cl closure
Higher Carthew Farm CL site in Cornwall will close this coming weekend. We have been open 5 years and numbers have been falling. Silly reviews that don't help future guests book and errors in our listing in the directory have taken their toll. I have contacted the CAMH but not had any response as yet!
Comments
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Might you be looking at exemption with the other club?
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Sorry to hear you have decided to close your CL. We know your area well, and do find it a bit surprising that your numbers are falling, however your target market is limited given that you are adults only and no pets. This isn't a criticism, just an informed observation. We are friends with a CL owner not too far away from you, he and his brother both run CLs, but his brother's CL was not anything like as successful as the one we stay on. We have to book at least a year in advance to get a pitch on the CL we like. We were asked the question regarding take up of pitches. Our answer was that while some prefer a child free, pet free environment, the majority tour with children and/or pets and are more tolerant. Brother dropped these two restrictions and numbers have risen steadily.
I agree some of the reviews are not complimentary, especially the UKcampsites one, but they are relatively dated, and folks should be looking beyond this. The information relating to wifi charges on your CC webpage relates to 2015, which surely should have been updated to reflect 2017? Perhaps this is the oversight you refer to regarding the Club? Haven't checked your handbook information, but hope this isn't wrong.
Sincerely wish you well for the future, any CL closure is a big loss to the network, and we wouldn't have hesitated to try your CL if looking to tour round Lizard area.
PS, I will report this thread to HQ, and suggest moving it into CL section, rather than lost down here in Kind Thoughts etc... might generate more discussion.
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We are very sorry to hear that Higher Carthew Farm have made the decision to close.
Having read the reviews, the majority on the Club website are complimentary and 5 star, which is a credit to your site and all your hard work. We are always happy to help with reviews and encourage CL owners to provide us information on the situation so we can draft responses to any negative comments, as we have done in the past to one of the reviews on your site page.
We received your email on Friday advising us of your decision and this has been passed on to your administrator who will be in contact with you in the next few days, we wish you all the best for the future.
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FYI I have moved this discussions to CL area as suggested. Many thanks.
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Thank you Rowena.
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I am sorry to see that you are closing. We love sites that are adult only and dog free but so many caravanners have dogs that it does severely reduce your target market. I have to admit the review which stated that the access was not so good would have put us off but the rest of the reviews were really good. Would it have been possible to widen the access and get some of your customers this year to put a review on stating that?
I do hope that in time you may reconsider and reopen.
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It is a shame you are closing, and adult only along with no pets could well have an impact (we are all different
). Regarding the site access Google shows it as only 200M at the most from the main road, with probable access through the yard and quite 'do-able', I'm sure you would not have been given CL status by the inspector if he/she thought it was not 'do-able', and anyone who has difficulty unless the outfit is very, very long and very, very wide should question their ability.0 -
There's actually a lesson here for other site owners. Businesses can be damned by one bad review. So nurture your visitors, cosset them and encourage them to write honest reviews. Keep in touch with them and look after them. Send them Christmas greetings and keep in regular contact. Don't tell them the rules of how you intend to run your campsite - ask the customers what they want.
When our old favourite the Madhuban hotel in Jaipur India got one single bad review, the lady owner e mailed all of us who were her regular customers. "Have you seen what some Americans have said about us? Please write a truthful review". We all did...and the report from the offending Americans was driven well down the page and eventually buried.
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Having read the one review of the site on UKCampsites it is hardly damming and some of the comments are nothing to do with the actual CL. When I look at a bad review I am inclined to look at other reviews by the same poster to how they tend to write reviews.I would have thought that most Club members would be inclined view reviews on this website where the CL seems to have nothing but generally good reviews. On the point of no dogs, surely this is more likely to be the case on Farm CL's because of the possible issues with livestock and I would have thought any sensible person should be able to understand that. I feel it is a shame that this CL owner hasn't carried on to the end of the season?
David
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I'd have thought it easy enough to attract visitors in a popular holiday area full of tourists, PD.
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True, but unfortunately this CL is not far from a four times regional cl award winning site which is going to get the first bookings I would have thought.
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I am pleased to see Rowena responded, like TDA I sent a message regarding the original post. I had looked at the good reviews on the club web site and as Rowena said these can be checked out if they are adverse in any way. I didn't think of looking on ukcampsite, is there also a reporting system on there? Sorry to here of a CL closure, obviously not done lightly.
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I'm surprised that a CL in such a popular area is struggling.
I'd have thought that an adult only CL would be very popular with those who want a bit of peace and quiet, particularly during the school holidays!
The site reviews on here are pretty good, and from the photos, the site looks lovely! Unfortunately, the no dog policy would exclude this site from our list, but sad to see another CL closing.
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I totally agree. Such a shame to see a CL closing because one or two poor reviews have put off potential visitors.
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I totally agree. Such a shame to see a CL closing because one or two poor reviews have put off potential visitors.
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My thinking was the less populated area compared to othere areas of the country, e.g. the midlands and the distance to travel for anything other than a long break. Also most tourist travelling to Cornwall for a holiday are looking for a coastal break.
peedee
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They are only about 8 miles from Hayle beach. That's hardly any distance. The viability appears to have been compromised by this one individual.
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Bump
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