Do You Need a Campsite Day Visitors Policy?

It always starts with something small. A guest's daughter pops over for a barbecue. Her husband and two kids follow. By teatime there are nine extra cars on the field and nobody at reception has a clue who is who. A clear campsite day visitors policy stops that happening, and it protects your paying guests, your insurance and your income.

This guide covers why a visitor policy matters, what to put in it, whether to charge, and how to make it work without turning into the campsite police.

Why every campsite needs a day visitors policy

Visitors are not the problem. Most are lovely. The problem is having no rules, because then every visitor is a judgement call and you end up making that call at 9pm in the rain.

Here is what goes wrong without a policy:

• Fire safety and numbers. You need to know roughly how many people are on site. A pitch with four booked guests and twelve visitors is a different risk.
• Insurance. Your public liability cover is based on how you operate. Unrecorded visitors can muddy the water if there is ever a claim. Check the detail with your insurer, because policies differ.
• Noise and parking. Extra cars block roads and extra people stay up late. Your other guests notice.
• Lost income. A "visitor" who stays three nights in a borrowed tent is a booking you never took.
• Security. If someone is on site who should not be, you want to be able to spot them quickly.

A written policy lets you say "that's how we do things here" rather than "I'd rather you didn't". It is far easier to be firm and friendly when the rule is not personal.

Decide what counts as a day visitor

Before you write anything, define the term. A day visitor is usually someone who is not staying on your site and leaves by a set time. Be specific, because loose wording is where arguments start.

Think about these questions:

• Do visitors arrive and leave the same day, or can they stay into the evening?
• What is the latest time they must be off site? Many owners pick between 9pm and 10pm.
• Can visitors sleep over? Most sites say no, and treat a sleepover as a booking.
• Are visitors allowed on pitches, or only in a communal area?

If you run a CL site or a CS site, also check your club's own rules before you set yours. Small certificated sites have tight limits on unit numbers, and extra people can quietly push you outside them. When in doubt, ask the club directly rather than guessing.

Should you charge for day visitors?

There is no right answer, but there is a right way to decide. Start by thinking about what visitors actually cost you.

Reasons to charge

• Visitors use your showers, toilets, water and sometimes electricity.
• A small fee discourages casual drop ins and keeps numbers sensible.
• It brings in a little extra income during busy weekends.

Reasons not to charge

• Grandparents popping in for an hour are part of why families choose you.
• Chasing a couple of pounds creates bad feeling and costs more in awkwardness than you collect.
• On a very small site it simply is not worth the admin.

A sensible middle ground

Many sites allow a small number of visitors free, then charge beyond that. For example, two visitors per pitch at no cost, and a fixed fee per extra person or car. Others charge a flat day rate for any visitor staying more than a couple of hours. Pick something simple enough that you can explain it in one sentence.

If you do charge, make it easy to pay. Cash in an envelope is how money goes missing. A card payment or an invoice line on the guest's booking keeps a clean record. Our guide to taking card payments at your campsite shows how that works.

What to put in your visitor policy

Keep it short. One side of A4, or a few lines on your booking confirmation, is plenty. A good policy covers:

• Who counts as a visitor and the maximum number per pitch.
• Arrival and departure times, including a firm "off site by" time.
• Registration. Visitors check in at reception, or the host guest tells you in advance.
• Parking. Where visitor cars go, and that they cannot park on pitches.
• Charges, if any, and how to pay them.
• Overnight stays. A plain statement that visitors cannot stay overnight unless booked.
• Responsibility. The host guest is responsible for their visitors' behaviour, including children, dogs and noise.
• Your right to refuse entry or ask visitors to leave.

Write it in plain English. "Visitors must be off site by 9pm" is better than "Non-resident persons shall vacate the premises". You are not drafting a contract for the High Court.

How to tell guests before they arrive

The best time to mention your policy is before anyone turns up. If the first they hear about it is a note on the gate, it feels like a telling off.

Put the visitor rules in three places:

1. Your booking terms, so it is agreed at the point of booking. Our guide to campsite terms and conditions covers what else to include.
2. The confirmation email, in two or three friendly lines.
3. A sign at reception or on the noticeboard, as a reminder.

Automated emails do the heavy lifting here. If your guest messages go out on their own, the visitor rules reach every guest without you remembering to say it. That matters on a busy Friday when you are checking in a dozen units.

Handling visitors on the day

Rules only work if you apply them kindly and consistently. A few habits help.

Keep a simple visitor log

You do not need anything fancy. A note of the host pitch, number of visitors, car registration and time in is enough. It helps in an emergency and it gives you a record if a dispute comes up. If you already use digital check in and check out, adding visitor notes is quick.

Have the conversation early

If you spot extra people at 5pm, a friendly word is easy. "Hi, just checking you've let reception know about your guests, here's our visitor info." Waiting until 10pm, when there are twenty people round a fire pit, is much harder.

Treat sleepovers as bookings

If visitors want to stay, offer them a pitch. Most would rather pay a fair price than be asked to leave. It turns a rule problem into a sale, and your diary stays accurate.

Stay consistent

Letting one family bend the rules and refusing another is how complaints start. Apply the same standard to everyone, regulars included. It is kinder in the long run.

Special cases to plan for

A few situations deserve a line in your policy so you are not making it up on the spot:

• Birthday parties and gatherings. Ask guests to tell you in advance. Large groups may need a group booking rather than a visitor arrangement.
• Delivery drivers and tradespeople. Make clear these are not visitors and need to report to reception.
• Dogs. Visiting dogs follow the same rules as guests' dogs. Our pet policy guide can help.
• Peak weekends. Bank holidays are when visitor numbers creep up. You may want a tighter limit then, and a note in your confirmation email.

The key takeaway

A good day visitors policy is short, written down and shared before guests arrive. Decide who counts as a visitor, set a firm off site time, make a clear call on charging, and treat overnight stays as bookings. Do that, and you will spend less time policing the field and more time running a site people want to come back to.

If you would like your confirmation emails, payments and check in notes all in one place, try CampSuite free. It is free for CL sites and CS sites, and setup takes about 15 minutes.