More kids than camps: rising prices and limited availability affects camps, families

All Star Summer Camp administrator and owner Tony Giannini said he had to turn away at least 40 parents seeking to enroll their kids in camp this summer.

Two out of three camps run by YMCA of the Pines are full, and the boys' overnight camp has limited capacity left.

Based on early enrollment, Camp Tuscaloosa knew well before the summer started that their sign-ups would reach, or perhaps surpass, pre-pandemic levels.

Camps are back in full force, and many in South Jersey have increased tuition to keep in step with inflation and cover operating costs. This comes at a time when the demand for camps is high, as more parents return to work in person and young kids get vaccinated.

"There seems to be more people needing camp than there are camps that can provide space," Giannini said.

Mick Weeks, a parent in Moorestown, made sure to register his son early for what would be his first sleepaway camp experience. His son, Stefan, just finished fourth grade, and is currently at Camp Ockanickon.

Weeks, who grew up attending and working at Ockanickon himself, qualified for a discount given to those who register early, but he paid in full and donated the rest to help other families needing scholarships to send their kids to camp.

"I know there are people in my community for whom (the cost) is a challenge," he said.

Meanwhile, YMCA of the Pines has already opened registration again, even as their current camps run, said Greg Keresztury, chief operating officer at Camp Ockanickon.

"For overnight camp, we launch registration now for next summer," said Keresztury. "Those families are able to lock into best pricing. And when you play that kind of backwards, our pricing for this year was set prior to inflation in the market blowing up in the spring."

But because of inflation, next summer's prices are already steeper.

"Instead of seeing a traditional increase between three and five percent, you're probably looking at something higher — in the seven to 10 range — which is pretty consistent with what we're seeing across the board," said Keresztury, who added that his own child's daycare has gone up about 13%.

The takeaway, he said, is to register early to get the best price and a definite spot. But if not, there are often scholarships available and tiered pricing options.

But when camps fill up early in the year, it can leave those parents most in need of last minute camp registration scrambling to find childcare, said Giannini.

"People were just, when I tell you 'begging' for a camp spot — that's basically how it was," he said.

And it's not just parents having to tighten their belts and struggling to afford camps; it's also the camps themselves.

Giannini said All Star's finances were hardest hit by the increase in minimum wage for their counselors this year.

"We're spending a lot more than we would normally spend to have, you know, a 16 year old there," he said.

YMCA of the Pines' camps are hardest hit by food prices and the cost of maintenance supplies, said Keresztury. As such, the organization has tried to cut costs in small ways.

"Like bananas that we're seeing come in tend to not be great quality, so we switched away from bananas. The price of avocados is substantially higher. So, you know, we're trimming back how often we offer guacamole — that kind of stuff," he said.

Lisa and Sam Seitles run camp Tuscaloosa in Hammonton. They made the decision to increase tuition by the same amount as previous years, which doesn't keep pace with inflation.. Tuscaloosa also offers an early registration discount.

Last year, they offered camp for $60 per day; this year it's $64, not including overtime costs of $5 per hour. The cost goes down for campers who stay longer.

Tuscaloosa already has 300 campers registered for this season, and are still accepting applications. Parents also have the option to sign their kids up for a certain number of days per week.

Tuscaloosa is more costly to run this summer due to inflation and higher costs in general.

"We just bought a giant blow up slide," said Sam Seitles. "That was definitely not cheap. But the smiles on the kids faces were huge."

This article originally appeared on Burlington County Times: Summer camps for kids: families deal with higher enrollment, inflation