New KOA & Love's Truck Stop?

[Kirk W]

I was reading of someone on Escapee's Facebook who works construction and reported that the new Love's Truck Stops are adding some RV sites. I did a little digging and found these two stories, but am wondering if anyone has seen evidence of this yet, or perhaps stayed with one of them?

KOA Enters Franchise Agreement with Love’s Travel Stops     By: RVBusiness|Published on: May 20, 2021

KOA And Love’s Travel Stops Team Up For New Campground   

[dblr]

We just drove west from Delaware and in either Mo. or Co we saw a truck stop on the eastbound side of I-70 with brand new pull thru sites behind it, not sure what truck stop, will have to check on our return trip in January. Looked good but close to the highway.

[agesilaus]

Hopefully they aren't going to be the KOA standard $55 and up per night

[trailertraveler]

5 hours ago, agesilaus said:

Hopefully they aren't going to be the KOA standard $55 and up per night

I do not believe that KOA sets the price for their franchise campgrounds. KOA campground prices do however have to cover the franchise fees as well as other costs of operation in order for the campground to be profitable. This past year we stayed at a couple of KOAs that were less than $50.00.  That said they were still at the higher end of the price point for their local area. If Love's fuel prices are any indication, I would not expect their campground fees to be on the low side for their local area.

[rpsinc]

While I agree that campground businesses need to be profitable, I also agree that my personal living budget also needs to be balanced.  Cant last long if spending more than what is coming in.  In my personal limited KOA experience, many of their parks are lesser quality and so should offer lesser pricing.  They sure arent RESORTS!

[packnrat]

sad, but thanks to the "new" dot rules of service for trucks. and the computer log books.

truck stops are full by the late afternoon. most towns, city's have placed bans on truck parking. no parking on the streets around many truck stops, so adjustable parking pricing is now just a part of life.

(aka: they are going to charge as much as they can get away with).

[Kirk W]

On 12/20/2021 at 2:55 PM, rpsinc said:

In my personal limited KOA experience, many of their parks are lesser quality and so should offer lesser pricing.

Like most franchised businesses they vary widely by age and owner. In this case the owners will all be the Love's family and probably will be pretty much the same.

Quote

Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores (commonly referred to as Love's) is an American family-owned chain of more than 500 truck stop and convenience stores in 41 states in the United States. The company is privately owned and headquartered in Oklahoma City,

 

[agesilaus]

Loves has very pricey fuel, unless you have a discount card. So why would you expect their camps to be less expensive. The KOA discount card is worthless, a KOA manager told us not to waste our money buying one.

 

We did find a couple of KOAs far out from anywhgerewith moderate $40/night charges but the majority sticks with the $55 price. It may not be 'set' by KOA but I'll bet it is the recommended price given to the franchisees.

[Blues]

22 minutes ago, agesilaus said:

The KOA discount card is worthless, a KOA manager told us not to waste our money buying one.

That's just silly.  It's demonstrably not worthless because it provides a discount on the nightly fee. 

Whether it's "worth it" to buy the card obviously depends on whether the discounts and other benefits will be more than the cost of the card, but that will depend on how often the card gets used, how much the nightly rates are, etc.  It might be "worth it" for some people, and not "worth it" for others. 

I wonder who "eats" the amount of the discount--the franchisees or corporate?  If it's the franchisee and I were a franchisee, I wouldn't encourage people to buy it, because that's money coming out of my pocket.

[agesilaus]

They are worthless when you consider the discount vs the price of the card unless you stay frequently at KOA. The ran the cost of the card up to $33 and I think dropped the discount to 10% so at the average $55/night you'd have to spend 7 nights to get into the black on the deal.

Edited December 22, 2021 by agesilaus

[Dutch_12078]

41 minutes ago, Blues said:

That's just silly.  It's demonstrably not worthless because it provides a discount on the nightly fee. 

Whether it's "worth it" to buy the card obviously depends on whether the discounts and other benefits will be more than the cost of the card, but that will depend on how often the card gets used, how much the nightly rates are, etc.  It might be "worth it" for some people, and not "worth it" for others. 

...

I agree, the decision should be based on the value to you versus the cost of the membership, the same as any other RV discount card. For years we did carry a KOA VIP card because we used it often enough to more than pay for the membership. Many years, our accumulated points alone paid for the card along with earning us a few free nights. Later on, when we found that we much preferred state and national parks over private parks, we were only visiting a KOA once or twice a year for one night in transit stays, so we dropped the card. 

[Dutch_12078]

13 minutes ago, agesilaus said:

They are worthless when you consider the discount vs the price of the card unless you stay frequently at KOA

That same can be said for any membership/subscription discount card. A Costco membership is "worthless" if you never patronize their stores...

[Kirk W]

Quote

LOYALTY PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Do more of what you love — camping — and reap the rewards when you join the KOA Rewards program!

The KOA camping discount program is a renewable annual program that any guest can enroll in. For just $33 a year, you get access to perks like:

 

---

• 10%* discount on the daily registration rate at 500+ KOA locations
• A free night of camping** during KOA Rewards Weekend at participating KOA Campgrounds
• Exclusive offers and special discounts from our partners
• And so much more!

 

---

 

Once your KOA Rewards is purchased, you can easily track and access your exclusive savings and see your account details through your koa.com account or via the KOA App.

From discount camping at KOA Campgrounds to additional savings offers from our partners — on top of easy account access whenever you need it — you can see how quickly the $33 pays for itself. Start saving with a KOA RV camping rewards account.

[agesilaus]

Quote

That same can be said for any membership/subscription discount card. A Costco membership is "worthless" if you never patronize their stores...

 

There is only one membership card that is cost effective and that is PPA which puts you in the black on the second or third park. GS maybe worth it if it's still $20 and you get 10% at thousands of parks. That usually just covers the taxes.

[Kirk W]

14 minutes ago, agesilaus said:

There is only one membership card that is cost effective and that is PPA which puts you in the black on the second or third park.

Actually, there are at least 2 of them that offer half price stays. The Happy Camper Club is the same type of service and in many cases the same parks participate.  In addition, for those who choose that style of camping there is Thousand Trails, Harvest Hosts, and Boondockers Welcome. 

On the subject of Loves & KOA, I doubt that they will be part of any of the discount groups but I have seen 1 or 2 KOA's that were, but none recently.

Edited December 22, 2021 by Kirk W
add links

[Dutch_12078]

1 hour ago, agesilaus said:

 

There is only one membership card that is cost effective and that is PPA which puts you in the black on the second or third park. GS maybe worth it if it's still $20 and you get 10% at thousands of parks. That usually just covers the taxes.

Just like the others, PPA is worthless if you don't use it. PPA can be more cost effective than some of the others of course, if the participating parks happen to be where you need them and their restrictions work for you. GS is worth more to me for the PFJ fuel discount than it is for the few overnight stays we make at participating parks. The most cost effective cards for my wife and I are our Federal lifetime Senior Access passes and our Escapees Club card.

[palmeris]

Think it’s a convenience for all, keeps the rvs out of the truck stop, gives the rv a place to park with hook ups , fuel, showers, food.. a natural expansion of the business model for Loves with brand recognition of KOA to add weight for quality and value that would take loves a while to build on its own, seems like a smart marketing move too.

That convenience will be priced accordingly I think.

[agesilaus]

Quote

Actually, there are at least 2 of them that offer half price stays. The Happy Camper Club

That's a new one  for me. Their website has lots of words but not much info. "Up to half off" what ever that means and most critically NO MAPS. I looked at Louisiana's listings and it was a list of parks fluffed out to take up as much room as possible on the page. The location is just the nearest town. You can use google to get directions, one park at a time, but I want a map so I can see what parks are near my planned route. A park in LA near twomules means nothing if I'm going down I10 and Twomules is at the northern border of LA. And it is $40/yr

 

PPA certainly has a quirky set of limitations on their parks but at least I can see where the parks are located. And IIRC it's $20 or $25/yr

 

HH and Boondockers is the same company now.

Edited December 22, 2021 by agesilaus

[Dutch_12078]

1 hour ago, agesilaus said:

PPA certainly has a quirky set of limitations on their parks but at least I can see where the parks are located. And IIRC it's $20 or $25/yr

PPA is $44/year...

https://passportamerica.com/

[agesilaus]

41 minutes ago, Dutch_12078 said:

PPA is $44/year...

https://passportamerica.com/

Hmmm I don't recall paying that much when I renewed, yhe must have kicked it up.

[Kirk W]

2 hours ago, agesilaus said:

That's a new one  for me.

Happy Camper Club has been around at least since the 90's as we were members for a year back about 91 or 92. We were still only part time so it really didn't pay us. By the time that we went fulltime I had discovered that Escapees seemed to prefer Passport America so I joined it and stayed with it the entire time that we were on the road. 

19 minutes ago, agesilaus said:

I don't recall paying that much when I renewed, yhe must have kicked it up.

We paid $44/year the first year we belonged, in 2000. I just looked in my financial records to verify that. We did pay less at several times by purchasing multiyear packages, as you still can today. 

Quote

 Select/Click on Membership Term

$44 - 1 Year

$79 - 2 Year ($9.00 savings)

$109 - 3 Year ($23.00 savings)

$179 - 5 Year ($41.00 savings)

$399    $299 - Lifetime Gold Membership (Unlimited Savings!)

 

[Jinx & Wayne]

On 12/20/2021 at 3:55 PM, rpsinc said:

They sure arent RESORTS

They are the last one.

Wayne & Jinx
2017 F-350 diesel, dually
2006 Carriage Carri-Lite 36KSQ

[trailertraveler]

The last time I looked, the Escapees Discount Parks that gave the 50% discounts were also participants in the Passport America Program. The conditions (i.e. blackout dates, length of stay, etc.) for individual parks were the same for each program. PPA had more participating parks but if the parks you would use are in the Escapees program there is no need for both memberships.

With regard to Good Sam, by far the greatest benefit that I have received is the intervention of their dispute resolution staff in resolving two initially denied warranty claims that saved me over $1k. I seem to recall that at one time Love's gave a fuel discount to Good Sam members. That ended and a discount program was initiated with Flying J. With the Pilot/Flying J merger, the Good Sam discount was extended to both Flying J and Pilot.

As has been mentioned before, the KOA 10% discount and the redemption of earned points can pay for the membership if you use their parks enough. KOA also has partnerships with other companies that provide discounts to KOA members. In the past this has included Allstate Roadhelp, tire manufacturers and others.   

Edited December 23, 2021 by trailertraveler

[Velos]

The pandemic increased interest in RVing to be able to still vacation while socially distancing. Many found it hard to find open RV sites these past two summers.   RV sales went through the roof and pre-owned units sold quickly. Now with the supply chain challenges materials and supplies will take awhile to get back into the system.  Change is like death and taxes: a certainty and it is human nature to resist change.  The cost of building new RV parks and bringing old ones up to the current "standards" or "interests" of subsequent generations cost money. 

I started RVing when dirt was new and progressed through several styles of units from tents, to truck campers to tow trailers, to  motorhome to fivers. I vacationed, part timed and full timed. Talented designers packed more and more into little spaces each year.  Some want it all, some are minimalists and no two have the exact same interests. 

I googled "What is the future of RVing?  Electric vehicles are quandary with their limited distances but that is just one of the many new challenges for travelers, RV manufactures and RV parks.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=What+is+the+future+of+rving

 

[agesilaus]

We have had minimal problems finding spots, that is on coast to coast trips and maybe 15000 miles last year. That excludes anything north of the Mason Dixon line in the east. My theorey is that these shortages mainly are occurring in NE states and other states that closed down their own state parks or limited camping in commercial parks.

Spots in or near major parks are always tough to get but even with that we camped for weeks in and around YNP, Tetons, South Rim and Bryce. Boondocking helps.

But we had almost no trouble finding spots in commercial parks, we camped in over 50 locations this year

Edited December 31, 2021 by agesilaus