But you cannot reserve sites one day in advance so there is no possibility that a drive-up and a reservation get the same space. Let's say I want to camp at the state park closest to my house that is booked through Reserve America. I just checked to see what is available and the web site said "Earliest arrival date for on-line reservation is Sun Apr 08 2012. Please choose a later arrival date."
This means I can go the the park tomorrow and pick any site that isn't marked as reserved.
Oregon state parks post a list of upcoming reservations at the check-in area and also marks the spots with a sign so it's easy to find an unreserved spot for that day. If I wanted to stay until Monday, all I would have to do is park my camper in any spot that isn't marked reserved and also has no reservations for Sunday. Or I could pick any spot not reserved on Saturday and then moved to a different spot Sunday morning if the original spot had a reservation that started on Sunday.
StanleyandIris wrote: Even a 'walk-up' site needs to be entered into the RA program to avoid booking the same site to multiple campers. And a 'walk-in' IS reserving a site for how ever many days the campers intend to stay - even if only one night.
I know times are tough and every nickel counts but if the $6 fee is too much of a strain on the budget, go elsewhere. There are many private campgrounds in Louisiana and in every other state that uses RA.
I find it odd that anyone would pass up visiting Louisiana over $6. You can not imagine what you are missing - the best food and the nicest people in the world live in Louisiana. It's a fact.
monkey44 wrote: I personally have never been asked for a RA fee or any other additional fee when standing in a NP or SP office to get a site and camp overnight. That's not to say we may someday incur that type of fee. And if we ever do, I sure hope the fee goes to the park and not some corporation.
Think you will find out that it is already figured in the price. I've never had them break it down, but it has been mentioned when checking in.
monkey44 wrote: I personally have never been asked for a RA fee or any other additional fee when standing in a NP or SP office to get a site and camp overnight. That's not to say we may someday incur that type of fee. And if we ever do, I sure hope the fee goes to the park and not some corporation.
Think you will find out that it is already figured in the price. I've never had them break it down, but it has been mentioned when checking in.
Not so - if we go to almost any SP or NP that supports RA system and want to book more than two or three nights, we then have to use RA to get the site for more days and it costs the fee.
In Mass for example, one or two days in any open site, you get it for $17 rate or $15 if a resident. BUT, if you want three or more days, or a date later than the day you're standing there, THEN you must us RA and pay the additional RA fee.
Altho, if the site you have is open after your two days, you can book it again for two days with no RA fee. But, chance you take is that someone will have booked it ahead and you then have to move. Not a big deal, altho we can also see all open dates for any site (for free) anytime we ask the ranger.
It just doesn't matter in the big scheme of things. Either spend the $6 or don't. Maybe you'll miss out on something you have never seen before or someone that will change your life. It's your $6 and it is completely up to you how you want to spend it. You've got one life and you can gripe or play, it's up to you.
StanleyandIris wrote: It just doesn't matter in the big scheme of things. Either spend the $6 or don't. Maybe you'll miss out on something you have never seen before or someone that will change your life. It's your $6 and it is completely up to you how you want to spend it. You've got one life and you can gripe or play, it's up to you.
Iris
That is very true. On the other hand, it is the squeaky wheel that gets the oil. So I say "gripe AND play"; enjoy America's free speech. It is the only way things might get better. In the "shell game" between business and consumers, campground reservations will stay priced that way if no consumers object and few are allowed to enter completely open bidding.
In North Dakota, the state does use a very similar contract service to Reserve America called Novo 1. Novo 1 is US based and the fee is exactly $6 too. Hmmm. At least there is competition with Reserve America involved, even if the prices seem a little buddy-buddy.
What makes me think a reservation system should cost far less is rooted in past experience. Years ago I had a construction company with about a dozen employees. I purposely set up for payroll once a week on Fridays, including said Friday, and for the preceeding six days. Early Friday afternoon I collected timecards and hurried to hand calculate with-holdings, write and distribute paychecks amongst employees before quitting time. Initially it was a tedious, frantic burden.
Then, I discovered I, and my 8 year old, could write a "Free" simple public domain Basic Language spreadsheet on a Commodore 64 computer that would only require a couple of hourly entries per employee. Two because I paid overtime after 8 hours per day and/or over 40. The Commodore would quickly spit all the info needed for the paycheck and paystub out the other end... and kept track of weekly pay-records on a floppy to boot. Eventually more elaborate commercial book-keeping programming became available... programming that cost more than the Commodore 64. Anybody remember the Commodore?
Another simple "free" Basic program furnished a Commodore database that kept track of all paid/unpaid invoices, served as a Monthly Statement at billing time, and printed convenient mailing labels.
The point is $6 still seems way overpriced to me. It's not rocket science. I think one could almost write a similar Basic spreadsheet to take automatic campground reservations on an old Commodore 64 and a cheap server system. Of course it might not be as user friendly as modern window-based equivalents. I admit centralized convenient call centers are another story since they also involve an additonal data entry person. But phoned data entry could be done by park desk personnel who normally handle the site-rental transaction anyway.
Wes
...
Days spent camping are not subtracted from one's total.
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...
Six buks really aint what it used to be anyway,, considerin you cant hardly leave a convenience store any more with a coke and a bag of peanuts for less than 5.
StanleyandIris wrote: It just doesn't matter in the big scheme of things. Either spend the $6 or don't. Maybe you'll miss out on something you have never seen before or someone that will change your life. It's your $6 and it is completely up to you how you want to spend it. You've got one life and you can gripe or play, it's up to you.
Iris
That is very true. On the other hand, it is the squeaky wheel that gets the oil. So I say "gripe AND play"; enjoy America's free speech. It is the only way things might get better. In the "shell game" between business and consumers, campground reservations will stay priced that way if no consumers object and few are allowed to enter completely open bidding.
In North Dakota, the state does use a very similar contract service to Reserve America called Novo 1. Novo 1 is US based and the fee is exactly $6 too. Hmmm. At least there is competition with Reserve America involved, even if the prices seem a little buddy-buddy.
What makes me think a reservation system should cost far less is rooted in past experience. Years ago I had a construction company with about a dozen employees. I purposely set up for payroll once a week on Fridays, including said Friday, and for the preceeding six days. Early Friday afternoon I collected timecards and hurried to hand calculate with-holdings, write and distribute paychecks amongst employees before quitting time. Initially it was a tedious, frantic burden.
Then, I discovered I, and my 8 year old, could write a "Free" simple public domain Basic Language spreadsheet on a Commodore 64 computer that would only require a couple of hourly entries per employee. Two because I paid overtime after 8 hours per day and/or over 40. The Commodore would quickly spit all the info needed for the paycheck and paystub out the other end... and kept track of weekly pay-records on a floppy to boot. Eventually more elaborate commercial book-keeping programming became available... programming that cost more than the Commodore 64. Anybody remember the Commodore?
Another simple "free" Basic program furnished a Commodore database that kept track of all paid/unpaid invoices, served as a Monthly Statement at billing time, and printed convenient mailing labels.
The point is $6 still seems way overpriced to me. It's not rocket science. I think one could almost write a similar Basic spreadsheet to take automatic campground reservations on an old Commodore 64 and a cheap server system. Of course it might not be as user friendly as modern window-based equivalents. I admit centralized convenient call centers are another story since they also involve an additonal data entry person. But phoned data entry could be done by park desk personnel who normally handle the site-rental transaction anyway.
Wes
...
That $6.00 fee has as much to do with the software costs as my accountant's fees have to do with the cost of their copy of Quickbooks or my attorney's fees have to do with the cost of their law library. Reserveamerica has call centers staffed 24/7. The provide the credit card processing of deposits, they track and manage refunds, cancellations, changes to reservations as well as new reservations. They provide the employees and pay the wages. They provide and update the infastructure needed to run the system. They guarantee security of the transactions and they pay the state a healthy fee for the priviledge of providing the services. These type contracts (concessionaire agreements) aren't paid by the entity that needs the services, they pay that entity for the rights to provide the service and collect the fees. The fees are set by the state as part of the contract. It isn't about the software.
I don't know. People complain when the states closing parks and they complain when they outsource the reservation system to keep the parks open. And so many today say outsourcing is going to save the country money, All I can say about outsourcing is I don't ever want to come up behind 6 outsourced pickups plowing the NYS thruway. I want to see NYS DOT snowplows!!! Think Massachusetts tried the pickup thing
Old-Biscuit wrote: I can understand the 'fee' for making a reservation via on-line or phone but a 'walk-in' is NOT making a reservation.
Unfortunately.....our parks are being given away to 'concessionaires' who now have control of our parks and can charge what they feel.
The guy at the campground office has no way of knowing what sites are available unless he accesses the same database everyone else is using to detrmine which sites are reserved and which aren't. So you may not be accessing the database but the guy in the office is, and he has to input your reservation before someone else books one on the same site.
Exactly right.
The parks aren't being given away. The work load is being shifted to the private sector so that the state doesn't have to raise taxes or increases usage fees in order to staff & maintain a realativly little used service. The private sector company has to pay their staff and maintain the network.
Dave
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. And so many today say outsourcing is going to save the country money, All I can say about outsourcing is I don't ever want to come up behind 6 outsourced pickups plowing the NYS thruway. I want to see NYS DOT snowplows!!! Think Massachusetts tried the pickup thing
