Why you might receive campsite alerts in advance of the launch time

Occasionally, members get in touch asking why they received an alert before 8 AM on launch day. I get why these would be a bit perplexing. How can someone cancel a campsite reservation for days that aren’t bookable? 🤨

First, let me explain how our campsite availability tracker works. Campnab effectively looks for status changes on campsites listed on booking systems. So, when an unavailable campsite switches to available, an alert is triggered.

We’ve noticed that some booking systems toggle campsite availability a few hours before they open for booking. We don’t know why the booking systems do this, but we have seen it occur on a few different ones. This toggling is typically only momentary, but it’s enough for our system to see a status change that looks like a new cancellation.

These sorts of alerts aren’t that common. I typically hear about them every month or two. Additionally, they occur more often with permits than standard campsite reservations.

I know these sorts of false alerts can be frustrating. 😖Unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do to remove them altogether. We’re doing our best to catch any status changes so members don’t miss out on opportunities. These are just weird exceptions that sneak through.

Additionally, we encourage members to wait until after the launch day to create scans. It’s best to try to book a spot on opening morning directly through the parks’ booking system. If you get the campsite, you won’t even need our service. If you don’t, that’s the time to create a scan.

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