Is KOA Abandoning RVers In Favor of Glampers?

Above, at the Tucson-Lazydays KOA Resort. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

During my recent trip to Arizona for the Lost Dutchman Chapter of E Clampus Vitus spring clampout, I stayed at two KOA Kampgrounds. One was in Willcox, Arizona and the other was in Tucson, Arizona.

I did not make reservations for either one. I simply drove in and asked the clerks if they had any spaces for my 23' Class C motorhome available. Both did. Thanks to the accumulated bonus points I had, I was able to stay at each for way under $100/night.

Granted, we're not in the summer camping season yet (that officially starts during Memorial Day weekend next month). 

At both KOAs, I did not see any evidence that either one was "abandoning" RV business in favor of glamping. Apparently, some of them are as Chuck Woodbury at RV Travel wrote about in today's Newsletter.

Here's a snippet:

So now we come to KOA, Kampgrounds of America, once referred to as the Motel 6 of campgrounds when its parks were less expensive. I am here today to suggest that KOA is no longer focused on serving RVers. Today, it’s about “glamping,” offering non-RVers stays in luxury cabins, designer tents, yurts, tee-pees, railroad cabooses, covered wagons and other profitable “glamping facilities.” Other RV parks are doing the same, but KOA is the best known.

This summer, an RV site at any KOA close to a popular national park may cost you $100, $150 or more a night — that is if you are lucky enough to find an available space. For example, a two-day weekday stay in my 32-foot motorhome at the KOA in West Glacier, Montana, for a full-hookup Super Site “with grass” goes for $199.70 a night. It would be higher on weekends or holidays.

But good luck getting a reservation. Most of the popular KOAs are already booked solid this summer.

To read more, go here.

RVs Not Welcome At New KOA Park

Above, The Beast at the Jackson Hole/Snake River KOA. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Incredible as it may seem, given that the baby boomer generation is in retirement age and buying RVs in record numbers, a KOA Kampground in Maine is opening with no RV spaces. 

The only KOA Kampground I've been to with the lowest number of RV sites was the Jackson Hole/Snake River KOA. They had about 22 sites for RVs. The rest were mainly cabins and tent sites.

RV Travel posted an editorial by Chuck Woodbury that begins with:

Jumping on the new, hot trend of “glamping,” a new KOA park in Maine will open in June without a single RV site for rent. The entire park will be composed of luxury canvas tents on wood platforms, each with hot and cold water, bathrooms and other luxurious amenities. They’re gorgeous! 

Before its new life as a “glampground” it had up to 130 spaces for RVs, tents and some cabins. It was first opened in 1970. 

Now, the same land is dubbed Terramor Outdoor Resort. It offers a “luxury experience in the woods,” which those of us with RVs would likely say we already have. The difference is, I suspect, that most RVers won’t pay $218 to $315 a night, which is what you’ll pay at Terramor for your experience with nature. So leave your RV at home, even though since 1962 KOA has been a welcoming stop for RVers and tenters for a night or a week (or longer).

With more people in RVs these days, hopefully this is not going to be a trend where RV campsites are lost to the current fad of glamping.

To read more, go here. 

11 Differences Between Camping and Glamping

Above, the Spring Platrix Clampout on the Keene Ranch. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Glamping, also known as luxury camping or glamorous camping. - Glampinghub.com.

Up until about two years ago, I have never heard the term "glamping" until I started reading Camping News online. There, they talk about all kinds of camping, from the "roughing it" kind to luxurious "glamping".

Do It Yourself RV has an article on 11 differences between camping and glamping.

They begin with:

The beauty of nature is just absolutely breathtaking sometimes. Whether it’s on the shores of a lake, on a mountainside, or in the middle of a sprawling desert, there’s a good reason that over 40 million Americans are involved in some form of camping each year. 

The true definition of camping tends to vary, though. For some purists, it’s simply not “camping” if it’s anything more than a sleeping bag in a tent. For some, it’s still camping even if you’re kicked back in a luxury RV. But whether or not you think “roughing it” is a requirement, there’s no denying that “glamping” is bringing a whole new level of interest to the outdoors. 

RVC Outdoor Destinations, a leading operator of high-quality outdoor vacation destinations, came up with 11 fun differences between camping and glamping. Here’s our take on their list.

For me, I paid my dues camping out in tents and sleeping bags where a small pebble under your sleeping bag feels like a boulder poking your back. Since I am much older, I prefer to have more comforts while out in the wilds somewhere.

To read the 11 differences, go here.