Despite ongoing complaints of no-shows at many campgrounds, particularly public places, the incidence of campers bailing on their reservations has in fact decreased significantly this past year, according to web booking service The Dyrt. The company’s 2025 Camping Report – which surveyed campers who use its app, camping property managers, and residents across the US – states that cancellations and no-shows dropped by 16.7% in 2024 compared to 2023. Additionally, 70.7% of campers reported using all of their reservations for the year, an 11.8% increase.
The decrease in campers canceling or breaking their reservations was seen across all categories tracked by the survey – including campers who arrived one or more days late (3.7%, down 0.5% from 2023), and those who left the campsite early (12.8%, down 3.9%). Of the campers who remembered to cancel their reservation – accounting for 32.7% of survey respondents – fewer than one-quarter did so less than two days in advance (6.9% overall, down 3.8%).
Interestingly, there appears to be a correlation between a camper’s reported income and their likelihood of no-showing a reservation (though this too is self-reported). The overall percentage of campers who said they did not show up to a reservation in 2024 was 4%. However, this rate was higher, at 5.8%, among those who earned more than $250,000 per year – 45% greater than the norm. In the next income bracket, $101,000–$250,000, the rate was 4.4%. For those earning $50,000–$100,000, the rate was 3.2%. Finally, only 2.1% of the group earning under $50,000 annually admitted to no-showing a reservation in 2024.
“I think there’s increasing awareness of the fact that it hurts other campers to reserve a campsite and leave it empty and the camping community is stepping up to do better,” says The Dyrt founder Sarah Smith, who also cites recent legislation in California and Washington, which limits stay lengths and caps total nights, as factors encouraging campers to cancel well in advance. The new rules also mean that fewer frivolous reservations are made in the first place.
“The fact that cancellations and no-shows went down significantly is very encouraging,” says The Dyrt CEO Kevin Long. “Fewer sites are going to waste, more campers are able to secure a spot, and property owners and managers have more predictability. It’s a positive for everybody.”