Campsite booking windows are getting smaller.
Roughly 40% of campers in Florida and Alabama are booking campsites between 0 and 7 days before their arrival, according to the latest statistics from Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Campspot, one of the nation’s largest campsite booking platforms.
Casey Cochran, vice president of business development for Campspot, joined Scott Bahr, of Cairn Consulting, in discussing the latest camping and travel trends on day three of the Florida and Alabama RV Park and Campground Association’s annual convention and expo in Orlando.
Cochran said private parks in Florida saw higher occupancies than the national average in both 2024 and 2023. Florida’s campground and RV park occupancies increased by 7% in 2024 over 2023 figures, while the national average for private park occupancies fell by 2% during the same period.
Parks in Florida also increased their average daily rate (ADR) by 3% in 2024 compared to prior year figures, while parks across the rest of the country saw their ADR increase by a mere 1%, Cochran said.
Thirty-nine percent of bookings at Florida parks were made between 0 and 7 days of arrival, he added.
Private parks in Alabama, for their part, experienced a 9% increase in occupancy from 2023 to 2024, exceeding the national average by 1.4%, Cochran said. Forty percent of Alabama park reservations took place within a week of arrival in 2024, up 2% over 2023 figures.
Looking at camping trends nationally and internationally, Cochran said consumers are increasingly making their campground reservations using online booking platforms. Campspot alone handles reservations for about 3,000 campgrounds and RV parks or roughly a fourth of the nation’s inventory of private parks, he said.
Campspot has seen a 40% decline in Canadian bookings at U.S. campgrounds this year, though Cochran noted that Canadians account for only 2.6% of Campspot’s reservations overall. At the same time, Campspot has seen a 23% jump in Canadians traveling to Canadian parks.
“Canadian travelers are favoring Canadian parks,” he said.
Bahr said camping trends this year are also likely to be affected by consumer concerns about the economy and their own financial situations.
“Overall,” he said, “campers are reporting a worsening personal financial situation.”
Moreover, Bahr said, “It’s the mindset of the consumer that impacts what they do. If people are uncertain about where things are going, they are more likely to hold off on making travel plans.”
Campgrounds still have some marketing advantages, however.
“Camping is viewed as a much more affordable way to travel than other forms of travel,” Bahr said, adding, “Somebody planning a resort trip may be more inclined to stay at a campground.”
Given the current economic environment and people’s perceptions, Bahr suggested park operators target more of their marketing to local feeder markets, since many campers may opt to stay closer to home this year. He also said that more campers may need convincing through promotions and special events, again because of the current economic environment.
Cochran said it’s also important for park operators to adjust their rates to reflect changing market conditions.
Cochran and Bahr’s discussion was followed by Will Bowen, a professional speaker, trainer and author, who gave a keynote presentation titled “Profiting from a Complaint-Free Workplace.”
Thursday’s Chairman’s Lunch featured presentations by Rep. Richard Gentry (R) of Florida’s House of Representatives and two state senators, Sen. Kristen Arrington, (D) and Sen. Keith L. Truenow, and French Brown, an FARVCA lobbyist.
The FARVCA convention and expo concludes today with a keynote session by Mike Boyland of “Mike’s Weather Page,” industry panel discussions, and a tradeshow.
