What to Join

[shadyacres]

Does anyone know what organizations one should belong to if they own a campground? When you go camping what do you look for on the signs so you get the best deals?

[dlrupper]

I look in the Campground Directories. Passport America at 50% off the advertised rate always catches my eye. Good Sam is another sign that I look for.

[utmtman]

I am just the opposite I avoid Passport America parks, if it says they are members I move on to another park. I look for parks along the highways and byways in the country between big cities. Have found nobody and no place that could match their prices for staying over night. And most are usually clean, quiet, inexpensive and give you a discount if you mention you are AAA or Good Sam and so on even if they are not members. And a lot of them are mom and pop operations.

[skiphen]

We look for Good Sam parks ( join to receive 10% discount) also belong to Passport America 50% discount at these parks.

[campingmom]

We try to stay in KOAs. I hear they are on the expensive side, but coming from the Northeast, I find they are usually more expensive in this area so we are used to paying higher fees I guess. I like that they have to maintain certain standards, especially since the kids travel with us. Usually while we are on the road in between destinations we will spend the night is a rest area or at a truck stop. We've done the Wal-Mart thing but only a couple of times. I don't really feel as safe at a Wal-Mart as I do tucked in between the big rigs.

[jdensie]

You probably want to join your State Association, also join your local Tourist Bureau. Passport America is OK if you can afford it. Advertise in Woodalls, and Trailer Life. Another great tool is the INTERNET and develop a good web site for the business. Not knowing where you a from you might have to recreate the wheel, in other words make a reason for campers to come to your CG.

[stevesandidge]

we have stayed in 1 koa, in bowling green ky. the only reason i recommend it is the other cg is wild and wooly in comparison! we were there for 2 months whilst i went to camping world rv university. the owner was not the best i think, the wifi was VERY iffy, it usually went down about 5 min after they closed the office, at 7 sharp! they allowed outsiders(non camping) into the pool, alcohol was being consumed at the pool by them, etc. after a mowing accident in which one of our students car was dinged with a rock, they refused to mow the area, but would RENT! you a weedeater so you could knock down the grass. the leash rule was not enforced.... the list goes on n on lol
steve

[dlrupper]

I also have a KOA membership, but try to avoid them as they are totally overpriced. If you have kids I guess the amenities are worth it, but we don't need the swimming pools or playgrounds and don't enjoy paying 20% or more higher rates for them. I have the membership because I needed it in the Disney World area of Florida last year and it paid for itself there, but will let it expire at the end of the year.:(

[tepetapan]

Can you afford to discount your price? As an RV Park owner I have personally found that the discount clubs don´t add up on the bottom line. To have a couple rigs worth $200,000 each plus toads of over $30,000 come in, dump, fill and leave with a 50% discount does not add up. As they say, the straw that broke the camel´s back.
Offer your clients the best place you can afford, offer free wireless internet, maps, info on the area, give them a reason to come and stay and you will be successful. Up-grade every year, paint, clean and polish and people will be standing in line to enjoy your campground. Advertise on the internet and with the others talked about earlier. There is plenty of places to spread the word at low or no cost...running a campground or RV park with only 3 or 4 months of real profit is not easy.
If you can afford to give a 20% to 50% discount, why not just set your prices accordingly?

[oldguybc]

We have both Good Sam (10% discount) & Escapees (15+%), they cover probably 90-95% of all parks, had KOA but gave it up last year when the Circus Circus KOA wanted $72.00/nite WITH a membership card. Passport America seems real expensive for what you get. Look into Woodalls & ReseerveAmerica once in a while when planning a fairly long trip. Read the recommendations! Especially in Western Canada & Wash/Ore.:) :)

[ddmdre]

I do lots of reseah to find the cg that fits and is not too costly. we arec finrch to retired and on ss only so cost is important but so is convenience and safety. we use escapee, ppa, sams, and internet with all that i find good places everywhere so far but if ppl are like us and full time it on limited income you really need to have several options available. we look at location, price, and then at extras like pool etc. but price and location are most important. offer discounts for longer stays i think that is always good

[gmandjj1980]

We use Passport America and have found it to be very useful. Understand that just like other clubs, just because they pay to join and, in this case, give you a discount, doesn't mean they are the best campground in town. We landed in one in Texas that I wouldn't recommend to anyone.

There is a website called "RVParkreviews.com that lists a lot of parks and gives RVers a chance to comment on and rate the campground. This can also be misleading though as I read one rating that made a campground I had stayed in sound like it was terrible. When I clicked on a link to find other campgrounds this party had rated I found that none of them were up to her standards. Some people just can't or won't be happy with anything.

Besides Good Sam and Passport, we belong to Escapees. More about them at Escapees.com

GML

[mistrbill]

:) We have been happy campers for almost 45 years. I joined the "Good Sam Club" back when it started and have been a "Life " member for 35 years or more. At that time a 10 % discount was good but their inspecting and grading RV parks was more important. There were less "surprises and disappointment" than winging it.
About 5 years ago we joined "Passport America" and for the most part have been satisfied with the PA campgrounds we have stayed at. Being retired and on a fixed income, the 50 % discount helps.
On a recent trip from Las Vegas through the deserts to look at the flowers and cactus in bloom, we stopped at a campground on the Colorado River in Blythe, CA and we were introduced to "AMERICAN GOLD RV CLUB". This operates like PA but they have recruited other RV parks and it fills in in a lot of places that PA isn't. One stipulation, members must be 50 years old or more to join. (americangoldrvclub.com) The discount is 50%.
If any of you sign up for this club, say Mistrbill, # AG100402, referred you and you will get 15 months for $15, the usual yearly rate.
Happy camping and good luck on the new RV park. Be sure to post the name and location when you get up and running. :)

[shdigu01]

I have been looking into clubs to join but since we are already members of AAA and AARP we can get the same discount that Good Sam's gives. I am still on the fence about Passport America but so far I am not impressed. It seems every park I want to go to either is not on the PA list or has been dropped.
Any advantages to joining a club other than the small discounts?

Thanks

[clayl]

I have been looking into clubs to join but since we are already members of AAA and AARP we can get the same discount that Good Sam's gives. I am still on the fence about Passport America but so far I am not impressed. It seems every park I want to go to either is not on the PA list or has been dropped.
Any advantages to joining a club other than the small discounts?

Thanks

I am not sure that all of the parks that accept GS also accept AAA and/or AARP.
However we rarely use GS since we went with Passport America.
We can almost always find a PA park so I don't think I would give up on them yet.

We don't belong to any of the membership parks like Thousand Trails.

We can do as well by staying for a month at a time in most any RV park and we don't have to move every 14 days or so as required by the membership parks. The annual dues can be pretty expensive and some (most?) of the contracts require that you pay the dues for life even if you stop using their campgrounds. That's why you will see people giving the memberships away or trying to sell them just for the transfer fees.
Some people swear by them but they don't make sense for us.

If you decide to join one I would not pay full retail price. There are a lot of them for sale by individuals at hugely discounted pricess.

[shdigu01]

If you decide to join one I would not pay full retail price. There are a lot of them for sale by individuals at hugely discounted pricess.
=====================

Thanks for that info, I did not even know you could do this. I wonder if people list them on Craigslist or are there forums out there for this?

So far all the parks we have looked into accept AAA and AARP at a 10% discount


Sheila

[shdigu01]

AMERICAN GOLD RV CLUB". This operates like PA but they have recruited other RV parks and it fills in in a lot of places that PA isn't. One stipulation, members must be 50 years old or more to join. (americangoldrvclub.com) The discount is 50%.
If any of you sign up for this club, say Mistrbill, # AG100402, referred you and you will get 15 months for $15, the usual yearly rate.
Happy camping and good luck on the new RV park. Be sure to post the name and location when you get up and run
==========================

Apparently this club does not exist anymore or it has a new name

[donnie]

For the little time we have had the MH, we have used GS, AARP, or AAA and got good results.

[angel]

Does anyone know what organizations one should belong to if they own a campground? When you go camping what do you look for on the signs so you get the best deals?

I look for Passport of America

[dutchdi]

Does anyone know what organizations one should belong to if they own a campground? When you go camping what do you look for on the signs so you get the best deals?

We use the discount parks in Escapee Membership book, Passport America and Good Sam. We do have other memberships like Coast to Coast, 1000 trails, RPI & ROD. Diana

[1stsgt]

AMERICAN GOLD RV CLUB". This operates like PA but they have recruited other RV parks and it fills in in a lot of places that PA isn't. One stipulation, members must be 50 years old or more to join. (americangoldrvclub.com) The discount is 50%.
If any of you sign up for this club, say Mistrbill, # AG100402, referred you and you will get 15 months for $15, the usual yearly rate.
Happy camping and good luck on the new RV park. Be sure to post the name and location when you get up and run
==========================

Apparently this club does not exist anymore or it has a new name



mistrbill:

How about it mistrbill, does the American Gold RV Club still exist? It sounds like something many would be interested in.

I tried getting on their web site and all I could find was the web site originator's page (About Us). Am I misunderstanding something? :confused:

What other RV parks / chains have they recruited to fill in the void spaces?

[roadtrash]

if i have to pay 50+ for a site i guess i will park my rig for good and go back to having a house and stay home and take a cruse now and then
i do not think a cg is worth that kind of money
even the oasis in vegas

[roadtrash]

i have tried to get on the american gold rv club site and was not able can anyone tell me the secret my explored say it is not avaliable why?
HELP!!!!!!!

[gmandjj1980]

We stay in Passport America parks almost all of the time. Sure we have found some bad ones, but I know of two KOAs that we have stayed in just because we had no choice and I put them on my list to avoid. We are members of Escapees which is getting their discounts up to 50% in a lot of parks too.

Some of the best parks we have stayed in we have found through other sources that list cheap and free parks. Lander, WY and Fort Scott, KA are only two of many that we have stayed in that we would gladly recommend to all.

Good Sam parks are also good. We look at the ratings in our Trailer Life Directory and if we have access, we go on line to websites where campers rate campgrounds.

Another good source is just what I did today. I saw some people in the park from western Washington and told them I was headed that way; what parks would they recommend I stay at or avoid?