A CampManager Alternative Built Around Your Site, Not a Generic Template
One System for Tents, Glamping and more.
Why Campsite Owners Are Switching From CampManager
CampManager is a capable platform, but it is a large software business with thousands of customers, a fixed subscription fee and a product roadmap that moves on its own timetable. When you need a new feature, you submit a request and hope. When you want to talk to someone who understands how a campsite actually runs, you open a support ticket. For many owners, the platform does the basics well enough — but it never quite fits, the cost keeps running, and commission is taken on bookings routed through the system from your OTA channels.
The alternative is a booking system built specifically for your site, supported by a team you can actually call, with a monthly cost that is significantly lower than CampManager — and zero commission on direct bookings made through your own website.
A System That Keeps Getting Better
Large SaaS platforms prioritise features that serve their entire customer base. If your campsite needs something specific — a particular add-on type, a custom deposit rule, a warden check-in flow that matches how your team works — the chances of it appearing on the CampManager roadmap are low. With a system built and supported by Technophobia, feature requests from clients are how the platform grows. Estuary View Escapes, Hazel Mount Fellside and Whicham Parish Council's motorhome aire are all live on the same platform, and every improvement requested by one site is evaluated and rolled out for all of them. Real sites, real operators, real improvements — not a product committee deciding what the average campsite needs.
Lower Cost. Better Fit. Real People Behind It.
The Campsite Booking System starts free on one pitch, and after that it's £25 a month, or £250 for the year, covering 10 pitches, with extra pitches at £25 a year each and everything included — a good deal less than CampManager as you grow, and no commission taken on your direct bookings. Every guest who books through your own website pays you in full, with nothing deducted. You continue paying commission to Pitchup, Hipcamp and Booking.com on the bookings they send you — that is fair and they earn it — but direct bookings are yours entirely.
More importantly, when you need something changed or a new feature added, you talk to the team that built your system. We are a small Cumbrian software business and our clients are campsite owners and managers. When they tell us something is missing or could work better, we build it — and every other client on the platform benefits. Nobody understands what a campsite booking system needs better than the people running campsites every day.
Everything CampManager Does. At a Lower Monthly Cost.
The Campsite Booking System covers the full operational picture: online booking with real-time pitch availability, seasonal pricing per pitch type, deposit collection at booking, automated balance reminders, OTA calendar sync, a warden arrivals view accessible from any device, and a guest self-service portal. Your Pitchup, Hipcamp and Booking.com channels connect by two-way calendar feed — a booking on any channel blocks the dates in your system and across all others automatically. One calendar, no double bookings, no manual reconciliation.
The difference is that it is built around how your site actually operates, not around a generic campsite template. Your pitch types, your zones, your pricing rules, your add-ons and your deposit structure are configured to match your operation. Try the booking experience in the live demo, see how arrivals are managed in the warden view, and explore the guest portal.
No Commission on Direct Bookings. Ever.
Every booking that arrives through an OTA carries a commission charge — typically between 10% and 15% of the booking value. On a platform that also acts as a channel manager, that commission is unavoidable. On the Campsite Booking System, direct bookings made through your own website carry zero commission. The guest pays you in full. No slice for a platform, no deduction before the money reaches you.
Your OTA channels stay connected and continue earning their commission on the bookings they generate — that arrangement stays exactly as it is. But every guest who finds you directly, or returns from a previous stay, books at full value. Over a season the difference is substantial. A campsite taking fifty direct bookings a month at an average of £200 saves between £1,000 and £1,500 every month compared to paying OTA commission rates on those same bookings. Read more in our guide to commission-free campsite bookings.
Switching From CampManager Without Losing a Booking
Switching platforms feels risky when your diary is full and guests are arriving in the coming weeks. Done in the right order, nothing is lost. Your new system is built while CampManager continues running. Once ready, your forward book of direct bookings is imported as real records — guest name, contact details, pitch, dates, deposit paid, balance owing. Your OTA channels are paused for under an hour while their calendar feeds are repointed, then switched back on. Both systems run side by side briefly while you confirm everything matches, then CampManager is retired. At no point is a live booking at risk. Read the full method in our guide to switching campsite booking systems without losing a single booking.
From First Conversation to Go-Live
Getting started is self-serve. Sign up free, and our AI setup assistant can build your pitch types, prices, seasons and guest content from a plain-English description — or you can set it all up yourself in the dashboard. Add booking to your own website with our WordPress connector plugin, connect WooCommerce and your payment gateway, and you're live. Moving from CampManager? Import your bookings and repoint your OTA feeds, usually in a single day. From that point you have a system that starts free, takes no commission on direct bookings, and is supported by people who answer the phone. Prefer we handle the lot? Our optional Done-For-You setup does it all for you.
Campsite Booking System vs CampManager: The Key Differences
Campsite Booking System
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Lower monthly cost than CampManager
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No commission on direct bookings through your site
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Personal service from the team that built your system
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Features added when clients need them
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OTA channels connect by calendar feed, no disruption
CampManager
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Higher monthly subscription cost
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Commission on bookings routed through the platform
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Large SaaS support model — tickets, not people
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Feature roadmap decided by the platform, not by you
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Generic setup — your site bends to fit the software
CampManager Alternative — Questions We Hear Most Often
It's £25 a month, or £250 for the year, covering 10 pitches, then £25 a year for each extra pitch — everything included, with nothing sold as a module. A 30-pitch site pays £66.60 a month, or £666 for the year. Talk to the Technophobia team and we will give you a direct like-for-like comparison against what you are paying CampManager today. Most sites see a meaningful saving on the monthly cost alone, before factoring in direct booking commission.
Yes. All your OTA channels reconnect to the new system by calendar feed. They are paused for the hour it takes to repoint the feed, then live again, now syncing directly with your system rather than through CampManager.
You tell us and we build it. Client feature requests are how the platform develops. If it is something that will benefit other campsite operators, it goes into the core system and everyone benefits.
Your forward book of direct bookings is imported as real records before you go live. Nothing is lost. OTA bookings can be reconciled from the channel accounts directly.
Most campsite builds take two to four weeks from brief to go-live. The migration from CampManager runs in a single day once the system is ready and signed off.
By card, directly to you, through the booking. The money is yours from the start — there's no marketplace sitting in the middle.
The booking lands in your diary instantly, the pitch is held so it can't be double-booked, and your guest gets a confirmation and a personal welcome book automatically.
It's £25 a month, or £250 for the year, covering 10 pitches, then £25 a year for each extra pitch, with everything included — see our pricing. No per-booking commission, ever.
A Better Fit for Your Campsite at a Lower Monthly Cost
Sign up free and try it on your own site, or talk to the Technophobia team. We will show you exactly what the system looks like for your site, give you a direct cost comparison against CampManager, and map out a no-loss migration.
