Reservations

[CamillaMichael]

Over the last week I have been trying to make our reservations for our trip to New England in the spring...about half the campgrounds I attempted to make reservations at have not "opened" their campgrounds for reservations in the 2013 season. Don't expect anyone to fix this, just find it a heck of a way to do business.

[bw2]

We met a young couple a few years ago in Florida. They owned a CG in Maine. They shut down for the winter at the end of October and opened in late March. They traveled the warm weather areas in between. Sounded like a great way to travel and still work.

[DQDick]

Can't blame them for wanting to live like we do.

[CORattler]

We usually make reservations as it guarantees a spot when we need/want it. The common rule of thumb is 6 months out. I've been known to reserve a popular spot at 12:05am when the situation calls for it. It's a game sometimes....

[Sky]

There is very little camping done in New England during the winter months. The expense of keeping the water from freezing at the camping sites, heating bathrooms that people aren't going to use because there aren't any campers. Why remove snow from the streets when the campground is empty and not being used and then pay for the ware and tear of the snow removal equipment. Most campgounds in N.E. are family owned and can not afford to stay open all winter long and are not set up to entertain people during the cold snowy months. There are a few CG's that are open year round and have the buildings and indoor pools etc to stay open all year round but these are few and far between and even then a lot of their sites will be closed for the winter and just a few sites are hooked up to keep water running.
but they also charge more than other CG's. Another thing to think about is that (myself included) many campers dont' want to drive or haul their camper on the snow and icy roads. Besides what BW2 & DQDick stated about the owners going south during the winter like a lot of retired campers do makes a lot of sense.

[CamillaMichael]

I see a little confusion on my post...our site in New England (Maine) is our site...we have it as long as we want/pay for it. The sites/campgrounds I am talking about, for the most part, advertise as being open "year round!" Since they are presumably at the campground, I would think they would be open for business and accept reservations, but that's just how I see it:-)

[CamillaMichael]

Continuing above...I also intended to communicate that we would be travelling in the SPRING, not winter months...I also do not like towing in the snow or on icy roads!

[mhs4771]

Not that this is an answer, but some of the places that claim to be open "Year Round" may be, but don't staff the CG office. Some have the phone xfered to their residence and others may just check the answering machine every few days. We have waited close to a week sometimes before hearing back.
Were you getting an answering machine or just continuing to ring with no response?

[CamillaMichael]

quote:Originally posted by mhs4771

Not that this is an answer, but some of the places that claim to be open "Year Round" may be, but don't staff the CG office. Some have the phone xfered to their residence and others may just check the answering machine every few days. We have waited close to a week sometimes before hearing back.
Were you getting an answering machine or just continuing to ring with no response?

In a couple of cases, someone actually answered the phone! One of those made a reservation and sent email confirmation. In the other, a reservation was supposedly made; however, I have been waiting for a week for email confirmation. At that campground, the young lady who took the reservation said I should call ahead just before we were to arrive?! Without some kind of written confirmation, I can see how that would turn into a real problem come check in time! In the other cases, no answer on the phone, and emails have gone unanswered. I like reservations to be in writing...over the phone leaves way too much room for error.

[cdaniels]

Agree with you about the reservations and need for confirmation. We also seem to have difficulty reaching cg reservations for spring. It is a time consuming process. We are one of those people that book ahead to organize and guarantee where we want to camp for the summer. Seems if we don't we can't get in where we want to. Hopefully they will call back but some are pretty independant because they can.... It's amazing how expensive some campgrounds have gotten and have a waiting list. Good luck!