{"id":29546,"date":"2021-11-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-16T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ourpublicservice.org\/outdoor-recreation-reservations-for-federal-lands\/"},"modified":"2022-11-15T10:29:26","modified_gmt":"2022-11-15T15:29:26","slug":"outdoor-recreation-reservations-for-federal-lands","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ourpublicservice.org\/our-solutions\/customer-experience\/y2021\/outdoor-recreation-reservations-for-federal-lands\/","title":{"rendered":"Outdoor Recreation Reservations for Federal Lands"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n<\/i>Back to Customer Experience Profiles<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\n
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Recreation.gov, a Multi-Agency Initiative<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Executive Summary<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data Highlights<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Customer Experience Insights<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Delivering Services Equitably<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leading Customer Experience Practices<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Demand for reservations for outdoor recreation on federal lands around the country soared during the coronavirus pandemic, and it remains strong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recreation.gov is the centralized website where people find opportunities for these activities and make their reservations. Due to the high interest over the past year, some website visitors experienced frustration when trying to book places or activities. About a third of website users surveyed reported they were unable to complete what they went to the site to do, sometimes due to lack of reservation availability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Recreation.gov team is prioritizing understanding the experience of new visitors to the site, who typically rate their experience less highly than returning users. In response, Recreation.gov is developing new resources targeting these new customers, such as troubleshooting articles on web pages where new users typically have questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Service Overview<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

From whitewater rafting on Idaho\u2019s Salmon River to ranger-led tours at Kentucky\u2019s Mammoth Cave National Park, Recreation.gov provides an entry point to explore scenic federal lands and national treasures. The site acts as a one-stop shop for more than 32 million online users who seek to research, plan or book a trip.\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The site helps people reserve a campsite, research a future trip or purchase a ticket or tour.\u202f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Primary\u202fcustomers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any individual or group interested in visiting federal lands, waterways or monuments across the country.\u202f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key services provided to customers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • Trip reservations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Permits and tickets to high-demand events and activities, such as the White House Easter Egg Roll or visits to lighthouses on the Outer Banks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Online publication of content about campsites and recreational activities, indexed for search, with sections containing user ratings, reviews and recommendations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Trip planning resources, including a trip builder tool that features interactive maps.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Service Snapshot (all data for fiscal year 2020)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    • 67.5 million<\/strong> online visits.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • 800,000 calls<\/strong> to the Recreation.gov contact center.\n
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      • Average wait time: 13.4 minutes<\/strong>. (Note: Wait times for callers are typically two to five minutes but were much higher during the coronavirus pandemic due to staffing shortages and safety restrictions)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • 5.5 million<\/strong> recreation reservations made.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

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        Data Highlights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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        The amount reservations increased between fiscal year 2019 and fiscal year 2021, highlighting the site\u2019s popularity and a high demand for outdoor recreation.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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        out of 5 stars: user rating of Recreation.gov mobile app among more than 112,000 reviews.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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        of customers said it was not easy to complete what they wanted to do on the site, often because they could not secure a reservation due to the limited availability of bookings.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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        Customer Experience Insights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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        Improvement from last year<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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        Room for improvement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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        With demand for reservations soaring, the Recreation.gov team needs to understand both customer demand and recreation site constraints to communicate availability and meet customer expectations. <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
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        After closing in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, some federal recreation sites began reopening later in spring and summer 2020. While reopening, these locations needed to balance increased interest in visiting federal lands with public health protocols such as capacity limits. In May 2020, the Recreation.gov team worked with Rocky Mountain National Park to pilot a feature enabling visitors to reserve a time to enter the park, rather than entering at any time, with the goal of spacing out visitors during the pandemic. While the timed reservation requirement was added for safety, analysis of customer reviews showed positive reactions to being able to enjoy a less crowded park, even if it might be less convenient or desirable to have to show up at a specific time. The team shared this success and worked with other national parks, including Yosemite and Denali, to implement timed reservations.<\/p>\n

        Ticketed entry and requirements for permits are improving the experience for some visitors.<\/p>\n

        Sample customer review<\/strong><\/p>\n

        I really liked how easy it was to reserve my timed entry visit. I reserved it on the morning of and enjoyed that there weren’t too many cars driving through at the same time that I was\u2026I really enjoyed the lack of crowds….I was able to take my time, go on short hikes\u2026I highly recommend this lovely scenic drive.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

        However, the high demand for park access is frustrating many people who cannot get reservations. (see more below).<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t

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        Recreation.gov has a customer-friendly mobile app.<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
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        • The mobile app has earned 4.8 out of 5 stars from more than 112,000 ratings.1<\/sup><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          The Recreation.gov team cites frequent user testing as critical to this success, along with fine-tuning the app in phases, adding more functionality and options over several years.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t

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          First-time visitors rate their experience on Recreation.gov significantly lower than returning visitors, leading the team to launch special features to cater to that audience. <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
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          Recreation.gov had 2 million new visitors in 2020, a 25% increase from the previous year.2<\/sup> Many of these new users faced challenges in setting up accounts and understanding terminology unique to the site, leading to a satisfaction score among new users that was 15 points lower than overall for the site.<\/p>\n

          Guided by customer research specifically focused on new users, the team set up a landing page that people go to immediately after creating an account, which introduces them to the recreation reservation process and terminology in more detail. They also introduced help center and troubleshooting articles on webpages that typically raised questions for new users. The added information, for example, provides users with help on setting up an account whereas previously, the assistance was located on a separate FAQ page.<\/p>\n

          While these help features provide useful resources and information for new customers, additional focus on the overall design and content of Recreation.gov could help ensure the website is more user-friendly for all customers.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t

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          <\/i><\/span> About a third of Recreation.gov users surveyed were unable to complete the purpose of their visit, sometimes because the location they wanted to book was unavailable.<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
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