A popular caravan park in Queensland’s Sunshine Coast is reportedly set to hike fees for family camping by a whopping 35% next year.
Chris Symons told the Sunshine Coast News that she and her family had been holidaying at the Cotton Tree Holiday Park for a month every January for 38 years. The newspaper reports that the site cost the group about $525 a week for January this year, but Ms Symonds had to hand over $714 when she paid the usual one-week fee to re-book for 2026.
“We’ve always had increases. It might have gone from $460 to $480 or it might have gone from $485 to $540,” she told the Sunshine Coast News. “But, all of a sudden, we’ve gone from whatever it was, $520, to now we’re paying $700 a week.”
Some caravan park fees have risen steeply in recent months and years. PIC: Cizza
A Sunshine Coast Council spokesperson said the fee increase was a response to rising expenses and ‘dynamic’ pricing, which adjusts according to demand.
“Council Holiday Parks are actively addressing the rising costs of power, water, gas, insurance and wages,” a council spokesperson told the Sunshine Coast News. “To ensure we continue providing an excellent holiday experience and investing in our amenities, we have made necessary price adjustments.”
The council said that, in order to stay competitive, it regularly reviewed the prices of nearby and similar holiday parks, and said its parks remained among the more affordable options on across South-East Queensland.
“As is a very common within the accommodation and travel industry, council employs dynamic pricing,” the spokesperson told the newspaper. “It uses real-time data from automated booking systems to adjust the pricing based on demand, with council capping this increase to no more than 20%.”
The Sunshine Coast News reports that there was no explanation, other than dynamic pricing and expenses, for why the Symons’ site fees had increased by 35% given they are supposed to be capped at 20%.
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My question is what is being lost from these price hikes. Do families have unlimited spending money or do local businesses suffer.
Self funded retirees we have stayed in many RV parks over many years, now, when these tariffs are not affordable we simply bypass the coastal parks (and businesses) to free or low cost camp in country towns.
Dynamic pricing is going to come back soon and bite those who currently use it very successfully to gouge extra money from holiday makers. My opinion.
If prices aren’t reasonable they are unreasonable. I hope dairy farmers don’t start using dynamic pricing!
I’m guessing that dynamic pricing of Council owned caravan parks will be an Australia wide trend once other Councils catch on. I’m also guessing that the Council will remove “RV FRIENDLY” signs during the dynamic pricing period. Can’t have false advertising, can we?
No.
They’ll use dynamic lifter!!
It doesnt matter how expensive it gets, dopey people will still go there, almost zombie like
People will go there no matter the price but its not because they are dopey but because they haven’t before and so dont realise they are being ripped off or people who have been going every year. The world is all about the money these days whereas once upon a time the customer came first. No values or ethics in todays world.
So true. Well said.
The caravan park that we’re currently staying in is run by the shire.
When we booked in it was more expensive than what was advertised on the website.
The office staff told us that the price increases the busier the park is.
Dynamic pricing or just money gouging?
Money gouging
Most Grey Nomads don’t want all the ie jumping castles,games etc. just power and clean facilities, maybe a pool and a site not to cramped. People with families cannot afford $100. Per night.
We are currently at a Park in Perth. Powered site $64 per night for 2 people during the week.
If I don’t like the price, I don’t stay.
Exactly
In WA some parks are charging over $90.00 a night during school and Xmas / New Year. Quite noticeable Dynamic pricing has become more common since the large corporate mob have moved in. With insurances rising and other costs associated with these businesses including chasing more profit, it’s anyone’s guess what we may paying in the future.
Our annual trip to the lower Queensland coast has changed to upper NSW coast and spending more time inland in small country towns. I can’t see council operated parks reducing prices as long as campers are prepared to pay these prices that are a rip off. We are currently camped behind an outback pub. The cost for a meal and drink for the 2 of us was $75 and no camp fees. (A visit to the pub was voluntary) Why go to Queensland coast, ( Bruce highway is one of the most dangerous road in Australia) and
Queensland inland roads are becoming worse every year.
Council run Holiday Parks ( Sunshine Coast ) use state owned land to basically make a profit. Dynamic pricing is just a label to cover the fact that it is profiteering. There is no other way to explain it. Shame on you Council!
Just tell them and don’t go. The small towns rely on the GN’s for their income.
I support country towns most of the time, freedom camping or low cost camping allows you to do this.
Currently Brisbane Holiday Village charge $80 for a powered site per night for 2 people
That’s over $100 a night. If staying in. Hotel you would get your sheets changed, room cleaned, an ensuite and have access to a restraint for meals.
What does a CV offer? Camp kitchen ( cold& windy) have to prepare your own meal, usually limited to a BBQ,
Public toilet a cold walk in the dark risking sprinklers, a Bouncy castle???
No wonder we are taking advantage of our self contained vans and staying away from Cp’s
I am sick of organisations constantly gouging my wallet. That is an absolute rip off. $40.00 a night maximum. I can’t see any more value than $300 a week tops for a powered sites. The trouble is so.e people will pay and then it becomes the norm.
I question the price in the article above. We have a booking for the Xmas booking 2025-2026 power site $665
Thats why it’s called dynamic pricing… everyone pays a differentprice depending when you book.. happened in Clare SA… I was paying $65 and van next to me $40 for same type of site. Manager said it is same principle as buying a flight… absolute bullshit
Thats interesting it certainly throws a different spin on things
Just back from Mandalay beach resort Busselton WA.
When I queried the $94 a night
I was told it’s due to dynamic pricing…( First time I’ve heard of it in cps) I said you mean profit making..
We paid about $60 5 months ago.
It does have a huge bouncing bladder thing, but at 73, gave it a miss..lots of stuff for kids. Families.
so the CP have priced us out of ever going back, we where regulars too.
shame
Daughter and I stayed in El Questro last July. 2 nights, $195 and we had swags on an unpowered site with a tap and a 100 metre walk to toilet block.
Why on Earth did you do that…If people pay these ridiculous fees for so little facility then it’s no wonder campsite owners take advantage.
Imaging sleeping on the ground in your own gear with the ants and snakes and paying $100 for the privilege.
Haha…
Only choice there is up there. Place was packed out and jammed in close to each other on very sloping sites. At least we had a flat site. Place where most people stay is over rated. Nothing like the fancy images in the brochures etc. We stayed two nights in another facility near the Bungles and the rest of our trip was spent sleeping in side tracks and gravel dumps where we could at least have a camp fire. I won’t be going back to EQ in a hurry. Where have you stayed?
I won’t be going to EQ on principle, don’t want shares in the place, I don’t take up much room and I’m totally self contained.
Like most grey nomads we head inland for Xmas and stay at caravan parks and showgrounds. If people refused to pay these price hikes caravan park would get the message. We have a limit we will pay even staying at showgrounds. So councils take note we are set up for free camping and won’t pay your price hikes. Council and private caravan park need to understand if you want to fill your parks we won’t pay your prices and will just keep our wheels turning to the nearest cheaper or free options
My Reply to Ms Symonds, 38 years of doing the same thing, Australia has so much more to offer than the overcrowded Sunshine Coast. That $700 would get you so much more. People that pay this sort of money for any Caravan park stay IMO suffer from the FOMO feeling, so they pay, IMO. Australia has so much see that we have experienced, and so much more to do.
Unfortunately, people like myself, with three kids and a wife, will have to pay the increased prices as we go away once or twice a year during the school holidays.They know this so they hit our wallets hard(even the extra charge for having kids).
There will come a time that even caravaning and camping will be more expensive going to Bali(Asia). Which I have done before(before covid).
Wonder how long before people say enough is enough and give up.
Caravan Parks are a commercial venture whether run by Councils or otherwise so one can expect commercial pricing. The days of Council subsidising peoples holidays (for 40 yrs ?) are long gone. Councils have to survive Federal Government grant slashing and State Government buck passing somehow. In the UK Councils have literally become insolvent and have slashed services to survive. Local roads are like a third world country. Let’s hope we don’t get that in Australia.
Hey, Paul, I guess you have not travelled the Bruce or Newell Highways lately. We are already there!
Paul Eldon, i have just come back from the uk and their roads ( major and minor ) are better than Victoria’s main roads, and the powered campsites we went to were excellent- so if trying to make excuses for Australian councils, try a different approach please
It’s been mine and my late wife’s experience over a very long time that most caravan parks increase and decrease their charges with the seasons and busy periods, it’s called business but any we found who were a little ‘zealous’ with their increases, we just bypassed and found a bush spot for a night if we were travelling or a cheaper park for a longer stay depending on what we were doing and where we were.
Any park, or business of any sort soon works out if their pricing is too high when their business starts to drop off and they reduce prices, if they don’t they go broke?
For a site with power and water $80 in Bright. Lake Hume $31.50 but $99 at Xmas
So with this Dynamic Pricing does that mean that in times of low demand we may see Van parks paying us to stay the night? Rip off merchants!
All these rises remands me of the TV SHOW..MINDER Arthur Daley
NICE LITTLE EARNER.Things are getting out of control,You wonder why people weighing up travel overseas for holiday,Everything becoming big rip off,People just want basic camping ,not resort type grounds.
RAC caravan parks in WA use “dynamic pricing”,
Or as they call it “averaging” for the town and don’t give the usual membership discounts. What a rip off in the “off” season. I’m glad I only have a few years left for towing a caravan…
Vod D.
Check out Green patch at Jervis Bay national park NSW. Unpowered large site $140 weekdays $180 weekends. Too expensive for us however we paid day entry to national park. The campsites were half full. Mainly foreign tourists. Looks like this will be the future for camping!
Dynamic pricing only ever seems to work in one direction>
I was visiting a coastal area and area off season, midweek and saw the caravan park was virtually empty, maybe 2. 3 caravans
So I asked what the rate was for a single, mid week.
Yep, normal full rates, no discounts whatsoever
Result – no income from me, back to my free camp a wee distance away
Merimbula parks are advertising $79 a night, we got midweek special $39 a night, weekends $49.
Following week homeward bound, price was up x $10 a night.
Everyone who stayed there was paying a different price, one couple, $109 a night, others $79 a night
We will give those parks a miss.
I understand dynamic pricing in businesses, although it does annoy me considering it usually costs them no more to supply a service or item just because it’s popular , it just increases their bottom line. But for a council to use dynamic pricing on caravan parks is simply gouging. What next? Dynamic pricing on public car parking? Dynamic pricing on drinks at pubs? Soon only the well off will be able to take their families on a little holiday.
Been over a year since we were able to get away, just paid $296 for 4 nights at Cotton Tree CP Friday thru Tuesday March 2025. As retirees, I doubt we’ll be back here at that price for off peak. There’s plenty of other places to explore.
Other councils like Coffs Harbour do this as well , everytime theres an event on in Coffs area the Fees increase , Austag events , Coffs Beach hop, strangely the park is not full anymore , we don’t like being gouged , so we find alternatives .
We recently stayed at a CVP in Merimbula using a “Travel Auction” bid of $25/n for 10 nights with an option to share those 10 night with a friend (5 nights each) and the park was almost 50% empty. Yes it was outside school/public holidays, but if you are selective with your times it is possible to discount the pricing.