Cabin Reservations
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| We are changing our cabin reservation policy! For OPO cabins after May 23, 2008, and for ALL new DOC cabin reservations, see the New Policy. Also see an update on our transition progress. |
Policy
Fees per Night
Note: These are fees per night, not per person!
| Reservation made | DOC Cabins | OPO Cabins |
|---|---|---|
| By Anyone | $60 [1] | $60 [1] |
| By DOC Member | $40 | — |
| By Dartmouth Student | $20 | — |
| By Student DOC Member | $10 | — |
| By DOC Life Member | FREE [2] | — |
| For Dartmouth Academic Use | $10 | $10 |
| [1] DOC cabins inside the Grant may only be reserved by Dartmouth
students, alums and employees. OPO Cabins may only be reserved by Dartmouth alums and employees. |
||
|
[2] Reservations by DOC Life Members for immediate family only
(spouse/partner and children under 18) are free. Reservations by DOC Life Members with other guests are at normal DOC rates. |
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Reservations: To use a cabin you must request a reservation. Online reservations are not final until they are confirmed. Other reservations are confirmed when you pay.
Online Reservations: Check availability and make online reservation requests through our website.
Phone Reservations: Call (603) 646-2834.
Walk-up Reservations: 119 Robinson Hall.
Our office hours for phone and walk-up reservations are weekdays, 9 am to noon and 1:30 to 3:30 pm. Online reservations may be requested at any time, but may take one business day or more to confirm. We do not answer questions about cabin availability by email or fax, nor do we take cabin reservations by email or fax.
Responsibility: Reservations must be made in the name of one individual (not an organization). That individual must accompany the group and is responsible for the actions of the group at the cabin, and for any damage or destruction of cabins or facilities.
Fees: Fees are due when the reservation is made. Fees are charged per cabin per night. Fees for DOC cabins depend on the affiliation and DOC membership status of the reserver.
DOC cabin reservations made by student C&T council members for their own private use (no other guests) and reservations made by DOC life members for their own private use or the use of their immediate family (a spouse/partner and children under 18) are free. If other guests are brought, then regular rates for DOC members apply.
Date Restrictions: DOC cabins may only be reserved up to three weeks in advance (up to four weeks in advance only by Dartmouth students who are DOC members). OPO cabins may only be reserved up to six months in advance.
Duration: Reservations run from noon to noon. Cabin reservations may not exceed three nights, nor may more than one cabin be rented concurrently. OPO cabin reservations can be extended to five days if it less than one month before the reservation.
Reserver Restrictions: DOC cabins outside the Second College Grant may be reserved by anyone.
DOC cabins inside the Second College Grant (Alder Brook, Peaks, and Stoddard) may only be reserved by Dartmouth College students, alumnae/i, and employees. Anyone may be a guest of the reserver.
OPO cabins may only be reserved by Dartmouth College alumnae/i and employees. Anyone may be a guest of the reserver.
No one may make more than one Second College Grant cabin reservation during New Hampshire muzzle-loader hunting season, or more than one Second College Grant cabin reservation during New Hampshire rifle hunting season.
Maximum Capacity: The total number of people at the cabin may not exceed the listed maximum capacity for the cabin.
Cancellations: Reservations canceled within three days of reservation confirmation will receive a refund of the full fee amount. Reservations canceled more than three days after reservation confirmation will receive a refund of half the fee amount. OPO cabin reservations canceled less than one month before the reservation begins, and DOC cabin reservations canceled less than three days before the reservation begins, will receive no refund.
Combinations for Cabins outside the Second College Grant: All cabins outside of the Second College Grant are secured by combination locks. Combinations are provided when the reservation is confirmed (along with directions to the cabin and other useful information).
Keys for Cabins inside the Second College Grant: All cabins and access gates in the Second College Grant are secured by keyed locks. Keys must be picked up at the Outdoor Programs Business Office during normal business hours (see above).
We have a limited number of keys to issue, so keys must be returned within five days. After hours, keys may be returned in the drop-box in the door of the 119 Robinson. Lost keys will be assessed a $25 fee per key.
Arrangements can be made for people coming from out of town to have their keys mailed to them with padded return envelopes.
Policy Transition
We have discussed our policy changes with Dartmouth students, the Second College Grant Advisory Committee, and other members of the community and the administration. Some suggestions are still being considered for later inclusion in our policies.
In early August of 2007, we mailed a letter to all DOC Life Members (at least those for whom we had a current address), explaining the change to the policy. We had to put some thought into just what it would mean for life members for us to move from a per-guest fee structure to a per-night fee structure. One of the basic benefits we’ve extended to life members in the past is that they can rent DOC cabins for free (half-price for their immediate family was an unpublished benefit). In practice that meant that if they rented a cabin by themselves, the entire reservation was free; if they rented a cabin with their immediate family, the reservation was much cheaper; and if they rented a cabin with other guests, the reservation was a little cheaper ($5 cheaper vs. regular DOC rates). The new policy is free for the life member even with immediate family, and normal DOC discount rates if with guests. Although some life members who are used to using DOC cabins with one or two non-family guests will see a fee increase under the new policy, for most life members we believe this will be a better deal.
A week after the letter went out, we sent an email to all previous cabin users explaining the new policy.
We plan to review the new policy after three months and then again after one year. We will be examining both user feedback and revenue levels. Please let us know what you think!
UPDATE: November 13, 2007
On Tuesday, November 13, we reviewed our policy transition and found that occupancy and revenue of DOC cabins were up slightly compared to past years. About half of DOC cabin reservation requests are now coming in through the online reservation system. We have heard some complaints about the effective rate increase from people who are used to using the cabins by themselves or with few guests.
We felt this was a good time to review the policy transition, since it has been three months since we first started taking reservations for DOC cabins under the new policy (two months since those reservations started happening because of the 3 to 4 week lead-time), and it is a few weeks before we start taking reservations for OPO cabins (which have up to a 6-month lead-time). The review "committee" consisted of Andy, Don, Kathy, and ASE from the office, and Ellen Stein from the DOC Advisory Board.
We looked at the reservations which started between September 20 (when reservations under the new policy began) and November 12, for 2007 and the four preceeding years. We pulled numbers for nights occupied, number of reservations, and payments collected. We found that occupancy in 2007 for that period was the highest in the years examined (11% higher than the average for the five years), and that revenue per night was the second highest (3.5% higher than the average for the five years).
We also looked at the number of visits the online reservations site receives and the number of reservation requests coming from it. We average about 18 DOC cabin reservations per week. We are now receiving about 10 reservation requests per week from the website, and Kathy has to reject 1 or 2 per week as bad requests (ineligible reservers or too far ahead). In the first couple weeks we had more bad requests, but we revised the instructions on the website which reduced the number of bad requests significantly.
After we sent out our initial email describing the policy change, we received a few emails in favor of the change, and about twenty emails from people who were unhappy about it. In addition to the emails, Kathy hears from some people when they are making a reservation. Almost all of the people unhappy with the change are people who were used to using the cabins alone or with few guests, for whom the cabins had been very inexpensive before, but for whom the cabins now would cost the same as everyone else — an effective price increase.
We are satisfied with the progress we’ve made with our policy change. We will continue to monitor feedback and will make changes if we feel they are appropriate. Next we’ll see if the transition with OPO cabins proceeds as well.
UPDATE: February 26, 2008
The first assesment we conducted covered only the first month and a half of reservations under the new policy. Concerned that the healthy trends we saw might be due only to an “interest bump” due to our mailings about the subject, we have now looked at the statistics again for the first five months (September 20, 2007 to February 20, 2008). We found that the trends of increased occupancy and revenue in DOC cabins have continued.
We look at occupancy to see whether our users are still finding our cabins (and the fees we charge for them) compelling — increased occupancy is a good sign that the majority of our users feel that our new cabin rates are fair and worthwhile. Occupancy is up 8.5% compared to the average for the previous four years.
We look at revenue because we receive no money from the College for cabins — all cabin construction and maintenance is paid for through endowments and user fees [I think that’s right —ASE]. Revenue is up 11.7% compared to the same time period over the previous four years. This is primarily due to the increased occupancy — the actual average fee collected per night has only increased 2.8% (less than a dollar).
FAQ
Why did you change the policy?
The old system was taking up too much time for both people trying to make a reservation and for us here in the office. We had to collect information on every single person who was going to the cabin and then check every name against the lists of DOC members, College employees, etc. With the new system, we only have to check one person — the reserver.
If it takes less time to make a reservation, hopefully it’ll become easier to get through to Kathy. We’re also working on online systems.
We also tried to simplify some of the other policies (like the cancellation policy which has given people trouble in the past), and we tried to include some of the unpublished policy details most people rarely ran into, but should have been published (like the hunting season rules and extending OPO reservations to five days).
Why did you pick those dates?
Those dates fall into periods when the cabins cannot be reserved. DOC cabins are shut down in early September for DOC First-Year Trips (Freshman Trips) and OPO cabins are shut down during mud season until Memorial Day weekend. Setting the transition dates during these periods ensures that there are no reservations which overlap the transition date — a complication to avoid.
