Metered electric?

[stephndudb]

Just got back from a 2 week stay at one of our usual campgrounds. Paid $55/night for full hookup sites, as usual (described on their site as "includes Electric, Water, Sewer, and Basic Wi-Fi). The campground just called and billed us for metered electric. Their new policy is any stay over 7 days gets charged an extra fee for metered electric. (I found it mentioned as a footnote in their site.) Now, I wouldn't mind paying a reduced rate for the full hookup site and *then* paying for metered electricity but I don't think we should pay full price for the site PLUS metered electricity. Has anyone else come across a policy like this? First time I've seen it in 22 years of camping.

[kcmusa]

I have not seen it. Would you name the campground.

[Tabasco_Joe]

How much did they charge you? Did they give you the kWH rate they charged?

[stephndudb]

15 nights, $46 charge. $0.18/Kwh.

[NJKris]

I would not be happy. Even though it's not a lot, imagine staying at a hotel, where electricity/hot water is provided, then being billed for metered power usage on top of that. Too bad you caught it too late in the 'fine print'.

[RobbieH]

I wouldn't be happy for sure unless they were charging you a weekly rate that's cheaper than a daily rate.

[ependydad]

I've seen a couple of places that do this. I also stayed at one where there were 2 rates listed... one with electric included and the other where you paid it separately.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by NJKris

I would not be happy. Even though it's not a lot, imagine staying at a hotel, where electricity/hot water is provided, then being billed for metered power usage on top of that. Too bad you caught it too late in the 'fine print'.

The difference in an RV Campground and Hotel is that the Hotel has already factored into their rates the cost of providing A/C and Heat.

In an RV Campground people can be running a couple A/C units all day during hot periods or portable heaters (instead of their own furnaces) during cold weather.

Most every place I have stayed has a lower weekly rate and this is probably their way to give long term guests a break--------right up until they use a lot of electricity. I stayed 6 months in a RV park while waiting for a house to be built. They "allowed" up to $30 per month in electrical use and billed for any overage.

Based on what it costs me to A/C my house and cook using electricity, it sounds like the OP uses a lot "juice" for an RV that's probably 1/4th (or less) than the square footage of my house. My bill for last month with up to 110 degree temps was around $50 for the same number of days.

[D W]

While I haven't experienced it, I've heard from friends in Lower 48 that this is becoming a new norm for stays 7 or more days in various private CG's. Used to be a CG owner could average-in electricity costs into a rate. These days rigs are bigger and have more electrical demands such as washers, dryers and residential refrigerators. Then factor in EV's recharging on the pedestals. Contrary to popular belief, electricity isn't free. Someone has to pay for it. This practice may be shades of things to come as we inch toward a pay as you go system.

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by stephndudb

Just got back from a 2 week stay at one of our usual campgrounds. Paid $55/night for full hookup sites, as usual (described on their site as "includes Electric, Water, Sewer, and Basic Wi-Fi). The campground just called and billed us for metered electric. Their new policy is any stay over 7 days gets charged an extra fee for metered electric. (I found it mentioned as a footnote in their site.) Now, I wouldn't mind paying a reduced rate for the full hookup site and *then* paying for metered electricity but I don't think we should pay full price for the site PLUS metered electricity. Has anyone else come across a policy like this? First time I've seen it in 22 years of camping.

Didn’t you wonder why there was an electric meter on your pedestal? I would have.

Every site at the campground where I have a seasonal site has an electric meter. Only a small number of sites are seasonal.

Bruce

[stephndudb]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Based on what it costs me to A/C my house and cook using electricity, it sounds like the OP uses a lot "juice" for an RV that's probably 1/4th (or less) than the square footage of my house.

Actually, we only have one A/C unit on our small fifth wheel and the weather those 2 weeks was very moderate (mostly 65-70 and rain) so we didn't use much electricity at all - mostly the hot water heater.

[stephndudb]

Originally Posted by nomad297

Didn’t you wonder why there was an electric meter on your pedestal? I would have.

The woman who checked us in told us that that was her seasonal site until this year. Assumed the meter was left over from her stay.

[OldGal3]

Thanks for the heads up on an extra electrical charge for less than a monthly stay. I have never been charged/metered electric until there was a month+ stay involved. What I've found this year is most ALL rates have gone up...thought that was to cover additional expenses (electric/water/sewer/insurance/taxes) for the park. One place I stayed in 2017 that was at the top of my budget (but worth it!) is now $400. wk/$1200.+ mo. I'll find somewhere else! Guess we are in the 'new age' of RVing.

[RobbieH]

Most RV parks have meters in place for their "permanent" residents. When we were fulltiming in our coach, our monthly RV spot was $375 plus electricity. They rent for $55 a day for pass-through travelers but they ignore the meter for those.

[The Evil Twin]

Geez. That is 35% higher than commercial rates anywhere in the DC metro area!!

[stephndudb]

The campground is Ames Brook Campground in Ashland, NH. I talked to someone in management. (Or maybe a property management company? She was in Florida.) Any reservation over 7 days automatically goes to metered electricity - from Day 1 - on top of the regular site fee for full hookups. I pointed out that this penalizes customers who choose to spend the most money at their facility: The person next to me for 2 nights was essentially paying $2.80 less per night than I was. (And that was in cool weather. If it had been hot we would have paid a lot more.) She mentioned that we did get a discount - 50% off every 7th night - but that ended up being less than 1/2 of our electric bill. She also explained that my example wasn't necessarily true about our neighbors because the campground is using dynamic billing. In other words, the site rates on the website are only base rates. Think hotel: the rates change based on occupancy. The fuller the campground, the more you pay. Not the way I'm used to dealing with campgrounds, but I guess this may be the new normal. They have enough demand to get away with it.

Anyway, that's the way it is. The campground, owners, and staff are nice enough but I don't think their website is clear about the changes they've made to their pricing structure, and I think it should have been explained at check-in, especially since we're repeat customers and this has not been the norm for this campground, or campgrounds in general.

[NJKris]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

The difference in an RV Campground and Hotel is that the Hotel has already factored into their rates the cost of providing A/C and Heat.

In an RV Campground people can be running a couple A/C units all day during hot periods or portable heaters (instead of their own furnaces) during cold weather.

Most every place I have stayed has a lower weekly rate and this is probably their way to give long term guests a break--------right up until they use a lot of electricity. I stayed 6 months in a RV park while waiting for a house to be built. They "allowed" up to $30 per month in electrical use and billed for any overage.

Based on what it costs me to A/C my house and cook using electricity, it sounds like the OP uses a lot "juice" for an RV that's probably 1/4th (or less) than the square footage of my house. My bill for last month with up to 110 degree temps was around $50 for the same number of days.

I don't get the difference in a one week stay or two week. Either way, daily/weekly renters pay a higher price, as you said, average utility use is built into those rates. I don't understand how having a two week stay vs. a one week stay should affect that. I'm finding out that when you have to talk to someone in another state from the state your rv park is in, the corporate shenanigans begin.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by NJKris

I don't get the difference in a one week stay or two week. Either way, daily/weekly renters pay a higher price, as you said, average utility use is built into those rates. I don't understand how having a two week stay vs. a one week stay should affect that. I'm finding out that when you have to talk to someone in another state from the state your rv park is in, the corporate shenanigans begin.

You hit an important note. More "Corporate Owned" RV Parks. My favorite park out here in the West recently sold for MILLIONS to a corporate owner. Money to pay off their investment will come from higher prices.

[Tabasco_Joe]

Originally Posted by ependydad

I've seen a couple of places that do this. I also stayed at one where there were 2 rates listed... one with electric included and the other where you paid it separately.

To me that seems fair as long as the rates are reasonable and the policy publicized.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by RobbieH

I wouldn't be happy for sure unless they were charging you a weekly rate that's cheaper than a daily rate.

Agreed.

If you paid a higher 'daily' rate while you were there and then had to pay an additional electric charge, I'd be mad too.

Why wasn't this discussed at check in/checkout?
Seems odd a fee would come at a later time unless you just left without checking out?