Virginia reservation platform changing

[Jimbo K.]

Just got notified by email of a change later this month by Virginia State Parks. In short, ReserveAmerica appears to on the way out, to be replaced by a provider called US eDirect. Here's more:

https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-p...w-reservations

I've never heard of US eDirect. Anyone here have any experience with it?

I'll reserve judgment until after I've used the new system, but my initial reaction is mild disappointment. I know some folks in these parts don't like RA, but I've had no problem with it. It's functional and familiar, which has been handy not only for in-state trips but also for those in other states that also use it.

[avid108]

Looks to be the same junk Florida uses.

https://outdoors.usedirect.com/flori...or-campground/

[Jimbo K.]

Interesting that I just got another email from VSP, this one directed specifically to those of us with future reservations in the system. The gist of it is to reassure us that the migration should go smoothly and that "our new vendor has experience migrating reservations from our old vendor (in California, Ohio and Florida)." So I'm especially interested in hearing from those who have booked CGs in those states with both the old and new systems and can offer a head-to-head comparison.

Avid108, why is it junk?

[Steve-W]

I also received the email from VA as I have an upcoming reservation.
My experience with Ohio's system was very poor. The system is generally non intuitive and clunky. I can deal with that but the one thing that makes no sense is when you select the length of your RV. The drop down list is all < 30, <40, etc. So if have a 35' unit select and select 40' you will be presented sites that are 40' all the way down to the shortest site in the campground. You have to go into each site description to actually see the site length. It's not easily visible. Not sure how anyone thought this was good idea.
Screen shot of the drop down.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by Steve-W

I also received the email from VA as I have an upcoming reservation.
My experience with Ohio's system was very poor. The system is generally non intuitive and clunky. I can deal with that but the one thing that makes no sense is when you select the length of your RV. The drop down list is all < 30, <40, etc. So if have a 35' unit select and select 40' you will be presented sites that are 40' all the way down to the shortest site in the campground. You have to go into each site description to actually see the site length. It's not easily visible. Not sure how anyone thought this was good idea.
Screen shot of the drop down.

The idea of the user interface is good. The site designer has his thinking cap reversed. "<40" should show you sites 40 and up, not 40 and down.

[JWood422]

We have reservations at Westmoreland State Park in July. I got the same email y’all did. I’ll see how well it works. Kinda reminds me of one of the three biggest lies. “Trust me. I’m with the government and I’m here to help you.”

[bukhrn]

I have not had any dealings with it, but already it's sounding like the major screw up when Rec.gov went to a new contractor, a total mess, still not 100% straight.

[Chuck_S]

The idea of the user interface is good. The site designer has his thinking cap reversed. "<40" should show you sites 40 and up, not 40 and down.

The symbol is correct albeit useless. Greater than and less than symbols denote an inequality between two values. The symbol used to denote greater than is “ >” and for less than is “<”. Site <40 means sites less than 40. A lazy way of writing "less than."

-- Chuck

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

The idea of the user interface is good. The site designer has his thinking cap reversed. "&lt;40" should show you sites 40 and up, not 40 and down.

The pick list should use "&gt;", not "&lt;". The selection logic should be adjusted accordingly.

[bubbles]

Seems like everyone could just check "<70". Maybe a range would be better.

[Homebrew]

Just booked a week in Virginia using Reserve America with no issues. Received my confirmation of my reservation.

[Rover Podder]

Originally Posted by Homebrew

Just booked a week in Virginia using Reserve America with no issues. Received my confirmation of my reservation.

The Reserve America site will cease taking Virginia State Park reservations tomorrow night at midnight (1/23/2022). The new reservation site will open at 7am on 1/27/2022. Your reservation from Reserve America will be transferred over to the new site. You will need to create a new account on the new system after it goes live.

[phipps33]

I live in Ohio and have had no issues with the new system. Took some time to get used to the differences from the old system. Just have to learn the intricacies.

[JWood422]

I just got my confirmation that the transition is complete. I followed the instructions and wallah! It works! All seems well at this point.

[Jimbo K.]

Originally Posted by JWood422

I just got my confirmation that the transition is complete. I followed the instructions and wallah! It works! All seems well at this point.

So far so good for me. I got logged into the new system with no problem and I see the four reservations I have pending for this year.

The real test will come when I book a new one. Maybe I'll walk through the process in the near future with a dummy reservation up to but not including hitting SUBMIT to see how user-friendly it is.

One small nit to pick: It seems to limit passwords to 10 characters. I'm pretty obsessive about password length and character mix, and 12 characters is usually my minimum.

[Jimbo K.]

Oh, one other very important item: my loyalty points carried over.

[tinkerreknit]

I was in the group that needed to create a new account. I tried for days, thinking that the bugs were being worked out. The error message was that an account linked to my email address already existed, but I couldn't login. So.. I entered the endless loop. I was able to talk to a rep who fixed it all, and I did make a reservation. I received an email confirmation, and then another telling me that the midnight checkin and checkout times shown were wrong! Transitions like this are never smooth, but I hope there is something that is an improvement for users. I liked the previous system very much.

[Jimbo K.]

Originally Posted by tinkerreknit

I was in the group that needed to create a new account. I tried for days, thinking that the bugs were being worked out. The error message was that an account linked to my email address already existed, but I couldn't login. So.. I entered the endless loop. I was able to talk to a rep who fixed it all, and I did make a reservation. I received an email confirmation, and then another telling me that the midnight checkin and checkout times shown were wrong! Transitions like this are never smooth, but I hope there is something that is an improvement for users. I liked the previous system very much.

Yeah, I got the same email about check-in and check-out times. Given that they were midnight, I knew it was a glitch. The email just confirmed the obvious.

I agree that migration hiccups (or worse!) are likely inevitable, but it's reassuring that you reached a human and s/he resolved your issue.

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by Jimbo K.

... I agree that migration hiccups (or worse!) are likely inevitable, ...

There are two kinds of system conversions:

1. Painful
2. Failures

[Rover Podder]

All of my existing reservations carried over to the new system with no issues.
All of my existing loyalty points and pending loyalty points carried over.


With the new system, I was able to change one of my existing reservations (made on the old system) with no problems. In fact, it was better than the old system because I was actually able to change the reservation to a different park. With the old system, you could change to a different site in the same park with the online system, but you had to call the reservation line on the phone if you wanted to change to a different park.