What Do RV Park Owners Mean by Occupancy, ADR, and Cap Rate?
A buyer asks for your cap rate. Your booking software shows ADR. A campground group talks about shoulder season. Same park, a lot of new words.
This page explains the RV park terms behind the 2027 trends, in plain words, so you can price, plan, and talk to a lender with confidence.
Campgrounds and RV parks sit on a client list of 1,000+ small businesses for Dr. Paul Borosky.
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Last Updated: November 2026
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RV Park Business Plan Template
Built around average daily rate (adr), full hookup site, and more.
See the templateHow This Guide Works
Want one definition? Pick it from the list below. Each links to the trend it belongs to. Want the story version? Commander Colt, the horse who runs the campsites in Dr. Paul’s Fabled Forest Business School Series, learns what a full park really means after the list.
Average daily rate (ADR) through Snowbird, grouped by topic.
What Does Each RV Park Term Mean?
From average daily rate (adr) to snowbird, each entry is short enough to read in under a minute.
Average daily rate (ADR)
What an occupied site earns per night, on average. Divide site revenue by occupied site nights. Raising it in peak months is often the fastest gain.
Used on: Setting nightly rates
Cap rate
A park’s net operating income divided by its price. Buyers use it to compare parks. A lower cap rate means a higher price for the same income.
Used on: Buying vs. building an RV park
Dynamic pricing
Changing site rates based on demand, season, and day of the week. Weekends and holidays cost more, slow Tuesdays cost less.
Full hookup site
A site with water, sewer, and electric connections. Guests pay more for it, and it costs more to build and keep up.
Used on: The right mix of nightly and monthly sites, Setting nightly rates, Running a park without burning out
Monthly site
A site rented by the month instead of the night. Lower rate per night, but steady money and less turnover work.
Used on: 2027 RV Park trends, Offering monthly stays, The right mix of nightly and monthly sites
Net operating income (NOI)
Yearly revenue minus operating costs, before loan payments and taxes. It is the number buyers and lenders care about most.
Used on: Buying vs. building an RV park
Occupancy rate
Occupied site nights divided by available site nights. Track it by month, not just for the year, to find the slow stretches.
Used on: Filling sites in the off-season
Pull-through site
A site a guest can drive into and out of without backing up. Big rigs want them, and many owners charge more for them.
Used on: The right mix of nightly and monthly sites, Setting nightly rates
Revenue per available site (RevPAS)
Total site revenue divided by all your sites, booked or not. It blends occupancy and rate into one number.
Review rating
Your average star score on Google and booking sites. Younger campers check it before they book.
Shoulder season
The months between peak and off season. In 2027 that is where most parks have room to grow.
Used on: 2027 RV Park trends, Filling sites in the off-season, Attracting snowbirds every year
Snowbird
A guest, often retired, who heads south for the winter and stays for weeks or months. Treat them like residents and they come back.
Used on: Attracting snowbirds every year
From the Fabled Forest
Was Colt’s Park Really Full?
Commander Colt told Doctor Owl his park ran full all July. Doctor Owl asked for his average daily rate. Colt had kept July prices the same as May. Every site was taken, but each one earned less than it could have. Doctor Owl called it a foundation problem, money left on the table slowly, and they fixed it with Dr. Paul’s Organize-Plan-Grow™ Strategy: track both numbers monthly, set peak and shoulder rates, and review them before every season.
Full Weekends, Empty Weekdays?
Bring last year’s monthly occupancy, and Dr. Paul will help you find the sites and seasons worth fixing first.
Or call or text (321) 948-9588.
Where Should You Go Next?
Read the 2027 RV Park trends to see monthly site at work, or open the RV park template. The trends hub covers nine more industries.
About the Author
Campground owners and park buyers bring Dr. Paul Borosky their occupancy reports and loan questions. He has a DBA, an MBA in Finance, and 1,000+ small business clients, and he kept this RV park list practical.