Rules and 10-year restriction on RVs
Time line for my attempt to make a reservation with Sparks Marina RV Park.
A. I easily made a reservation on line only to receive a phone interrogation a short time later. We’re full-timers, and this was my first time to receive such a phone call. Please understand, the online reservation platform could have added these questions to their standard questions. Nor did it ask or hint at their 10-year restriction on RVs until the interrogation.
1. “How many are in your party?” Answer: “Two, as I indicated on your form.” “What is the name of the person traveling with you?” Answer: “Linda, my wife of 53 years.”
2. “Do you have pets?” Answer: “Yes, two little dogs.” “What are the breeds?” Answer: “I don’t know the breeds. They’re recuses.”
3. Now I was hit with the money question, year and make of my RV. I don’t have a problem with simple, harmless lies. I’ve been full-timing since 2014, I’ve been asked my RV’s age few times, and I’ve rationalized a harmless lie. I simply add nine years to my RV’s age. Why didn’t I do that this time? These folks are rule pushers, they may have asked to see my registration up on arrival, and I wanted to see how the question would play out. I was told because of the RV’s age I would have to submit to a though inspection. I told her to cancel the reservation and hung up. A few minutes late she called back and said we got cut off; I said I hung up because our business was finished and explained that there was no way I was going to show up not knowing if some young rule-pusher was going to give my motorhome a thumbs down, and if I “failed” I would be left having to hustle around to find another park.
B. As always, I read the park reviews from multiple sites before committing to a park. They revealed several concerns.
1. Rules. There appeared to be a long list of them that are enforced with enthusiasm. Many dog owners complained about trying to get their dogs to the dog parks without them relieving themselves on the artificial turf, and they expressed fear of being confronted because of the staff’s willingness to challenge violators. Having two boy dogs and knowing they will pee on anything that doesn’t move, I shared that concern with my wife, and we came up with two solutions, ask for a space as near the dog parks as possible and failing that, I would load them into the car three or four times a day to minimize the chances of them peeing on the artificial turf.
2. Harsh cancellation policy: cancel outside three day of arrival, $30 dollars, and God help you if it’s within three days and you have a reservation for more than a day or two … you will pay every last penny. Period! My 7-day reservation would cost me $350+! Even though requested, I was NOT sent proof I canceled more than three-days out. I wrote an email requesting verification but got crickets for the effort, but when I finally phone in, I did get it. One reviewer said he cancelled a month out but didn’t get cancellation proof and was billed for the entire amount. No amount of complaining helped; they kept every last penny. It was easy for them; they already had the money as the full amount (up to a full month) is due when the reservation is made.
a. This is their actual policy wording: “Cancellations made inside three (3) days of your scheduled arrival date are non-refundable.” [Up to 28 days.]
C. A small but strong indicator of rule pushing is found in their contract the guests have to agree to, and I quote, “Please note – the name on the reservation must also match the credit card payment used for the reservation. Just like a hotel, we will request the ID of the guest whose name is on the reservation at the time of check-in.” Again, this would have been a first for us. As I made the reservation, I would have had to go in and take however much time it would require, if there was a line, it could have been more than a few minutes. Our normal routine is for Linda to go in and register while I disconnect. Maybe a small thing, but it does support the park’s rule-pushing nature.
A suggestion for management: As the pass/fail RV inspection was arbitrary and your guests need to know they have a reservation that will be honored, I suggest you simply request a current picture that can be sent within minutes and a decision returned in minutes. Most folks will NOT be happy to find their reservation will NOT be honored after hours on the road, and they must find another RV park. Rules are a means to an end, not an end in themselves.
