Camping reservations need karma

I’m about the last person in the world to use the word “karma” without a smirk on my face. When it comes to fixing campsite no-shows, though, karma might offer a solution.

Campsite shortages are a utilization problem

We all know the aggravation of campgrounds selling out in seconds. This emotion is greater when you realize that some fail to even use the campsites they reserved. I’ve personally visited “sold-out” campgrounds in which 1/3 of the sites were empty. Boo!

I can’t tell you why these campsites go unused. I have a hunch, though. Some areas require you to book up to a year in advance. This policy forces campers to reserve spots before their plans are set. As the months pass, it’s easy to forget that you’ve even reserved campsites.

Another factor relates to a perceived campsite shortage. The rush to book on opening morning results in a frenzy of sorts. We all witnessed those ridiculous toilet-paper shortages during the pandemic. Clearly, emotion affects behavior. This pressure leads folks to take more than they need… just in case.

Promoting a new mindset about cancelling

At Campnab, we don’t book campsites. All we do is notify campers when suitable ones open up. Admittedly, this is a weird job, but it’s what we’ve done for nearly 6 years. In that time, we’ve come to think that we don’t need more campgrounds so much as we need to better utilize the campsites we already have.

Part of this relates to how we look at reservations. You’d think twice about tossing a soda can in the trash—because doing so would be wasteful. We ought to look at campsite reservations in the same way. If you’re not able to use a site but you don’t cancel, you’re robbing someone else of an opportunity.

We don’t have much influence, but we did start posting reminders like this on social media:

If you feel like sharing it, you’re welcome to. The more we talk about the need to cancel, the more apt we are to change our thinking about shared resources. Helping others access campsites we can’t use is the right thing to do.

Booking systems can also implement features that help encourage canceling. For example, BC Parks’ booking system Camis automatically sends campers a reminder a week before their trip. In it, they ask campers to cancel if they no longer need their campsite reservation. We’d love to see this practice become commonplace.

Booking windows also affect campsite utilization. Admittedly, this is a challenging problem. Booking campsites a year out is hard for anyone; conversely, reserving 2 months out doesn’t leave sufficient time for those traveling long distances. I have to wonder if a 4-month booking window might hit the sweet spot.

Connecting actions to access

Some think financial repercussions will encourage people to use, or cancel, campsites reservations. I disagree. Not all campers are equal—at least from a financial standpoint. Those driving half-million dollar RVs won’t feel any pain if they lose a few nights of reservation fees—or get fined.

Conversely, access to campsites affects us all, regardless of our personal financial situations. For this reason, I wonder if a karma-based approach might fix our unused-campsite problem. By this, I mean a system in which responsible activity keeps your account in good standing.

You create a profile when you reserve campsites online. What if that profile had a score attached to it? Fail to claim your campsite, or cancel your reservation, and you lose a point. Do this three times and you’re no longer permitted to reserve a campsite within that jurisdiction for a set period.

Perhaps this could also be applied to what we do on-site at parks. This karma score might offer a way to discourage folks from trashing campsites or creating disturbances. It might also get folks to pack away their food, instead of leaving it out overnight (in parks that have bears in the area).

I’m not 100% sure of this approach. It feels a little Big Brother-like. On the other hand, our actions have consequences. Trash your hotel room and you’ll need to pay for repairs. Crank Motörhead at 3am and your neighbors will give you the stinkeye. Drive recklessly and you’ll lose your license. Should our public parks be any different?

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Admittedly, some would find workarounds to such repercussions. If a camper lost their reservation privileges under my proposed system, they’d probably use a friend’s or spouse’s account. I get that.

What I propose isn’t a perfect solution. Instead, it’s a starting point that would need to be tested and refined. That said, I like that this approach asks us to look upon campsite reservations as a privilege that shouldn’t be squandered.

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