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The Campnab Blog

This is why the campsite you want is already reserved

Posted Friday, April 30, 2021

Eric Karjaluoto

Eric Karjaluoto

I’m one of the two people working on Campnab. I like to run, ski, bike, and camp with my family and friends. (I love saunas.)

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Many wonder why campsites are sold-out by 7:00:01 AM.

Multi-day bookings into “unbookable” dates mean that days are pre-booked before that date becomes available. For example, In B.C. you can book 2 months in advance. Check the above image. Notice how few of tomorrow’s openings will actually be up for grabs?

Just to add clarity here: You can’t currently book July 1st, as it’s out of the 2 month booking window. Those spots become reservable tomorrow. However, someone who booked three days ago could have booked a multi-day stay that reached into those (otherwise unbookable) dates.

So, out of the many spots at a park, only a few will actually be available for booking on opening morning. This means they’re gone fast. (Because how long does it take for a handful of sites to go when thousands of people are ready to book?)

Lots of people’s plans change. When they do, they cancel their reservations. This can happen at 12:01 AM, or at 5:45 PM, or at any other time. It’s much easier to pick up a reservation at these times, because there aren’t thousands of people waiting to pounce then, like they are on opening morning.

The problem is that it’s impractical to watch the parks website at all hours, hoping and waiting for a cancellation. And that’s where Campnab comes in. You say when you want to camp, and our service lets you know is something opens up.

There are no guarantees, but we do see a lot of cancellations over the season. If you do receive an alert, act fast, as others are looking for these spots too.

The beauty of this system is that it makes it possible to go camping without spending your life searching for a spot. It also introduces some spontaneity back into camping, because sites often become available in the weeks prior to the arrival date.

This means you can go camping. Additionally, our parks are more fully utilized—meaning more revenue for their ongoing development. It’s a win-win! 🙌

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