RoverPass has released the 2026 RoverPass Outdoor Hospitality Report, a comprehensive 35-page analysis of the 2025 American outdoor hospitality season. Built entirely on first-party transaction data from hundreds of thousands of real reservations across hundreds of properties nationwide, the report identifies a defining industry trend: The Quality Shift.
The central finding is both surprising and significant, RoverPass said. For the first time in the history of the RoverPass platform, total reservation volume declined year over year — falling 1.0% from 2024. At the same time, total platform revenue climbed to an all-time high, increasing 5.2%. The two numbers — moving in opposite directions — define the story of 2025: outdoor hospitality is no longer growing in volume. It is growing in value.
“The data tells a clear and compelling story. Travelers didn’t stop camping in 2025 — they started camping differently. They spent more deliberately, stayed longer, and chose higher-quality experiences. The operators who understood that shift captured a disproportionate share of the value. That’s The Quality Shift,” said Ravi Parikh, CEO, RoverPass.
Industry Context
The report positions 2025 as an inflection point comparable to the maturation cycle the hotel industry experienced decades ago. As campground operators have shifted from volume-driven thinking to revenue-per-booking optimization — holding prices firm, investing in premium accommodations and reducing discount dependency — the financial profile of the industry has fundamentally changed, RoverPass said.
The collapse of walk-in bookings (−81.8%), the rise of preplanned reservations and the record-low cancellation rate collectively signal a guest who is more intentional, more committed and more valuable. The 47.3% surge in product and ancillary revenue indicates that the average booking is no longer just a site for a night — it is a site, plus services, plus add-ons that compound the total transaction value.
Seven Trends To Watch in 2026
The report closes with seven forward-looking predictions drawn directly from 2025 data:
- Glamping acceleration: With demand potentially doubling by 2027, the window to build glamping inventory is now.
- The Midwest becomes the growth engine: At current rates, the Midwest is on pace to challenge the South’s long-held regional dominance.
- Long-term stays reshape the business model: Campgrounds will increasingly plan for hybrid vacation/residential guest profiles.
- AI-powered search changes discovery: Structured, detailed property content becomes a competitive advantage as travelers use AI tools to find and compare campgrounds.
- Revenue management arrives: Dynamic pricing and RevPAR thinking will separate professional operators from the rest.
- Payment diversification: ACH, contactless, and flexible payment options will move from experiment to expectation.
- Shoulder season expansion: November bookings grew 18.7%. Year-round operations are the new competitive baseline for prepared operators.
About the Report
The 2026 RoverPass Outdoor Hospitality Report is the third annual edition of RoverPass’s industry data publication. It covers the Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2025 calendar year, with year-over-year comparisons against the same period in 2024. All data reflects completed and tracked reservations on the RoverPass platform within the United States. The report is free and publicly available at software.roverpass.com/roverpass-annual-report.
