Outdoor hospitality professionals are always looking for smart ways to boost revenue without compromising the guest experience. This guide delivers exactly that, fresh, field-tested strategies that go beyond the usual rate hikes and promo codes to help your business thrive.
Smarter site categorization and bundles your guests actually want, these 12 strategies are data-backed and built to scale, whether you’re managing 25 sites or 250. If you’re ready to turn everyday decisions into serious income, keep reading to explore what works and how to start applying it in your park today.
- Unlock Midweek & Shoulder-Season Bookings
Midweek stays and shoulder-season nights often sit empty, but targeted promos can change that. During Campspot’s 2025 Biggest Booking Week (a spring sale they ran across 325 parks), participating campgrounds saw a 74% jump in reservations and a 24% bump in revenue—all in one week—even though many of those bookings were weeknight stays. (Campspot Software)
Take-away: Design a “Wellness Wednesday” or “Taste-of-Fall” package and promote via your OTA and social channels to capture that same lift outside the peak season.
- Encourage One More Night per Guest
Adding a single night to each reservation can directly boost your bottom line. Operators using an RMS reported an average 22% revenue increase simply by automating rate adjustments and minimum-stay rules (e.g., auto-raising midweek rates only slightly to encourage a third night). (RoomPriceGenie)
Take-away: Implement minimum-stay restrictions and small incremental rate hikes on Tuesdays–Thursdays to tip guests into extending their stay.
- Jump-Start Revenue for New Parks
New builds need cash flow from day one to cover financing and operating costs. Good Sam Campground Solutions clients see a 25% annual increase in reservation volume once they switch on dynamic, OTA-integrated booking tools, even before their grand opening marketing finishes. (Campground Solutions)
Take-away: Pre-sell memberships or early-bird rates via your website and OTAs, offer exclusive first-year perks, and ensure you’re listed on major marketplaces at launch.
- Monetize Smokeless Campfires
Smokeless fire pits meet growing guest demand for comfort and eco-friendliness. In Campspot’s 2025 amenity survey, 72% of campers said a campfire pit is their top “nostalgia-evoking” amenity, and firewood was the second-most purchased add-on at checkout. (Campspot Software)
Take-away: Offer premium “smokeless pit” reservations (with gourmet s’mores kits!), and charge per session to offset any drop in bulk firewood sales.
- Maximize Day-One Revenue (“Out of the Gate”)
Early-bird bookings and deep discounts build momentum and cash flow. Parks offering 50%+ discounts during Campspot’s Biggest Booking Week doubled their Marketplace share, with the top tiers seeing a 180% lift in bookings versus prior weeks. (Campspot Software)
Take-away: Run a “Founding Member” sale with deep but time-limited discounts to drive early occupancy and create FOMO.
- Fill Underperforming Units with Yield Management
Guests value site characteristics differently, privacy, views, and amenity proximity all factor into their willingness to pay. Classifying only pull-throughs, back-ins, and cabins overlooks key differences. Map out five to six distinct site types (e.g., interior-quiet, poolside, highway-adjacent, family-zone, waterfront) instead of just three, unlocking incremental rate tiers that translate into “an enormous revenue stream” when those small per-night bumps multiply across all bookings (Newbook)
Take-away: Identify 5–6 unique categories based on noise level, view, and amenity access. Apply incremental nightly increases (e.g., +$2, +$5, +$8) according to desirability. Monitor booking patterns by category and adjust the rate gaps to ensure high-demand sites stay premium while filling quieter sites more consistently.
- Handle Credit-Card Fees Fairly
Processing fees can quietly erode margins if you absorb them. Spot2Nite covers all credit-card fees for partners, translating into roughly 3% extra net per booking versus other OTAs, and still charges zero commission. (Spot2Nite for Operators)
Take-away: If you choose to pass through swipe fees, be transparent (“a 1.5% convenience fee”) and highlight the benefit (“secure, contactless checkout”).
- Ethically Leverage Dynamic Pricing
Rates tied to demand can boost revenue, if done with guest trust in mind. Campgrounds using dynamic pricing saw an average 83% revenue increase over static-rate peers in Campspot’s 2024 Wrapped Report Campspot Software.
Take-away: Be transparent (“Rates fluctuate based on occupancy”), cap maximum changes, and communicate value (“Our dynamic model helps keep rates low on midweek stays”).
- Simplify Your Pricing Structure
Complex, add-ons-upon-add-ons confuse guests and can derail bookings, clear bundles drive conversions. In Campspot’s33% of campers said they’re interested in technology amenities such as Wi-Fi and cable TV, a clear signal that guests value, and will pay for, transparent, bundled utility offerings. (Campspot Software)
Take-away: Build three or four straightforward packages (for example: Basic: site + water/electric, Plus: Basic + daily Wi-Fi pass, Premium: Plus + firewood bundle + equipment rental) so travelers instantly see what they get at each price point and can opt in with confidence.
- Boost Ancillary Revenue
Add-ons (rentals, retail, experiences) can be 10–30% of total revenue. Parks on Campspot generated $40 million in add-on revenue in 2024, up $7 million from 2022, with a 4% increase in amenities booked at checkout year-over-year. (Campspot Software)
Take-away: Promote equipment rentals, branded merch, guided hikes or cook-offs during booking flow and track which add-ons consistently sell.
- Cultivate Guest Loyalty
Repeat visitors are the cornerstone of sustainable revenue—retaining a guest is far cheaper than acquiring a new one. In a CRR Hospitality survey, 86% of guests said they’d return after a positive experience at an outdoor hospitality property. (CRR Hospitality)
Takeaway: Deploy poststay surveys, segment your email list for personalized offers, and launch loyalty tiers (e.g., “Book three stays, get one free”) to keep guests coming back.
- Know Your Market & Customers
Data-driven insights into guest behavior and market trends let you price competitively and tailor amenities. RoomPriceGenie notes a 98% rise in U.S. households camping three or more times a year—and over 60% of glamping operators have been in business less than five years, highlighting both surging demand and growing competition. (RoomPriceGenie)
Takeaway: Regularly benchmark your ADR, RevPAR, and occupancy against similar properties, then refine your siteandpackage bundles to match what today’s campers value most.
From the moment a guest finds your listing to the add-ons they choose at checkout, each touchpoint is a chance to enhance their experience and your revenue. As the industry evolves, successful parks are those that adapt with intention, using the tools, data, and ideas already at their fingertips.
If you’re an OHI member, you’re not navigating this alone. Tap into upcoming professional development sessions, explore trusted vendor partnerships in the OHI Marketplace, and revisit this guide as a working roadmap throughout your season.
Here’s to a better bottom line.
