”
RV parks owners won’t even be involved in the process. Sophisticated reservation systems will do all the work, changing prices by the minute. Just as airlines charge more for a last-minute flight, so will RV parks.
The good news about this is that, if you’re willing to pay a premium price, you might snag a campsite you couldn’t otherwise. The bad news is that the cost of camping, overall, will climb, especially in the “high season.”
I say let the price rise until demand equals supply. I’d much rather have the option of staying at a high-priced location than having no availability of low-priced sites.
We are staying at a resort in Georgia for four nights and that is exactly what they did. They charged double for the last night. If we were not meeting friends that were coming from a long distance we would not have done it.
The American way. I have avoided and will avoid overpriced RV spots. Being under 30′ helps.
Free-market campitalism
After a lifetime of camping, It seems like every time I turn around there is something new that is pushing me toward selling my 5er and saying, it’s been fun but I’m outta here !
We have been paying the price through the west and central states. One site went up from $36 to $80 for a fully booked Saturday night and as we had reservations for the following week paid the inflated price.
We have ourselves and fellow campers to blame for higher prices. Everyone wants to camp. Let them pay the price.
Sadly, it’s All about the “Dead Presidents”, who can get the most of’em wins mentality.
did you turn down all of your offered raises?
That is absolutely not analogous to the facts presented here. Raises are given because one brings value to the company. Surge pricing is instituted with no reciprocal increase in value to the consumer.
The increased value to the consumer is that you get to stay where you want..
As a former business owner, I was counseled that if a client *could* pay more, they *should* be charged more. My wife and I never felt that way. Our services would cost $X.xx. It didn’t matter if we were selling to a local restaurant or to Microsoft themselves. I have no problem with a business raising their prices, but based on their costs and their model, not based on “surge pricing”. The more we let businesses get away with this, the more they WILL do it and it becomes the norm. You must fight back with your dollar. When I answered the poll above, the majority says they don’t like it, but they’ll probably pay it. That is NOT fighting back. Of course, this is my opinion.
…and mine as well Will. Thank you for your business ethics! Refreshing in this day of what seems to be doom and gloom. Add the current administrations energy policy and many won’t be able to get out the driveway let alone afford to park somewhere.
Ditto to both comments. Control your greed.
If their advertised price is in their ad then I would consider that price gouging. I would be willing to pay a small percentage over the advertised price but there is a limit to that. If it is an overnight stop no to maybe, depends on how tired we are.
we are a greedy species.
not greed, business.
Greedy business.
Disagree, greed from top to bottom is killing our country. Everything is about the almighty dollar.
It’s their choice as they own the property but it’s my choice to tell them that they will not be getting my money!
Econ 101…supply and demand
Ditto on what Rich said. Supply and Demand. Nothing wrong with this.
Why should they charge more. In the winter I can’t use the pool or other outdoor facilities but I don’t see any reduction in price!!!!
Most campgrounds do have off season rates.
it is simply called “price gouging” and those who participate should be ashamed of themselves.
Being a consumer, I’m not happy parting with more money but it is a case of supply and demand. If you don’t like the rates at one place, find one that you do. I think the increase in the amount of people RVing will soon level off and probably decline some in a few years.
It’s really no different than charging more for special events in the area. We have been going to Americade in Lake George NY for many years. They do raise the prices for that week by about 25%.
One thing to remember, crowded campgrounds require more staff to take care of the place and “baby sit” the campers. then clean up after the inconsiderate ones leave a mess.
Sure, crowded campgrounds require more staff (expenses)f but that is offset by more campers(revenue)
One thing that should not happen is to raise the rate if you already have a reservation made at the lower price.
It is just supply and demand. That is what capitalism is all about. So, we better get used to it. Just like with the airlines and hotels; reserve early and pay the cancelation fee if needed.
Capitalist system of supply & demand. As energy (gasoline, light/power) costs increase, the honest (non-greedy) businesses absorb the costs as much they can, then what they can’t absorb gets passed along to the consumer. Happens every hour of life! Regardless, enjoy what you can with family and friends, life’s too darned short as it is and I prefer to “freely” spend it in these United States. 😎
👍
We are very much used to paying peak ( summer/holidays ) prices at the RV park where we go at least 6 times a year. We store our trailer there also as I don’t tow anymore plus they can also do maintenance if I need it. The down side is this park is very popular !
Might as well get used to higher prices for everything, because of the pandemic. The cost of living in the World is going to sky rocket, it is going to take decades to even get close to a stable economy again. Life is going to be a wild roller coaster ride for quite some time, buckle up now!
No BIG change, Cheryl. It has been a roller coaster most of my life.
Another way of wording the question: “charging less when demand is low”.
In most ways America has always been this way. When business is the best, then they charge you more? America . . . land of the greedy.
Rving is rather seasonal for most folks. Parks have to make the money in the good months in order to make it thru the lean months. That is the way seasonal business works.
We were forced to change a reservation by a resort type campground last year. We had the option to change the date to our desire. We did and will use it in July. Their rate increase is 20%. They already have a three day non refundable deposit. Their option was to reschedule. At 72 years old someone might get a nice Newmar before too long. Time to hang up the keys.
This practice had been going on for years. I know for certain that the Indianapolis KOA has charged more for race weekends for 25+ yrs. We’ve been to many campgrounds throughout 50+ years of RVing that had higher rates for holiday weekends and during festivals. The rates in Florida and Arizona during the winter are higher than in the summer.
You are right Roy. This is nothing new.
Do I want to pay more? No. But this is America, the land of opportunities and economy. And when/if I don’t want to pay more, then this is the land of freedom and opportunities and I can go elsewhere.
I can understand requiring A premium for local special events or a mandatory three day commitment. I do not like the idea of raising the price because we are almost full.
You’re an RV park, not an airline. If you structure your pricing as though you were I’ll just stay somewhere else. High season and low season pricing okay, but gouging is not.
Supply and demand are part of free market economics. Hopefully they’ll reinvest the extra money in updating their parks.
Many do. When special events happen they raise their prices. I worked in one that each spring for the ‘wine festival’ when they opened new wine and the Balloon festival in the fall they would almost double their price. We still sold out so many I guess don’t mind. I do though – I would find somewhere else to park.
Quartzsite and many places where ‘snowbirds’ frequent raise prices in the winter and lower them in spring through fall.
I guess everyone wants to make more $ when they can, but I also think during special events their costs also go up. They need more staff to handle all the extra cleaning and things that come with it. So I have mixed feelings .
As new RV owners/retirees, we want to travel & see & do many things time did not allow when we were working. With increasing campsite prices, along with skyrocketing gasoline prices, our dreams may have to be adjusted. As a PA resident, our gas taxes are the 2nd highest in the country, with CA the only state higher than PA. It costs a fortune to fill our gas tank in PA. Businesses need to make up for income lost during COVID-19; hopefully campground owners will be reasonable & not take advantage of consumers. The govt is not making it easy for the retirees to enjoy the “golden” years, especially with proposed new taxes. And traveling with pets makes hotels unaffordable. I hope RV parks don’t start charging $25+ for dogs like hotels or our new RV will be parked. But until then, we will enjoy!
It seems I can always find a campground with somewhat reasonable rates. However it may not be the nicest one in the area. My guess is a lot of keys will be hung up due to the cost of fuel.
Its called price gouging by some and economics by others depending on whether you have a moral compass and what your views on fair value are based on. I have no problem with a campground owner making a fair profit and running a business can be amazingly complicated but with proper planning one can make reasonable revenue and cost predictions and ultimately a profit and return on their investment. Greed is a tough thing to control though.
It’s called supply and demand.
I’v always done what I can afford and not done what I can’t afford. I never made a lot of money but still traveled when gas was $4.00 a gal. No smart phone expenses, no cable TV expenses. I save for what I really want to do. I would have little problem with gas prices back up there as that is fewer people on the road to bother me. “Stupid RV park prices” will probably have a space for me if I just drop in at the last minute and most likely still less than motel costs. Food, gas and lodging are still a good deal in the good ol’ USA compared to a lot of other countries.
Here in the U.K., it is normal for prices to go up and down depending on the time of year, the school holiday time pricing is way more expensive compared to term time pricing and bank holidays are just as expensive if not more so.
and that goes for all types of holiday places, not just campgrounds.
Unfortunately for now, it’s something we just have to put up with but if you look around then there are cheaper options to be had most times, which does make thing easier on the wallet.
I know that campground owners are trying to makeup for some lost time from the beginning of last season due to the pandemic. But trying to do it this way is not the better answer and you will never see one flat rate per night ever again. And what do we the consumers get out of it? Not better services or amenities that I can see. We are stuck with it!
I live in Florida where seasonal rates apply to all accommodations, I just don’t like showing up and having surprise charges like fees for amenities.
If you want to live in a country with a FREE MARKET ECONOMY you have to allow the law of supply and demand to work. When demand is higher (and/or supply is restricted), prices go up until such point at which consumer’s stop buying AND/OR entrepreneurs come into the market risking their own capital to offer alternatives at lower prices (at which point prices go down). Has absolutely nothing to do with price gouging. It’s how a free market works. It really is that simple.
Ditto.
Colorado has the worst price gouging…. Campgrounds Force working Men and women out of monthly spots so they can rape tourists!! There are literally ZERO monthly places 100 miles around Denver…. KOA in Blackhawk Co goes up to 2500 to 3000 a month🤯🤯
This KOA is one out of 450+ that took care of RVers during the pandemic….
We saw that in housing in another area of Colorado – monthly rental of cabins until May, then nightly rentals. Seasonal workers (needed for the seasonal businesses) couldn’t afford to work there because of it. It’s all about the quickest dollars, rather than the long term stability.
Nothing new here….just remember those campgrounds that told you to pound sand or refused to refund deposits during COVID……KOAs are the hero’s!!
As you note before the survey, prices rising as the number of available spaces declines could dissuade enough other people that we are able to get an open site. Alternately, it certainly raises the cost of RVing. However, we found a pretty large difference in seasonal rates when we went to Alaska in 2019. One campground we stayed at was around $75, $80/night, but we later met folks who paid nearer $100/night at the same campground. They were there only a couple of weeks after us, but it was considered high season and had a much higher nightly rate.
This is a good reason to belong to a travel clubs like Thousand Trails or Resort Parks’s International and Harvest Host.
Expensive to join and limited in many areas. Not always practical if wanting to travel throughout the U.S.
Haven’t they been doing this all along? You pay more for holidays, or if something big is going on in an area. Makes good business sense to me.
Sound like a man with plenty of money to spend. Not all of us are in that situation. When retired and on a fixed income.
We’re planning a trip (Bucket List trip to Grand Canyon for my SiL, who’s been trying for years) and we’re not shopping around for prices, just for availability & allowing dogs. We’re paying more than we’d like to at every place we’re staying. If prices are too fluid, how can you plan a budget that will last through the trip. Especially if they start raising prices after you’ve paid for your reservation & ask for more money when you arrive? (I’ve seen rumors that is coming.)
We have been on the road for 13 days this season and have not payed any campground fees. Boondocking. Every night boondocking makes camping fees cheaper as we go along. We have set up our RV to work well off grid. We are happy campers.
After eight years of traveling full time in my motorhome, and seeing park owners taking advantage of the excessive RV travelers, with ridiculous price increases, I have hung up hat. Retired and on a fixed income, I feel RVing has becoming more for the ones with no budget restrictions or those who are still employed and are part timers.
Let the market decide the price.