Arrival Information That Stops the Phone Ringing
Ask any site owner what they spend July answering and it is the same short list: where exactly are you, what time can we arrive, what is the gate code, and can we bring the dog. Every one of those was decided when the booking was made. None of them needs a phone call.
The four questions
Where are you. Postcodes routinely drop people at the wrong end of a lane. Give the postcode, a what3words reference or a map pin, and one line of plain directions for the last half mile — the turning people miss, the bridge that looks wrong, the gate that is easy to drive past.
What time can we arrive. State the window, and say what happens either side of it. Guests plan long drives around this, and vagueness produces either a queue at two o’clock or an arrival at eleven at night.
How do we get in. Gate codes, barrier instructions, where to park while checking in, and what to do if arriving after the office closes. Late arrival is the single most anxious part of a stay and the easiest to solve in a sentence.
What did we book. Pitch number or unit name, party size, the extras they paid for, and what is included. Half the disputes at a gate are a guest genuinely misremembering what they booked.
Send it automatically, twice
The confirmation at the point of booking is the wrong place for arrival detail — it is read once, weeks early, then lost in an inbox. Send the practical information again a day or two before arrival, when the guest is actually packing the car. Automatically, to everyone, without anyone remembering.
Give them somewhere to look it up
Emails get deleted and phone signal at a rural site is often poor. A guest portal — a web page for their specific booking, no app to install — means the directions, gate code and check-in time are always retrievable at the roadside, and it is the same page where they can add an extra or check what they paid.
What it does to the gate
Guests who arrive knowing where they are going, when they can come and what they booked check in far faster. Your warden is confirming a name rather than explaining the site, the queue does not build at four o’clock on a Friday, and the phone in the office is not ringing while it happens.
Our campsite management software sends arrival details automatically and gives every guest their own booking page.
Frequently asked questions
What should be in a pre-arrival email?
Directions for the last half mile, the arrival window and what to do outside it, gate or barrier instructions, and a summary of what the guest booked including pitch number and any extras they paid for.
When should arrival details be sent?
A day or two before arrival, as well as in the original confirmation. The confirmation is read weeks early and forgotten; the reminder arrives when the guest is packing the car.
Do guests need an app to see their booking?
No. A guest portal is an ordinary web page for their specific booking that opens in any browser, so there is nothing to install and nothing to remember a password for.
How does this speed up check-in?
Guests arrive knowing where to go and what they booked, so the warden is confirming a name rather than explaining the site. That is the difference between a steady stream and a queue on a Friday afternoon.
