It is easy to make extra cash by allowing campers to choose their site. Although the camping industry is making a much stronger comeback than many other travel sectors affected by the global pandemic, the ramifications haven’t completely disappeared.

On one hand, there are campgrounds reporting a massive influx in guests since late spring, optimistic news for the industry in general, but that doesn’t quite fix the difficulty they may have received just weeks prior. Also, even big upticks don’t always guarantee big revenue when you compare them to what one campground manager, Taylor, describes as a “ghost town” when referring to his park’s occupancy just a couple of months ago.

Even today, there are plenty of campgrounds that are still struggling to fill occupancy or are facing higher cancellation rates than usual. Although these are factors that aren’t fully in your control, as a campground owner, there are creative things you can do to help earn a little more cash per guest and influence your cancellation rate for the better.

Choose Your Site Option 

One way to earn more cash per guest and lower your cancellation rate is by taking advantage of the new product update from RoverPass so you can make extra cash by allowing campers to choose their site! We’re happy to introduce an effective new way to earn some extra cash by allowing campers to have a little more control over their reservations. Yes, you can now make even more income simply by giving your campers the option to choose exactly where they stay.

More Flexibility for Campers

These days, campers are placing a little more emphasis on feeling safe. That’s why giving them the flexibility to choose their own sites may actually make or break your occupancy rate this season and going forward, that is the easiest way to make extra cash by allowing campers to choose their site.

The idea is simple:

Campers want to see information about each site in a list view, in order to compare and choose which site works for them. Campers want to select a site, even if it requires paying a fee so that they can feel like they have more control over their reservation and know where their family is staying before checking in.

Take it from Michael, a frequent camper who booked his last vacation with RoverPass RMS. “For us, having the ability to select our exact site is super important to our vacation planning,” says Michael. “We don’t own an RV, we rent, so knowing our exact accommodations is a determining factor in the rig class we decide to rent.”

For campground owners that want to manage which site each camper will stay, we will allow the camper to pay an added fee to their reservation to “lock-in” the site they’re staying at. This will prevent the owner from changing the site assigned without permission from the camper and refunding the lock-in fee.

This is part of the larger site selection configuration options campgrounds have. They may allow guests to:

• select their site WITH NO FEE
• select their site WITH FEE

Or not to allow guests to choose their site at all by selecting the option:

• Select site NOT ALLOWED

Although every RoverPass RMS user will have this option available, the good news for campgrounds is they can still choose whether they want to relinquish that type of control or not. However, it is important to note that some campground owners who have used this function report an additional $5,000 a year or more, simply for allowing the option. Not a bad deal if you ask us.

Here’s how it works:

Keep in mind, this is only in the online checkout. This does not affect reservations made through the Reservation Builder.

Campers can choose whether to select their exact site or not based on a rate that you set.

Campers can view details of each site.

Conclusion

So, as folks are being more selective about their travel plans, we feel that it’s the perfect time to introduce this new feature to help you help campers and in turn, earning as much as possible per booking. Let us know what you think of the new Choose Your Site feature below.

Interested in how RoverPass can help your campground boost profits, save time, and increase occupancy all at no cost to you? If you are not a current RoverPass customer start by scheduling a demo below to learn more about our reservation system.

If you are a current customer you can visit the Help Center for instructions on how to implement the Site Lock feature.

Help Article: How to use the Site Lock feature