Introducing Experience Freedom
Comments
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Ian, only time will tell. Some will need to be dragged into the modern world kicking & screaming I guess
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Exactly, why spoil the party when all could turn out well.
As for realism, neither you nor I are in a position to judge that.
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Or why think of only two options Ian. I can think of others including trialling a few alternative types of basic accommodation then adding a few more types if it's successful. All on a limited basis but all on popular sites where weekend trips are popular and maybe encouraging longer usage when pitches are empty. That's one more option....By the way the large living pods made by Swift come fully equipped from the manufacturers, available for anyone to buy.
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I am very interested in the sizeable number of additional pitches on a few sites that was mentioned further up the thread because I am wondering from where the ground to create these pitches has come.
Perhaps the pegs were all moved along a bit.
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I am not opposed to change. But I am opposed to change for change's sake.
The site we are on currently (C&CC) has 9 very expensive looking semi permanent tents. We have yet to see more than three of them occupied, often less than that. They take up far more room than a standard caravan / motorhome pitch.
Even if they had been fully costed, they would require a phenomenal rent to cover the fact that they are more than two thirds empty.
There are plenty of B&B's available for far less than £119/night.
The caravan pitches, on the other hand, have had a "site full" sign up since we arrived.
Simple mathematics must show that these things have been thought up by some marketing person who knows nothing about camping and will probably be selling a really good idea for baked beans next year.
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We know you enjoy getting the most from the
great outdoors It's as if I don't exist nowadays.
Not me. I have no interest at all in getting anything from the great outdoors. So on that basis I won't recommend them to my friends and family.
Come on club. Try and be a bit inclusive won't you?
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will probably be selling a really good idea for baked beans next year.
Yes. Peas!
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Sure you do....just look at the number of holiday companies that have gone to the wall by not working out costs, incomes & net returns properly and speculating on the market.
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So you think the the CC's not one of those type of companies. Bet some of those that went bust thought that they weren't those sort of companies either.
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That sounds nice, could easily be offered to 'vanners for a fee. I can see the biggest issue, aside from the contents of the welcome pack, one persons like another's dislike, by far will be the WiFi. WiFi on some sites struggle with the existing use, if its offered as part of the deal to those who usually holiday elsewhere what sort if WiFi speed and reliability will take expect?
WiFi is one area where the club have had several years to get it sorted but reading reviews and comments on CT it seems that it isn't getting there. I can't comment personally now as we don't subscribe after the first year. Not every site had it, reliability wasn't brilliant and the speed 😯 and it wasn't being used for games or streaming films etc just checking out the web for things to do locally, looking up sites or sending/receiving emails.
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If you factor in the price of buying, towing with appropriate car, storage costs, insurance costs, additional fuel, then caravan and motorhome ownership isn't for everyone. It can be done very cheaply, we are living proof of that, but we buck the trend. Most folks opt for a newish van, a reliable tug, may have no option to store it away from home, and have to pay huge insurance costs. All that would pay for an awful lot of nights away somewhere nice, especially if your holiday periods are limited to those offered by the workplace.
The Club has just seen a niche new market and tapped into it. They have done cottages and tents for years, although a good few members remain blissfully unaware.
As for them being "sheds" Ian, when you see some of the accommodation on offer in the SE, particularly London, and the prices charged, then these are the very height of luxury. Plus folks with more money than sense absolutely lap up this kind of thing! Some even buy a shepherd's hut to write a book in!
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Final word. Last year we saw the little wooden pods at Coniston (I think there were two?) They were right down at the bottom of the site, not the best spot as close to the track leading down to the lake so lots of people walking past. I though they looked ok, weren't taking up too much room so can't think they are detrimental in any way.
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Our friend's daughter and SIL are in one at this very moment and have said how great they are, loving it. They usually borrow Mum and Dad's van, but decided to go up in their own small car, and try something new. Warm as toast as well.
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TDA this isn't a niche new market. The club are awfully late to the party. Just hope they've brought their own beer
Pods were popping up on sites back when we had our tent - maybe ten years ago. In fact I was dealing with them professionally earlier than that.
Its emphatically not a new adventure. May be new for the club but I suspect a lot is. I don't see them as innovators
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I've just thought of an angle on this that could well end up helping make more touring pitches available.
Remember how when, for example, garden centres started selling groceries and the supermarkets responded by selling plants? So a touring caravan organisation moves into renting out rooms (canvas or otherwise) then hotels might respond by taking caravans. There are some hotels with huge grounds that would make lovely CLs, or even 150 pitch sites! Lots more trade for bar and restaurant with no housekeeping!
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Oh I fully concur with pods being around for a good while, and as you say, Club dipping in a late toe! I have to confess I only looked at the accommodation, I gave all the videos and the dreamy sell speak a miss.
For us, it would give none member family chance to holiday close to us, and I could be persuaded into trying a pod rather than humping a tent around as my sister and I did years ago. But I could do that with other companies as well. In fact, given that we can now tour at the drop of a hat, I would be negotiating a late booking deal with a small business, something the Club would never offer. The whole deal is only 18 pitch spaces, out of thousands the Club has on offer. Four locations we would never visit, at least not as tourers.
I don't find the experience freedom bit of the website easy to navigate, as clunky as the rest of the website.
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Its just another case of playing at the edges and ignoring the basics. Improving the site network up to commercial standards, providing more pitches for the core users. Adjusting their prices to meet the competition. I despair at the thinking at HO and the waste that goes on when they cant concentrate on what we the members want.
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Nice to see you are still the voice of reason around these parts Ian.
If i was going to spend that kind of money on a pod then a C&MC wouldn't be the first choice of venue.
I wonder what time the pods will need to be vacated to allow cleaning considering the wardens have toilet cleaning duty before 12 and new arrivals after 12.
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I have no problem with these if they are not at the expense of those of us who wish to book the sites for our caravan or motorhome.
Coniston is a very large site and usually has vacancies so perhaps that can be justified, I do not know Alderstead Heath so cannot comment.
Abbey Wood is a very busy site though which is mostly fully booked so unless they have found additional space for these things, it seems to be robbing the rest of us if a potential pitch, which will be even worse once Crystal Palace closes.
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Brighton is also a very busy site that is often fully booked. And yet they placed several of these sheds on there, taking up caravan pitches.
Their 'argument' was that they were on unpopular grass pitches. But for a fraction of the cost, they could have put in hardstandings so that they would have been popular pitches (we actually chose one of these grass pitches the first time we went to Brighton many years ago, because they are in a nice, sunny position).
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"which will be even worse once Crystal Palace closes"
When is that planned for then Wildwood,
Not that I would ever use it as I live within 6 miles of it. Just curious?
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I suppose they could be trying to future proof the club for when stricter pollution controls are introduced. There's already people trying to get diesels banned. In some countries larger petrol vehicles have much higher taxes. At least you will still be able to visit these sites using a micro car or similar.
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It strikes me that the professionals at Club HQ realise that Caravanning/ Motorhoming as we know it now is not going to continue for ever. Small electric cars are here already and diesel restrictions will soon begin to bite. The Club is showing some foresight and planning for the future.
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