Who knows why his rates are high. Maybe some kind of a tax write-off. Maybe he wants to convince a partner to sell. Maybe he doesn't want to work too hard, or maybe he's just a bad business man.
If he wants to keep his rates high he could get business to increase by offering discounts: Good Sam, Military is popular around here, as is Senior discounts, multiple night rentals, you name it. Then when someone does stay there, give them a card for a future discount if they return, or a card to be given to a friend going in that direction. I could think of hundreds of discounts to offer. But then, I am not the owner, who know what his motives are. Enjoy your experience and come back to Colorado Springs when you are finished there.
You can go broke working things when times are slow. Watch the big boys sometimes they just stack their equipment (ships, oil rigs, heavy equipment, etc.) rather than lower their prices. The same may be true in an RV park.
I owned my own business for 30 yrs, and I did fairly well but I can tell you that everybody from the janitor to an office manager know how to run my business better than I did......
You don't say how much the cost is per day for a site? We choose national, state parks and similar gov. campgrounds(sometimes with no hook-ups) as much as possible to go for lower cost(we have the Senior Pass) but also for natural surroundings. For those sites we expect to pay from $15 to upper 20's(that would be full price not the Senior half-price). If and when we use a private campground( with full hook-ups), we expect to pay from low $20's to $35. Anything higher, we would consider too pricey and not worth it. However we have some RV friends and family that don't think anything of paying upper 30's and beyond. Maybe that will give you some data to think about.
Of all the decisions affecting the success of a business, pricing is one of the most delicate. My wife ran a deli way back. I encouraged her to raise the prices of her sandwiches. She felt her prices had to be competitive with the guy down the street, but hers had twice as much meat in them and she was afraid to cut the meat or raise the price. We'll never know who was "right". Your park owner must feel his strategy is right for the long term, but I would hate to see so many vacant spaces. Maybe some temporary "specials" would help establish the best price.
A half full campground paying $50 per night gives more profit than a full one paying $25. Like another poster said, pricing is one of the most difficult decisions made in a business. Unless the owner is new to the campground business, I'm sure he has taken all of the different variables into consideration before setting his price.
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The last time we were in the Canon City area, we stayed at the Fort Gorge RV Park & Campground, $27 and night(lots cheaper by the week). The KOA was over $40. Mountain View RV Resort was $35(did not ask the weekly rate) and was in line with some of the others.
I am sure you have looked at the other CG's in the area. How does Mountain View and the rates compare? What do you think is a fair rate?
mbinohio wrote: I owned my own business for 30 yrs, and I did fairly well but I can tell you that everybody from the janitor to an office manager know how to run my business better than I did......
Is there anything truly unique or above and beyond a typical park? If so, it could be that your callers don't know that. You could start by answering the phone by saying your campground name if it insinuates a camping resort or something above and beyond typical.
When they ask for rates, you could rehearse a short 10 or 15 second comment before you give the rate that quickly informs them that you aren't the typical park and that might make your quote of a rate more acceptable.
Afterall, what would Disney Wilderness Lodge be like if no one knew what to expect and they just quoted $75 per night?
Sooner Schooner wrote:
korbe wrote: How are people knowing your rates before they stop by? Word of mouth? Internet? Many times, I won't know the cost until I come in to the office, and by then, I just pay - for one night only, and then move on down the road.
Internet and phone, we have had many people call, ask the rates, and then say "thank you" and hang up. We have a had a few stop in while we were on duty, check the rates, and then leave. I generally would not pay what the rates are here.
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