Perhaps some of you, especially any park owners/managers who read this, can give me some perspective on a question that has been bugging me for some time now. When we travel a fair distance to go to a park that we want to spend at least a week at we always check out the park as to what the site layout is with regards to the view we will have, etc. I always make reservations several months in advance and request a certain site so as to make sure the week or more we spend there will be with a nice view and not facing a hill in front of us or the backside of the clubhouse, etc. Most all of the time we have no problems and when we get there, the site we have requested is available and waiting for us even tho I have had to a couple of times really "shmooz" the person taking my reservation to make sure and put down the site number requested on our confirmation. My question about this is as follows. Why is it that some parks will tell you that, "We will guarantee you a site but not a specific site or type".....??? I realize that if we are making the reservation just a few days from our arrival that we can't expect to have one of the better sites and so on, but in making the reservation so far in advance why can't we be assured of having the site we want if it hasn't already been reserved by someone else? If the site has been taken then I have even told them that we can arrive a day or two later or as soon as the site does become available as we usually aren't stuck to a time schedule. Even then they will still tell me the same thing, a site yes but not a specific site. To me if the site is open on the day we are to arrive and there are no other reservations for that site while we will be there that have been made earlier than ours, why can't they simply give it to us? I think/believe my money is the same as the next person's and the specific site being requested is being paid for up front anyway so in my mind it's a done deal, just let me have it. What am I missing in all this??? I even told one person on one occasion that in no way was I going to drive 850 miles just to park in a site facing the back of some building and that if we couldn't have a site facing out with a view, that we would go elsewhere. Guess what I was told after making that statement? I was told that was my choice and that those were their rules. Rules??? Not sure I catch that in my old brain. I'll end this on that note, I think I've said everything needed to have a few responses back as to why some parks do this. Thanks to anyone responding and to giving some info that I must be missing................ BankShot.............(aka Terry)
"We will guarantee you a site but not a specific site or type".....??? Being a workamper. The plan is to get all the sites filled for the season. Not have one open a week or more without anyone on it. So we may have to move you to do so. Pull-thru sites, most are for those staying a short time. Long term get the back ins.
Also as an experience Workamper I agree 100% with Tallboy. Add to that a life in the Hotel business it pretty well holds true there too. When the RV park you reserved at is very busy you never know what will unfold prior to your arrival. It is not that the business doesn't want to accommodate your request, it is a disservice to you the customer to "Promise" something that experience has proven to the RV park that you may not be able to deliver. WroKamping you learn that it could a water, electric, sewer, a bee swarm just landed there earlier today type of issue, it is not uncommon there is an RV issue and the rig can't leave, or even worse there is a health issue and there may be someone in the hospital. When I happen to be the one behind the desk I appreciated a guest with a reservation calling in advance to check their reservation status. Find out if your likelihood of still getting that space is possible or even your next preferred space. Keep the RV park advised of your arrival time. I do know that if it's a super peak time and you arrive at a RV park late, reservation or not, you are almost 100% likely to get one of the least desirable spaces they have left. A VERY wise RV Mentor of mine who has now passed on to the bi RV Resort in the sky once shared. When planning your "RV JOURNEY" a rule of thumb is; "200 in 1, stay 2" Which equates to: Plan your journey 200 miles of travel a day! You're not leaving at the crack of dawn your noise pissing off your neighbors! In your rush you are sure lo leave something behind, something still connected, your favorite RV widget, wife, pets, kids etc. (as a Workamper, you name I've seen it)! You can leisurely enjoy your morning coffee, say good bye to your new found friends, You are only traveling 200 miles if you happen upon something you want to check it out you have the time for the spontaneity! You get in to your destination early and you get the best choice of spaces. You're all setup and enjoying your favorite beverages and when you see the "Weekend Warriors" arriving late come flying through the campground then trying to squeeze into the worst and only site left, soon you'll hear the yelling & screaming from across the park, then starts banging on the side of the rig yelling STOP STOP just moments before you hear the scrape and crash. You're sorry for them but you smile at your sweetie (or even at yourself) and you are sure glad that's not you. The other part of that wisdom plan to "stay a minimum of 2 nights" after years and 1000's of miles that one night stays even if it's simple hookups gets very tired. Face it even the auto satellite search often doesn't get it 100% perfect every time! HAPPY TRAILS
As a full-timer who has traveled over 55,000 miles in 5+ years, I see this advice passed around as if it's gospel and I can't imagine ever limiting our travels to 200 miles a day. At 65 mph that's just ~3 hours of driving; occasionally we've occasionally day-tripped distances that short using our toad. Hardly worth moving the RV IMO. We usually plan about 6 hours of actual driving time in a day which amounts to a ~7 hour day with fuel and food stops. We plan our days by time and not distance since that can vary greatly depending on the roads and traffic but typically we will travel 325-400 miles in a day. With two of us splitting the driving we don't think this is such a grueling amount of time on the road. We also typically drive 2 or even 3 days in a row in order to get somewhere where we want to spend 2-4 days sightseeing. We rarely plan a multi-day stop unless it's in an area where we know there is something to see. It's not that we're in such a hurry, but in many years our winter and summer destinations have been >2,500 miles apart. At 200 miles a day, for us, that would simply be too many days on the road. We'd much rather get where we want to be and then relax. To each his own and our approach won't suit some people, but I wanted to challenge the idea that there was something magic about the 200 miles a day and stop for two days mantra.
In our 13 years of fulltiming, we settled on the "230 rule": stop at 230 miles or 2:30 in the afternoon, whichever came first. Although the driving part of fulltiming wasn't a burden, it wasn't the most fun part of our lives. The fun part was seeing new places, following the weather, and exploring the way people live in different parts of North America. From Fairbanks to Teacapan, San Francisco to Caraquet, we drove 120,000 miles in our three RVs and often spent at least several days, and sometimes several months, at each stop. That's how we enjoyed ourselves.
At our current location (Chris' Campground in Spearfish, SD), the campground hosts a number of 'Family Reunions' throughout the summer. As one can imagine, the folks running the show here attempt to assign spots for those reunions within close proximity (if not, right next) to one another. Although we arrived here in early May (when only 2 other campers existed on the property), we only had a few choices of where we could set up shop (and we plan to be here through the end of September) so as to not 'interfere' with the events planned months into the future. Lana and Bryce (the owners) even suggested we might want to avoid certain rows of camp sites (although empty at the time) as those locations are often requested by families with young children seeking easy access to one of the several pools (that specific pool had a water slide). As a result of the future scheduled events (and on the owners advice), we chose a perfect spot (close to Wi-Fi broadcast, Large Tree providing afternoon shade, spacious site, etc.) and couldn't be happier. In another example, we had requested a certain site months in advance from Boyd's Key West Campground. Upon arrival (in December) we received the bad news (during check in) that the park could not accommodate our request, but they felt we would be happy with our site none the less. When we asked 'why we couldn't receive our requested location,' it turned out whomever registered our reservation typo'd in the incorrect length of our vehicle. While this would not have been a problem getting into the camp site (since hardly any other RV's had arrived yet for the month), we simply would not have been able to leave that location (an observation clearly visible once the park filled up for the holidays) on our desired departure date. My point with all this is: many campground owners / managers know the specific details of not only their park, but also, those who plan on visiting in the future. Especially in places which have limited real estate with which to work, many have grown quite adept at 'jigsawing' the various needs (and stay lengths) of their clients. If I were an owner / manager of a campground / RV Park, I'd much rather not promise a specific site as it allows me more options (throughout a day, week, month or year) to solve unanticipated events which happen from time to time. Oh, and (when possible) we do the 3-3-3 deal: 300 miles, 3 PM and a 3 day stay. Heather
This topic reminds me of "Walk a mile in the moccasins" (the CGs) and "You can't please everyone..." I used to camp host, but had to quit. I ran out of places to hide the bodies of those who could never be pleased.
I think many of us are spoiled by state, COE and some national parks that let you reserve by site number, aka Reserve America or the national parks version. Michigan state parks have an excellent system that is also used by the Province of Ontario, Canada that gives you pictures of the campsite. I can understand the private parks, we avoid "resorts", not wanting to guarantee a particular site, especially is the booking is done online. Perhaps a phone call and credit card for payment in full would work for the OP some of the time, at least talking to someone who knows all the reasons pointed out on this thread why they would avoid reserving specific sites
I've been reading the responses here and can somewhat understand the reluctance of a park not guaranteeing a specific space or site, etc. What I haven't been able to wrap my head around tho is when I am told that I cannot have a certain site and then we arrive at the park and get situated where we can see that requested site sits vacant the entire time we are there. That does tend to get my old noggin to wondering "what's going on?" This did happen one time and I made it a point to go have a talk with the manger at the office. He told me that the folks who were supposed to be in that space canceled two days prior to arriving but unfortunately he didn't think or even remember that we had requested it initially so he never called us back to let us know it would be available to us. Hey, it happens I guess, we just chalked it off and move on. Still it left a bad taste in our mouth as to ever going back to that particular park in our future travels. The one thing that pissed me off about it all was that we had asked for that space several months in advance and I know that the folks who cancelled put their reservation in long after ours, so what's up with that............ BankShot..............(aka Terry)
Maybe someone else had reserved it before you called, then cancelled after you called and this next person was able to get it. I understand having favorite sites. Maybe (if you go back) and you didn't get to reserve the one you wanted, you could ask if it is available when you check in?
I don't know what really went down but I could tell the mgr. wasn't telling me the whole story. We got ourselves situated in the site we ended up taking and because we were only going to be there for three days, we simply let it go as it wasn't worth the time and effort to unhook, move, carry all the outdoor stuff over to the other site, and hook up again,etc. In the course of his everyday business he evidently did forget to call us when the other folks cancelled and that left us with the site we did get assigned to. No big deal, it just didn't set right with me the way it was handled overall. We pretty much know about the parks we stay at on a regular basis by now so we rarely have problems getting a space we like. And in those we are staying at for the first time we simply roll with the punches and try to make the best of our stay as there is always that next park up the road to look forward to. Oh, and I am always good at being an armchair quarterback, but I have to realize that I am not the one playing in the real game like the managers and owners of RV parks are................ Regards, BankShot............(aka Terry) .
