Campground rates keep going up, driven by increased demand and industry gentrification, the predictable result of RV parks getting acquired by investors whose only motivation is return on equity. But now there’s another development that inevitably will goose the trend: this week’s release of a computerized database enabling campground owners to see what the competition is charging in real-time.
The Campspot dashboard: Signals
The reporting dashboard, called Signals, draws on the massive amount of data compiled by leading reservation software provider Campspot, which currently claims to have a customer base of approximately 2,100 private campgrounds and RV resorts. More than 3 million campground reservations were made through Campspot’s app last year, millions more can be expected this year, and all the data from all those millions of reservations is crunched by Campspot and funneled into Signals—enough, as Campspot acknowledges, for Signals to be “the only product … for the outdoor hospitality industry at such a large scale.”
While Campspot emphasizes that this information flood is anonymized, blended into pools of parks with “similar” profiles, it nevertheless allows individual campground owners to compare their metrics, such as average daily rates, occupancy rates and revenue per available site, with what everyone else is doing—and to make adjustments as desired, usually to increase revenues. Or as Campspot puts it, “With these tools at their fingertips, campgrounds are able to stay ahead of the competition, make confident pricing decisions, and unlock their park’s full potential.”
Dynamic pricing
I forecast just such a development last October, in a post titled “Can ‘dynamic pricing’ beget cartels?” that reported on the monopolization of data within the apartment leasing industry, how that had enabled the development of algorithms that came perilously close to price-fixing, and how Campspot was positioning itself to do the same with campgrounds. That post was followed by one this past March, “In a lockstep march to higher prices,” that detailed Campspot’s growing domination of the reservation software industry “with the ready compliance of campground owners who see nothing but more profit for themselves.”
Fawning industry observers like Ohio-based Modern Campground, which bills itself as “a dedicated news source for the outdoor hospitality industry,” see no reason to be concerned by such developments. Indeed, Modern Campground recently praised Signals as a long-overdue “comprehensive, large-scale tool for competitive benchmarking.” The new database “offers campground operators unrivaled insights to inform their pricing strategies and sharpen their competitive edge,” it rhapsodized, explaining that the previous lack of such a resource created “challenges when it comes to optimal pricing and maximizing revenue,” but Signals will “change that narrative by offering a unique benchmarking solution that could transform how the industry operates.”
It doesn’t take a genius to decode that a campground’s “optimal pricing” is a camper’s inflated invoice, while “competitive benchmarking” is an oxymoron that describes an anti-competitive practice. But there’s little doubt that Signals and similar computer-driven innovations are indeed transforming how the industry operates, leading not just to higher prices for campers but to a greatly consolidated software reservation industry—a development that campground owners belatedly will come to regret, once they realize how much that tail will be wagging their dog.
In other words, in the long run, everyone will be a loser. Everyone, that is, except for Campspot.
PREVIOUSLY FROM ANDY…
KOA takes a holistic view of camping
By Andy Zipser
It’s been a couple of months since KOA released its latest annual report on North American camping and, as usual, subsequent industry coverage was faithfully upbeat. Most stories homed in on the economic numbers, proof that camping has become a force with which to be reckoned: 58 million households camped in 2022, spending $52 billion, an $8 billion increase over 2021. Campers spent on average $332 per day, up $19 per day compared to the previous year. Nor are these campers a bunch of vagabonds: 28% have an annual household income of more than $100,000, compared with a nationwide rate of 21%. Continue reading.
Andy Zipser is the author of Renting Dirt, the story of his family’s experiences owning and operating a Virginia RV park, and of Turning Dirt, a step-by-step guide for finding, buying and operating an RV park and campground. Both books are available through bookstores or at Amazon.com.
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And continued price increases will drive out the price driven casual RVer. With the tremendous drop in RV sales, and reduced pressure from the COVID scare, the expansion of the industry will slow. Some investors will get burned.
While some investors may get burned, others may enter the industry because the increased prices make it a profitable investment.
An amazing comment! Totally disregard the base facts. Econ 101. The traveling public has alternatives and is already turning to them. RV parks are already turning to cabins and mobile homes. The traveling rv family is an endangered species. Greed overwhelmed the industry. A major adjustment is just starting.
With so many free or low priced options, private campgrounds and RV parks have become my last choice. While on business recently in my car, I stayed in a 4 star hotel in Nebraska for $78. It included all the amenities including a pool and hot breakfast. Private campgrounds and RV parks have to come back to reality. $30-$40 per night is the ceiling.
Totally agree, Bob.
While I would like to agree, I don’t. You were on a business trip, not a camping trip with a spouse or a family to entertain. There is always a cheaper alternative, but you have to compare apples and apples.
Leisure or business, the cost of living is the same . The same hotels, restaurants, national parks – only difference is you don’t have the high cost of ownership and use. Our car gets 30 mpg whether on a leisure trip or business. And we park it in our garage at our house when done.
The cost issue is not even close anymore. A family of 4 travels better using hotels and airbnb’s, period. Less time in the road getting there. So many clear benefits.
100% correct. And a one month stay is cheaper in an airbnb. No utility costs, no hook ups.
Greed is destroying the rv industry along with government.
No US oil and gas and fuel prices skyrocket thanks to the party in power.
Imagine buying your new ev rv? Charging it on the road, in what rv park at what price. And replace batteries?????????
Hello Marriott.
Unfortunately, the campground business has been running behind on the available tools that other industries such as the airlines have used for years. The concept of revenue management predicts prices current and future based on competition, past performance, peak demand periods. Anybody that buys airline tickets knows that practically nobody on their plane paid the same amount as they did. Is this good or bad? It depends. With this information there will eventually be new websites (like Travago or Kayak for airlines)that will have spiders that search an area and tell you availability and the lowest price allowing campgrounds to compete with each other.
A park has a multitude of fixed costs that empty spots simply can’t cover. Maintenance, mortgage, property taxes and fees don’t go away just because customers do.
Visualize a 100 unit park collecting $70 per spot at half capacity. They’ll collect $3,500 per night and offer those that drove by no reason not to drive by again. Now, visualize that same park collecting only $40 per spot to get to 90% occupancy. They’ll collect $3,600 and almost double their chance of repeat business.
So why do park managers push for higher rates and the higher risk of empty real estate? They’re either lazy or they don’t understand economics. As a camp host, do you want to clean 90 fire pits or just 50?
Seems like 100% of something is better than 50% of a high rate. The parks also have to think about the increased revenue at the camp store, honey dipper services and others at 100%. The park also has to think about more staff at 100%.
Try $150 night!! Dynamic Pricing.
Corporate owned parks gouging just like airlines.
To answer – they don’t care.
Scary sounding stuff. However, the consumer in the end has the ultimate power here. The power to say no and the power to chose an alternative. We have the same access to tools to compare prices and find what works for us. It’s not like campgrounds can charge whatever they want. This is recreational travel and the market will find an equilibrium because of the previous observation. My guess is there will be creative people finding creative new ways to offer rv’ers an alternative like Harvest Hosts etc.
Hotels, inns, airbnb, all kinds of cheaper and easier alternatives.
Add up your cost of ownership. See if the comparison is rational.
The lure of the wild is strong. The lure of overpriced, crowded, jammed rv parks is a loser.
Excellent article and spot on! The marketing buzz words that Campspot has to use to try and sell this as a good thing simply prove the opposite: this will be bad for campers and ultimately, as stated, for campgrounds
With this innovation for the campgrounds …..soon they will overprice just like house rental properties have done in the last 2 years.
Kind of like booking.com for camping.
The RV industry, including the RV parks are in the beginnings of a so called “death spiral. “ We will see how far they go down that hole before stopping. Due to greed, low quality products, inflation, cost of new RVs and high interest rates. It’s definitely downhill from here.
Full time RVer now for the past 4 years and far from a “death spiral”. And I don’t think inflation and high interest rates are anything the RV industry can control. Only thing that I agree with is the low quality issue which is the biggest issue still facing the industry along with long lead times for service. I think the RV industry will still be here 20 years from now. Some of us ..probably not.
Wrong. The industry is in self destruct mode. The few who can afford it is in decline. And full timers are a minor and insignificant part of the picture..
$150/ night in some corporate park? Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton are cheaper, easier. Free breakfast- add up the costs of use and ownership – hotels beat ring big time.
Glad I am a minor and insignificant part of YOUR existence because it sounds horrible.
I think that as boomers exit the industry, it’s going to get hard to charge $80 a night to park an ev with a tent on the roof.
The cost of “everything” continues to go up, nothing is going to change that. But a new tool for campgrounds to see how much more they can gouge the consumer… their customers, just to line their pockets and/or investor pockets, where does it end!?! I guess we’ll all find out when campground sites sit empty because no one can afford the prices…other than the wealthy.
Isn’t going to happen… right now we have more demand than supply and with inflation to partially blame prices are go up. Consumers need to be selective and flexible in their choices. By the way… what is your definition of wealthy? It’s all relative my friend.
It’s already happening. Had prices, inflated rv park prices for a tight gravel site, repair costs, storage costs. Sales are tanking. A massive re alignment.
And who’s buying an EV RV??
Government is destroying rving as fast as the private equity gouging rv park owners.
I’m pretty sure I read somewhere else, that Campspot/Signals was/is created and run by RVer’s. I’m more surprised something like this did not already exist before they created and marketed this program.
Well at least the article didn’t say “it’s a game changer” which it is not. What many of us do “manually” including RVers and campground management is now being done (and has been for sometime) using new computer software such as various APPS or AI. You don’t think KOA or other larger private campgrounds knew what their competitors were charging 5 years ago? You don’t think RVers were looking around comparing prices online before they booked a site? All this does is make it easier and faster to compile data. Look at the analytics sports have been using for almost everything these days. Everything will be analyzed faster and easier in the future. It’s not that big of a deal.
First of all, I own a Travel Trailer and enjoy saving money just like the rest of us. But the statement “everyone will be a loser” is not accurate. The Campground owners, who provide a place for us to reside will come out better. Hopefully they will use this increase in income to provide better services to us. In addition, if the campground industry become more profitable it will encourage others to invest, thus creating more campgrounds for all of us. If at some point the prices get too high there will be a price adjustment as we RV’ers are not forced to use our units. In the short term it may hurt, it the long run, who knows!
You sound just like one of those corporate pr types.
Private equity firms in NYC destroy everything they touch. Their corporate campgrounds are crowded, have no space and gouge.
We realized our dream of travel had to be modified.
Bye bye motorhome, hello hotels. Clean beds, full showers, no hook ups, free breakfasts, pools and the car gets 30 mpg going 75 mph. Use their system and credit card – all kinds of freebies.
No storage. No massive fuel bill. No insurance. No repairs. No dealing with rip off rv dealers and unqualified techs.
And most of all – No gouging rv parks with airline pricing.
You need to take a long nap…
Perhaps you need a dirt nap key board warrior. Everything stated above we happen. It’s camping. A fire ring, picnic table, water and electric. A campground is not the destination attraction it’s a place to sleep and eat so you’re closer to the things you wanna see.