I have just returned from a two week trip and found that a number of campgrounds that advertised services were unable to provide them. For example, one campground advertised free Wi-Fi, but I was told on check in that the Wi-Fi was down and they did not know when it would be back up. I kinda wondered if it was ever up? Another campground touted their pool. When I got there it was under repair. Looked like it had been under repair for about two or three months. Should a campground offer a reduced rate when they can not provide advertised services? I know some people make their reservations or choose their campground based on them offering Wi-Fi. If it is not available they are really in a bind. Should it matter if the service was suppose to be part of the rate, or was an extra charge service?
At our campground we do have/offer WiFi. There are times it goes down and the problem is not with us but with the service that comes to us and we have no control over when it will come back up. There are times when I can go out and reset the service but at times the problem is in the main server that is 100 miles away. In that case I do not feel I should reduce our rates. I do offer a sincere apology to the campers. We plan on doing work on our pool in the fall when the pool won't be used. I cannot imagine anyone doing work in swimming season or having it take such a long time. In a case like that I would think my owner would allow me to give a bit of a discount. However, very few of the overnight guests we have will use our pool at any time so I really don't feel they should get a discount since our rates are not set with having a pool as an amenity, especially an amenity they wouldn't use anyway.
Bud, I would point this item out in the comment on review. We have been to KOA's that had Wi-Fi or said so. No signal on my laptop. I take laptop to office and remember the antenna is on roof of office and no signal. Staff told me it was my problem not the parks problem. Worked at last park and the next one as well. Other people in park who had been in park months on end told me they had never had service. I found this to be true in most KOA's we went to. So we junk KOA off our list for every. I agree all system can stop if the ISP is down but this only last a short time in most cases. In a park in southern GA. I could not get the system to work. Track down the owner and he and I found the problem and fixed it. No more problems. He did not know how to trouble shoot his equipment.
I agree, Bud and John B. We have been in so many parks where WiFi is advertised (even charged extra for) and it doesn't work. One KOA in Illinois comes to mind, where on-site WiFi was advertised and I couldn't get it even when I took my laptop to the Main Office. The owner said there must be something wrong with my computer, so I took it across town to the library and it picked up the WiFi signal just fine. Upon returning to the Main Office, the story now was that their computer was operating on WiFi....but they finally admitted that it was hard wired rather than on a WiFi at all. No reduction in fee was given. Also on the trip home last year, we were crossing Utah (not in the mountains) and it was very hot: Over 90 degrees, and this was the last week in June. We chose a park that advertised a pool, only to find (after checking in) the pool to be drained and full of dirt, with chickens walking all around it (this is true). When asked, the owners stammered a bit and finally claimed that the pool didn't open "until summer begins". As I recall, the date we were there was about June 27th or 28th. These things are aggravating
