Why are KOAs so expensive?

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Wonderlust

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Whenever I look up campground rates, even compared to other RV "resort" type parks, it seems that KOA is at least twice as expensive. Why?
 
I'm not sure if 2X is accurate, but they have a number of privately-owned franchise campgrounds that need to charge additional $$ to pay the bills.
 
Some of the reason is that they belong to a national chain, which means the parent company does all of the advertising for them, and they pay a percentage for it. They are also very "family friendly" parks, and as such usually have many activities centered around kids. If you don't have kids, you wind up paying for lots of stuff you don't use.

On the plus side you can always count on them to pretty much have the same amenities and be fairly well taken care of.
 
I have found KOA parks to generally be more expensive than other comparable facilities in the same area, but usually only by 10% or so. Each independently owned KOA pays a percentage of each site rental to KOA corporate for their marketing, reservation, and training services. Each KOA park sets its own rates and often offers more family oriented features than other parks in the area.
 
KOAs are supposed to be destination campgrounds meaning they want to be a place were someone would go and enjoy the campground. They tend to have swimming pool, playgrounds for kids, and other similar amenities. All of this adds to the costs. I avoid them like the plague.
 
I am not sure why, but when we are looking for a stop over if it is a KOA, we automatically pass right by it knowing it will be expensive.

Jack L
 
We stay at a few KOA's each year, including one that's in the right place for an overnight stop in PA when we head south in January, and one of the few PA parks near I-81 open year round. Another KOA is located in a good location in GA for us to take a 3 or 4 day travel break just before we get to Florida. Both of those are priced close enough to their competition that our 10% KOA VKR discount makes them about equal. We also accumulate enough VKR points each year to both pay for our membership, and get a free night or two, even further lowering our KOA costs. We don't deliberately seek out KOA's, but we don't shy away from them either, when it's the right park in the right location for our needs at the time.
 
I don't necessarily avoid them, but given a choice between a KOA and an independent park, I will usually go indie.  Some have some 'special' features which I have no need for.  The one up in Bozeman we use because occasionally I need an off-season park.  My first experiences with KOA was back in 1972, driving cross country, I discovered the price difference back then, that opinion has never changed.

 
judway said:
Doesn't KOA stand for Keep On Addin".
Click to expand...
I've heard that said for years, but at all the KOA's we've stayed at, we've only paid the stated site rate shown online less our discount. Other than taxes, the only other items we've paid for were things like items in the store, meals, propane, etc, that we pay extra for at all parks that offer them.
 
I am another that doesn't mind KOAs. The cost upper is probably the franchise fee, and the discount t I get generally covers it. Generally we pick campgrounds due to location, and if that is a KOA, that's where we will stay. I think we each have preferences about what type of sites we prefer, and we generally don't like the parking lot style sites, even if they are less expensive. The majority of KOAs we have stayed in have some grass, a bit more space between sites, and a wider age group.

As to the "Keep on Adding", we only found that an issue when we were traveling with four kids and would get additional fees for the people above the standard four. Some places charge extra for different types of sites or for cable, but that is found in a lot of places (not just KOAs).
 
KOA has broken into three kinds of camping. I think the Journey KOAs are supposed to be less expensive than the Holiday or Resort KOAs.

http://koa.com/brands/
 
KOA has broken into three kinds of camping.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that info and link Gene. I must have missed the announcement and wasn't aware of the change. Sounds like a good move for them and, hopefully, for their guests.
 
Although we're not big fans of KOA, we were quite impressed with a franchised one we stayed at in Caddo Mills, TX. I wrote to KOA Corp suggesting they use that campground and the operators as a model for other CGs, employees and operators. Reported here.
 
I read about the KOA branding scheme a couple years back, but it appears to be more marketing hype than actual practice. When you search for CGs on the KOA site, they don't identify them by type and merely list the amenities each CG has. And the prices are set by the franchise owner, not KOA HQ. Whether the rates are competitive for the area and amenities offered is established at the campground level. 

I've stayed at campgrounds that are obviously former KOA locations (the main office style tends to be recognizable) and talked to the owner. Typically they say they bailed out because the high corporate fees were more than the value received. If a park has a good repeat clientele base or customers tend to be walk-ins or direct call reservations, they don't benefit much from KOA corporate advertising and reservation services. Often they can offer lower prices by handling that themselves.
 
There are also a few benefits if you use KOA regularly. The KOA card gets you 10% off of the posted rates. If you use the card enough, the KOA card is free.  If you make a reservation on line you get 200 extra points. Points add up to money credits which can be applied to free nights stays.  So things are not all bad, but you have to decide if the benefits are enough to make it worth your while. 
 
you have to decide if the benefits are enough to make it worth your while.
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Aye Marty, we've gone back and forth several times over the years, letting the card run out, signing up again a few years later, letting it run out, etc. The catalyst to sign up again is usually if we happen to stop at a KOA CG and they dangle the carrot at check-in "get the card fee back via the 10% discount".
 
We stay at enough KOAs to make the card pay for itself. Although KOAs are not our first choice, especially if we are on the road and just staying one night. But sometimes the price is right. We are staying two months at a KOA in Ft. Collins, CO (see attached image) and paying $25 per night plus electric. Comes with a cement pad, patio with wrought iron table and chairs, grill and enclosed fire pit. This is an expensive KOA the daily price for this site would be around $80. You could get a back in without the amenities for $45 minus the discount.

Gary other than that web page and a few emails I haven't seen anything that shows they're pushing that format.
 

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