By Cheri Sicard
In the video below from RV Miles, one of the winners of the 2024 RV video awards, we get news of yet another fee that campground owners are tacking on to reservations. Plenty of RVers are not too happy about site lock fees. In the video, host Jason Epperson explains these controversial fees.
What is a site lock fee?
This is an extra fee to reserve a specific campsite. At first, I agreed with the RVers who are angry about this. If a given site is available when you are making a reservation, why should you have to pay an extra fee to reserve it? It seemed like a greedy money grab to me, but then I never stay in RV parks that do such things. Nor would I.
But after watching the video, I do understand a bit more and can see both sides of the controversy.
Jason has a great way of explaining the rationale from the campground owner’s perspective using a theater seat analogy. If people pick their individual theater seats (or campsites), you eventually end up with single random seats (or sites) available. These are tougher to sell. In a theater because almost nobody goes alone. In the campground because RVers are usually looking to stay more than a single night.
If the user does not choose an individual site, the campground owner can move things around, offering the RVers the same amenities while keeping more of the campground filled. So it is to the campground’s benefit to not allow you to choose a specific site. Nonetheless, many campers want this. Enter the site lock fee.
Watch the video as Jason covers, in detail, how campground reservation systems have quickly evolved and changed, even over the last couple of years. He also features letters from some campground owners explaining why they charge the site lock fee. Campground owners should also take note as Jason has a practical solution to this problem for them.
This is indeed a controversial campground practice. What are your thoughts? Have you paid a site lock fee? Would you? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
##RVDT2401
Never paid it, never will. There’s always somewhere else.
This is just not right. If a particular site is shown as available, and you “Reserve” it, then that site is what you should get. If an RV campground wants to play the Bait and Switch game, then either don’t play or report the issue in every review site you can find. If owners want to keep certain sites available only for long term campers, then they should be up front about it and list those sites as available only for long term campers.
I agree Jim, why show a specific spot as reservable but then at checkout you’re asked to pay to guaranty? There are many campgrounds that don’t allow you to specify a spot (you listening koa) some that will not let you change a spot when you get there. I admit to having ponied up that $10 a couple of times because the alternative possibility was not an option for that particular stay. A recent stay near Yosemite comes to mind. I say a spot is reservable (that’s the definition of the word) or it’s not. Usually I avoid those places that are not. Like everybody we spend a lot of time (thank you Google Earth) looking for the best available spot to suit our needs. Boondocking at least is an option?
KOA seems to be the common denominator.
They show it as reservable in case you want to pay the extra fee. Also, if the campground doesn’t fill up, they’d have no reason to swap anyone around so you’ll get the site you wanted without paying the extra fee.
Love it or hate it, I don’t understand what part of this is hard to understand…
I’m just jumping on here and probably will have the wrath brought down on me. I have been looking into camp ground. KOA in particular. It says right on it NOT THE ACTUAL SITE!
That being said someone said they go to the same place all the time and don’t like a lot of the sites etc.. so quit going there. People we live in a free country. We are so blessed to have our homes and then our RV’s to run around and play while others are are barely getting by and putting food in the table and you’re complaining about camp spots and paying extra for your RV. PLEASE get some perspective.
Totally disagree! Why even have a site selection? Just have a reservation and then assign a site when RV’er arrives. Just because some media person says something does not make it right. Do not play both sides and say I understand!
I wouldn’t go to many resorts without a site choice for many reasons including that I have medical issues, so can’t sleep near road noise (not that I could before but now worse), plus we put our cats on leashes and there are requirements to keep them safe, among others.
That being said, the site fees are pure junk. The deal has always been that the first to call gets the best site. I mean that’s the deal. The campground has some bad sites — okay well then either people want to be at that campground bad enough to endure the bad sites if they call late, or they don’t. Nothing has changed other than they are trying to say something, anything, to justify their greed.
That being said, in over ten years of regular RV camping, we have only had to pay a site lock fee one time, where we are staying now, which is also our first time at a KOA campground. From reading other comments, KOA seems like one of the biggest offenders. No wonder we have avoided them, which we will continue to do unless an emergency as this situation was. They also tend to have extremely tight site dimensions. Not a great choice unless you have no other.
?? That’s what they are doing. You pay to reserve a site. If you want a specific site you pay extra.
And when you don’t get it after paying?
Disagree strongly with the “site lock fee”. Just another way to take our money! Recently I’ve seen CC Service Charges when dining out, sanitation charges, kitchen fees, cash vs. credit price. Because nobody wants to raise prices, they instead find another way to take your money. The charges are added to the price like a tax which they are not. If we don’t begin to push back they and more will appear and continue.
Paying to reserve a reservation is nothing more than a money grab. If your site is available and you pay to reserve it, paying even more to have your reservation honored is a pure junk fee.
The excuse, “Single random seats are tougher to sell” is pure bovine excrement in this context. Be honest – The owners do it because discounting bad spots doesn’t make as much money as uplifting desired spots.
No, it’s about trying to maximize the occupancy rate. Campgrounds would much rather not give you the ability to reserve a specific site at all. Reserving a specific site results in lower revenue for the campground even after charging you a site lock fee.
This is the same as paying extra to guarantee your seat with the airlines. Frontier tried that recently with me. I bought a ticket and picked a seat. Then they asked if I wanted to ‘guarantee’ the seat. DUH????
Making the World equal, fair & just one bad move at a time… bring back the tried and true results of bribery, corruption, graft and/or generous tipping of days gone…
I did just pay it last week. $10 to guarantee my spot would be held until we arrived. I never had heard of this. First time out this year. What a surprise. I will probably continue to pay if I’m staying someplace I know a particular spot I want. Yes it’s wrong, just a way to get $. However this is the new world we now live in. I just know I always have a choice with this fee SO FAR!
It isn’t wrong. You should pay something extra for the right to have a specific site. Realize campgrounds. View this as a penalty payment. They would much rather not give you the ability to select specific sites at all.
Thank you, Cheri! 🙂 Ha! Great explanation and analogy by Jason. I suspect that the size of RVs constrains campgrounds from moving people around at least to some degree unless all the sites are at least 50, 60 feet in length (allowing for room to park both a 45′ RV and the accompanying vehicle). Great video addressing a real sore point with travelers in general. 🙂 Thanks again, safe travels, and have a great week! 🙂
I don’t mind site lock fees if they are reasonable, like $10 but many resorts like Sunland Resorts are charging 4 times that amount and that’s just pure greed.
Paid a site lock fee in old orchard beach Maine Koa $100.00.Pigeon Forage Tn charges $70.00 summer and $40.00 winter. I only do this because of my age.
I have paid these fees when offered as I have specific requirements because of a disabled wife.
HAHAHAHA
One more landed on fee from the private equity slime. PURE junk fees.
Watch the rates climb to make up for the empty spaces in the near future.
Corporate owners don’t care. Park doesn’t turn a profit at the level they want, it’s a condo project. Watch.
They could care less.
The comments on these types of articles always amuse me. People will pay 75-100k or more for what is basically a piece of junk before it even rolls off the lot. But an extra 10 bucks a day to use thier overpriced rolling tin can and the sky is falling. Someone please explain the logic…
🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
If a specific site shows it as available to reserve then it darn well better be reserved for Me! I will not pay extra to guarantee that. Just one more reason that we usually stay in county, state, and federal parks. So far, they haven’t tried that phony charge.
Site lock fees are simply another revenue runway for operators. It is no different than credit card charge fees, non-resident fees, hospitality surcharge fees, resort fees, airline baggage and seat fees, etc.
I even had a 5% charge on my bill dining at a Denver restaurant as it was for “providing our kitchen staff with a living wage”, fee. Can’t make this stuff up!
Bottom line is that I add all costs, additional fees, and taxes to determine if this is where I want to camp.
Still a first world problem and I am ok with that!
The equality of opportunity is not doing well. Our previous existence of the merit system is sliding for sure.
“Grandma’s Restaurant “ on Lake Superior in Duluth, MN tacks on that additional fee as well. Not optional. We’ll never eat there again.
I am still trying to get an answer on what happens after I paid the site lock fee from campspot.com a year in advance and did not get the site I locked despite paying for it.
Darrel, so what did you do when you got there?
It was a Saturday after the office closed and they left my packet outside.
Office closed on Sunday. On Monday found out nothing is available. For clarification, I booked a cottage.
I would have been a very unhappy camper to say the least, especially after having paid extra.
They said they were refunding the site lock fee?????
I said that’s like buying auto insurance and getting into an accident and the insurance not paying your claim but just refunds your premium.
As far as the resort is concerned the issue is, how am I financially damaged?
Like I said before, I booked thru campspot.com, in my state they can be considered a travel agent. Even though some comments state they are a booking site, they are still receiving a commission.
That’s a dispute you have to take up with the campground. Campspot is nothing but a reservation broker that is used and paid for by the campground. About the same as KOA franchisee using the KOA website for reservations.
The problem is campspot .com has in multiple emails states that if you pay a site lock fee, you are guaranteed it.
They, campspot.com has made material representations that I relied on.
They were who I booked through so my taking it up with the resort does not make sense.
I have sent multiple emails asking what happens when the site that was locked was not honored? I was guaranteed it, so what does the guarantee entail now?
I had a beautiful site locked and now I am.in one of the worst in my opinion for many months as I have many commitments in the area.
They have ghosted me now.
My state does not charge sales tax on campground fees yet I have noticed many of the same parks that tack on extra fees are now adding sales tax. I don’t stay at those places.
Since I have a toy hauler, I have paid the lock fee a few times to reserve a longer site, normally a pull through. I can get the bike in and out without needing to block the roadway, or unhook and hook back up.
Even if you ‘reserve’ a certain site, the campground may move you to allow a large class A with a towed and move you to another nearby site. Happens all the time.
I’ve also paid it to ensure a site away from playgrounds and swimming pools. Noise and kids running around spoil the enjoyment.
We paid a site fee for a KOA in TN 1 YEAR in advance It was the premium site. 6 days, our 4th of July vacation. We had stayed there before and picked that particular site for space, shade, close to facilities and pool. My husband and I both have knee issues.
We arrived and they moved us to the site we had before, which we hated. It was small, down hill and far away from the facilities and worst of all, from noon until sunset, the sun was full force blazing on the porch area even under the canopy. We couldn’t enjoy sitting outside our camper.
The site we wanted? No one there except for 2 days on the weekend which was a huge bus pulling a truck! Ruined our vacation.
Let the market place decide. Anything less will cause more to be upset. Think about airlines…Southwest v. American…two different business models and both are successful.
I think the firefighting fee is the most controversial fee I have seen so far
As long as people will pay it, the more it will catch on in other places. I would never stay in such a place.
It should be first come, first served. Anything less is a money grab.
RV’ing is becoming more difficult as people realize it is good to get out in nature. It sounds like private parks are doing what Provincial parks do….that $9 reserve fee.
We will see a park full on the reservation site, get to the park and it is empty. No staff!
Hopefully, private parks won’t go down that road.
I prefer avoiding RV parks unless I need electricity, water, or a dump. There was a time RV parks were actually parks and an overnight was $20. We’ve come a long way, baby!
Agreed. My take is if you want a convenience then pay for it. Getting what ever spot you want IS a convenience. If you don’t want to pay then don’t care so much 🤷♀️ dumb
The answer to this concern is to find a site in state parks until the owners of these parks respond with a more favorable system. Alot of rv parks only have a few sites open and campers are stuck in a site with permanent neighbors whose site is old campers with built on rooms
I would never pay a reserve site fee. If it is required I would look elsewhere
Most campgrounds are filled so to ask for a specific site fee is wrong. I prefer State Parks, no hassle. No they don’t have all the extras, but all I need is electric. We go to see nature, not bingo, miniature gulf etc. I guess that is why I disagree with an extra charge, plus outrageous prices to begin with. To each his own. Just enjoy the outdoors.
If the issue is unused sites because you someone booked a weekend and now someone wants the whole week. How about a site credit fee.that the person that booked the weekend can receive if they agree to move to allow the whole week person to book. That would be a more palatable option and allow the campground to still maximize revenue. Also if using airline analogies. I have never seen campgrounds lower fees when they have lots of empty sites.
We just spent the weekend at Jellystone Rv Park in Pigeon Forge TN. They asked 100$ to lock your site. That’s robbery. I have never and will never pay a sure lock fee. My family likes to camp together and get sites that are as close as possible. We’ll stay at the State Parks.
A $2 site lock fee is reasonable. It is when they charge a ridiculous amount that bothers me. You don’t have to pay the fee and you can still make the reservation.
We recently stayed at sun outdoors, and I did not pay the extra fee. When making the reservation, they told me it would be one of 8 sites on the water. When we got there, they put us facing the marina and couldnt see any water, just a large boat in front of us. We went online and found a few sites that were still open and they let us switch. They want 40 to reserve a site. One of the original 8 sites were still open when we got there, but found an even better one.
The fees may be acceptable if you know the park and have been there before. If not, the fee can be expensive and unreasonable. The parks could designate some sites as 2-3 nites, 6-7 nites, only would be another option for the parks