Most people I know book things in advance but it is not for me. The commitment of making it to a predetermined destination is not fun at all (for me) . So far it has not hindered us at all. We bring our camping gear. Most of the time our camping gear is cleaner than some cheap motel and because we feel comfortable camping with our gear then the perception of value of paying premium money for a better hotel is diminished. (for us). However when the opportunity arises to book into some gorgeous destination we do not feel bad in splurging for it because we saved money camping several days prior. :-)