Hi rcprt,
I have worked at 5 camps and only one of the camps that I worked at charged rent. That was a Y camp. The professional staff didn't mind it since their pay was good and the rent was fairly low for the area the camp was in. However, there was a lot of "Why am I paying this much for a crummy 1 bedroom cabin when that person is paying $50 more for a 2 bedroom loft with state of the art appliances?"
The others camps I worked for did not charge rent or utilities, and I agree with JCB that it's a wonderful perk of the job, and necessary if the camp requires the person to live on-site.
Two of the camps that I worked for actually paid a stipend if you lived off-site. These camps obviously didn't charge rent for on-site employees.
Many camps are in the middle of nowhere. This means off-site housing can be a bit of a problem, especially if you live in a place that snows. Having staff on site 24/7 is great for a camp, especially a Camp Manager. If the power goes down, a plumbing issue arises, the snow needs to be plowed, or there's an emergency it's nice to have a Camp Manager on-site and on-call.
If I was required to pay rent I would definately live off-site or find another camp to work at. Camp pay is low as it is and I don't want to be penalized for being available at any time of the day by living on site.
Which brings up the issue of pay. If you are paying a Camp Manager above the normal salary for that position then I suppose its okay to charge for rent if they have the option to live off-site.
