Can anyone explain what advantage, other than a few extra bucks, a campground could have at requiring a 3 night minimum for reservations?
Recently I attempted to make a reservation at a campground and was told they required a 3 night minimum for weekends during the summer and on holidays. Now holiday weekends I could understand because it is usually a 3 night weekend, but on every other weekend during the summer?
I tried to explain that I work Monday - Friday and look forward to heading to a campground for the weekend. Whenever I camp at the jersey shore I make reservations because this particular campground, near Cape May,and like all the other campgrounds in that area, fill up fast. Their response was we will only take a reservation if you want to stay at least 3 nights.
Their suggestion was to drive down on Friday night to see what was available. With the price of gas at almost $4.00 per gallon I'm not willing to drive 60 miles to find out if a site is available.
After hearing that their offer was, we could give you a site for Friday night but you would have to move your trailer on Saturday to another site. At this point I realized I was dealing with someone who just didn't have all their marbles so I gave up.
I checked a couple other campgrounds in that area and found this seems to be the new trend. I guess weekend camping is starting to come to an end.
I wonder if WalMart is adopting this same policy for their parking lot ?
There is a CG in the Poconos that requires a 4 nite stay. We were near Cape May last week, not sure what there minimum stay is. I never understood the minimum stay. We are getting married at a CG in September and they waved the 2 nite minimum stay for our guests.
They wouldn't get my business, guess they're turning people away with gas and diesel as cheap as it is now. I've stayed in Campgrounds in WV, TN, NC, SC and VA and have never had one that I asked about reservations tell me that there was a minimum 3 day stay at any time of the year.."X" that campground off your "stay at" list.
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Big Shoe wrote: Can anyone explain what advantage, other than a few extra bucks, a campground could have at requiring a 3 night minimum for reservations?
Recently I attempted to make a reservation at a campground and was told they required a 3 night minimum for weekends during the summer and on holidays. Now holiday weekends I could understand because it is usually a 3 night weekend, but on every other weekend during the summer?
I tried to explain that I work Monday - Friday and look forward to heading to a campground for the weekend. Whenever I camp at the jersey shore I make reservations because this particular campground, near Cape May,and like all the other campgrounds in that area, fill up fast. Their response was we will only take a reservation if you want to stay at least 3 nights.
Their suggestion was to drive down on Friday night to see what was available. With the price of gas at almost $4.00 per gallon I'm not willing to drive 60 miles to find out if a site is available.
After hearing that their offer was, we could give you a site for Friday night but you would have to move your trailer on Saturday to another site. At this point I realized I was dealing with someone who just didn't have all their marbles so I gave up.
I checked a couple other campgrounds in that area and found this seems to be the new trend. I guess weekend camping is starting to come to an end.
I wonder if WalMart is adopting this same policy for their parking lot ?
What was the name of the CG ?? we were just down there and stayed at Whipporwill,nice place just outside Ocean City.There also is Ocean View Campground just outside od Sea Isle City.
Don't know about that camp ground.....does sound like they are getting greedy....But may be its because campers are coming in on Friday night for the weekend and then staying to long on Sunday for the CG to be able to rent the spot out again??? If that were the case then they would be losing one available nights rent each week.
Just a thought...
Yes Whippoorwill is a nice campground and I have reservations for the 4th of July weekend. And believe it or not they required 4 nights for the holiday weekend.
I would rather not say the name of the campground. If you check the websites for the Cape May area you will find it. It's listed right there on their website.
It's a way of getting more money out of you. They have the right to set whatever policy they want and you have the right to not stay there. I'll bet all the other nice CG's in the area have the same policy. The demand for weekends is so high that they can charge you for another night whether you use it or not. Does not sound like they are going to miss your business.
They do it because they used to reserve 1-2 nights then realized how many people they were turning away that wanted three nights. At the same time they realized if they didn't fill up for the three nights, they cold probably fill up Friday and Sat night with last minute call-ins and drive-ups. No advantage for taking 1-2 night reservations. We owned and ran a beach motel for ten years and only took reservations for 7 nights. If I had taken weekends, I would have had empty rooms all week. I don't think they are being greedy, just trying to make a living and not leave money on the table.
Which would you prefer, a 3 night min stay or for the nightly rate to go up?
While I do not like doing so I will reserve (and pay) for 3 nights as long as they will save my site for me to arrive the next day. This makes a $20 day = $30 but its my choice if I want to go.
In our area the private CG's have a min for holidays only (or race week).
We have the other problem. To get a site at our two favorite CGs people will check in anywhere from 2-5 days early to get a site. At Wind Creek SP people will start going in Between Fri and Mon to get the site they want for the 4th.
(a tent is cheaper than a TT so people will setup a tent on Sunday and book thru Wed then on Wed bring the TT in and check in as a TT)
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Big Shoe wrote: Can anyone explain what advantage, other than a few extra bucks, a campground could have at requiring a 3 night minimum for reservations? ... Whenever I camp at the jersey shore I make reservations because this particular campground, near Cape May,and like all the other campgrounds in that area, fill up fast. ...
Your answer is right there in your post: Because they fill up fast even when they do have this requirement. Longer stays mean fewer vacancies and a lot less paperwork for the front office.
As long as the policy has a positive effect on their bottom line, then it's a good business decision. And current conditions support their policy: high gas prices have led to a trend to staying in one place longer, and for East Coasters to stay in the east rather than heading West.
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