RV Travel Opinion: The "Service" Economy That Isn't

Above, The Beast at the Las Cruces, New Mexico KOA Kampground. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Even though the RV industry is booming and people are still heading out in their RVs (despite the high cost of fuel), RV parks and campgrounds are cutting back on services.

What's causing all this?

Andy Zipser at RV Travel has posted an opinion piece on the "service" economy that isn't.

He begins with:

This summer’s outlook was already foreshadowed in January, when the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said that Log Gulch Campground in Montana would be closed because of staffing issues. By early May, Michigan gave another indication when it said it had hired fewer than half of the 1,300 seasonal workers it needs to staff state parks, despite pumping wages up to $15 an hour, or 50% higher than the state’s minimum wage. Less than a month later, Michigan was pleading with campers to respect the 3 p.m. check-in time because its skeleton workforce couldn’t keep up with site clean-ups.

And now that we’re in the full swing of summer vacation season, recreational facilities and tourist-oriented businesses all across the country are struggling to stay open. Several state parks in Nebraska are cutting hours due to the worker shortage. Trolleys serving Maine’s beaches have been sidelined by a lack of drivers. Municipal swimming pools nationwide are closed or operating at reduced hours for lack of lifeguards.

To read the full article, go here.