[koko]

A campground that is KOA follows their guidelines. This includes frequent inspections. We've stayed at KOAs when the giant corporate semi-sized RV rolls in. Inspectors go over the whole park and then sit down with the owners. They grade the KOA and give a critique of changes that should be made - things like cleanliness, the store, the condition of the sites and roads, water/septic systems, etc. Also, after each stay, the customer has the opportunity to rate their stay and make comments. KOAs can win awards based on these ratings, which are prominently displayed in the KOA Campground Directory. Directories are free of charge at any KOA. I don't know how much it costs the owner to be in the KOA network, but I would think it would be pretty significant.

We've stayed at a few bad KOAs - there are so many KOAs that there are bound to be a few (at last count we've stayed in over 70 all over the USA). Sometimes when we get the new Directory, we look, and the bad ones are no longer KOAs! We've also stayed at a few where a new owner just took over or the campground just became a KOA, and there's LOTS of work to be done to get it up to par. Twice on our last trip we stayed at KOAs that had just changed hands - older couples had sold (they just couldn't keep up anymore), and both needed TLC but had so much potential with just a few changes). On a whole, we've had very good experiences (we've never stayed at one that we'd absolutely refuse to return to (except for Brigham City, UT that had goatshead weeds instead of grass-ouch). Price ranges for us have been between $32 and $65 (usually midway). We've been members for 15 years, so we get 10% off of every stay; and membership is so cheap that you make it up after just two or three stays.