Skip to main content
Sign up

Campgrounds & RV parks

How should a campground handle reservation change requests?

Handle campground reservation changes in three steps: log the request, check availability and fit, then confirm in writing with the new total.

By , Founder, Propty · Austin, TX

Published

Campgrounds & RV parks

Treat every change as three separate things: the guest's request, your availability check and the confirmed amendment. Log the request exactly as asked, check the new dates, site, rig or party size against your own calendar and every channel calendar that sells the same site, and price it under your park's written change and cancellation policy. Nothing changes until the guest accepts and you send a written confirmation with the new dates, site and total.

Key points

  • A request is not a change. Keep the original booking in place until the amendment is confirmed.
  • Check every calendar that can sell the site, including channel calendars, before you say yes.
  • A different rig goes back through your site fit check.
  • Apply your own written policy for fees, refunds and deadlines rather than inventing terms on the phone.
  • Confirm in writing with the old total, the new total and the difference.

What to collect first

Item Why it matters
Reservation number and booking source Tells you whether the booking lives in your system or on a channel such as Hipcamp, Airbnb or VRBO
What the guest wants changed Dates, site, rig, guest count, or more than one
New dates Drives the availability check and the rate lookup
New rig details Type, overall length, slide-outs and power needs, for the fit check
New guest and vehicle count Checked against each site's occupancy and vehicle limits
Date the request arrived Your policy deadlines run from this date
Where to send the confirmation Text or email, so the amendment is in writing

The workflow

Step Owner What Output
1. Log the request Office Record what the guest asked for, the booking source and the request date Change request; booking unchanged
2. Check availability Office Check the new dates or site on your calendar and every channel calendar that sells it Available or not
3. Check fit and limits Office For rig or guest changes, run the site fit check and occupancy limits Pass, or alternatives
4. Apply policy Office Price the change from the rate sheet and apply your written change and cancellation policy Old total, new total, difference
5. Offer Office Tell the guest the result and new total; get their acceptance Accepted or declined
6. Amend Office Update the booking where it lives, then block the site on every calendar Booking amended
7. Confirm Office Send dates, site, rig, guest count, totals and the policy terms that applied Written confirmation

Handle each type of change

Dates. Treat new dates as a fresh availability check. A move can cross into a different rate season, weekend or holiday minimum, so price the new stay from the rate sheet. Your written policy decides whether shortening or moving a stay counts as cancelling the original nights.

Site. Confirm the new site's hookups, amenities and measured fit match what the guest needs, and price the difference from the rate sheet.

Rig. A different trailer or motorhome can change length, slide-outs and power needs. Send it back through the fit check in our article on RV site fit inquiries before confirming. Do not assume the original site still works.

Guest count. Check the site's occupancy and vehicle limits and any per-person or extra-vehicle fees on your rate sheet.

Bookings that live on channel calendars

Change a channel booking through that channel's own process so the guest's record and payment match what you agree. Airbnb's help center describes hosts sending a trip change request for dates, guest count, price or listing, with the original and new totals shown to the guest before they accept and the guest charged or refunded as needed. VRBO's help center describes owners accepting or declining a guest's change request and notes that cancellation policy dates update to match the new stay dates. Hipcamp's help center describes guests changing dates, guest count or vehicles from their Trips page, with Request to Book changes sent to the host, who has 24 hours to respond, and refunds depending on the host's cancellation policy.

If your calendars sync on a schedule, a site can look open between syncs. Before you confirm a change taken by phone, refresh or check each channel calendar for the new dates, then block the site everywhere once the amendment is made. Rules on each channel change over time, so read its current help pages before relying on them.

Confirming the full total also matters for pricing rules. The FTC's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees covers short-term lodging, defined as including temporary sleeping accommodations at a hotel, motel, inn, short-term rental, vacation rental or other place of lodging, and requires the total price to be disclosed clearly. Ask your attorney whether and how it applies to your park.

Change request checklist

  • Request logged with source and date before anything is changed (required)
  • Original booking kept until the guest accepts the amendment (required)
  • New dates or site checked on your calendar and every channel calendar (required)
  • Rig changes sent through the site fit check (required)
  • Guest and vehicle count checked against site limits (required)
  • Price taken from the rate sheet and policy applied as written (required)
  • Written confirmation sent with old total, new total and difference (required)
  • Site blocked on all calendars after amending (recommended)
  • Written list of policy exceptions staff may offer (optional)

Example (hypothetical)

A guest booked back-in site 12 for Friday and Saturday nights, 2 guests, at an example rate of $55 a night. Original total: 2 nights times $55 is $110. Ten days before arrival, they ask to arrive Thursday instead, bring a 34-foot fifth wheel instead of a 24-foot trailer, and add 2 guests.

Example park policy: date changes 7 or more days before arrival carry no fee; changes inside 7 days carry a $10 fee. Example rate sheet: pull-through site $70 a night; $5 a night per guest above 2.

  1. Policy: 10 days is 7 or more days out, so no change fee.
  2. Fit: the park's measured fit sheet shows site 12 cannot take the new rig. Pull-through site 20 passes the fit check for the guest's stated rig length.
  3. Availability: site 20 is open Thursday through Saturday nights in the park's system, and staff check both channel calendars that sell it.
  4. Limits: 4 guests is within site 20's example limit of 6.
  5. New site charge: 3 nights times $70 is $210.
  6. Extra guests: 2 guests times $5 times 3 nights is $30.
  7. New total: $210 plus $30 is $240.
  8. Difference: $240 minus $110 is $130 due.

The office tells the guest the new total, the guest accepts, staff move the booking to site 20 and block it on both channels, and the written confirmation lists site 20, Thursday through Saturday nights, the fifth wheel, 4 guests, the $110 original total, the $240 new total and the $130 balance with a payment link. Site 12 is released only after the amendment is saved.

Common problems

Problem Likely cause Fix
Double booking after a phone change Channel calendar not checked or not blocked Check every channel calendar before confirming and block the site after amending
New rig does not fit on arrival Rig change not sent to the fit check Ask about the rig at every change request
Refund dispute Policy terms not in the confirmation Quote the policy terms and amounts in writing
Park and channel records disagree Booking changed in one place only Amend where the booking lives, then sync
Original site resold too early Request treated as a confirmed change Keep the original booking until the guest accepts
Fees waived for some guests and not others No written exceptions Write down which exceptions staff may offer

What to track

Track the share of change requests that end with a written confirmation showing the new total. The target is every one.

Limitations

Change fees, refund rules and deadlines come from your own written policy and any channel terms that apply; this article does not set them. Site fit depends on your measured site data. Channel processes described here come from each channel's help pages and can change. Consumer protection and pricing rules vary by state. This is general information, not legal advice. Check with your state program or attorney.

Where Propty fits

Propty's campground page describes Hipcamp, Airbnb, VRBO and The Dyrt calendars syncing every 30 minutes and before every booking, with double bookings flagged and a booking refused if a channel calendar cannot be checked, plus calendar export links so your channels can see your bookings. The same page describes answering calls 24/7 with your approved greeting and a recording notice, collecting dates and rig length, quoting prices only from your rate sheet, texting back missed callers, and secure payment links or supported keypad payments. Propty's What you get page describes payment links sent by text within your texting rules. For more operator guides, see the campgrounds learning hub.

Want to see how your listing and calls look to a new customer? Get a free Get Found audit.

These descriptions come from Propty's public pages as checked on 2026-10-16. They are not a test of the live product. What is available for a property depends on setup and connected services, so confirm current behavior in a demo before relying on it.

See the campground demo.

Sources

Take the next step yourself

See a day with Propty. Then try it.

Watch the tour, then explore the dashboard. See how it fits your property before you sign up.

Choose my property type →