Holiday parks charge between $15 and $25 per person for a one- night stay but offer a full range of facilities, including toilets, showers, kitchens, rubbish disposal and sewage dump stations.
Haruru Falls Resort owner Jan Gerritsen-Molloy said the whole situation was driving her "mad" saying holiday parks had to obtain licences and health certificates, in addition to paying rates.
In anticipation of the Rugby World Cup, Ms Gerritsen-Molloy had "totally refurbished" her restaurant and generally "spruced up" the facilities, spending a couple of thousand dollars on All Blacks' paraphernalia.
However, rugby visitors in their campervans had stayed away and Ms Gerritsen-Molloy blamed the William St carpark.
"We all struggle to pay our rates, it's hard economic times, and here we have our own council taking money out of our mouths without a licence," she said.
Bay of Islands Holiday Park owner Gordon Wakeling said the problem was not a new one.
"We've been fighting it for years and getting nowhere."
Holiday parks had experienced similar issues during the popular country rock and jazz festivals which are held in the Bay of Islands every year, he said.
"The worst thing about it is we feel we're let down by the council," he said. "It's really putting the pressure on us."
Paihia District Resident and Ratepayers Association Chairman Geoff Williams said he sent a letter to Far North Holdings last week after receiving "quite a few complaints from the locals".
Human faeces had been reported at the carpark and campers were often to be seen undressing outside their vehicles, in direct view of the local primary school, he said.
Far North Holdings chief executive Malcolm Nicolson said the company only allows campervans with on-board toilets to stay overnight at the carpark.
Security staff visit the carpark every night and morning and ask people sleeping in vehicles without on-board toilets to move on, he said.
"The Far North District Council could require Far North Holdings to close the carpark at night to prevent any camper vans [including those with on-board toilets] from using it," Mr Nicolson said.
"But the council has given the company a directive to raise revenue. One of the ways it can do that is to provide 24-hour parking services at the carpark which has to cater for restaurants and bars that are open until late."
Mr Nicolson said Far North Holdings was not trying to compete with holiday parks and was trying to minimise "adverse environmental effects" at the carpark.
