4 ms·

9000 words to say that BAH is doing a 120% transaction fee ($9 on $7) on unknown development cost to do internet based reservations to national parks especially

9000 words to say that BAH is doing a 120% transaction fee ($9 on $7) on unknown development cost to do internet based reservations to national parks especially lottery managed ones. yeah it' annoying... but you used to do it over mail or in person. You can still do it in person easily. previously you'd mail in and find out 2 weeks before that yes you can fly in and do that 2 week trip. Not really actionable either unless you live there. I'm not sure what they want... the real crime is that the recreation.gov site is fucking slow as shit and lacks many options for quick searching requiring you to hunt and peck through sites. setup a non-for-profit to manage this stuff if that's your beef.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
Scoundreller 3y ago
> setup a non-for-profit to manage this stuff if that's your beef. Is there some benevolent non-profit/cooperative out there that would do these kinds of IT projects? Kinda like a credit union or mutual insurance company?
- grogenaut 3y ago
  no idea... doubt it. money probbably instead goes to building enclaves around park city or making it easy to go to burning man
- PostOnce 3y ago
  Or the government could do it at-cost in-house instead of paying a margin to BAH. I'm sure we can argue the 100 reasons why we can't/shouldn't do that, but it is a possible option, even if it's claimed to be a terrible one.
CuriousCosmic 3y ago
I really don't understand why the GSA can't do this (or CISA since they seem to be taking over some of the GSA's responsibilities)? A reservation system seems like the kind of thing that'd show up often enough at various federal, state, and local levels for there to be enough value in the GSA just building their own, providing integrations into their US Web Design System so that it's easy for orgs to add, and offering it at cost to the orgs or facilities that need it.
- grogenaut 3y ago
  Does the GSA code anything? does the Govt? For all this stuff isn't it all contract? What I'd hope for in a situation like this is that it's a term contract and the code stays with the govt but really do you want to take over someone else's code?
  - plasma_beam 3y ago
    They do..login.gov is probably the best current example and is ever expanding usage throughout federal sites. But GSA has also been under the microscope in the past couple years. Login.gov has received a lot of flak. They’re unlikely to take on another big “build it and they will come” project like a reusable reservation system. They make money off other agencies and those agreements need to be signed before the work starts.. Now all that said..contractors work on login.gov too and are prob the majority of the staff now!
    - ls612 3y ago
      What’s wrong with login.gov? I only used it to handle my Global Entry application process but it sure felt like a good SSO solution.
    - grogenaut 3y ago
      login.gov is a lot better than id.me that's for sure. didn't know gsa made it. Can they help the IRS not use id.me and receive files over any mechanism but mail and fax?
chrismorgan 3y ago
> You can still do it in person easily. Are you sure? I was in the USA recently, and the Dunewood Campground (Indiana Dunes National Park) had signs explicitly stating that there was no in-person booking, but that recreation.gov was the only way to book sites. Later I looked at Lake Erie State Park (New York), and they said that reserveamerica.com (or RA’s call centre) was the only way to book, no walk-ins permitted, and then the quoted $15 fee for their cheapest sites ballooned to something like $27.60 due to a reservation fee, an out-of-state-person fee, maybe some taxes…

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

Scoundreller 3y ago

> setup a non-for-profit to manage this stuff if that's your beef. Is there some benevolent non-profit/cooperative out there that would do these kinds of IT projects? Kinda like a credit union or mutual insurance company?

grogenaut 3y ago
no idea... doubt it. money probbably instead goes to building enclaves around park city or making it easy to go to burning man
PostOnce 3y ago
Or the government could do it at-cost in-house instead of paying a margin to BAH. I'm sure we can argue the 100 reasons why we can't/shouldn't do that, but it is a possible option, even if it's claimed to be a terrible one.

CuriousCosmic 3y ago

I really don't understand why the GSA can't do this (or CISA since they seem to be taking over some of the GSA's responsibilities)? A reservation system seems like the kind of thing that'd show up often enough at various federal, state, and local levels for there to be enough value in the GSA just building their own, providing integrations into their US Web Design System so that it's easy for orgs to add, and offering it at cost to the orgs or facilities that need it.

grogenaut 3y ago
Does the GSA code anything? does the Govt? For all this stuff isn't it all contract? What I'd hope for in a situation like this is that it's a term contract and the code stays with the govt but really do you want to take over someone else's code?
- plasma_beam 3y ago
  They do..login.gov is probably the best current example and is ever expanding usage throughout federal sites. But GSA has also been under the microscope in the past couple years. Login.gov has received a lot of flak. They’re unlikely to take on another big “build it and they will come” project like a reusable reservation system. They make money off other agencies and those agreements need to be signed before the work starts.. Now all that said..contractors work on login.gov too and are prob the majority of the staff now!
  - ls612 3y ago
    What’s wrong with login.gov? I only used it to handle my Global Entry application process but it sure felt like a good SSO solution.
  - grogenaut 3y ago
    login.gov is a lot better than id.me that's for sure. didn't know gsa made it. Can they help the IRS not use id.me and receive files over any mechanism but mail and fax?

chrismorgan 3y ago

> You can still do it in person easily. Are you sure? I was in the USA recently, and the Dunewood Campground (Indiana Dunes National Park) had signs explicitly stating that there was no in-person booking, but that recreation.gov was the only way to book sites. Later I looked at Lake Erie State Park (New York), and they said that reserveamerica.com (or RA’s call centre) was the only way to book, no walk-ins permitted, and then the quoted $15 fee for their cheapest sites ballooned to something like $27.60 due to a reservation fee, an out-of-state-person fee, maybe some taxes…