No room in the Inn

[GoN4it]

ha out there folks
i got a weak off last part of febuary. thought about going south to panhandle of florida. everything is full. i can't believe it. looks like snowbirds have it locked up. is that correct?

when i retire at the end of the year. is that the way it is across the southern parts of the country in the winter? Whats a camper to do?

the end
otto

[Walaby]

Really hard to get stuff in Florida this time of year.

Have you tried Cedar Key RV resort?

http://cedarkeyrvresort.com/cedar-key.php

It's a smallish place, and a quaint little town. They could easily be full as well, but worth a shot.

Mike

[GoN4it]

nope, full up

thanks mike

[Coheeba]

I'm here in Panama City Beach and Michael did a number on us and there are so many contractors here it looks like spring break, and that starts in 3 weeks. Restaurants and hotels are at capacity all the time. Its starting to get old.

[minnow101]

Yeah the snowbirds have things usually locked in a year in advance. I might suggest picking a half dozen places for 2020 and get on a wait list. Once your in, you can just keep renewing your reservation from one year to the next.

[GoN4it]

now thats a good idea

otto

[oldguy]

The RV industry produced more than 300,000 units last year. I'm sure there was no such increase in camp sites. Sooner or later the system is going to break. Even up here in the summer finding a site can be a challenge. Especially if one wants just a weekend getaway.

[MarkDeb]

We waited too long before booking last year for this season in Florida. Decided to drive our car to the Keys for a long stay in a hotel and work our way up the west coast scouting RV spots for 2020. Just returned after 4 weeks and probably visited 25 or more 'resorts'. We filled out forms and put our name on waiting lists, face to face with park managers, in about a dozen parks.

Most were up front with us and told us our chances for a Jan-Mar stay in 2020 were slim to none. It was a real eye opener. I won't give up trying but the bottom line is you have to be there when the guy who has the spot this year decides he's not coming back. The waiting lists (we were told too many times to count) were the fall back plan for managers and were rarely used by them to fill the very few vacancies that they have. The managers won't take the time to call scores of maybes on massive waiting lists if someone is around to take it.

The nail in the coffin is that there are more folks wanting spots than are available so... folks willing to pay for 4-6 months get priority over all others. Several managers told us that we would be bumped by anyone willing to pay for extra months.

We saw some beautiful resorts (and some turds) and noticed a few new ones. There are developers buying inland tracts and making tropical paradises out of cow pastures and selling the lots like condos. Cypress Trails in N Ft Myers comes to mind. A nicer place I couldn't imagine. The good news is there are lots for rent seasonal there among the unsold and unoccupied lots.

If you don't play the lottery you can't win, but getting a nice SoFla RV spot is a little like winning one. Odds included. To be sure, inland, 45 or more min from water is less competitive but not by much

[Cate&Rob]

This is the reality of (literally) millions of Canadian and northern US baby boomer snowbirds heading for Florida (and Texas/Arizona/etc) every winter. We have been doing this for four years and have seen a dramatic volume increase in just this timeframe. We see sites that sit empty most of the winter because someone is willing to pay the 4 month rental fee in order to have the site for the one month that they actually want to use it. This is unfortunately the "price of admission".

Rob

[minnow101]

I wonder if AZ, TX, AL or even the FL panhandle might have openings ?