---
title: "57% of Campers Surveyed Gave Up on a Campground Booking. What Made Them Walk Away?"
url: "https://camperfaqs.com/57-of-campers-surveyed-gave-up-on-a-campground-booking"
author: "Tory Jon"
published: "2026-11-10T10:26:12-06:00"
modified: "2026-11-10T10:26:16-06:00"
---

# 57% of Campers Surveyed Gave Up on a Campground Booking. What Made Them Walk Away?

In a September survey of 968 U.S. campers, 57% said they’d given up on at least one campground booking in the past year. They either couldn’t reach someone at the park or couldn’t finish the reservation online.

 

Storable Newbook, which sells reservation software to campgrounds, [released the findings on November 4](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/more-than-half-of-campers-gave-up-on-a-booking-last-year-new-storable-newbook-report-finds-302929275.html). The survey included people who had stayed at a campground, RV park, or glamping site.

 

## When the park down the road is easier to book

 

Asked how they choose between parks, 69% of campers said they’d picked one campground over another because it was easier to reserve a site, pay, or contact them online.

 

Timing helps explain the appeal. About a third of those surveyed said they usually book outside business hours. If there’s no way to reserve online and nobody picks up the phone, 47% said they move on to another park after the first call.

 

Booking records from Campspot show how often campers make those plans online. From January through September 2025, guests booked 65% of stays shorter than 28 days online at parks using its system, according to [a joint report from Campspot and OHI](https://ohi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/The-Data-Dig-2026-Occupancy-Outlook.pdf).

 

## Surprise fees were the biggest turnoff

 

Unexpected fees at checkout were the most common reason campers gave for walking away. Paying up front was a different question. In Newbook’s survey, 72% said they were willing to put down a deposit or pay for the whole stay at booking.

 

Even a modest fee can change the price of a one-night stop. Minnesota state parks [list their reservation fees alongside their nightly rates](https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state-parks/fees.html). Take a $20 site without hookups. Book it online in advance and one night comes to $28 before tax. Reserve it the day you arrive and the state waives the $8 fee.

 

What’s made you back out of a campground reservation after you’d already picked a site?