juggernaut Report post Posted August 28, 2015 As a newbie to the RV lifestyle, I was wondering why so many RV parks don't have a website. Many that do have sites don't have the ability to check availability and book online. The hotel industry has plenty of widespread technology and many distribution channels in all segments of the market. Why don't RV parks? Are many RV park owners just not tech savvy? Is it cost prohibitive? Is business so good that it's unnecessary? Are online booking too hard to manage? Please elaborate. I would love to hear comments from RV and RV park owners. Cheers! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
desertdeals69 Report post Posted August 28, 2015 I do all my reservations online with Thousand Trails. I stayed 142 nights last year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jrwitt Report post Posted August 29, 2015 As a newbie to the RV lifestyle, I was wondering why so many RV parks don't have a website. Many that do have sites don't have the ability to check availability and book online. The hotel industry has plenty of widespread technology and many distribution channels in all segments of the market. Why don't RV parks? Are many RV park owners just not tech savvy? Is it cost prohibitive? Is business so good that it's unnecessary? Are online booking too hard to manage? Please elaborate. I would love to hear comments from RV and RV park owners. Cheers! I worked many years (part time) at the front desk of hotels and I am a retired programmer. The reservation software can be very complex and expensive. A large hotel or a mega chain like Holiday Inn or Marriott can afford custom software. The software for a small RV park wouldn't be as complex, but the principle operations are about the same. Plus, as you mentioned, many RV park owners and employees are not as tech savvy. For a programmer or programmer team to develop this type of software is just not cost effective. I hope that will change in the future. And not only is the initial software expensive, buy the tech support can also be too expensive. . And training of the front desk personnel and the cost of the hardware adds to the expense. Remember, a lot of RV parks are Mom & Pop operations. They just don't have the knowledge to maintain something like that so a support structure would be required. As the demand grows, software will be developed that can work for individual sites. If enough small operations buy into it, then a support structure can be created to service the reservation system, but you will still need tech savvy people at the front desk. You have to be able to update the availability of parking sites in the system to show what is available. Hotel systems do all this automatically when someone checks in or out. But those systems have a learning curve for the operators and their employees. Many RV parks are seasonal so employees don't always stay long. I could go on, but the best I can say is be patient. It will happen someday ... I hope. And remember, when this does happen, the costs will probably result in higher prices for you and me. Groan .... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildebill308 Report post Posted August 29, 2015 Welcome to the forum. I think it is to expensive and time consuming for small operations to do. I use the my laptop to look for places and then look at reviews then call and make the reservation, usually receiving a written conformation by email. I don't see a problem I just got back from a trip where we stayed in22 different campgrounds and state parks. Bill Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
casuall454 Report post Posted August 29, 2015 National chains have on line booking ( KOA, Jellystone, etc.) the smaller parks have pressure from several outside sources and seem to reply on "word of mouth" or some of the newer online peer review website / apps like "RV Parky" Many of these camp grrounds are family owned 20, 30 and 40+ years they have a very loyal local customer base and just don't require on line registration to "meet" their business model. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
huffypuff Report post Posted August 29, 2015 I, like Bill, prefer to look up, reviews and call for the reservation. That way you get a live person to get you the best spot that is right for you. Any question you have about the place can be answered quickly. There are a few other reason to call like last minute reservation, checking for cancellation etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted August 29, 2015 Agree with Bill & Ray! I like speaking to a person. I have found a lot of Parks/Resorts that take reservation by computer, but that is only as good as the receiving end checks the reservations! I always call. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
akadeadeye Report post Posted August 31, 2015 National chains have on line booking ( KOA, Jellystone, etc.) the smaller parks have pressure from several outside sources and seem to reply on "word of mouth" or some of the newer online peer review website / apps like "RV Parky" Many of these camp grrounds are family owned 20, 30 and 40+ years they have a very loyal local customer base and just don't require on line registration to "meet" their business model. This goes to jrwitt's point. Large chains have all the bells and whistles. And you pay for it. KOA's prices are almost always the highest in any area you will stay. Actually, we like small mom and pop parks if they are clean and in good areas. I don't mind calling to make a reservation because I understand the limitations of the budget on these small businesses. Don Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
juggernaut Report post Posted August 31, 2015 Thanks to all for the responses. It sounds like the major issues is that it's a lack of being tech savvy to expense. I was in the onliine hotel reservation business early on and eventually sold out to a major industry supplier. Even small private hotels got in fairly rapidly. Maybe the right solution hasn't been developed yet. It could be due to my past being in the business, but I would like to go to a site and see only the options of places available over a particular date range. Much like you do when booking a hotel. That way I could be armed with only available places in a suitable area with suitable facilities to call. Calling blindly seem so inefficient. Am I alone in this? Chris Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
juggernaut Report post Posted August 31, 2015 BTW, I did check out the sites mentioned but unfortunately you can only check on place at a time. Thanks for the info though. Chris Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermanmullins Report post Posted August 31, 2015 Chris, one problem with park website pictures are how old are they. We have seen places that had beautiful pictures and when we arrived the place was the pits. I like to use http://www.rvparkreviews.com/ . But again how current are the reviews. A friend made reservations at a park based on trailer life book. Shrimp fry every Friday in the restaurant, when they arrived they found that the restaurant hadn't been opened in 3 years. I myself like to see a place before I put out my money.Herman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
juggernaut Report post Posted September 1, 2015 We had the same problem with outdated pics on hotel sites. I guess current reviews tell the best story. That probably was how TripAdvisor got started. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
