Why Are Visitor Fees Charged At Private Campgrounds & RV Parks?

Visitors are unhappy when they are charged a fee to visit. Campers are unhappy when their guests are charged a fee to visit or they have to pay it in advance for them. So, why do visitors have to pay fee at a privately owned and operated campground?

The answer is because visitors increase the operating costs of the campground. The campground’s facilities can only handle so many people at a time. Additional people place an extra burden on the facilities. There are the obvious additional expenses of toilet tissue, paper towels, cleaning supplies, attendant’s labor, garbage bags, and more. The prices of these supplies have sky rocketed with increased petroleum prices.

Popular, private campgrounds receive hundreds of visitors a month, which can translate into thousands of visitors a season, which translates into huge extra expenses for the campground. The less obvious long-term view is that expanding facilities is a huge investment these days and in order to maintain the facilities a campground has, they have to stay within the capacity boundaries for which their water and sewage systems were designed. Water system quality, pool samples, and sewage testing are required by the state to the tune of thousands of dollars a season. All for good reason, as they are designed to keep the public’s drinking water, swimming facilities, and ground water safe. However, when extra burdens are cast upon those facilities, the costs to maintain and operate them increases as well. If the testing of those systems is that expensive, imagine the increased operating expenses for them.

In addition, the visitor rates aren’t normally set on the person who uses the facilities the least, but on the average cost of the visitors to the campground or RV park. The campground owner assumes that your family will participate in activities and events, enjoy the entertainment provided, and or utilize the swimming pool, and other facilities and amenities. These business owners know that their visitor rates go up dramatically on holiday and special event weekends. The numbers of visitors increase because we have special activities and events; have better entertainers or entertainment, and more things to do.

Parking extra vehicles is another issue. In most campgrounds, real estate is a premium. So, too many cars per campsite quickly become a congestion and safety issue. Most campgrounds limit the number of vehicles per campsite to one or two for safety reasons and rescue vehicle access. Therefore, the campground is needs to provide extra visitor parking areas to relieve that congestion and ensure access for emergency vehicles. That means that there is a clerk that has to assign the visitors tags, provide access to the park, a campsite map to help the visitor to find the folks they desire to visit, and finally directions on where they are to park. All of these materials and the employee’s time is an additional increase to the cost of operations to the business.

Increased visitors increase a campground’s liability insurance costs. The rates for a campground’s liability insurance are based on the risk assessment and the number of people who occupy a campground during a season. The higher the number of occupants in the RV Park or campground, the risk increases accordingly. In addition, some insurance carriers argue that visitors are more likely to be injured because they are unfamiliar with their surroundings, may not be aware of all the rules or safety policies at campgrounds, and are less likely to be dressed appropriately for the camping or outdoor experience. All of these things place the visitor at an increased risk for an injury.

Remember that privately owned and operated campgrounds aren’t subsidized by tax dollars like state and county parks. Visitor’s fees, as you can see, are clearly one of those necessary evils. Therefore, the campground owner, camper, or visitor has to pick up the tab for those additional visitors and the additional costs associated with those visits. It isn’t fair to pass those costs on to all the campers, is it? Why should the camper who doesn’t have visitors have to pay for those who do? That is why most campground owners believe that the people receiving those services (i.e. the visitor) should pay for the services rendered.

So the next time you hear someone complaining about a visitor’s fee, or worse yet encouraging another person to cheat or to avoid paying a visitors fee, remember that it is you, the RVer or camper, who will ultimately pay for that visit. At the end of the business year, when the numbers come in, and that owner looks at the bottom line from that camping season, the campground owner will have to set their rates for the next season to offset their losses. In other words, they’ll have to raise the campsite prices accordingly to pay for those extra supplies, extra tests, extra labor and extra maintenance. So when visitors cheat, they aren’t cheating just the campground owner. In the end, they are cheating the American consumer, and in this case, that is you, the RVer or camper.

By Robyn Chilson

Tim & Robyn Chilson own and operate Brookdale Family Campground in Meadville, PA. You can contact Robyn at robyn@brookdalecampground.com