The cost of living crisis has forced many families to opt for the cheaper option when it comes to a much-needed family vacation.
But while it’s an affordable way to travel, there’s a frustrating trend that’s becoming apparent in the camping community that’s preventing many from enjoying the time they spend outdoors.
It all has to do with the “annoying” reservation system that Australia’s national parks follow, Kidsbot Reports.
Camping sites are fully booked but almost empty.
Australian dad Michael Atkinson (@outback_mike), who you may recognize from the first season of the SBS series Australia’s onlyrecently took to social media after trying to book a camping spot in Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales.
“Do we really need a reservation system?” he commented on the video.
“I don’t mean to attack the national parks. It’s not their fault that people book and don’t show up. I’m just pointing out that the system that was introduced for social distancing because of Covid is not working well and is no longer needed. My vote is to abandon it.”
Mike points out the cheap reservation system (usually $6-10) that the parks use, which is great for families looking for cheap accommodations, but also a problem because many parks seem to be booked online only to be nearly empty when you get to the site.
It is a common and very frustrating situation for those campers who were desperately looking for a place to spend the night.
“People reserve them and don’t use them.”
In his video, Mike explains this disturbing trend in more detail.
“This is a fully booked campsite in Kosciuszko National Park. I just want to point out a problem with the reservation system,” he says.
“Basically, this is site number 19 and I think there are over 20 sites here, and only one out of every five actually has someone. But the whole place is fully booked.”
Mike’s campsite wasn’t the only place that had trouble with its reservation system.
“This is not the camp I actually wanted to go to. The camp I wanted to go to was fully booked, but I guarantee you if you go there, it will be 80 or 90 percent empty,” he insists in the short clip.
“So people are booking these spots and not using them, so this system is ineffective. If it weren’t for this last spot, I wouldn’t have been able to camp in the park. I would have had to go somewhere else, and all these empty spots were almost unoccupied.”
The father continues to say that while the system that national parks rely on worked during the height of Covid in Australia, it is no longer necessary.
“He says the measures we had in place when Covid came are gone. I really think it’s time to get rid of this system.”
“I know that sometimes the place might be full if you don’t have a reservation system, but that’s not really a good solution I think.”
All Australian campers have the same problem.
Mike’s video resonated with many Australian campers who were also frustrated by the trend.
One person commented, “We’ve seen this several times too!”
“It’s so sad that there are people out there using these patches,” agreed another.
Another angry traveller added: “I hate the damn booking system. The amount of times (honestly) I’ve seen someone show up at 11pm and tell someone else they’re in their place is ridiculous. Or, there’s no booking reception. Not everyone books from home for a weekend away from home.”
“This is absolutely ridiculous. Are these vacancies not being filled, or what is actually going on here?” another asked in the comments.
And here people started offering their theories as to why this kept happening.
People book extra places for “privacy.”
The first theory discussed was that people intentionally reserved extra spaces and did not use them to allow for more privacy and space around the location they were already staying in.
“People are booking one site and all the sites around it too. I went and stayed at an unused site at 5pm only to have someone nearby tell me they booked it and all the sites around it so they had some space,” one person shared.
“People book more than one site so they have space around them,” another added.
“Yes, the fact that you can choose your spot is the problem, it allows them to strategically book a bunch of them together,” agreed another.
It’s very cheap so people don’t cancel.
Overbooking by one group is only encouraged by the fact that camping fees in these parks are very cheap and canceling a reservation without a refund is not a big deal.
“I totally agree, the system doesn’t work. Because the national parks don’t offer refunds, most people don’t bother to notify them if they can no longer keep their reservations,” one person said.
“For $6 a reservation, there’s no incentive to cancel,” agreed another.
Another person said: “The price should be raised, for $6 or whatever the price is, people don’t care if they come or not. Every time I went there, it was the same.”
Others said it could also be a cunning revenue-raising tactic: “With a no-refund/deposit system, it’s designed for parks to make money while fewer people actually show up,” and others said the word on the street is that hotels are deliberately booking spots to force people to look elsewhere (like their hotel!) for a place to stay.
“It seems that local hotels etc. are booking up the camping spots, so people have to pay for the hotels. That’s the word on the street.”
This may sound rude if it is true. Do you feel uncomfortable with this too?
This article originally appeared on Kidsbot Reproduced with permission.
