Motorhome owners: cheaters or honest vacationers?

Published on 03.09.2014 from Johanna Risse

RVers

Isolated reports of cheaters and the fact that many parking spaces have a trust-based payment system prompted us to ask the motorhome parking spaces on Stellplatz.Info what cashier method they use and whether there are any problems with cheaters. The result surprised us very much!

Free parking spaces, but...

The first surprise was the large number of responses. Within 5 days we received 197 responses, which allowed us to conduct a solid analysis of the situation. The second surprise was the fact that almost a third of all parking spaces are essentially free. However, a distinction must be made between different types here. Some of the providers of free parking spaces have a business next to the parking space (restaurant, specialist retailer, ...) and hope to generate sales from motorhome owners. This concept seems to be working, as only positive experiences were described here. For example, the Hotel-Wirtshaus Sauer told us that they assume that people will eat in the hotel in return for free parking space and even free shower facilities. Many other free parking spaces are run by municipalities, some of which charge something for on-site supplies. Vending machines are usually used for this, as the city of Bad Berneck in the Fichtelgebirge tells us. This free availability is intended to bring added value to local businesses and boost tourism. Clear feedback on this came from other paid providers who strongly criticized this approach. Competition is distorted here by tax-financed investments. Although this discontent is understandable, it is not a mass phenomenon. Many motorhome enthusiasts certainly appreciate the service of a paid parking space, as we have been told several times.

Many roads lead to money

Motorhome parking spaces clearly rely on two systems: reception and vending machines. When it comes to the machines, which are used in around 30% of the parking spaces, a distinction must be made between parking ticket machines and supply machines. Parking ticket machines in particular are subject to additional checks by staff in order to avoid fraud. 35% of all responses came from pitches with a reception. The tenor here was consistently positive, although one in five reported isolated cases where guests arrived late in the evening and left early the next morning in order not to have to pay. Interestingly, almost 20% rely on pure trust in their guests and do well with it. The parking spaces in Ottweiler are equipped with a deposit safe and pre-made payment envelopes and are checked two to three times a week. It is assumed that the number of unreported fraudulent cases is between 5 and a maximum of 10% - an order of magnitude that has often been estimated. The New England campsite relies entirely on personal contact. The focus here is not on checking or cashing out, but rather on exchange and therefore the feeling of not just being a number in a system.

Barrier and reception

Motorhome Oasis Rügen : Barriers, reception and cash registers give thieves no chance

Zechbrucker as an exception

The biggest surprise in our research was the information about specific experiences with cheaters. 56% of all pitches that answered this question (75) clearly stated that there had never been any problems in this regard. Approximately 37% said they had rarely had bad experiences and only five parking spaces reported major or increased problems. The RV parking lot in Vienna also talks about a minority that doesn't pay, but takes them seriously. The criminals, some of whom expend enormous criminal energy that bears no relation to the “prey,” would not necessarily act intelligently. With a tough approach, the Artner mobile home site stood out among all the answers, and Zechpreller was even pursued with infringement suits. So the night can cost EUR 120 instead of EUR 12. Some parking space operators also reported that the license plates are recorded using various systems and that cheaters can be identified. Overall, however, these procedures are the exception with less than 5% of all answers.