New KOA & Love's Truck Stop?

[Steven@146]

Over on a manufactures owner forum we have been discussing this. One of our members stayed at the Love's / KOA in Bates City MO. They report the KOA had a No Hook Up, option or just Water Power with a separate dump station on the way out of the park. They said the park was nice, well lit and the price was reasonable at $38 / night. Check-In was through an app so there was no human interaction.

I have also read where they have already expanded Love's/KOA into MO, TX, TN, OK, AL and ND. Here is a link.

 https://www.camplife.com/campground/Loves+RV+Stops

[Steven@146]

OOPs forgot to say they used the power / water camping and that was $38 / night.

[jamtracy]

On 12/22/2021 at 3:59 PM, agesilaus said:

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

you must have renewed a long time ago as it's been $44 a year for many many years. Unless you do multiple years.

I get my moneys worth out of KOA as where we live there are several to choose from and we frequent them about 20 nights a year. Some are $100 a night. And before someone says anything about the price all of the campgrounds around here are that price and more. If you want to play by the beach in California you are going to pay.

[jamtracy]

8 minutes ago, Steven@146 said:

Over on a manufactures owner forum we have been discussing this. One of our members stayed at the Love's / KOA in Bates City MO. They report the KOA had a No Hook Up, option or just Water Power with a separate dump station on the way out of the park. They said the park was nice, well lit and the price was reasonable at $38 / night. Check-In was through an app so there was no human interaction.

I have also read where they have already expanded Love's/KOA into MO, TX, TN, OK, AL and ND. Here is a link.

 https://www.camplife.com/campground/Loves+RV+Stops

I think that is fine as I would think they will be used for an overnight stop until they start letting the employees live there. You know hire work campers.

[trailertraveler]

47 minutes ago, Steven@146 said:

I have also read where they have already expanded Love's/KOA into MO, TX, TN, OK, AL and ND. Here is a link.

 https://www.camplife.com/campground/Loves+RV+Stops

Thanks for the link. Looking at the information for each location provided on the website, these appear to be no frill parking lot style paved sites. The largest number of sites at any one of these locations appears to be 9. 

47 minutes ago, Steven@146 said:

Over on a manufactures owner forum we have been discussing this. One of our members stayed at the Love's / KOA in Bates City MO. They report the KOA had a No Hook Up, option or just Water Power with a separate dump station on the way out of the park. They said the park was nice, well lit and the price was reasonable at $38 / night. Check-In was through an app so there was no human interaction.

Many KOA's have had a choice of no hookup, water/electric and full hookup sites for many years. Cost increases as the amenities at the site increased.  Before the advent of so much online information and online reservations, this often caused confusion and allegations of bait and switch as many campground directories only listed the lowest price without qualifiers like "from", "as low as", or "starting at".

Edited January 1, 2022 by trailertraveler

[Kirk W]

18 minutes ago, trailertraveler said:

Before the advent of so much online information and online reservations, this often caused confusion and allegations of bait and switch as many campground directories only listed the lowest price without qualifiers like "from", "as low as", or "starting at".

The KOA directory was that way when I last had one, but that was quite a few years ago. 

[Lou Schneider]

5 hours ago, trailertraveler said:

Many KOA's have had a choice of no hookup, water/electric and full hookup sites for many years. Cost increases as the amenities at the site increased.  Before the advent of so much online information and online reservations, this often caused confusion and allegations of bait and switch as many campground directories only listed the lowest price without qualifiers like "from", "as low as", or "starting at".

Yup, that's why Escapees founder Joe Peterson once quipped KOA stood for "Keep On Adding".  Advertise a low starting price then add on fees for everything under the sun.   Predated the airlines adopting that pricing model by a couple of decades.

Since a KOA franchisee has to send 10% of their ongoing revenue back to KOA, on top of the initial franchise fee,  it's a good bet their prices will be at least that much higher than other campgrounds in an area.

https://topfranchise.com/products/kampgrounds-of-america-inc-franchise-for-sale-campgrounds-rv-parks/

Edited January 1, 2022 by Lou Schneider

[Kirk W]

From KOA:

Quote

About Kampgrounds of America:

Kampgrounds of America, Inc. (KOA) is the world’s largest system of open-to-the-public campgrounds with 525 locations across the U.S. and Canada united under the mission of “connecting people to the outdoors and each other.” The industry leader in outdoor hospitality, KOA’s family of campground brands – KOA Journey, KOA Holiday and KOA Resort – offer sites and amenities designed for every type of camping experience. The company was founded in 1962 in Billings, Mont., and today serves more than a million camping families each year, who rely on the standards of excellence and unique outdoor adventures KOA is known for. For more information, visit KOA.com.

KOA HELPS FRANCHISEES MAXIMIZE REVENUE, PREPARE FOR NEW GENERATION OF CAMPERS

Edited January 1, 2022 by Kirk W

[Dutch_12078]

5 hours ago, Lou Schneider said:

Yup, that's why Escapees founder Joe Peterson once quipped KOA stood for "Keep On Adding".  Advertise a low starting price then add on fees for everything under the sun.   Predated the airlines adopting that pricing model by a couple of decades.

Since a KOA franchisee has to send 10% of their ongoing revenue back to KOA, on top of the initial franchise fee,  it's a good bet their prices will be at least that much higher than other campgrounds in an area.

https://topfranchise.com/products/kampgrounds-of-america-inc-franchise-for-sale-campgrounds-rv-parks/

Every KOA I've ever stayed at I was charged exactly what the reservation system said. The only extra cost items after arriving have been the usual store items, propane, etc, that all parks charge extra for.

[mptjelgin]

48 minutes ago, Dutch_12078 said:

Every KOA I've ever stayed at I was charged exactly what the reservation system said. The only extra cost items after arriving have been the usual store items, propane, etc, that all parks charge extra for.

Same for us. People like to throw that "Keep on Adding" line into these conversations, but we've never run into that in our many years of RV'ing. Do they charge different rates for different types of hook-ups? You bet. But so do most other places. 

[docj]

25 minutes ago, mptjelgin said:

Same for us. People like to throw that "Keep on Adding" line into these conversations, but we've never run into that in our many years of RV'ing. Do they charge different rates for different types of hook-ups? You bet. But so do most other places. 

We, also, have had many good experiences at KOA's.  They may cost a few percent more but that provides a consistency and uniformity that is nice when you're in a unfamiliar area.  It's the same reason that my family used to stop for lunch at Howard Johnson's.  They were never "great" restaurants, but they were clean and you knew you probably would be safe to eat their food.  FWIW if you save KOA points you can get back enough free stays to offset the slightly higher daily rate they charge,  

[trailertraveler]

Looking at the information in the links of Kirk's original post and the link provided by Steven@146 it appears that Love's currently has 6 locations with RV parking spaces. I could not find any of these listed in the KOA online directory/reservation website. The Love's website link provided by Steven@146 does have a reservation feature for these locations. The McComb, MS Love's/KOA does not appear to be listed on the KOA online directory/reservation website yet. It's opening date may not be established at this time.

[Twotoes]

I worked a short time at a KOA and the owner advised me that in addition to a monthly franchise fee, he paid a percentage of the base campground fee to KOA corporate, but any add on fees were all his. That is why they keep on adding. The additional fees for upgraded amenities go in his pocket. 

[dblr]

On 12/20/2021 at 7:44 AM, dblr said:

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.

Coming home today I saw this Loves with a small campground behind it, it was at exit 275 on the eastbound side. It looked fenced in but was directly behind the Loves.

[Kirk W]

44 minutes ago, dblr said:

it was at exit 275 on the eastbound side.

What highway and state?

[dblr]

9 hours ago, Kirk W said:

What highway and state?

Sorry, I-70 In Kansas.

[Kirk W]

1 hour ago, dblr said:

Sorry, I-70 In Kansas.

That looks like the Love's at Abilene, KS.  It must be new if part of Love's as the Love's RV Stop listing doesn't show it, at least not yet.

Of the 6 listings on the Love's site, none make any mention of KOA. 

Edited January 9, 2022 by Kirk W

[dblr]

10 hours ago, Kirk W said:

That looks like the Love's at Abilene, KS.  It must be new if part of Love's as the Love's RV Stop listing doesn't show it, at least not yet.

Of the 6 listings on the Love's site, none make any mention of KOA. 

It looks brand new, not sure of the town name, it was foggy on our return trip and snuck up on me, I was lucky to just get the exit number. Looked fine for a overnight stop but sure it will be noisy as it is close to the road and eastbound exit.