Surge pricing for NSW beachside park
Council votes for peak period price hike at popular NSW caravan parkPaying top dollar to stay at a caravan park during peak holiday periods is rapidly becoming the norm, with a popular beachside park in NSW set to join a growing list of parks across Australia introducing ‘dynamic pricing’ payment systems.
While subject to public consultation, Shellharbour City Council has given the go-ahead for the NRMA to introduce a ‘surge pricing’ payment system at the Shellharbour Beachside Holiday Park located about an hour's drive south of Sydney.
NRMA Parks and Resorts took over management of the council owned Beachside Holiday Park in late-2020, and already uses a ‘dynamic pricing’ model at dozens of other NRMA-run parks around Australia. Surge pricing is also used at other parks in the area including Discovery Parks Gerroa and the Ingenia Holidays park at Lake Congola.
At Shellharbour, the NRMA plans to hike fees by around 15 per cent once occupancy levels at the park reach around 60 per cent. While estimating a revenue boost at the park of around $118,000 a year, the 'sliding scale' fee system should also encourage holiday makers to book early and seek out cheaper rates in quieter periods.
Speaking at a council meeting this week, Cr Kellie Marsh said dynamic pricing is already common practice in other holiday-related services including hotels, flights and taxi-like services.
“I think for all of us when we go on holidays, if we go anywhere else in peak season we have to pay for it so why should this be any different,” Cr Marsh said.
“If this was locals paying for it I probably wouldn’t have the same opinion but it’s people who are choosing to come to Shellharbour and unfortunately you do have to pay for it."
Cr John Murray said dynamic pricing should also encourage more visitors to the park during off-peak periods.
“I saw an article in the paper today saying that people will pay higher fees in peak times. I don’t find that particularly shocking because most of the things I do that involve going to places like ski resorts you pay a premium for peak times and you get a reduced cost at the lower times," Cr Murray said.
“I think if we’re going to look at trying to spread out the usage of the park and get better usage at lower times of the year we need to look at some of these strategies.”
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